Dear Readers,
Some people say that if one is good, two is better. However, this is not true in all cases.
In the text Reference Manual for Stenographers and Typists (published 1970) under the heading SUPERFLUOUS PREPOSITIONS, it is written: "Do not use prepositions that are not needed." I couldn't agree more. This month I will focus on the superfluous use of the preposition "of." Read on to see what I mean.
IN LITERARY WORKS
For example: In Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, narrator Anastasia Steele says, "I stare momentarily out of the window." * Staring "out the window" would be sufficient.
Example: Cheryl Strayed, in Wild, a personal account of her trek across the Pacific Crest Trail, says,
"I hung up the phone overcome with grief, but the small reasonable core that still lived inside of me ..." *Here, "inside me" would be enough.
Example: Ms. Strayed describes the kitchen table of her youth. Her step-father Eddie "had cut off the short legs and bolted a barrel to the bottom and we'd eaten off of it all these years."
Example: She also writes, "I'd removed my hiking boots and the left one had fallen . . . It bounced off of a rocky outcropping several feet beneath me." *Again, no need for the extra "of" in either case.
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is translated from the Spanish. Still, I found these superfluous uses of the preposition "of."
Example: "John Brown, the doctor, was watching Tita, charmed by her. He couldn't take his eyes off of her."
Example: "Tita, shaking the dirt off of her, looked around the patio."
Example: "For the first time in their lives, Tita and Pedro could make love freely. For years they had had to take precautions . . . so that she wouldn't cry out with pleasure when they were inside of each other." *In this last example, not only is the "of" superfluous, I just can't figure out the anatomy here.
Author C.J. Box has written a series of books about game warden Joe Pickett. In Savage Run, he writes, "A cow elk stood off of the trail . . ."
Another example: "Joe ripped the curtains and rod off of the only window . . ."
And: "Joe's wife Marybeth, at home with no word from her husband, was worried. But the only thing she didn't want to do was to worry [daughter] Sheridan, because the two of them would feed off of each other." *Too many prepositions? I think so.
Here's an example of good writing by Lawrence Wright, in his book Going Clear, about Scientology and founder L. Ron Hubbard. He writes, "According to Hubbard, he got into the [World War II] action right away. He said he was aboard the destroyer USS Edsall, which was sunk off the north coast of Java." *Great job, Mr. Wright. (I guess his name says it all.)
TELEVISION SHOWS
Example: On "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," the team investigates a dead body that was bludgeoned to death while inside a human-sized hamster ball. Head CSI Russell surmises, "Since Zack was killed inside of the ball, his playmate's a pretty good suspect, right?" * He should have said, "inside the ball."
Example: FBI consultant Patrick Jane, aka "The Mentalist," is working on a case with the Bureau. When his suggestion of an illegal maneuver is thwarted, he says, "I guess we need to think outside of the box." * "outside the box" works just as well.
Example: In the episode "The Fluffer" on TV's "Scandal," Washington, D.C. fixer Olivia Pope is awakened by a phone call from her paramour who tells her, "I'm standing outside of your door."
*I'd guess he was outside her door.
Example: Molly, from the sit-com "Mike and Molly," tells a therapist how she quit her teaching job. He asks if she walked out. She answers, "I jumped out of the window." *As a teacher, shouldn't she know to say, "out the window" instead?
On rare occasions, I actually hear the correct amount of prepositions used.
Example: The detectives of the NYPD on the television show "Castle" are investigating the murder of a woman. They ask her uncle for some information about her new lodgings. He tells them, "She and I shared a cab that day and it dropped her off at a building off the west side highway." *Yea, the writers speak good English.
Example: In the episode "Stormy Moon" of the comedy "The Middle," mom Frankie Heck is arrested for overdue library books. When no one from the family comes to bail her out and she returns home to find her husband and kids eating pizza, she is upset. She says, "If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go wash the jail off me." *Again, kudos to the writers.
Example: On the above mentioned show "CSI," Sheriff Ecklie of the Las Vegas P.D. questions a security guard who saw and apprehended a wanted suspect. Ecklie says, "You saw him outside your building?" *Hurray! This time the writers got it right.
TALK SHOWS
Example: Body language expert Jan Hargraves was guest on Steve Harvey's talk show on February 6, 2014. She was decoding sleep positions of couples seen in photos. She says, "When a portion of your body is a little off of the bed, it means . . ." *Sorry, but you'll have to use On Demand to see this episode to find out what she said.
Example: I also heard this on Steve Harvey's daytime talk show. On January 8, 2014, Steve's guest was Ally who, after reading his book and applied his advice, got engaged. Before the commercial break, Steve announces, "we'll be meeting Mike, the man who swept Ally off of her feet." *As good a host as Steve is, he is not known for his excellent grammar.
JUST PLAIN TOO MANY
In this example, the writers simply did not notice the preposition said twice.
On the television show "Hostages," Agent Hoffman of the Secret Service is investigating a nurse's disappearance and consults with FBI agent Duncan Carlisle. He shows Duncan a photo and says,
"This is a screen grab from a surveillance camera less than a block from where Angela disappeared from." *I wonder why the actor didn't say to the writers, "Hey, I already said 'from.' You need to take the second one out." I guess actors say only what is written on the script without realizing what they are actually saying. Too bad.
In conclusion, whichever preposition one is going to use (inside, outside, off), there is no need to add "of" in the sentence. Now I am going to sign OFF this blog.
