{"id":2283,"date":"2016-08-23T16:42:30","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T22:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=2283"},"modified":"2020-11-25T11:19:01","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T17:19:01","slug":"nothing-poetic-about-this-verse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/nothing-poetic-about-this-verse\/","title":{"rendered":"Nothing Poetic About This Verse<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you noticed how the abbreviation vs.<\/em>, meaning \u201cagainst,\u201d is pronounced these days? People read \u201cSerbia vs. USA for the Gold Medal\u201d and say \u201cSerbia verse USA.\u201d Yes, \u201cverse\u201d\u2014one syllable\u2014although vs.<\/em> stands for versus <\/em>here. That\u2019s \u201cverse-uss\u201d\u2014two syllables. When we hear this gaffe over the airwaves, are we imagining things or do the announcers sound smug, as if saying \u201cverse\u201d were something to be proud of? Are they proud because they know about the r<\/em>? At least they don\u2019t pronounce it \u201cviss.\u201d<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0*<\/p>\n

We saw an article online titled \u201c11 overused words you and your friends need to stop saying right now.\u201d The first three on this list are not words so much as verbal tics: like<\/em> (as in they were, like, an hour late<\/em>), you know<\/em>, and um<\/em>. The rest of the list consists of familiar offenders, including dude<\/em>, freakin\u2019<\/em>, and whatever<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We think the author should have added a twelfth entry, one that is right there in his title: need to<\/em>. This pushy phrase turns mere wishes or opinions into decrees: I need you to open this door<\/em>. You need to exercise more<\/em>. He needs to read the Bill of Rights<\/em>. They need to get it together or go home<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Those who use need to <\/em>like this are speaking as authorities or moralists who know what is best for all concerned. When something needs to<\/em> be done, there is no room or time for discussion\u2014just do it or you\u2019ll be sorry.<\/p>\n

But examine the next sentence you come across with need to<\/em> in it. In many cases a more honest\u2014and civil\u2014choice would be it seems advisable<\/em>, maybe it\u2019s a good idea<\/em>, would you please<\/em>, or anything else that\u2019s not so strident and overbearing.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0*<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re at it, there is another phrase that deserves a comeuppance, as seen in these sentences culled from the internet: \u201cHe expounded on the concept of mercy.\u201d \u201cShe expounded on the virtues of solar power.\u201d \u201cMcGrady expounded on the dangers of high-octane fuel leaks.\u201d The writers have misused expound<\/em>\u2014in all three sentences the correct phrase would be expand on<\/em>, which means \u201cto discuss at length or in detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

To expound<\/em> is to explain or describe. And expound<\/em> does not traditionally take the preposition on<\/em>. Here are a few examples of expound <\/em>used correctly: \u201cShe expounded her theory further in the course of her talk.\u201d \u201cHe expounded his materialistic philosophy in a number of books.\u201d \u201cThe Masters expounded their teachings in a series of propositions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expound on <\/em>is popular because it sounds more impressive than the pedestrian expand on<\/em> \u2026 but impressive to whom?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you noticed how the abbreviation vs., meaning \u201cagainst,\u201d is pronounced these days? People read \u201cSerbia vs. USA for the Gold Medal\u201d and say \u201cSerbia verse USA.\u201d Yes, \u201cverse\u201d\u2014one syllable\u2014although vs. stands for versus here. That\u2019s \u201cverse-uss\u201d\u2014two syllables. When we hear this gaffe over the airwaves, are we imagining things or do the announcers sound […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,10,49,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abbreviations","category-definitions","category-pronunciation","category-vocabulary"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}