More English Mistakes

For today’s column, let’s review another common mistake people make when trying to speak and write in the English language. The word great essentially means that "it" is awesome, wonderful, perhaps one of a kind or unique, truly terrific; there are many ways to describe the word great, which can also mean exceptional or something that is the best.

Here’s another tip than can help you avoid “Bad English” | foto: Profimedia.cz

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Examples: "That was a really great movie, I could sit through it again 20 times," or "That was such a great dinner, I think I’ll eat at this restaurant every Friday after I get my salary."

In these two example uses, the word great as it is used here, essentially means terrific or very good.

However, one can also use the word great to denote something which is one of a kind, or is unique. Examples:

"Muhammad Ali was a great world Heavyweight boxing champion" or "Michael Jordan was a great basketball player, perhaps the greatest of all time."

Notice here that when we use the word great, and then we wish to distinguish it in some way, we can say that it or he or she is the greatest. Indeed, Muhammad Ali’s nickname, ironically but not coincidentally, was "The Greatest," -- as in the greatest boxer of all time.

Greaterest
Some people in the United States will say the word greaterest, when they are trying to make it clear who or what "is the greatest of all the greats," -- in other words, who unquestionably is the best.

While this is NOT correct English, and the word greatest is sufficient to use here, people nonetheless are starting to say it. In time, the word greaterest might become "standard" English, but for now, it is considered to be wrong.

     Joke of the Day: More Blonde Jokes

1. Did you hear about the blonde woman who made a point to put a coat hanger in the back seat of her car, just in case she accidentally locked herself out of it and needed to get back inside?

2. Q: How many blonde women does it take to play the game of "tag, you’re it?"

A: One.

3. Did you hear about the blonde submarine commander who decided to put a screen door on the hatch to the sub?

4. Why did the blonde climb over the chain-link fence?

A: To see what was on the other side.

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