Last Time-Grammar Lesson

I can't help but thinking that we would all sound a lot more intelligent if we changed a few bad grammar habits that are rampant these days.

One of the biggest offenders in the USA is lay - lie. Lay means to put something down. "I will lay this book on the table." Simple. Lie is the act of getting down. "Every day I tell my dog (or grandmother) to go lie down." "When I lie down for a while, I feel better."

Many of us learned the children's prayer "Now I lay me down to sleep..." That is correct English for obvious reasons, but thrown in to confuse you. Disregard.

I can't see how this is difficult, I guess hearing words used incorrectly over and over again makes for confusion. If you are one of the dreadful sinners, try some self-correcting. It is easy.

The other cardinal sin most frequently heard is the old "between you and I" or "He gave it to Paul and I". Subjective/Objective. I could give you the grammar lesson, but I will tell you a short cut. Cut out the other person in your mind. Would you ever say "He gave it to I"? That is in fact what is happening. No! You would never say that because it is the wrong case. The subjective can't be used as an object of a preposition.

Here is a partial list of prepositions:

• aboard
• about
• above
• across
• after
• against
• along
• amid
• among
• anti
• around
• as
• at

• before
• behind
• below
• beneath
• beside
• besides
• between
• beyond
• but
• by

• concerning
• considering

• despite
• down
• during

• except
• excepting
• excluding

• following
• for
• from

• in
• inside
• into

• like

• minus

• near

• of
• off
• on
• onto
• opposite
• outside
• over

• past
• per
• plus

• regarding
• round

• save
• since

• than
• through
• to
• toward
• towards

• under
• underneath
• unlike
• until
• up
• upon

• versus
• via

• with
• within
• without....
• Yesterday I spoke from my heart. Today I am speaking from my high horse. My mother was a grammar Nazi and I guess I have some genetic something from her. Hasta Pronto.