Grammar pet peeves are just few of the many things that can really fuel my muse. Hence, I occasionally make a blog post about them.
The first time I blogged about grammar pet peeves was when I am still in the academe. That blog post is titled “Masteral and Other Filipino Concoctions“, which talked away some of the most commonly used grammar bugbears that I find most grinding to the ears and eyes. Leaving the four corners of the university for the time being to work as a secretary in one of the reputable companies—whose lifeblood is in the form of emails—in the Middle East, gave me the chance to discover another interesting batch of grammar pet peeves. Needless to say my job entails receiving an array of bearable and unbearable grammar pet peeves, which I want to call lethal grammar sins this time.
For more than four months of working “here”, I was able to sieve the seven most commonly committed among the plethora of lethal grammar sins in our office from a gazillion of emails in my box. Complete with explanations and screenshots, here they are in no particular order:
•the usage of with regards to
Click the photo to enlarge.
For years, I was unaware that the subject idiom is beyond question under the balls of nonstandard usage until I attended a three-day workshop about Assertive Communication three years ago. In one of the topics, the idiom was discussed. According to the lecturer, Standard American English considers with regards to as another bastard of English’s solecism. The standard usage is with regard to, without the s at the end of the word regard. For example, “With regard to your email below, are they based in the Head Office?”
Anyway, if you are one of those who cannot bear the thought of losing the precious –s sound in the word regard, do not fret because reliable dictionaries have as regards to, which bears the same meaning, for you to use.
•the usage of request preceded by for when used as a verb
Click the photo to enlarge.
Yes, it is grammatically correct to use the phrase request for if the word request functions as a noun as in this example: “I have submitted a request for three female secretaries to my line manager today”. The exception is, when request is used as a verb. The rule dictates that request should never be followed by the preposition for when it is used that way because of its meaning at that form: to express a desire for or to ask for. So to correct the sentence in the picture, for should be omitted as in, “Sonyboy Fugaban of Sales Division requested ABC envelopes”.
To get more familiar with the proper usages of request as a verb and a noun, please refer to the following examples:
request as a verb
- May we request your comments on the above subject?
- He requested permission to speak.
- My line manager did not request any of these stuff.
request as a noun
- There have been many requests for Fugaban’s Collection of Commonly Misused/Redundant Idioms, Verb Phrases, and Words.
- Our request for the transfer of one of our employees has already been taken care of.
- Our division’s most important policy regarding requests for stationery is that requesters must fill out the Stationery Log Sheet.
•the usage of in behalf of to imply as representative of someone
Click the photo to enlarge.
Leading dictionaries and Grammar Nazis concur that on behalf of is the correct idiom to use if what we mean to say falls under any of the following: as a representative of, as an agent of, or on the part of. For example, “On behalf of Mr. S, I would like to inform you that the visas are to be sent today”.
On the other hand, in behalf of means for the benefit or favor of someone as in, “We raised money in behalf of the earthquake victims”.
•the usage of return back
Click the photo to enlarge.
It has been said and written countless times but the fact remains: return back is redundant. The word return is enough when we mean sending something or someone back; going back to a former place, position or state; etc. For example, “Please proceed with the timing before 1:00 p.m. and the same for the return trip as in the email below”.
Grammar sticklers are, for sure, with me on the explanation.
•the usage of stationeries as the plural form of stationery
Click the photo to enlarge.
First of all, stationeries is a nonexistent word. Secondly, stationery is a collective noun. Some collective nouns such as stationery and money do not require the –ies rule in spelling to form their respective plural concepts. And lastly, reliable dictionaries attest that stationery refers to office supplies such as packets of bond paper, pens, ink, envelopes, and the like.
•the usage of attached as a noun
Click the photo to enlarge.
It should be noted that the sentence in the photo is as common as these sentences in our office:
- Please see attached for your reference.
- As requested, please see attached.
The rule says the past participle of a regular verb (i.e., ending in ed), can only function as either the past tense or as the adjective of a particular regular verb. Be that as it may, attached–in this case–can not and can NEVER function as a noun; it can ONLY describe a noun (e.g., bruised face, mangled pair of sunglasses, and attached file). Therefore, the correct word for the sentence in the photo is attachment as in, “Could you please check the attachment and forward the TRA with approval to Mr. Unknown”.
Grammarians, particularly at dailywritingtips.com, say that anything attached to an email is called attachment (pl. attachments).
•the usage of below as an attributive word
Click the photo to enlarge.
As can be gleaned from photo, the usage of below attributively is like a staple food for the eyes. In any case, below cannot be used as an attributive word or adjective. In other words, it cannot be used before a noun to qualify it. The sentences in the photo all fell into the electric chair.
On a side note, below can function as an adverb as in, “Mr. S is asking for the approval of the request below”. Also, as a preposition (e.g., below the knee).
At this point, I am planning to circulate a memo containing these lethal grammar sins with explanations and screenshots in the office. That is, of course, a joke.
