English is a complex language with countless weird quirks. This post deals with more commonly confused phrases, their underlying structures, and history.
Waiting For vs. Waiting On
Our first phrase is used when describing a situation where one delays action until a particular event occurs. Making the distinction here can be especially difficult because while waiting for is correct, waiting on is also a common phrase. In modern formal usage, waiting on refers to serving or being an attendant to another. Think of a waiter in a restaurant.
To make things even more confusing, waiting on was historically used in place of waiting for. Before 1800, waiting on was proper usage. However, language changes mean that this usage has been relegated to colloquial status. You will still see it often (in popular music, for example), but it should not be used in academic science papers.
To make choosing the correct phrase easier, think about the preposition. ‘For’ is used to indicate the status a person or thing is moving toward. ‘On,’ by comparison, references a spatial relation or a binary description of the activity. As a result, waiting for makes better grammatical sense for this usage.
Example:
They sat by the computer, eagerly waiting for the test results.
Regardless vs. Irregardless
The word regardless is used to a lack of attention, either in the present or for past and future events. It’s a simply constructed word, consisting of the base ‘regard’ (in noun form meaning attention or consideration) and the suffix ‘-less’ (meaning without). So, what explains the common mistake?
The most obvious explanation is that it has simply been commonly misused for a long time and has wormed its way into English vocabulary. However, I think we can go deeper. While regardless already possesses the negative suffix, the fact that this comes at the end may trip up many. As a result, when attempting to say ‘without regard,’ they put the negating prefix ‘ir-’ in front, not realizing they are making a double-negative.
Another source of confusion is the word ‘irrespective,’ which is, in fact, a synonym of regardless. With that in mind, it’s easy to view irregardless as a portmanteau (a hybrid word) of the two synonyms. However, while it is not uncommon to see this phrase in written English, it is always considered incorrect. The main lesson here is to be aware of the prefixes and suffixes of the words you use. This will help ensure you are writing clearly and with proper grammar.
Example:
Scientists are obligated to publish their results, regardless of whether they were the ones they wanted.
Worse Comes to Worst vs. Worse Comes to Worse
Our next commonly confused phrase has a fascinating etymology. Worse comes to worst is used today as a colloquial phrase meaning ‘if the worst possible thing does happen,’ but the expression was not always structured this way. In the 1600s, it was instead said ‘if the worst come to the worst.’ Over time the phrase was shortened, with the conjunctions (‘if’ in this case) and articles (‘the’ in this case) being dropped. The other change was swapping the first ‘worst,’ making the phrase worse come to worst.
This modern version of the phrase makes more sense because it has that natural progression from ‘worse’ to ‘worst.’ However, if both the older version and the new worse comes to worse misuse tells us anything, it’s that the intention is what counts. It is a colloquial phrase, after all. With that said, if you want to be taken seriously as a writer, try to use the correct wording and spelling every time, even for colloquialisms. It makes your work more professional and easier to read.
Example:
We believe we will receive full funding for the project, but worst comes to worst, we can perform a smaller scale version as a proof of concept.
By Accident vs. On Accident
Prepositions can be a big sticking point for English writers, especially non-native speakers. What we have here is a simple but common mix-up. As mentioned earlier in this article, ‘on’ is a preposition that refers to space or activity but not a purpose. ‘By,’ on the other hand, deals entirely with purpose, identifying the agent acting or otherwise how something occurs.
The difference between the correct by accident and the incorrect on accident is knowing your parts of language and how to use them correctly. If you are ever unsure of which word you are supposed to use, look up the definition. It might seem like a no-brainer, but that extra diligence will do a lot for making your work more professional, understandable, and publishable.
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