Comments on: Nothing Poetic About This Verse

By: GrammarBook.com

GrammarBook.com — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:56:12 +0000

In reply to Geri B.. That is a point we've been thinking about. In many cases you could just replace the phrase with "to." However, there are other times when the phrase is not extraneous, but necessary.

By: Geri B.

Geri B. — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:54:57 +0000

Thank you for your newsletters. I love them and get a kick out of them.
One question: Why do people use the phrase “in order to?” I think that phrase should have been included in the overused words article below.

By: Gretchen G.

Gretchen G. — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 00:42:06 +0000

One of my pet peeves by news readers on TV: Jane Doe “speaks out” on her trip to the store. Not an earth shattering event in my book.

I thought “speaking out” about a subject was to relay something controversial or mysterious, not just an explanation.

Maybe other readers would like this explained also.

By: Kevin C.

Kevin C. — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 00:39:11 +0000

I think the matter of saying “verse” instead of “versus” comes from video games, possibly from Japanese game producers not knowing what “vs.” actually stands for and thinking it is a verb. I’ve heard kids and young adults talk about “versing” someone in a game (e.g., “I versed him in Mortal Kombat”), so apparently somewhere along the line someone thought that “vs.” stood for “verses,” as if there were a verb “to verse” meaning “to play against.”