Whenever I hear this, it drives me nuts!

I've become a fan of both The Voice and The Biggest Loser. Yes, it is true. However, the grammar on both shows' latest seasons has me pulling my hair out.

Christina Aguilera has an amazing voice, but her word choice could use some work

Let's begin with The Voice, in which the judges begin with their backs to the singing contestants and only turn around if they like what they hear. One of the judges last season repeatedly uttered a cringe-inducing variation of the following statement:

"Whenever I heard you sing, I just knew I had to turn my chair around."

WRONG.

Whenever is used to indicate something that happened, or happens, with regularity over time. Following are some correct examples.

Past tense:

Whenever our parents took us to the zoo, my sister and I always headed straight for the giraffes.
Whenever my brother had a day off, he and I would try to catch a matinee.

Present tense:

Whenever I have free time, I squeeze in an afternoon nap.
Whenever she sings that song, I get chills.

When is used to indicate something that happened, or happens, just once. Following are some correct examples.

Past tense:

When I arrived that morning, I had no idea what to expect.
When I heard you sing, I just knew I had to turn my chair around.

Present tense:

When I see him, I will give him your message.
When we're done playing soccer, let's go for a beer.

Let's move on to The Biggest Loser, where a contestant had come to terms with her grandmother's getting voted off the show. She told the camera she was "okay with it whenever it happened."

I wasn't! You see why?

-Maria

Maria Murnane is the best-selling author of the romantic comedies Perfect on Paper, It's a Waverly Life, and Honey on Your Mind. She also provides consulting services on book publishing and marketing. Learn more at www.mariamurnane.com.

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Comment by Lauren Michelle on November 3, 2012 at 7:01am: Nice grammar lesson. WHENEVER I watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it always gives me warm and fuzzies that Hermione says "I couldn't care less" rather than "I could care less." I've heard a lot of people use the latter phrase, when really it's the former that makes sense. It makes me happy, because it means that Emma Watson knew and cared about her character enough to acknowledge the character's respect for the English language and use it properly. But I've also read that Emma Watson is just as bright as her Harry Potter counter-part, which makes sense. I watched extras on the Stand By Me DVD where Rob Reiner says it's always best to cast kids whose personalities are similar to a particuluar character, because at such a young age they often don't have the mental or emotional capabilities to tap into a mindframe that is too different from their own. Excuse me for rambling off on that subject. I can be loquacious at times. That is why I'm here. :)

Comment by Anne Bennett on November 2, 2012 at 5:09am: Hi,

Really bad grammar can jerk me out of a book I am enjoying and TV is often much worse, so I think it is important that people get it right. And it is not set to improve here in uk either as for some years now they haven't taught grammar in many schools because it was considered too difficult for children to grasp! Teaching spelling has also been frowned upon. I thought this was mind bogglingly stupid. