英语语法：193 Modifying Absolutes

Grammar Girl here. I'm so glad to be back.

Today's topic is wordiness.

I've heard from a lot of you who have pet peeves² about different wordy phrases, and it's a lot of fun to hear what gets under people's skin and why.  Here's one example from Lara in New York:

One that has always bugged³ me is “I'm writing to tell you that.” It drives me crazy when people begin letters this way. As in “I'm writing to tell you that I am resigning from my job.” Just tell me! OK, so you're writing to tell me, but just tell me. Is this correct or is this just another redundancy?
 

I have to admit that I've been struggling with this one ever since I said not to start e-mails with the phrase I just wanted to let you know. For example: "I just wanted to let you know that I love your show,” or “I just wanted to let you know that commas are on sale today.” I couldn't figure out why starting sentences that way felt so right but seemed so wrong at the same time.

Then Jeff from Fountain Valley wrote in to comment that many of these seemingly empty phrases act as buffers⁵, carry certain emotional weight, or demonstrate personality—and then it all came together in my head. When I'm writing an e-mail, I often imagine that I'm speaking to the person. So whereas it might feel like an abrupt⁶ command to walk up to Amy and say, “Commas are on sale today,” if I preface it with what some people might consider an empty phrase and say, “I just wanted to let you know that commas are on sale today,” then it feels less like a command and more like a helpful tip that I'm providing in case she's interested.

In Lara's example, the writer might be anxious about resigning and wanting to add some extra words as a buffer⁴. So even though I still believe that a lot of the time people just use these phrases out of habit—and that it's a bad habit— I'll concede that sometimes these “buffer phrases” do have a place in the world. Just check in with yourself every once in a while to make sure that you're not using them for no reason, and be especially aware of them when you're writing something more formal than an e-mail.

On the other hand, there are words that typically don't serve any purpose. For example, Sha from the Philippines wrote in to ask if I have any suggestions as to how people can avoid using filler words such as actually, so, and like. As I told Maret from Chicago, who also wrote in asking how to stop peppering her speech with the word like, I am especially sympathetic to this problem because it's a bad habit I picked up as a teenager, and I still have to consciously suppress the valley girl in my head, especially when I'm speaking off-the-cuff.* All I can say is. yes—it's bad to use these empty words, and the only way I know of to stop doing it is to make a conscious effort to stop. If part of the problem is that all of your friends talk the same way, and if they're interested in stopping too, then it might be helpful to make a pact⁷ and point it out to each other when any of you slips up. Getting friends who are more articulate might help, but that seems extreme.

Here's another quick peeve¹: a listener named Anne points out that the phrase in order is often unneeded. For example, some people say, "I am going to the market in order to buy groceries.” It would mean the same thing if they said, “I am going to the market to buy groceries.” In order is unnecessary.

Another listener named Rocky seems to be hiring because he wrote in with a long list of complaints about phrases that sound like they could only come from cover letters and resumes, and he included some imaginary responses to them. For example, he writes, “'Please don't hesitate to contact me.' OK, I was sitting here in a state of apprehension⁸ about whether to call (or not), but since you have now given me permission, I guess I'll go ahead and call. 'Call me at your earliest possible convenience.' Don't we always contact someone at our own convenience?” He would rather see something simple and straightforward⁹ like “Call me if you have questions.”

Now here's another wordiness issue that actually turns out to be controversial. Kellie left a comment on the Grammar Girl blog saying that her pet peeve is when people modify the word unique. For example, “That is the most unique painting I've ever seen.” The issue is that the primary meaning of  unique is one of a kind; it's an absolute, so something can't be more unique than something else. Chris, who teaches English in Japan, and a listener named Julie also wrote in about modifying absolute words. Here's the deal: every authoritative¹⁰ source I checked (1,2,3) said it's bad to qualify or compare the word unique, and then in the next breath they all acknowledged that it's commonly done, and that it's been done for a long time.

For example, Fowler considers  unique to be weakened in the sentence “Those are very unique marimbas.” He says, “It must be conceded that unique is losing its quality of being not gradable (or absolute),” but he also notes that it continues to be controversial.

According to The Oxford¹¹ English Dictionary, since the middle of the 19th century unique has “had a tendency to take the wider meaning of ‘uncommon, unusual, remarkable’" (4).

