Unnecessary Corrections

The young lady is not usually an example of good things in the Luann comic, but she illustrates a good point here.

You have permission to end a sentence with a “preposition”!

Actually it’s an adverb, or part of a separable verb, if you prefer. Use the search box on the upper right corner to see more posts on this subject.

Okay, so here’s the comic.

Maybe that last panel is a good illustration of why you can do this.

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Okay, forget about the comic itself (I don’t get it, and besides, this is a grammar blog, not a comic blog).

First mistake; third panel: If you’re talking about distance, use “farther,” not “further.” “Further” is for abstract things that can’t be described by distance.

Second mistake; last panel: He’s talking about the manner in which something is being done, so he needs an adverb, not an adjective. He should say “quickly.”

Third item, not a mistake, but most people get it wrong: His “I” is correct. “I” is the subject of the implied sentence “I can look it up.” People get this wrong so often that you would be ahead to supply the missing verb: “…as quickly as I can.”

The mistake is in the first panel. I bet you won’t see it. I’m not referring to the false subject (there’s) either:

Here’s the goof: technically, “slower” is an adjective, and she’s using it as an adverb, to modify “drive.” You can have a slow driver, but you drive slowly, or in this case, more slowly.

Ah, idiomatic spoken English is so full of solecisms…

This post has to do with three expressions that use the word accident that make it into an adverb.

If you ain’t got no good taste, use “on accident.” See the comic below, though the comic itself is worth subscribing to if you’re an intellectual.

If you’re normal, use “by accident.”

If you want to be top-notch in your writing, use “accidentally.”

Harrumpf. Ain’t never tried rye whiskey, myself…

Lots of people introduce sentences with an adverb when they should use an adjective. Here’s an example of someone doing it right:

Most important, after more than a decade, puberty was finally done with me.

https://www.thecut.com/2019/01/precocious-puberty-patrick-burleigh.html

He didn’t say “Most importantly,” which means “in a most important manner,” not exactly the intended meaning. He means that the event was itself important, not just acting important.

Whenever you see a sentence start with something like “Reportedly,” or “Significantly,” or “Importantly,” you’re probably seeing one of these (incorrect) introductory adverbs.

If you don’t do this, your writing will be tighter and easier to follow.

PS—The linked article that I took the quote from is adult reading. Adult in the adult sense, not the pornographic sense.