random8

Hello mr Login is not a verb dot com person… You may have heard of a little thing called “common usage”. It’s how language evolves. This is functional linguistics 101 stuff. If a word is used as a verb, it’s a friggin verb, okay? Traditional grammar is practically useless these days.

I (subject) login (verb block)

She (subject) logged in (verb block). It’s not that “she logged” and “in” specifies where the action took place.

How about the usage where we say “I penned it” or “she chaired him”, or any other usage where a noun takes the place of a verb? huh? what do you say about this usage?

The adage is know the rules, but pay more attention to the reality. Grammar is a map and in exactly the same way that you wouldn’t argue that a map was more right than the physical reality it portrays, you really shouldn’t argue that a native English speaker is less right than a grammar that dictates it. English, the slut of all languages (and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way at all) is most happy when adapting itself and changing (quite quickly) over time.

This whole “my holier soapbox is better than you” thing is absolute crap.

Linked from Daring Fireball.

To “log in” is a phrasal verb. Englishpage.com’s phrasal verb entry.