Post AZbfQgASfExyvYbdnk by SeaGenes@genealysis.social
 (DIR) More posts by SeaGenes@genealysis.social
 (DIR) Post #AZbPgKLlwzlqd0KvCq by grammargirl@zirk.us
       2023-09-09T20:58:19Z
       
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       This will be a fun poll to finish before this week's Grammar Girl podcast:What do you think of the way "contact" is used in the following sentence? Is it acceptable in formal Standard English?She called an officer at the Naval Intelligence Service, who in turn contacted the FBI.I'm not asking if you'd use it yourself. I'm asking if you'd think it was wrong if you saw it used this way in a textbook or a serious magazine.
       
 (DIR) Post #AZbPmTgAB9StIZo5Nw by wordsmith@writing.exchange
       2023-09-09T20:59:25Z
       
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       @grammargirl My idea of a Serious Magazine is Private Eye. Their wit is so slap-dash i expect they deviate from formal standard ;-)
       
 (DIR) Post #AZbQ7qdU1Nc4Zxk9fE by steaphan@indieauthors.social
       2023-09-09T21:03:16Z
       
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       @grammargirl I'm very worried that my "no" is wrong because it clearly seems so correct to me.
       
 (DIR) Post #AZbQ8QN59pstPWLZ68 by bensaufley@thefooty.club
       2023-09-09T21:03:22Z
       
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       @grammargirl I was raised with the pet peeve inherited from family regarding "impact" as a verb meaning "affect" ("this impacted our plans") and in going down that rabbit hole was shocked to find that "contact" used to have that same objection. In my experience "to contact someone" meaning to communicate with them is totally fine.I know "impact" has gotten the same treatment and intellectually I accept that but it still grates.
       
 (DIR) Post #AZbQIs8GnV4APEOsyW by ewdocparris@writing.exchange
       2023-09-09T21:05:14Z
       
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       @grammargirl unclear if the officer or the NIS contacted the FBI. It may be academic, but it's vague.
       
 (DIR) Post #AZbQOEWWyTk1IcIwsq by Greenseer@mstdn.social
       2023-09-09T21:06:11Z
       
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       @grammargirl Feels wrong to me. Isn't it convention that 'in turn' should be followed by a second use of the original verb. In this case, 'called'. Called and contacted are not synonymous. Or have I made that rule up? I guess the sentence makes sense, even if it feels clumsy 🤷‍♂️
       
 (DIR) Post #AZbV22fMsZP1vLfy1g by toddunctious@mastodon.ie
       2023-09-09T21:58:14Z
       
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       @grammargirl I'm from Ireland and I have no idea why anybody would think there was anything wrong with that sentence
       
 (DIR) Post #AZbV3WL02xm6Eor03E by MarkMaguire@mastodon.ie
       2023-09-09T21:58:28Z
       
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       @grammargirl Sounds fine to me. I get that this is probably one of these shifts in word usage which irks some people (actually me being one of those people usually - but I don’t remember a time when contact wasn’t used as a verb, so this one has zero annoyance for me).
       
 (DIR) Post #AZbWTwEUUZsQ27yCzw by LAWaldenDVM@universeodon.com
       2023-09-09T22:05:51Z
       
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       @grammargirl I have no problem with "contact" used this way, but if I were paid to edit the sentence I'd fix the misplaced* modifier: She called a Naval Intelligence Service officer, who in turn contacted the FBI.*I don't think the modifier move is really required because nobody would misunderstand the meaning ("who" obviously means the officer), but it's an easy edit that also shortens the sentence. In a copyediting job I might also change "in turn" to "then" just for concision.
       
 (DIR) Post #AZbXH0wzjwykr4BhhY by LAWaldenDVM@universeodon.com
       2023-09-09T22:15:19Z
       
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       @grammargirl Oh, and I am currently editing one that has "approached" instead of "asked" (formal writing, potentially international audience), so yeah, a nice unambiguous "contacted" is just fine with me 🙂
       
 (DIR) Post #AZbfQgASfExyvYbdnk by SeaGenes@genealysis.social
       2023-09-09T23:54:46Z
       
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       @grammargirl I think it doesn't matter, because we don't know how they contacted them... just because the first person called doesn't mean the second person also called.
       
 (DIR) Post #AZc2MfwfqZRa1cDWXg by cwwilkie@zirk.us
       2023-09-10T04:11:45Z
       
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       @grammargirl You're making me paranoid. I see nothing wrong with this, no matter how many voices I read it in.
       
 (DIR) Post #AZd59g4oXdU3gjTiam by grammargirl@zirk.us
       2023-09-10T16:17:38Z
       
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       @cwwilkie It was a peeve many decades ago. Steve Kleinedler and I talk about it in this week's Grammar Girl podcast. (Neither of us knew that anyone had ever objected before we saw the American Heritage Dictionary usage panel results.)