Sunday, March 28, 2004
today for your enjoyment i have some grammatical information. it comes from strunk and white's 'the elements of style'. i am including it for two reasons. first, i thought it was hilarious. the second reason is: i include it for the pleasure of aaron kook, who aspires to the lofty himalyan peaks of clarity and precision in language. his favorite soap-box on which to perch himself and declaim is the one labeled: 'the difference(s) between "can" and "may"'. his second-favorite is: 'the transitive evolution of the verb "to be"'. so, without further ado, here is the strunk and white entry for the word 'like':
'Not to be used for conjunction "as". "Like" governs nouns and pronouns; before phrases and clauses the equivalent word is "as"....The use of "like" for "as" has its defenders; they argue that any usage that achieves currency becomes valid automatically. This, they say, is the way the language is formed. It is and it isn't. An expression sometimes merely enjoys a vogue, much as an article of apparel does. "Like" has long been widely misused by the illiterate; lately it has been taken up by the knowing and the well-informed, who find it catchy, or liberating, and who use it as though they were slumming. If every word or device that achieved currency were immediately authenticated, simply on the ground of popularity, the language would be as chaotic as a ball game with no foul lines. For the student, perhaps the most useful thing to know about "like" is that most carefully edited publications regard its use before phrases and clauses as simple error.'
if i could fine one person (just one!) who feels 'liberated' by using the word 'like' incorrectly...well, i think it would be, like, sweet.
right now the willie nelson song 'a whiter shade of pale' is on in my room. some of you might not like willie nelson. but you also MIGHT NOT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
i apologize for my lack of posts during friday and most of saturday. i know how much this all means to you.
enjoy being totally awesome.
'Not to be used for conjunction "as". "Like" governs nouns and pronouns; before phrases and clauses the equivalent word is "as"....The use of "like" for "as" has its defenders; they argue that any usage that achieves currency becomes valid automatically. This, they say, is the way the language is formed. It is and it isn't. An expression sometimes merely enjoys a vogue, much as an article of apparel does. "Like" has long been widely misused by the illiterate; lately it has been taken up by the knowing and the well-informed, who find it catchy, or liberating, and who use it as though they were slumming. If every word or device that achieved currency were immediately authenticated, simply on the ground of popularity, the language would be as chaotic as a ball game with no foul lines. For the student, perhaps the most useful thing to know about "like" is that most carefully edited publications regard its use before phrases and clauses as simple error.'
if i could fine one person (just one!) who feels 'liberated' by using the word 'like' incorrectly...well, i think it would be, like, sweet.
right now the willie nelson song 'a whiter shade of pale' is on in my room. some of you might not like willie nelson. but you also MIGHT NOT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
i apologize for my lack of posts during friday and most of saturday. i know how much this all means to you.
enjoy being totally awesome.
