athelind: (tell it like it IS)
[personal profile] athelind
This is one that's been popping up with increasing and irritating regularity, so I'd just like to state for the record:



"Versus"
is not a plural,
and its singular is not
"Verse."



This is more of a verbal error than a written one, thus far, largely because in writing, everyone tends to use "vs." -- but it's one I keep hearing more and more often, from people who should know better. "Pirates vs. Ninja" gets pronounced as "Pirates verse Ninja".

Let's see what Your Obedient Serpent's Grammar Guide says about this:

Yes, both "Verse" and "Versus" can be abbreviated as "vs.", but they are not interchangeable!

Stop it at once. Where did you learn this?



Date: 2012-03-26 03:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kfops.livejournal.com
Obviously you've just uncovered a niche concept for combat poetry!

Limerick versus Haiku!

Verses versus verses!

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!

Date: 2012-03-26 03:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] foofers.livejournal.com
"Pirates vs. Ninja" gets pronounced as "Pirates verse Ninja".

Seriously? If I heard somebody do that I'd probably punch them in the face.

And this is coming from someone who flunked high school English.

Date: 2012-03-26 07:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] athelind.livejournal.com
I would either hurt my hand or my car radio.

Date: 2012-03-26 06:46 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] normanrafferty.livejournal.com
One suspects auto-complete is at work.

Date: 2012-03-26 07:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] athelind.livejournal.com
... if I kept seeing it in writing, maybe, but verbally?

Date: 2012-03-26 09:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] araquan.livejournal.com
Were they usually talking fast enough that they just carelessly dropped the syllable?

Date: 2012-03-26 11:51 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] athelind.livejournal.com
Generally speaking, they enunciate it fairly clearly.

Date: 2012-03-27 09:01 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tailypo.livejournal.com
Whoa, this is one mistake I've never heard. Thank god.

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