When Bad Grammar Happens to Good People

Chapter 11

Made-up Words

People are always making up words. Usually the idea is to transform a noun or an adjective into a verb, say, for example, by turning the adjective “final” into the ersatz verb “finalize.” And standards often evolve over time to accommodate these changes as the new words fall into widespread usage. But not all of these creations become acceptable, and those that do tend to take a long while—sometimes centuries—to get there. The thing you want to avoid is being ahead of the trend because instead of being perceived as a language maverick, you’re more likely to be thought of as unrefined or pretentious. The following errors are the most common when dealing with made-up words.

135. Irregardless

Don’t Say: We’ll have the ...