PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

This department, one of two I direct with full and complete authority, sometimes deals with a hot button issue of mine – the use of language.

One risk in focusing on this topic is that, in writing it, I may fall victim to language misuses of my own. Still, it is worth focusing on the topic in the spirit of supporting adherence to using words properly.

So, here are several pet language peeves.

• Splitting an infinitive.

All of us make this mistake from time to time, either in speaking or writing. And some may believe that it is foolhardy to advocate avoiding the split.

A recent example occurred in the Wall Street Journal, usually a fount of solid word and language usage. Here’s a paragraph from the Journal:

“Lawmakers have been feuding since September, when Mr. Trump ended an Obama-era program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, but gave Congress until March 5 to pass its replacement. DACA protects young immigrants from deportation and allows them to temporarily work legally in the U.S.”

Notice the phrase “to temporarily work.” It would have much stronger to write, “to work temporarily.”

• Using nouns as verbs.

This mistake occurs more and more often. One example in the golf world is to use golf as a verb, as in “to golf your ball.” No. You hit your ball or strike your ball. You don’t golf your ball.

Another example of this is the use of the word helm as a verb, as in “to helm your process.” No. You are to direct the process; you do not helm it.

Or, this recent example, again from the Wall Street Journal.

“The social-media sites and search engines clearly did far too little to police their content for malicious trolls and in the process misled millions of Americans. They need to do more to take responsibility for the content they midwife.”

Midwife is not a verb. It is a noun.

• “None” as singular

One of the most frequent mistakes in talking or writing is to modify the singular word none with a plural verb, such as “none are.”

Consider this sentence: None of the persons are going to attend the game. In correct language usage, the sentence should read – None of the persons is going to attend the game.

To the ear, the word “are” often sounds better than the word “is.” So, if I ruled as language king for a day, I would change the rule and allow the plural verb to modify the singular noun.

• Using too many “ize” words

One of my lobbying partners, still a good friend, often used the word “catalyze,” which grated on my ears. We talked about it and he said it was a good word. It meant, I guess, to gather support for an idea, as in “to catalyze a process.”

Or, consider the word “prioritize,” which occurs often in modern usage. I suggest it would be better to say or write, “to establish priorities.”

It may not be necessary to draw a bright line here because some uses of “ize” may be legitimate. But, my view is to try to limit “ize.” When you are inclined to use one, consider if there is a better way.