Month: April 2008

“Altercation”

Common English Blunders, Nouns

I often see or hear this noun misused.

Problem:
Many do not know that “altercation” has a very specific meaning.

Explanation:
The noun “altercation” means an angry, oral dispute.

Unfortunately, many will use “altercation” when referring to physical disputes.

This is a misuse of the noun.

I suppose that those who use “altercation” to refer to physical arguments want to seem more educated.

Unfortunately, this misuse reveals their ignorance about the noun’s meaning.

Solution:
Use “altercation” when referring to an oral dispute; do not use “altercation” when referring to anything physical.

“I saw him on yesterday.”

Adverbs, Common English Blunders, Prepositions

I hear this type of grammatical error too frequently.

Problem:
As I have written about “today” and “tomorrow” (both adverbs), “yesterday” is an adverb, so preceding it with the preposition “on” is incorrect.

Explanation:
“Yesterday” already tells you when.

For example, the answer to “When did they start to paint the house?” could be “They started to paint the house yesterday.”

In contrast, “Tuesday” is a proper noun, not an adverb, so the answer to “When did they start to paint the house?” could be “They started to paint the house on Tuesday.”

In other words, the days of the week, which are proper nouns, require the “on” preposition to tell you when, whereas “yesterday” already tells you when.

Solution:
“I saw him yesterday.”

“I’ll bring that to you on tomorrow.”

Adverbs, Common English Blunders, Prepositions

My wife heard this the other day.

Problem:
“Tomorrow” is an adverb, so preceding it with the preposition “on” is incorrect.

Explanation:
“Tomorrow” already tells you when.

For example, the answer to “When will they leave?” could be “They will leave tomorrow.”

In contrast, “Monday” is a proper noun, not an adverb, so the answer to “When will they leave?” could be “They will leave on Monday.”

In other words, the days of the week, which are proper nouns, require the “on” preposition to tell you when, whereas “tomorrow” already tells you when.

Solution:
“I’ll bring that to you tomorrow.”