Hi Sars,

I have a quick question — on a recent commercial offering a free trial period
on Product A, the voice-over and screen say, “Try it free!”

This…seems wrong. Shouldn’t it be “Try it FOR free”? I tried substituting
other monetary amounts (“try it $10!” — “try it for $10!”), and they all
require a “for” in there. Would this change if there was a limiting clause
after “free,” like “Try it free for one month!” or would the repetitive “try
it for free for one month!” actually be better?

Help!

Asking for my own copy of Garner’s for Christmas

Dear Asking,

It’s not that “for free” is “more” correct; it’s that whether you use “free” or “for free,” it’s an adverbial phrase modifying “try.”So, to see whether it’s correct, you don’t substitute another dollar amount, which is a noun; you substitute another adverb.

“…Wheh?”Okay.”Try it for $10.””Try” is the verb, “it” is the object of that verb, “for $10” modifies “try.””For $10 is also a prepositional phrase, because it…contains a preposition, as you can see, but it also, as a unit, functions as an adverbial phrase.So, when you substitute “$10” for “free,” it doesn’t really work, because the “$10” is part of a larger phrase that serves the same purpose, grammatically, as “free.””Free” just doesn’t require a preposition to make it an adverbial phrase; it’s a one-word dynamo on its own.

You could use a marginally more explicit phrasing, like “Try it, it’s free!” or “Try it, free!”But those aren’t any more correct; they’re just more deliberate.

A few weeks ago, a sign appeared on the drinks machine at work, which read,
“If you are wanting water…”.Shouldn’t that be “If you want water…”?The
first just reads stiffly to me, if only because there seems to be two more
syllables than are strictly necessary.I get the impression that the writer
was trying to be formal, or maybe posh, and didn’t quite get there.I could
get behind “If you would like water…” though.

So, do I have a point?Or this this a matter of style rather then grammatical
correctness?

Stephanie

Dear Steph,

It’s a matter of personal preference.”Are wanting” is a verb in the present imperfect tense; “want” is a straight present tense.Calling a verb “imperfect” is actually sort of meaningless in the present tense, because the imperfect is used to describe action ongoing — and in the present tense, it’s…obviously ongoing, because it’s…in the present.

“…Guh?”Seriously.To see what I mean, move the action to the past — and let’s strip off the “if” because why drag a potential subjunctive into things.”You were wanting water.””You wanted water.””Were wanting” is…I don’t know, more fluid, more…not ambiguous, really, but it just gives more of a present-ness to past action.If that makes sense.It’s not always relevant to English, because other languages have one-word verbs for what takes us two or three words, i.e. “Aquam desiderabo,” which is Latin for “I was wanting [well, really, ‘missing’ or ‘in need of,’ but whatever, and please don’t write to correct my Latin, I did it from memory and I had another mole removed today, so seriously: let it go] water.”So, in translation, you need to make those distinctions, but English is messier than Latin that way.

Anyway, to your point: I can’t really back this up with sources, but I believe the imperfect construction is less formal than the regular present (or, in other tenses, the perfect).Given that it’s a sign on a drinks machine and not a policy paper, I’m thinking the author was going for a certain informality — possibly not consciously, though.

“If you would like water” is also fine, and is in fact probably preferred, as it is the most polite of the three constructions.

Dear Sars,

Where do you stand on the “impact as a verb” issue?
I’m not talking about impacted wisdom teeth, but the
current popularity of using “impact” when the writer
clearly means “affect.””That movie impacted me so
much I cried.” Or “the war in Iraq impacts the price
of oil.” Now that it’s made the way to NPR reports,
I’m afraid we’ll be hearing it forever. But I’d still
like to know if I’m right. (Forgive me if you’ve
already addressed this topic.)

Geri

Dear Geri,

I don’t like it, but it’s not incorrect.Affected, in my opinion, but not incorrect.To my disgust.

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