Devolution toward Simpler

“Women are still not paid equal to men.”

Adjectives, Adverbs, Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler

My wife heard this two days ago on NPR.

Problem:
The speaker used an adjective where an adverb was required.

Explanation:
National Public Radio on March 12 aired a report in which my wife heard someone say, “Women are still not paid equal to men.”

As is true for “naked” verbs, the passive-voice construction “are still not paid” may be modified by an adverb but may never be modified by an adjective.

The word “equal” is an adjective, not an adverb.

Many adjectives — including “equal” — can be converted into adverbs by adding the “ly” suffix.

I believe that the omission of the “ly” suffix from what should be the adverbial forms of adjectives is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis.

It is simpler to omit the “ly” suffix, which adds two more letters and an extra syllable, than to include it.

Solution:
“Women are still not paid equally to men.”

“She graduates high school this year.”

Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Prepositions, Verbs

I often see or hear this and similar sentences.

Problem:
A preposition is missing.

Explanation:
I heard someone make the statement “She graduates high school this year.” the other day while talking about his daughter.

But the verb “graduate” means to receive a diploma or degree.

So “She graduates high school this year.” literally means “She receives a diploma or degree high school this year.”

This reveals the preposition that is missing from “She graduates high school this year.”

I believe that this omission is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to omit the required preposition than to include it.

And, as with yesterday’s blog post, this post illustrates a simple method for discovering whether a preposition is missing, excessive, or just right: Simply replace the verb with the verb’s definition.

Solution:
“She graduates from high school this year.”

“He escaped prison.”

Devolution toward Simpler, Prepositions, Verbs

I heard this recently during a TV news broadcast.

Problem:
A preposition is missing.

Explanation:
The news broadcaster made the statement “He escaped prison.” while describing a prisoner who had managed to illegally free himself from a prison.

But the verb “escape” means to get away, or to gain or regain freedom.

So “He escaped prison.” literally means any of these:

  • “He got away prison.”
  • “He gained freedom prison.”
  • “He regained freedom prison.”

Any of these sentences reveals to us the preposition that is missing from “He escaped prison.”

I believe that this omission is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to omit the required preposition than to include it.

And this blog post illustrates a simple method for discovering whether a preposition is missing, excessive, or just right. The method entails simply rewriting the sentence or phrase or expression with the definition of the verb in place of the verb.

Solution:
“He escaped from prison.”