WHILST WAITING FOR THE LAST EXAM GRADES TO COME IN:
I saw, via Facebook, that newly tenure-tracked Chris Lawrence had joined a group dedicated to the first edition of Fowler's Modern English Usage. As Fowler's is one of the mainstays of my reference collection, and as I use Facebook groups as a way of signaling my dedication to esoterica, I joined.
Now, it so happens I used Fowler's last week, when commenting on (and editing) a friend's prospectus. 'Upon' was consistently used as the preposition of choice, including in some circumstances I thought plainly incorrect. I turned to Fowler's for guidance (look under 'upon' if you happen to own a copy). The rule, so it seems, is that 'on' and 'upon' can be used mostly interchangeably, except there will be some instances where one or the other will sound awkward to the well-attuned ear. I left no more certain than before, but quite sure my uncertainty was the preferred, indeed natural, position.
"Thou shalt not extinguish thine anger, but shall master it,
that thy conscience may not be blunted by adjustment
to wrong causes."
-The Dutch Ten Commandments to Foil the Nazis
No comments:
Post a Comment