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Tutor Tracy R. 's Column

Have You Heard 'Like' Being Used in English and Can't Figure it Out? Read Here!

Sep 9, 2019

Hello Everyone!

Much to the annoyance of our parents, the word 'like' being used randomly in a sentence started becoming popular when I was a kid in school. Many parents and grammarians and teachers saw it as a decline of the English language (as well as many other things) and tried to train students out of using it. Instead of going away though, 'like' developed its own grammar and has stuck around.

But is it a decline in the English language? Maybe, but new evidence is finding that it has rules just like any other word. You can read about the minor studies that this author did into the grammar use of 'like'.

https://qz.com/1696949/the-case-for-not-cutting-the-word-like-from-your-vocabulary/

So what do you think? Do you think 'like' shows a deterioration of the English language? How about your own native language? Do you have any words that some people think shows a 'dumbing down' of the language? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Have a great day everyone!

This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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