I have used this book to help me write papers in the past. This time, though, I actually sat down and read the entire thing and thought that some sections were better than others. Particularly the section on commonly misused words and expressions. On page 54, Strunk and White, say not to use a noun as a verb.
Wrong- The candidate hosted a dinner for fifty of her workers.
Right- The candidate gave a dinner for fifty of her workers.
Wrong- The meeting was chaired by Mr. Oglethorp.
Right- Mr. Oglethorp was chair of the metting.
I definitely want to work on correcting this in my own writing because I am aware that I do this on occasion. I also want to fix my use of that/which. After reading the example that Strunk and White use I already understand it better but still worry that I could mess it up in my writing.
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I completely agree with you. I have trouble with that also.
ReplyDeleteI love the verbification of nouns. Words like host have undergone a functional shift in meaning so that it's actually listed in the dictionary as a transitive verb, now. I'll never stop saying "microwaved" or "Googled", either. Don't tase me bro!
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