Grammar Tips & Articles »

“Like” - A Ubiquitous Word

This Grammar.com article is about “Like” - A Ubiquitous Word — enjoy your reading!


1:32 min read
2,110 Views
  Ed Good  —  Grammar Tips
Font size:

It’s like everywhere

Sadly, the verb tobelike and other variations of the like word do more than introduce quotations. They pervade young people’s speech. They threaten the language—and therefore thought itself. Tobelike and like often require the “speaker” to resort to wild gesticulations of hand and arm, accompanied by guttural grunts and groans.

Thus we might hear two young “professionals” share the hardships of the day:

A “Conversation”

He: “I’mlike up to here.” (Hand and forearm, parallel to the ground, rise to level of eyebrow.)

She: “Like yeah.” (Heel of hand, with fingers curled to back of head, strikes center of forehead.)

He: “Like yesterday waslike, ‘Ugh!’” (The theme begins to develop.)

She: “I’mlike, oh well, you know.” (Gentle but rhythmic nods of total understanding.)

He: “So you’llbelike, with it.” (Presumably a question denoting sympathy.)

She: “I’mlike . . . you know. What EVer.” (Mutual nods of assent to newly shared precepts.)

The “Like” Word Can Affect Your Writing

Perhaps I exaggerate. But I do so to make a point: If people talk this way, quite likely they will find writing even more difficult. One trend I have observed: People with the like habit overuse the verb to be in their writing. They simply cannot write a sentence without saying “something is this” or “something was that.”

When I teach courses in persuasive writing, as an exercise I urge the participants to write and speak at some length without using the verb to be and the like word at all. When they try it out, they often get tongue-tied or contract a case of writer’s block. But after a while, they catch on to the magic of speaking without thought-stopping expressions and of writing with verb-based prose.

Please continue reading ….

 

Previous: Introducing Quotations with the “Like” Word

Next: Parents, Take Note

Rate this article:

Have a discussion about this article with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "“Like” - A Ubiquitous Word." Grammar.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.grammar.com/like-a-ubiquitous-word>.

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

    Browse Grammar.com

    Free Writing Tool:

    Instant
    Grammar Checker

    Improve your grammar, vocabulary, and writing -- and it's FREE!


    Quiz

    Are you a grammar master?

    »
    Identify the sentence with correct use of the present simple tense:
    A They have been singing all night.
    B We will have completed the project by Monday.
    C She always takes the bus to work.
    D She had finished her book last week.

    Improve your writing now:

    Download Grammar eBooks

    It’s now more important than ever to develop a powerful writing style. After all, most communication takes place in reports, emails, and instant messages.