WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!

Attaching an 'ing' can be confusing

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Cook/Cooking Illustration
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Cook/Cooking Illustration

The three little letters "ing" frighten me because I have been unable to find a simple way to explain this concept.

If you take the verb "to cook" and add an "ing," it can be a gerund. A gerund is a noun created from a verb.

Cooking can be fun once you've had enough practice.

Mowing the lawn is probably my least favorite summer task.

For me, procrastinating is an art form.

Next is the tricky part.

Wrong: I don't object to him cooking. I just don't want to be his test subject.

Why is this wrong? Because "he" is not what you might dislike. "His cooking" is what you fear.

Right: I don't object to his cooking. I just don't want to be his test subject.

Wrong: Me mowing the lawn bugs him. So he can do it from now on!

Right: My mowing the lawn bugs him. So he can do it from now on!

Wrong: People often mock me dancing.

Right: People often mock my dancing.

Adding a wrinkle to things is the apostrophe in such sentences.

Wrong: She wouldn't have minded her husband singing in the shower if he could carry a tune.

Right: She wouldn't have minded her husband's singing in the shower if he could carry a tune.

FARTHER AND FURTHER

These words often get confused.

Use "farther" when you are describing a physical distance.

I need a car that can go farther on a tank of gas.

The walk home always seems farther than the walk to work.

Use "further" when you are describing more abstract things or degrees.

We have talked this idea to death. I doubt we can go further with it.

Looking for helpful hints? Go no further!

A while back, Ford Motor Co. used "Go Further" in an ad campaign. A reader called to ask whether it should be "Go Farther."

If their campaign was solely about getting more miles per gallon, the phrase probably should have been "Go Farther."

But I think they meant their goal is

to strive harder to make a better car. I tried to contact the ad people to learn more. They never answered. I was hoping they'd say, "Oh, shoot. We meant farther! We'll go change that."

NOT FINISHED YET

I have heard from many, many people whose mothers, teachers and nuns would reprimand them about the use of "done."

"Turkeys are done, people are finished."

My mother was a stickler for grammar, yet she never corrected me on this one. I found three references that said "done" and "finished" are perfectly interchangeable. I will keep researching, though.

ANXIOUS AND EAGER

"Anxious" means you are thinking about something with a bit of worry mixed in.

"Eager" means you're excited and a little impatient.

If you are writing wedding vows, you're probably better off not using "anxious."

May land you on the couch: "We will soon be husband and wife. I am anxious to begin our life together."

More endearing: "We will soon be husband and wife. I am eager to begin our life together."

Sources: Woe Is I by Patricia T. O'Conner, Current English Usage by Wood, Flavell and Flavell, Merriam-Webster

Reach Bernadette at

bkwordmonger@gmail.com

ActiveStyle on 11/21/2016

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