A while back, quite a while back I think, when I was fairly new here... so like 2011? I remember a grammar thread. It went on for a while and was really pretty interesting.

It might be a fun thing to resurrect, as we have a lot of new and frequent posters since then!

And yeah ~ your grammar thing, too!

PS: Also some words I hate... just saw another post quoting a message on the CORI website which uses the word "utilize". I *hate* the word "utilize"! It means the exact same thing as "use"! It just means the speaker (writer) wants to sound more fancy.

I used to use it myself, a couple decades ago, because it *did* seem to sound more refined, I thought. Then I heard someone, can't remember who, explain how it meant the same thing as "use". And how it just makes you sound/seem pretentious. I haven't used it since!

Pulling examples from my own post... just compare:
(... which utilizes the word "utilize"... )
(I used to "utilize" it myself... )
(I haven't "utilized" it since!)
(Ha!)

StormCloud Wrote:
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> PS: Also some words I hate... just saw another
> post quoting a message on the CORI website which
> uses the word "utilize". I *hate* the word
> "utilize"! It means the exact same thing as
> "use"! It just means the speaker (writer) wants
> to sound more fancy.
>

...or, perhaps, the writer has already used 'use' in the paragraph, and utilizes 'utilize' for variety...a valid concern in most writing

As I see it, you don't use a different word, unless you want to convey a difference in meaning.

In general, it would be boring to only utilize certain words and never use their synonyms

I tend to "use" both "use" and "utilize," to both give some variety to whatever I'm writing, and also to lend a very slight difference in meaning. It's really hard to explain, and I know the meaning is technically the same, but in usage (at least in mine--lol!) I see a very slight shade of difference.

I use a hammer to set a nail, but I utilize hammers, screwdrivers, a level, and other items to build a bookshelf. I guess that's probably not a very good example, but maybe it explains how this writer uses utilize vs. use.... Then again, maybe it doesn't make any sense at all.

The meanings are similar but there is definitely a difference between use and utilize.

I suppose ya'll might have a teeny glimmer of a point... but to me it will always make me cringe just a little bit, but not quite as bad as when someone says "irregardless". BTW, the Chrome spell-check didn't put a red squiggly line under "irregardless". :/

Anyway, and I know she acknowledged it wasn't the greatest example, but in Birdy's example, you could use either word in either place, and the meaning would be the same. The longer version just sounds more pretentious & fancy.

Besides, it's not like I'm saying people who use "utilize" are evil or stupid or anything, or that it makes me not like them, or that forever after I disregard what they have to say because they said "utilize" (gasp! ). Just that the word is a personal pet peeve, along the lines (but not *quite* as bad) of "irregardless". I can be annoyed. In fact, the possibility exists that I might occasionally annoy others, too.

Oh, god, I HATE "irregardless"!!!! Along with "preventative" and all other words that were never real words to begin with, but since so many people use them, they've become accepted parts of the language. And "alternate" spellings make me crazy, too! Such as: tendinitis (we don't have anything in our bodies called a "tendin....", collectable, and so on.

Sometimes you just have to "use" a different word to give interest and variety to your work.... I used (sounds too repetitive already, deosn't it?) to do "techno-marketing" copy, back when the phrase "state-of-the-art" was so overused it made me nauseous. So, I had to come up with many ways to say it: "leading edge," "cutting edge," "innovative," "new and improved," etc. (I never really ever said "new and improved," but had to figure out how to say it without saying it.) If I used the same words over and over again when I meant the same thing, it would have gotten awfully boring. Same thing if I were to say "features" over and over again, e.g., "this multimeter features a dual analog scale," then later in the same paragraph, "features a rechargeable NiCad battery pack," and so on. That's how I see "use" and "utilize," though I still think there's a slight difference in meaning. Nothing earth shattering, of course....

Really, it depends not only on what you're trying to say, but how long the work is and how boring the subject matter. The more boring the subject, the more important it is to change up your wording so your audience doesn't fall asleep!

Well, here's something on the subject from an expert far more knowledgeable than me (found on google and from the University of Houston's "Grammar Tip of the Week":

"Choosing the correct words when you write is critical. It assures that there is no ambiguity between your intended meaning and the reader’s understanding of the document. Words that have similar definitions can be especially difficult to work with. “Use” and “utilize” are two words that have frequently been used interchangeably. Students in particular tend to do this, because the word “utilize” sounds more formal. The problem, however, is that there is a slight difference in the meaning of the two words.

Here are the definitions:

Use – The act or practice of employing something (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed.).

Ex. – John used the table saw to cut the plywood.

Utilize – To put to use, especially to find a profitable or practical use for (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed.).

Ex. – Elizabeth utilized the old tub as a planter.

Note that the primary difference is that “utilize” indicates using something for other than its intended purpose."

So, my original example was a bad one, but my premise that there's a slight difference in meaning looks to be accurate.... That may be debatable, but I'll go with the above guideline!

I was really curious about this and found other references as to how "use" and "utilize" are different, but this one made the most sense to me as far as everyday writing goes....

I really don't think most people use "utilize" to make their writing sound fancier, but probably most of us employ it to give variety to our writing.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2013 12:09AM by BirdyC.

whiterosie Wrote:
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> They say Intellishop uses college students who are
> English majors. Maybe this one is a journalism
> major.
>
> My experience with newspaper writers is that many
> of them use one-sentence "paragraphs" and try to
> blame it on AP Style. I had that very argument
> with an editor of a major U.S. publication who
> said we should be using one-sentence paragraphs.
> Neither AP nor the Chicago Manual of Style support
> one-sentence paragraphs except for emphasis. As
> others have pointed out, a paragraph consists of
> two or more sentences.
>
> When I was I in school I was taught that if a
> thought could be limited to one sentence, it might
> not be important enough to include. I always
> double check my sentence structure for that very
> reason. Often that single sentence or thought
> relates and can be included in another section of
> the report OR it is important enough to be
> expanded upon.


I haven't read the other replies, but as a former newspaper writer, I have never heard or seen anyone in the business (in my area) write paragraphs with only one sentence. Neither have I heard reference to AP Style (which is what my newspaper used) with regard to paragraph length.

I agree with everyone else here that the comment by the editor of the OP's report is very odd and shows a lack of understanding of what a paragraph is.