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Tym Blogs Too!

The random web scribblings of a person with too many thoughts and too little time

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Note to all copywriters

The word "spend" is a verb, not a noun. You cannot say a discount is valid "with minimum spend of $100". You can say valid with "an order of at least $100" or "a purchase of at least $100".

And guess what? The latter phrases are not only grammatically correct, they fit more or less within the same amount of space you'd have to lay out the grammatically incorrect text.

The OCBC Rewards Programme, I'm looking at you.

See also My Very Own Glob's "Copywriter from hell (or just a really bad school)?".

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posted by Tym at 11:45 PM

9 comments | Trackbacks

9 Comments

At 9/25/2006 12:08 AM Anonymous gecko said...

Heh. Remember your post about 'leverage'? Position? *grin*

 
At 9/25/2006 12:28 AM Blogger Tym said...

You mean this post? :)

I'm not in principle against turning nouns into verbs --- if that type of usage has come into common practice. Words like "contact" and "impact" (even though I still flinch from the latter) originated as nouns. "Leverage" and "position" are becoming verbs, at least in certain circles. *eyeroll*

But "spend" is nowhere near that yet!

 
At 9/25/2006 2:32 PM Blogger ampulets said...

the shortening of "expenditure" in terms like "ad spend", as opposed to just turning verb into noun?

 
At 9/25/2006 11:01 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

newspeak no?

love
wes

 
At 9/26/2006 12:18 AM Blogger 儒 said...

*cringe*

 
At 9/26/2006 10:03 AM Anonymous gecko said...

Yep, that's the one. And yep, 'spend' sounds awkward as a noun... until usage becomes common - a matter of adaptation, no? :P

 
At 9/26/2006 1:24 PM Blogger avalon said...

Where is the 'spend' part? Find and find cannot find. I want to gloat. I hate bad English by accident.

 
At 9/26/2006 5:53 PM Blogger Tym said...

avalon > Oh, I'm not sure if they use the same copy on the website, but all the discount coupons I received from them recently had the offending copy on it. I threw them all away already, or else I would take a picture for you :)

 
At 9/27/2006 1:32 AM Blogger avalon said...

Teehee. I don't have any of their coupons, thankfully no longer a customer of OCBC nor slave to lousy English from them haha.

 

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