Yes, Words Matter
April 30, 2008 by Eric Eggertson
Filed under Marketing
Some people throw out ideas in roughly-hewn sentence fragments, using whatever words come to mind.
Others obsess over finding le mot just. Their dictionary is not far away, and they are constantly rediscovering turns of phrase that they read or heard years ago, and trying them out.
There is generally no definitive way of writing or speaking. One can be more “correct,” if grammar and established usage is your goal. Being imprecise, or grammatically challenged doesn’t mean you can’t communicate.
Still, I’m with the Tod Maffin school of obsessive language use. I’m always testing word choices like “more than” versus “over.”
When I’m editing, one of the most common changes I make is to replace “over” with “more than.” I’m not sure why it comes up so often in business writing, but people constantly use “over” for dollar amounts, numbers of people, ages, height, and so on.
I can’t necessarily justify this prejudice. One of the commenters to Tod’s blog post explains that “more than” is more precise, whereas “over” is a metaphorical way of saying more than.
For emphasis, you might use “over,” but in most cases les mot justes are “more than.”
Where do you stand on this weighty issue?
“More than,” by all means, when talking about quantities.
I see nothing ungrammatical with “over” — I don’t wince — but it strikes me as inprecise and sloppy.
And “over” has precise uses, so why debase the currency?
Just finished editing an article that was 5100 words when it showed up, 4500 when it left. Guy called to complain when he should have been kissing my booty in thanks… people do love their prose.
You coming to conference this summer?
I think there are definite cases for both. And my boss has brainwashed me to use “more than” in all of our writing. So much so that when I read “over” for figures, I do cringe. For spoken language, I think “over” is appropriate. But in writing, it’s sloppy and seems almost unprofessional.
Why write two words when you can write one?
Eric, you are correct in your explanation of ‘more than’ v ‘over’. It’s on of the most common errors I find when editing other people’s copy.
The correctness of speech should always be seeked after. I agree on your opinion about the difference between “more than” and “over”; it may be subtle but it definitely exists.
I am a PR student at Towson University in Maryland. My class was given an assignment to research on PR related blogs and I happened to come across this one. I just want to say that the title of this blog, “Common Sense PR,” is what really caught my eye. Then, I read your first entry about word choice. You make such a valid point here. Word choices, such as choosing to say “more than” reather than “over” can make all the difference in any type of speech or presentation. Correct grammar and word choice can really leave an impression on a listener if you can strike their fancy the right way. Hearing a PR professional speak illiterately completely throws all credibility out the window and can make a listener lose interest right off the bat. Although very brief and to the point, your posting should really be taken to heart by any PR student or professional. As a PR student, these small tips and words of wisdom from experienced members of the field are always helpful and greatly appreciated, even if they’re simple common sense like this. Thanks for the read.