Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

24-Hour Proofreading Service—We proofread your Google Docs or Microsoft Word files. We hate grammatical errors with a passion. Learn More

Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

24-Hour Proofreading Service—We proofread your Google Docs or Microsoft Word files. We hate grammatical errors with a passion. Learn More

Username

Skeeter Lewis

Member Since

March 16, 2012

Total number of comments

165

Total number of votes received

207

Bio

Latest Comments

Pronunciation of “often”

  • January 21, 2014, 11:45am

'Of'en' is what I generally hear but, yes, 'often' is creeping in. It's based on the fallacious idea that words have to be pronounced as they are spelled.

“Based out of”: Why?

  • December 4, 2013, 6:35am

"Three months later I was on a Norwegian freighter out of Halifax harbor heading for Liverpool, leaving a tiny untidy apartment and a perfectly nice girlfriend."
Norm Macdonald

“Based out of”: Why?

  • December 4, 2013, 6:25am

Ships are said to be 'out of' a certain port. One might speak of a freighter 'out of Amsterdam', which presumably refers to either their port of registration or of departure.
The 'based' part is redundant.

Correspondence

  • November 30, 2013, 4:47pm

Will, we'll have to agree to differ. The language that people use, both in speech and writing, is, as I said above, endlessly fascinating.

Correspondence

  • November 30, 2013, 10:58am

Will - one can make judgments about English usage so long as one's comments are not ad hominem. I agree that it's bad manners to correct others.
The language of others, though, is not of infinitesimal importance to me. I find it endlessly fascinating.
By the way - 'judgment' or judgement'? The latter is more usual in British English but I have a fondness for the former because it was the spelling used by Dr. Johnson, that stalwart layer down of the law.

Correspondence

  • November 30, 2013, 3:42am

Will - interesting question: 'does it really matter?'
If these issues simply don't matter, then English becomes a relativist free-for-all and judgment is impossible.

Correspondence

  • November 29, 2013, 2:16pm

When I make a dogmatic statement such as "such and such a word does not exist," I suppose I mean, "Well if it does, it flipping well shouldn't." Grumpy old man syndrome.

Correspondence

  • November 29, 2013, 2:12pm

Point taken, Will.
The plurals that irritate are words such as 'behaviours' used in certain specialized fields jnstead of 'forms of behaviour'. Cant usages tend to seep into the spoken language.

Correspondence

  • November 28, 2013, 1:57pm

The word 'correspondences' does not exist in English.
One can refer to the 'correspondence' that one had with Joe Blow. That can refer to one or more letters.

Idea Vs. Ideal

  • November 25, 2013, 11:40am

I've never heard 'ideal' used for 'idea'. Maybe it's an American thing.
I notice, though, that 'ideal' is often pronounced with two syllables instead of three. That makes me raise an eyebrow like a pretentious douchebag.

Questions

Medicine or Medication? October 27, 2012
What’s happening to the Passive? July 30, 2014
The 1900s June 11, 2015