I know usage is king, and our usage dictates what is acceptable. I guess I'm just old fashioned when I cringe at certain usages becoming widespread. On public radio it would seem that the noun "loan" is now interchangeable with the verb "lend". Sigh, fingernails on the blackboard to me. I am also hearing waaay to much substitution of "who/whom" with "that", as in "people that..." My favorite is the use of nauseous when nauseated is clearly what is meant. When I hear, "That makes me nauseous." I can only smile in agreement.
Tom Haglund
Loreto, Baja California Sur, MX
I can only assume that you were likewise shocked when one of President Obama's first speeches mentioned the "enormity of the task that lies ahead".
I would further suppose that when someone says that something "aggravates" him, you understand him to mean that it makes him gain weight.
And that you would hesitate not a bit to refer to a "fortuitous" train wreck.
"People that" etc is actually a resurgence of Elizabethan usage.
Tom, how often are people nauseated around you? Maybe it'd better to stay off boats.
"Lend" and "loan" have been swapped for centuries and as long as the subjects and objects are clear, there's usually little room for misunderstanding. I, too, prefer "people who" in place of "people that" in phrases like "people who knock about in little boats should expect to get wet," but it's a style choice rather than a grammatical one. Either is correct.
I grew up with the common use of "hold" for "borrow." "Can I hold your pencil?" was much more common than "Can I borrow your pencil?" "Lend" was "let me hold." "He let me hold his textbook."
But then, would the translation of this topic be "Let me hold your ears"?