Try to remember

Okay, I know it’s been a while since I’ve written something every day. I’m going to try to address this throughout November. We’ll see how it goes.

Occasionally there are days (not many) when I am not prompted to rant about anything. And there are days when I’m not particularly excited about anything. (Generally the latter are days with no Georgie. Speaking of whom – Woot! I got a bonus walk yesterday as Joe had to go to town and asked me if I would be willing to take her out on my own. “Are you crazy?” I asked. “Of course I’ll take her.”) 

What I’m never short of is things that annoy me, be they niggles or full blown head explosions. So, I figure on days when there’s nothing much to write about I can always pick one of those many things.

Of course there’s always this. 

Yes, all these grammatical errors drive me fucking insane. I’ve already written about it’s and its – an inexplicably common error made by many, including (infuriatingly) by the editor of my local paper.

Today’s issue is not on the mug, despite being one of the most regularly made mistakes. And the one that drives me craziest. 

“I’m going to try and eat something.” Say what? You’re not going to try and do anything. You’re going to try to do something. Unless, of course, you do actually mean you’re going to try and you’re going to succeed in doing something.

Do you make this mistake? Okay, substitute the word try with the word attempt, which means exactly the same thing. Would you say, “I’m going to attempt and eat something?” No, you would not. Well, perhaps you would, but, if so, you’re a fucking idiot.

I mean, come on. The song isn’t called Try and Remember, is it?

No, it is not.

If you’ve made this error in the past, I forgive you. It’s not your fault. The error is so commonly made it’s easy to think saying “try and” is grammatically correct. It isn’t. Now you know better. So don’t ever do it again.

The end.