I know I'm a little late due to being out of town over the holiday but I wanted to post anyway. This week I found that using the right word is something you need to be very careful of. To find out why, I needed to look no further than this weeks Power Point presentation. How many times do we use incorrect words in our everyday speech? One that stuck out to me first is the use of “whether or not”. The “or not” part is implied in this instance, so it is a little redundant to say, “We will go whether or not it rains tomorrow”. You can simply remove the “or not” part and have the sentence still make sense. Another common mistake in our spoken language is the use of “off of” versus “off”. I never realized until listening to this weeks lecture that “off of” should NEVER be used. This is definitely something that I will need to focus on in my speech and writing because it is a mistake I know that I constantly make. Simply saying, “Get off of me!” is incorrect. “Get off me!” is be the correct sentence. There are several words out there that may seem correct but that should not be used. This week’s lecture and assignment really made me think and also helped me learn the importance of correct word use.
I never realized that "off of" should never be used either! One thing I have noticed is that my editing and writing skills have improved since beginning this course, but my language habits are pretty hard to correct. I still use the same grammar, right or wrong, in my speech, just not in my writing. I will need to focus on my speech as well.
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