Tuesday, August 10, 2010

What is your passion?

San Diego Momma, for Prompt Tuesday #117, asks, "What is your passion?" Her passion is words. Ah, words. Yes; I, too, love words with a fiery passion. But do you know what I love more than words* ? Grammar! I love knowing when to use who and when to use whom. I love that I can rattle off all the helping verbs at the drop of the hat without even thinking.** Adjectives, adverbs, appositives! Predicate, pronoun, prepositions! Just the sound of these words leaves me weak in the knees. Verbals are not rodents. Transitive verbs are not hobos. (I had a classmate who once confused transitive with transient) Sometimes I have dreams in which I am instructing some poor soul on the proper form of a verb or adjective. Often, I yell at my television when I hear characters say they "feel badly" about something. One feels bad when one is expressing an emotion. One feels badly when one has lost the sense of touch. Don't get me started on the entire season of a television show that I recently watched in which nearly every character used "who" in the objective case. "To whom, for whom, with whom," I shouted in vain.

That being said, I am wholly forgiving when it comes to friends, family, and rock and roll (I'm looking at you, Eric "Lay Down Sally" Clapton, and everyone who has ever covered "Who do you love?") so don't be afraid.

*mmm, Nuno
**I don't include Ought to, used to, and need because no one should.

2 comments:

Hester from Atlanta said...

A grammar buff - how fun and sometime show maddening for you. I have worked as a secretary for almost 40 years and I still cannot remember *to whom, with whom, for whom*. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen the rule put so succiently ever before. (That sentence has a lot of errors I'm sure).

Really. *To whom, with whom, for whom* If I had known this years ago my working life would have been a little easier. Ah well, I not to old to learn new tricks.

Best - Hester

San Diego Momma said...

To Who It May Concern:

I'm a grammar gal, too.
But I always get "whom" wrong.

And thanks for you're contribution to PROMPTuesday to.

Its great to have you on board.