Saturday, January 24, 2009

WHAT I HATE TODAY: Your daily dose of negative energy

Today I hate the depressingly common phrase “is dependent.” I heard this in a “Pardon the Interruption” podcast this morning in this context: “Larry Fitzgerald is dependent on Kurt Warner.”

Why not say “Larry Fitzgerald depends on Kurt Warner”? This usage expresses the same thought while cutting one word and two syllables, and more importantly it uses an active verb instead of the weak “to be” verb.

Your raise is dependent on your performance.
Your raise depends on your performance.

Whether I go is dependent on whether I finish my work.
Whether I go depends on whether I finish my work.

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