This is a simple and short post about a usage trend that I have been noticing lately. It is becoming quite common, at least in sports reporting.
It is the use of the present tense when talking or writing about something that may occur in the future.
Yesterday, I came across this headline; I think it was for a video clip, but it might have been for a short article.
"Is [Insert Name] the coach next year?"
Not will he be the coach next year or will he still be the coach next year but Is He the coach next year.
Trends like this are easy to pick up, but I fervently hope that I can resist adopting this one.
Please put me out of my misery if I succumb.
You are observant, AC. I miss that kind of stuff.
ReplyDeleteWill arrive on doorstep with baseball bat in hand.
ReplyDeleteOh Jeese, not another thing to notice now!
ReplyDeleteWould you weigh in on "have a good one"? Have a good one what? A good day, a good evening, a good trip to the DMV?
ReplyDeleteThere are all kinds of grammar glitches in the newspaper, computer and even common every day speech. Thanks for pointing out this one. Lol.
ReplyDeleteKids were not being taught grammar long before I retired in 1997. Grammar is very necessary so that people know the structure of the library. It's also well worth learning a second language as it's easier to understand our own language.
ReplyDeletelanguage does evolve, but there are many things journalists, especially, are dumping.
ReplyDeleteMany are leaving off the 'ing' for just 'in', changin' things up.
Also, using 'there is' instead of 'there are'....
Wrong tense, very annoying.
ReplyDeleteOne of my pet peeves is the use of "he should of known" instead of "he should have known", using "of" instead of "have" in similar phrases. Yes the words can sound similar, but it just doesn't make sense.
I am "afeered" that our language is due for much greater change with the speed of news cycles and the clipped language of Twitter, etc.
ReplyDeleteHow about "Me and the head coach went..." instead of "The head coach and I went..."
ReplyDeletePlease put me out of my misery if I succumb.
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Sloppy use of language is the norm these days. One of the things that makes me crazy is that when you ask people a simple question, such as, "When did that happen?" their answer is "I want to say last Thursday." What the hell does that mean? My other beef is that people use the inane terms "cool" and "neat" for everything, as though English, a language rich in adjectives offers no other choices. I was mentoring a young biology student for a while (third year university) and everything was either "insane" or "crazy." We came across a sequence where a male American Kestrel caught a vole and took it to a perch to consume it. When the only reaction she could come up with was "That's insane" I knew our sessions together were about to end.
ReplyDeleteAnd to add to Joanne's remark above, how about "Her and I went there." People seem to have lost all knowledge of the difference between the subjective and the objective.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with your dismay and assessment!
ReplyDeletePipeTobacco
Oh, heavens, don't get me started on language and the misuse thereof.
ReplyDeleteIt irritates me too.
ReplyDelete