LANGUAGE CORNER
Various rules of the language, including rules of thumb, are discussed here (with as little jargon as possible) because we need to know the rules to know when to follow them, when to bend them, even when to break them. Evan Jenkins can be reached at ejenk35@aol.com.
Point of Order
An e-mail questioner wondered why people kept saying “ in order to” when “to” was all they needed, and it’s a fair question. None of these needed the extra words:
“In order to demonstrate this struggle...”
“Incorporate the business in order to take advantage....”
“...what others need to do in order to get there.”
But what about this one?
“...to preserve our present in order to build a better future.”
At a minimum, that would be unpleasing—choppy, unrhythmic—without “in order,” and it might even be confusing.
“In order” can usually be omitted, or deleted in editing, but any hard-and-fast rule is dangerous. Once in a while the phrase is needed to avoid (not, in this case, “in order to avoid”) misunderstanding.— CJR, May/June 2007
More Language Corners
| View printable listing of previous entries: A-M or N-Z |
View individual entries:
Adverb Placement
Adviser/Advisor
Affect/Effect
Along With
Alternate/Alternative
Antecedents
As Such (Transition)
As, Then As
As Well Too (Start of Sentence)
AttorneyS general
The Authorities
Averse/Adverse
[Feel] Bad/badly
'Because' and 'Since'
Beg the Question
Between/Among
'Between...and' not
'Between...to'
Between/In Between; Call/Call Up;
In Line/On Line
'Between the Cracks'
Bid, Bid, Bade
'Big of a'
Borne Out, with an 'E'
Both
'Brackets'
Cardinal/Ordinal Numbers
'Collective'
Collective Nouns
Comprise
Could/Couldn't Care Less
Criterion/Criteria
Danglers
'Decimate'
Declined to comment
Democratic, adj.
Difference/Differential
Double Possessive
Double Possessive II
Due To
Each other/one another
Elegant Variation
Enormity
Enumerate
Evoke/Invoke
Facilitate – See ‘A Reader’s Potpourri’
Facility
False titles, etc.
Farther/Further
'Feud'
Fewer/Less
Firstly – See Important/Importantly
Five times below, 150% less, etc.
Flaunt/Flout
‘Forecasted’ — See ‘Lightening; ‘Forecasted’
‘Former Native’
Fortuitous
Fused Participle; ‘off of ’
Gantlet/Gauntlet; Stanch/Staunch
Gild/Paint the Lily
‘Graduated College’
Graffito/Graffiti
He or She, etc.
Hitting Milestones
Historic/Historical
Hone/Home
Honored in the Breach
Hung/Hanged
Hyphens
If Not
Implement
Imply/Infer
Important/Importantly
In Line/On Line
Individuals/People/Persons
Interface (rather
than ‘Talk’)
Invoke/Evoke
'Issues'
Lend/Loan
Lie, Lay and All That
‘Lightening’; ‘Forecasted’
Like, With an Object
Loath/Loathe
May/Might
‘Media,’ plural
Monies? Balonies!
More Than/Over
Myself
Native
‘Near Miss ’
‘None’ as Plural, Hung/Hanged
Normalcy
Notoriety
- ‘A Friend of Mine’
- ‘Times as/Times More’
- ‘The Human Race’
Of Which/Whose
‘Older Than Him’
‘One of...’ (With Plural Verb)
Only, placement of
People/Persons
Per
Phenomenon/Phenomena
Placement of ‘only’
Pleaded Guilty
Police (The)
Possessive Nouns with Pronouns
Precipitate/Precipitous
Preposition Ending Sentence
Prior To/Before
Rage/Wage
Raveled Sleave, With an ‘A’
The Reason is That
A Readers' Potpourri
Reference
Refute/Rebut
Regard/Regards
Reluctant/Reticent
ReMUNerate
Replete
Resonate
‘Reverend’
Sequence of Tenses
Brush Up Your ... Shakespeare:
- Act I: Honored in the Breach
- Act II: Gild/Paint the Lily
- Act III: Raveled Sleave, With an ‘A’
- Act IV: Wherefore
‘Share’ – See ‘A Readers’ Potpourri’
Series: Changing Numbers
Series, Run-on
Singular Noun, Plural Pronoun
Split Infinitive
Stanch/Staunch; Gantlet/Gauntlet
Straighten/Straiten
Suspect/Suspected
Swatch/Swath
Tautology
Terminate – See ‘A Reader’s Potpourri’
That, Omission of
That and Which
The Police — See Police, The
‘They Each’
‘Times More’ — See Oddities
‘To She and I’ – See ‘Older Than Him’
To...To
Tons was
Toward(s)
Transition; 'As Such'
Troopers/Troupers
Wangle/Wrangle
Wax, as in Become
Well, as an adjective
Whence
Where...at
Wherefore
Whether (or Not)
Who/Whom
Whose/Of Which
‘Woof Down’
N.B.: Unless otherwise specified, references in this material to H.W. Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage are to the second edition (1965) and not to the 1990's version, which retained the Fowler name, but little of Fowler.
