Here's a Little FREE Advice on Offering Free Services
At least once a day I read or hear something that talks about giving away something. You've seen the late night commercials. "Call now and get a second one for free!" Or you can picture a real estate ad that would say, "Buy or sell with me and use this truck for free."
My beef is not with anyone giving away additional items or services. Nope. It's the grammatical incorrectness with which they do it. Every time I hear it or read it, the voice of a radio talk show host that I used to work for echoes in my head. Perhaps you are familiar with him. G. Gordon Liddy. If you are at all familiar with his show, you can hear his voice saying exactly what I am about to repeat here:
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FOR FREE. IT IS SIMPLY FREE.
Now I'm about to whip out my inner English teacher and tell you why. The word FOR is a preposition to be used in front of NOUNS. FREE is an ADJECTIVE. So you would never use a preposition in front of an adjective. Wouldn't make sense.
We should really hold ourselves to a higher level when writing, speaking or communicating in any form...with the obvious exception of text messages which are another rant in and of themselves.
So if you want to offer something at no charge, remember it is simply free, NOT for free.
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