A lot of usage notes talk about the role advertising¹² plays in diluting¹³ the meaning of unique (1, 2). I had to laugh because I have a friend who sells new homes and I recently gave her a hard time after she  made a sign advertising her “unique” new subdivision. I live in one of these subdivisons, so I'm not knocking them, but you can get lost because all the houses look alike. They are anything but unique, and her sign just cracked me up. So now I can tell her she is contributing to the downfall of the language!

It seems to me that the trend toward talking about degrees of uniqueness is an example of how language changes. I had to ask myself if I am on the side of sticking with the older rule or going with common usage, and in this case I think unique should continue to mean one of a kind. There are plenty of other words that people can use to talk about degrees. A piece of art can be the most stunning¹⁴ painting you've ever seen, or the marimbas can be very unusual. There's just no reason to assign a new meaning to unique. So it's good to know that this is a controversial area of language, but I can't recommend modifying absolute words with qualifiers in phrases like very unique, completely destroyed, or most fatal.

That's all.

Thanks again to everyone who sent me get-well wishes. My cold is finally subsiding¹⁵ and I'm feeling much better.

I have one more copy of Words of a Feather: A Humorous Puzzlement of Etymological¹⁶ Pairs by Murray Suid to give away, and the winner is Kim from Minneapolis, who entered by e-mailing me with a grammar question.

For the normal book giveaway, people enter by e-mailing me or posting a message on the blog, but for the next few weeks we have a new book giveaway that I'm really excited about. I'm doing a cross-promotion with Scott Sigler, who is the author of Earthcore, which he claims was the world's first podcast  novel (5). Scott has a new science fiction novel called Ancestor coming out April 1st, and I have three review copies that I'm going to give away on March 15th. That's right, you can win these books before they are available in stores! So, to enter this special book giveaway, all you have to do is send an e-mail to。。。Only one entry is allowed per person, and I'll give away three books on March 15th.

We also launched a new Quick and Dirty podcast while I was sick called The Mighty¹⁷ Mommy's Quick and Dirty Tips for Practical Parenting. You can find The Mighty Mommy at iTunes or at QDnow.com, where you'll also find a transcript¹⁸ of this podcast.

Questions and comments for me, Grammar Girl, go to。。。or the voice-mail line at 206-338-GIRL (4475). Thanks for listening.

 

1 peeve   

v.气恼，怨恨；n.麻烦的事物，怨恨

参考例句：

• She was in a peeve over it.她对这很气恼。
• She was very peeved about being left out.她为被遗漏而恼怒。

2 peeves   

n.麻烦的事物，怨恨，触怒( peeve的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It peeves me to be ordered out of my own house. 命令我从自己的家中出去，真太气人了。 来自辞典例句
• Write down two of your pet peeves about home or any other situation. 写下两个你厌烦的家务事或其他的情况。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

3 bugged   

vt.在…装窃听器（bug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The police have bugged his office. 警察在他的办公室装了窃听器。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had bugged off before I had a chance to get a word in. 我还没来得及讲话，他已经走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

5 buffers   

起缓冲作用的人（或物）( buffer的名词复数 )； 缓冲器； 减震器； 愚蠢老头

参考例句：

• To allocate and schedule the use of buffers. 分配和计划缓冲器的使用。
• Number of times the stream has paused due to insufficient stream buffers. 由于流缓冲区不足导致流程暂停的次数。

6 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

7 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

8 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

9 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

10 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

11 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

12 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

13 diluting   

稀释，冲淡( dilute的现在分词 )； 削弱，使降低效果

参考例句：

• A companion would have been a distraction, diluting the pathos of the moment. 要是有一个伴侣在旁就会分散我的注意，冲淡此时此刻的哀婉之情。
• Diluting agent has certain transparency for ink multi-color overprint. 冲淡剂具有必定的透明量，适分油不朱的众色叠印。

14 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

15 subsiding   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的现在分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• The flooded river was subsiding rapidly. 泛滥的河水正在迅速退落。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gradually the tension was subsiding, gradually the governor was relenting. 风潮渐渐地平息了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

16 etymological   

adj.语源的，根据语源学的

参考例句：

• The etymological closeness of the Sanskrit and English words is striking. 梵语和英语的词源的连结性是如此地惊人。 来自互联网
• But the Chinese have often ignored this etymological hint. 但中国人经常忽略这一词根上隐含的意义。 来自互联网

17 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

18 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。