At 07:11 PM 2/18/04 +1100, Helene Gannac wrote:
>The one I really abominate, and you see everywhere is "Free gift"
Like "flammable", "free gift" is a justified abomination. In adverspeak, a
"gift" is a product that nobody in his right mind would buy for his own use.
A "free gift" is a gift that is included in the price of something that you
*would* buy for your own use. An item actually given to you free is an
"advertising premium". (Simple "premium" is a gift enclosed in the
packaging of another product.)
I have a point turner (garment-sewing tool) that was a sophmoric advertising
premium. "Soph" because it's a really well-designed turner that I cling to
carefully because you can't buy one anywhere, "moric" because they didn't
print their name on it and I have no idea what it was advertising.
And yes, you get "sick of" and "fed up with". And there aren't any rules,
you just *know*. Why do you need a "to" before the infinitive when you say
"have" ("I have to run") but you can't put a "to" before the infinitive when
you say "must" ("I must run")? There's no rhyme nor reason to it.
We have to
We need to
We must
We can
We are able to
We gotta (well, I *know* why *that* one doesn't take a "to")
It is possible to
It is easy to
Hey! A rule! "to be" plus adverb takes a "to". Watch ten thousand
exceptions be posted. It is to laugh. (Argh! It's just that "to be" is a
"to" verb.)
--
Joy Beeson
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http://home.earthlink.net/~joybeeson/
west of Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A.
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