Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Join Us!

Hi everyone! My internet connection was down so I wasn't able to post sooner. At least, we got it back online without having to call our provider. Anyway, here's today's post:

Last Sunday, I attended an enjoyable children's party at McDonald's. As many of these parties go, there were several games for the kids and adults to play hosted by McDo staff. I kept hearing the host saying "join with us."

I've been thinking about this error and I think it has nothing to do with being incorrect but more to do with clutter, in other words, there's a word which is not necessary. That word is with. I've posted about with before and I've pointed out that it's a preposition used to talk about "being in the company of someone else." We often say, after all, something like "I watched a movie with friends."

When the McDo host said "join with us," she literally meant to ask the party guests to be accompany her in the games so with is not really incorrect. However, we never say "join with us" or "join with me" or join with anything or anyone. The reason lies in the word join which already means "to bring (or put) together." In this light, there is no need to put with as it's meaning is similar to the meaning of the word join.

So, join me in enjoying the English language!