More pet peeves

A few subtle twists on yesterday’s discussion of adjectives and adverbs:

It is possible to make the request – of your high school English teacher, even – to close the door tight instead of “tightly.”  It implies that you should close it until that closure is tight.

For the same reason, feel free to tell your child to “Sleep tight”  as you tuck her in for the night.

She won’t lie there angrily cursing your improvident use of an adjective.  It’s colloquial, after all, and probably OK ... besides, how does one commit the act of “tightly” sleeping?

It’s like never ending a sentence a preposition with.  It’s something we’ve all gotten over.

And, til the day I die, I’m never going to feel comfortable replying to “How’re you doing?”

Am I “doin’ good” or what?  “I’m feeling well” always sounds a bit pretentious, and good grammar (alone) should never do that.

“I feel good” is a simple statement of being (or a No. 1 hit for James Brown, depending).  Thank heavens Simon and Garfunkel didn’t write “Feelin’ Groovily.”

To a friend, you feel good.  To a doctor, you’re not feeling “well.”

On your college essay, find a way to write around having to make the choice.

That said, you can see why pet peeves can be so much fun ... and extremely challenging at times.

Next: Even MORE pet peeves ...

[For personal writing assistance, go to www.fixadocument.com]