Grammar Pet Peeves: Alexander McCall Smith Begs For Fewer Adjectives In Writing

The Wall Street Journal:

I am not at all sure--convinced, certain, persuaded--that creative-writing courses are a good idea unless they prevent people from writing sentences like this one, where adjectives--useful, helpful, intensely descriptive words--are stacked upon one another as Pelion used to be piled upon Ossa. Phew! That sentence took some writing and ended, you will have noticed, with a rather useful classical allusion. Thank you.

Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal

Comments

[Pam Herman]

03:12 AM on 10/21/2010

People seem to like this one: end result.

Is the result not the end?

Gary Larson had a cartoon that featured "The Department of Redundancy Department."

[Kiz boy]

01:59 PM on 10/20/2010

What a ginormous help this article has been for me and my egregious proliferation of prose as of the last some odd number of anos...

[philly282]

02:15 PM on 10/19/2010

leave adjectives to movie crickets

[InfinteShibumi]

01:19 PM on 10/19/2010

Where would food shows and sports-writing be without adjectives and adverbs? In the dustbin.

[InfinteShibumi]

01:12 PM on 10/19/2010

No.

[FlaviaDeLuce]

12:16 PM on 10/19/2010

As Stephen King says, the road to hell is paved in adjectives and adverbs

[ibwilliamsi]

11:56 AM on 10/19/2010

My husband walks away whenever someone says "It's very unique." Is uniqueness in and of itself not enough?

[tbeth1957]

02:05 PM on 10/19/2010

"Unique" means "the only one," so it cannot be qualified; it simply is.

[alaskan]

02:55 PM on 10/19/2010

Gee, what a uniquely truncated definition of the word "unique."

Definition of UNIQUE
1
: being the only one : sole
2
a : being without a like or equal : unequaled b : distinctively characteristic : peculiar 1
3
: unusual
— unique·ly adverb
— unique·ness noun

[Decorina]

11:49 AM on 10/19/2010

My pet peeve is people who use "to grow" to describe an inanimate object. Politicians love to say "I will grow the economy".

[Pam Herman]

03:10 AM on 10/21/2010

Fanned and faved. I detest phrases such as "to grow a business." One builds a business or expands a business or does business …

[TheFriendlyAtheist]

11:43 AM on 10/21/2010

Nonsense. Both businesses and economies grow, which most simply just means to enlarge.

[MyNameIsJames]

11:45 AM on 10/19/2010

I have one for you...

alright

instead of

all right

It drives me crazy because I am frigging guilty of using this word and academia uses it also!

[InfinteShibumi]

01:15 PM on 10/19/2010

But they are not synonymous. "Alright" is used much like the word "okay" or the phrase "Y'know." I notice this particularly spelling was prevalent in books early last century--and was not considered incorrect. But that's all right...

[Tiggerchick]

11:20 AM on 10/19/2010

I'd be happy if people would just stop using the word "loose" as a substitute for the word "lose".

[Fifty Mission Cap]

03:06 PM on 10/19/2010

Yes, and when did that one start to happen? I mean, as long as I can remember (about 40 years or so) people have been screwing up "your" and "you're" as well as "there, their and they're", but I honestly don't remember seeing loose for lose until the last few years.

[iamvalid]

11:16 AM on 10/19/2010

Frack. Now I have to go from living in abject poverty to simply living in poverty.

[InfinteShibumi]

01:16 PM on 10/19/2010

Um...it's the "exact same" thing (!)

[TheFriendlyAtheist]

11:47 AM on 10/21/2010

Abject poverty is fine. Abject, bone grinding, soul robbing, mind numbing, sickness inducing, reduced to living in squalor poverty is, maybe, a bit much.

[Shelly Santiago]

01:20 AM on 10/19/2010

I think it depends on what the writer wants the reader to see. I would not want to see a cookie cutter; one size fits all writing style. Each person brings their vision to life using their own point of view. My writing style might not be yours, and the same could be said as to your writing style vs. mine. If all my days are spent on making you happy, then when will I find joy? Writing is about releasing something into the world. It is about giving birth to something that started out as one word. The result depends on the reader or readers. Just my thoughts.

[anastasiabeaverhousen]

09:04 PM on 10/18/2010

"Awesome". The most incorrectly and overused word there is.

[nnyl]

10:52 PM on 10/18/2010

I thought it was utilized by people who mean used. Maybe that is just my colleagues.

[Fifty Mission Cap]

03:08 PM on 10/19/2010

No, I think "enormity" wins that title.

[IDIOTA]

04:53 PM on 10/18/2010

Bette Noir? My wife loves mine.

[IDIOTA]

04:54 PM on 10/18/2010

uh, bete...

[IDIOTA]

04:50 PM on 10/18/2010

Hmmm...but one adjective is more concise than a participial phrase acting as an adjective.