I pride myself on my knowledge of the English language considering that it is not my native tongue but I will not go beyond blogging about lethal grammar sins. Like I said before, I am well aware that I still need to dig the English language deeper.
References
- Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
- www.dictionary.com
- www.businesswritingblog.com
- www.dailywritingtips.com
- wwww.english.stackexchange.com
- wwww.josecarilloforum.com
- www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca
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Great article and blog. Thanks for including me.
The pleasure is mine, Shiela.
This made me laugh… love it
Making someone laugh is a difficult task, so I’m giving a kudos to myself. See, I did my best to inject a little humor in this post. I couldn’t help thinking that I succeeded then. Yehey!
Too little, too late. The Twitter generation shall rule!……..lol
“Grammar is relevant for all companies. Yes, language is constantly changing, but that doesn’t make grammar unimportant. Good grammar is credibility, especially on the internet. In blog posts, on Facebook statuses, in e-mails, and on company websites, your words are all you have. They are a projection of you in your physical absence. And, for better or worse, people judge you if you can’t tell the difference between their, there, and they’re” Kyle Wiens’ I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar.
Unfortunately, grammar is becoming less and less relevant, as is spelling. Another five years and it will be kaput.
I am with you on that, Russel. Nevertheless, I believe that communicating with clarity is absolute. It still pays to be grammatically attentive to what you write and say at the end of the day.
I read the news about the earthquake in your place. Please take care and pray for your safety.
Thank you so much, Cocomino!
next on your list should be, the proper use of punctuations. when to use the apostrophe and when not to. i also noticed in some of the textbooks being used recently, it used the word “equipments” and “furnitures”. and most of the time many get confused when to use the tenses, like they always seem to add “ed” even in present tense. gone are the days when you can read a decent write up or post. almost everyday a new word is coined and its making the kids get more confused than ever.
Mac, I’m going to cook something like what you suggested soon. Blog posts like this are actually for my students. That is why they are always tagged when I post them on FB.
When I was still in the academe, I always see to it that my students learn something “not common” from me. Nothing makes me feel fulfilled than hearing students say things like, “Sir, we never knew that masteral is not a word until we met you.” or “Sir, thank you so much for ‘butchering’ our essays. ”
On the other hand, nothing hurts me more than hearing students say things like, “Sir, according to other instructors, English matters such as correcting essays is not included in their job descriptions.”
I believe that correcting students’ grammar mistakes, especially the “fatal ones”, can be done by any teacher. Hence, I am–still–digging the English language.
the english language is such a challenge to us because there is this culture among the youth these days that if you speak in CORRECT grammar and pronunciation you are automatically tagged as “MAYABANG”, “MAARTE”, “SHOW-OFF” and the like. which to me i find really stupid.
speaking of “stupid” (actually, i’m not really speaking but more of writing- hahaha!), would you believe that i used to NOT be good in the language? had it not been for my friend from high school who introduced me to the work of j.r.r. tolkien “the book of the duncow” (which by the way is one of my dream, i.e., to have my own copy because i only borrowed the book from her). there were so many words i didn’t know or understand, “basilisks”, but the way he used the words to describe them, i could imagine how they looked like. it encouraged me to befriend the dictionary.
anyway, i am blabbing so, in a nutshell, culture has a lot to do with the current situation of our students when it comes to the english language whether verbal or written.
Including me! I learned it from you sir. It’s funny because some students here in DLSU mostly engineering still believe that the word “Masteral” exists.
I think I’m quite harsh.
Hahaha.
I have read your first batch of “invented words” and I can’t help but chuckle with this post. I am now teaching part-time in a small private college and I think that I should discuss this topic in class. Anyway, to be honest about it, it’s hard to teach students about the technicalities of English usage especially if their foundation on the language is poor. I handle graduating students and the problem persists.
That is why we should not stop advocating the “cause”.
I enjoyed your post. Hopefully, we can see more photographic attachments in the future. (;D
Great Blog.
Thank you for the suggestion! I’ll sure keep that in mind.
Bro, kamusta? Just read your Summertime post at San Fabian. Fun, fun, fun! It is always happy time with family and friends at the beach or any Nature place with great food. You always create the most amazing images with inspiring words to go with them. God bless to you and your family. As for grammar…you are my guru on this. I was more like into Art stuff when I was younger. Great post!
Pasensiya na, bro. It took a while for me to really attend to my comments. I’m doing great here. I’m past the adjustment period and that’s a good thing for me.
Thanks for dropping by!
this post is a win win for me, more power…
Thanks for the push, Will!
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Great post and very informative. Thanks for sharing bro, or should I say, Mr. Grammarian?
Arvee, don’t call me a grammarian, please. I just know a little about it and I am still trying to learn more at this point.
oops, sorry about that Sonyboy!
No problem, Arvs. On the contrary, I’m honored for letting me know I’m LIKE that.
Excellent post Sony! How are ya?
Doing great, Eliz! Thanks for dropping amid your busy schedule. I am sure being Freshly Pressed today made your schedule busier.
Reblogged this on confessions of an owl and commented:
informative
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