Dear Readers,
I have been noticing this trend for a very long time and this month I will share it with you.
In speech and in writing, people are leaving out the verb and/or other words in a sentence or a question. No doubt we understand perfectly, but to me, it just seems lazy. Does it really take that long to say, "Are" in the question?
Although nearly all the references from TV shows are from programs that are now off the air, the examples are still valid. See below:
Example: In an episode of the sitcom "Hot in Cleveland," Courtney's boyfriend is on crutches. She asks him, "You okay?"
Example: Hannah, the wife of Detective Michael Britten on the TV show "Awake," asks him, "You all right?"
Example: On the show "Fairly Legal," Kate Reed, a mediator for a law firm, is questioning a witness on a case involving a fishing boat accident. She asks, "How long you at sea?"
Example: In the novel Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah, young Bret is playing a game with his grandmother who asks Bret's father Liam if he'd like to join them. When the dad declines, Bret asks, 'You sure, Dad?" The dad answers, "I'm sure, buddy." *Note that the father's sentence did have the verb included (I am = I'm).
In the following examples, you will see a word or two missing. I have no doubt that you can figure out what those words are.
Example: Broadway diva Veronica Moore, in an episode of "Smash," will be playing the lead in the musical "The Wiz." Her director, Derek Wills, is looking at sketches for possible costumes. She asks him, "Which one you like?"
Example: On "CSI: NY," Detectives Mac Taylor and Don Flack are chasing a perp. When Mac reaches the man first, Don asks, "You run track or something? You on the Olympic team?"
Example: In an episode of "Scandal," Olivia Pope, the infamous Washington, D.C. fixer on the show, has been kidnapped. Her staff, Huck and Quinn, hold down the fort at her office. When lobbyist Elizabeth North enters, Quinn asks, "Help you with something?"
Example: Dan Brown, author of Deception Point, has an oceanographer ask a colleague: "Corky, there any chance the meteorite we pulled out of that hole had living organisms on it?"
Example: On a billboard advertising for the San Diego Zoo -
Kids Free in October
Example: On another billboard -
IRS after you?
So, dear Readers, got grammar?
