Another Bad Compound

The last post was about an incorrect compound verb. This compound is bad, but it’s not quite incorrect!

The problem is to figure out what the compound verb is. two choices:

• Devouring you and establishing an interstellar base (This is correct grammar)
• I assume your identity and then establishing an interstellar base (incorrect grammar; change it to “assume your identity and then establish an interstellar base”)

You shouldn’t insert another verb between the parts of your compound, which is what the monster did.

Maybe that’s why he didn’t get the job.

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Well, compound verbs are supposed to be parallel. Meaning they have the same tense, person, and so on.

Here’s an example of not doing it:

So this (last panel) is a compound verb: “We should have bought and gave.” (shudder)

Gave??? Nah. Given! He started with a present perfect, so he should have finished with the present perfect, (should have) given, not the simple past, gave.

Don’t you do that.

English has two kinds of double negatives. I’ll call them incorrect and correct. Maybe we could call the incorrect type of double negative “low class,” and the correct double negative “polite” or “high falootin’.”

Here’s a couple incorrect usages:

• I don’t got no money.
• There ain’t no place we can hide
• You shouldn’t use no bad grammar

Examples of correct usage:

• Polite double negatives are not infrequently found in older conversations.
• I’m not unopposed to going to the opera with you
• He is not unlike his brother
• I’m not indifferent to bad grammar

And then there’s overkill, as demonstrated in this cartoon, which I’m posting because of the grammar, not because of the politics.

I counted six negatives in that one.

If you can, avoid using “make,” “do,” and any form of “to be” in your writing. Those verbs are ambiguous, and ambiguity is the enemy of good writing. Except in poetry and lies.

Here’s an example with “make.”

I admit, the choices aren’t graceful.

• Manufacture them fast enough
• Engineer them to go fast enough

But what matters is that you not be ambiguous!

I picked this up on Memorial Day, hence the topic. But it’s a good example of not using the subjunctive when you’re supposed to.

The “if” makes the sentence contrary to reality, so you should use the subjunctive form of the verb, “were.” If only it were this easy.

Speaking as a pedant, using a pronoun (it) is frequently bad writing, even when using a pronoun is grammatical. What would you supply in place of the “it”?