Dear Superior Plumbing,
I listened to a commercial on the way to lunch from Superior Plumbing (cue the music) “… the Honest One, call 770- 422-Plumb.”
I was told Superior “warranties all of its work.” No, you warrant your work by providing a warranty, the latter word is a noun, the former, a verb.
You may be confused by the fact that guaranty is both a noun and a verb, though when used as a verb it is usually spelled guarantee.
Thank you for your anticipated correction of the commercial.
4 comments:
The English language is a malleable one, and I have found that it is particularly accommodating when tortured repeatedly by masses of morons. (Morons who, in fairness to them, are confused by the myriad word formations that exist.)
Within five years, I am willing to bet that "warranty" shows up as a verb in dictionaries.
Since you are a lawyer, and are probably attracted to baubles like precedent, think on Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. In that tome, we are exhorted not to say "I feel naseous," unless we are pretty sure that we make others feel sick.
Yet, today Nasueous and Nauseated are dictionarily synonyms.
I have that tome, somewhere in a box, in the room into which I do not go. English does indeed evolve; but, some of the branches on the tree bug me.
So you don't care about using the right word for the sake of political correctness, but grammar matters? Why might that be?
I would do almost nothing for the sole sake of being PC. I'll do a lot to be kind and communicate. Same result, different motivations.
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