Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew H.
This argument (not yours, UT's) is the same kind of BS that leads people to write unnatural English in an attempt to avoid splitting infinitives or ending a sentence with a preposition.
In my ideal world, an "Advanced Grammar" class would teach people to avoid shibboleths like this, even at the risk of offending some ill-informed pedant.
Of course, in my ideal world I'm emperor, too.
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Except that they did not take those positions. They were pretty liberal, actually. It's just that, with things like "ensure"/"insure" while you can find some dictionaries saying it's ok, there are others, and there are style guides, like the AP, iirc, that do not allow it... and since it's so widely considered an error, it's silly to use it and risk people thinking you're sloppy. It's not as though it's difficult to use an E instead of an I.
(This reminds mine of when my brother found dictionary proof that the word "irregardless" is acceptable, lol. Like ei told him, I don't think that's going to protect his reputation, unless he wants to wear the entry on his forehead.
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