SIR: On a recent session of "Meet the Press," I heard one of the journalists use the non-word "irregardless," which amazed me since all are very intelligent. Perhaps if you mention "irregardless" as incorrect usage, it might prevent other learned persons from making this slip. - G.
ANSWER: Glad to. Listen up, all you learned persons: There's no such word as "irregardless," even though you may find it in some dictionaries described as nonstandard. What you mean is "regardless," but you've fallen into a deplorable redundancy, possibly caused by combining "irrespective" and "regardless" or some such other goofy gaffe. Don't use it again. Ever. It only demonstrates that you aren't as learned as you would like people to believe. For shame!SIR: Have they changed the rules on possessive case before a gerund? Is it still correct to say, "I do not object to his going," or should one say, "I do not object to HIM going"? - Lillian H.
ANSWER: Would you settle for a tossup? Some years ago, Bergen Evans wrote: "Either form of the pronoun may be used. One may say `I'm surprised at his saying that' or `I'm surprised at him saying that' without intending any difference in meaning or emphasis."
But you can find plenty of disagreement if you insist on pursuing this thin thread to some knotty conclusion. I warn you, though, that it'll be unsatisfactory. You'll have to settle on definitions of gerunds as opposed to participles, on distinctions in usage of nouns as opposed to pronouns, on which authorities you prefer, on which generation you trust, and so on. Shucks, why don't we take the coward's way out and let folks say what they want to say?
SIR: An item in our church bulletin said, "We got the organ, and now it's time to pay for it." I say it should be, "We've got the organ, and now it's time to pay for it." My friend says the bulletin is all right. Please give the rule for the correct use of "got" and "have got. " - Marguerite S.
ANSWER: Anybody who tries to cite a rule for use of "got" and "have got" is just looking for trouble.
"We've got the organ" refers to present possession - in other words, we have the organ. "We got the organ" refers to past acquisition - in other words, we obtained the organ. Either is right, depending on what's intended, and both are generally considered colloquial rather than formal English. The moral to all this is: Don't argue with your church bulletin. Got it?
PUZZLED QUERY of the week, from Max P.:
"My newspaper recently had an item about `a product bought from a door-to-door salesman called Super Clean.' Isn't that a rather unusual name for a door-to-door salesman?"
QUIZZICAL QUESTION of the week, by Elizabeth C.: "A classified advertisement in my newspaper offered an old school teacher's desk for $20. But what if you don't want a desk for an old school teacher?"
- Send questions, comments, and good and bad examples to Lydel Sims, Watch Your Language, 366 S. Highland, Apt. 410, Memphis, TN 38111. If you quote a book, please give author, title and page number. Sorry, but questions can be answered only through this column.