Common English Blunders

Using Google to Examine English Usage

Common English Blunders, Misspellings

Google, or any other search engine for the Web, can be a tool for examining English usage on the Web.

For example, one can use Google to get the number of Web pages containing a correctly spelled word vs. the number of Web pages containing one or more misspelled forms of that word.

One can also look for bad grammar, bad punctuation, and so on.

Several of my blog posts have included my results of these kinds of searches at Google.

To find these blog posts, simply go to the blog archives, enter “Google” (without the quotation marks) in the search box, and click the [Search] button.

However, don’t expect these Google-based comparisons of correct versus incorrect usage to remain static. As usage changes, so will the Google results.

“… a couple callers …”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Nouns

I heard this the other day, and I hear this type of construction a lot.

Problem:
The word “couple” is not an adjective.

Explanation:
The word “couple” is a noun, not an adjective.

In particular, “couple” is a group noun, just as “flock” and “gaggle” and “colony” are group nouns.

Just as you should not say “a gaggle geese”, you should not say “a couple callers”.

The solution is illustrated in these examples:

  • “a gaggle of geese”;
  • “a flock of seagulls”;
  • “a colony of ants”.

That is, the solution requires the preposition “of” between the group noun and what the group noun is collecting, if you will.

I believe that the dropping of the preposition “of” in “a couple callers” is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to not say or write the preposition “of” than to include it.

Solution:
“… a couple of callers …”

“… separate out [something] …

Common English Blunders, Verbs

I heard this on Fox News Channel a couple of days ago.

Problem:
The preposition “out” is unnecessary here.

Explanation:
I frequently see and hear “separate out” in sentences such as these three:

  • “This will separate out the men from the boys.”
  • “Can you you separate out the results from the two groups?”
  • “Economists can separate out the values of buildings.”

Here is yet another perfectly understandable verb — “separate” — that has become seen by many speakers and writers of American English as requiring the preposition “out” after it. It doesn’t!

Look at the same three example sentences with “out” removed:

  • “This will separate the men from the boys.”
  • “Can you you separate the results from the two groups?”
  • “Economists can separate the values of buildings.”

We do not lose any clarity by removing “out” from each of the original sentences, Instead, we gain clarity because the listeners or readers are not wondering why “out” was added.

Solution:
“… separate [something] …”