Look I dont like the Grammar Nazi any more than the next guy but thats the guy who nitpicks other folks usages to make himself feel superior. Occasionally however grammar intervention is needed to save all that is right and true.
Lets go back to grade school shall we? You can add ing to verbs. You can add ing to run and make running. You can add ing to jump and make jumping. You can add ing to rant and make ranting which is what this article amounts to. You cannot however add ing to a noun and magically make it a verb. You cannot for example add ing to brain and make it mean thinking no matter how much you might want to or how clever you might think it would be.
So to whom is this rant directed? (Catch that? To whom." Mrs. White would be so proud.) I listen to a lot of sports talk radio because I cant listen to the cheerleading for war that characterizes so much of conservative" talk radio without my blood pressure skyrocketing to dangerously high levels. Listen to me Mr. Sports Talk Radio Guy. This is for you. No you are not efforting your next guest because EFFORTING IS NOT A FREAKIN WORD! Effort is a person place or thing. Therefore it is a noun. Therefore no you cannot just add an ing to it to make it a verb. The English language does not work that way. You may be making an effort. You may be attempting to secure your next guest but no you are not efforting and the fact that Spell Check lights up when I type that word should tell you this.
Im all for allowing common usages to become standard over time. For example I think aint is fine when you are deliberately attempting to be informal. But as the good knee-jerk reactionary that I am I am opposed to trendy usages and especially dorks who dont realize that their supposedly trendy usage is actually now pass. Whats next? Are they going to start Rickrolling people?
So KNOCK IT OFF before Im forced to march on your studios with pitchfork in hand!
That is all.
