Wait - for? on?

A BBC radio sports commentator announced today that Manchester United was "waiting on the result of a scan on Wes Brown's foot".

The use of "wait on" instead of "wait for" or "await" is now so common that the battle to preserve the original form is probably already lost, even though the BBC website did announce more elegantly - and accurately - "Manchester United await Wes Brown foot injury verdict".

Why not accept this change as another example of natural, continuous linguistic evolution? The reason for resisting is that we are losing the ability to express the difference between two separate actions and thereby colluding in the impoverishment of our means of expression.

To "wait on" meant, until recently, either to serve someone, usually at table*, or to pay a respectful visit to. "Wait for" had the meaning of deferring an action, or of expectation (the ferry waited for the train to arrive, Sarah was waiting for her sister). Now that "waits on" is used for both, we cannot be sure whether Sarah is expecting her sister to arrive, or whether she is working in a restaurant.

Resist, resist!



* Those with long memories may recall the time when a waiter, in the UK, "waited at" table and "waited on" table only in the USA. I have not forgotten either, but because this post already resembled the ranting of a pedant, I forbore to mention it!

Affect - or effect?

I wish I had made a note of some the dozens of examples of the incorrect use of 'affect' and 'effect'. Sadly, I did not. You do not have search very hard to find the two confused, however, and if books and newspapers use these words interchangeably it makes it doubly hard for the rest of us to remember.

The basic rule is simple:

• affect is nearly always a verb
  (e.g. the movement of the boat affected her balance). It means to influence.
• effect is nearly always a noun
  (e.g. the effect of the weather was noticeable). It means result, or occasionally possessions (e.g. her personal effects).

One way of remembering this is that affect means action.

The two words are frequently found in academic writing, which is generally rich in influences and results.

There are, of course, exceptions. This is English after all, so nothing is straightforward. 'To effect' means to make, or to accomplish; 'an affect' can be used in psychology to mean an emotion. If you use the basic rule, though, it will prove right 19 times out of 20 - probably a better rate of success than many newspapers!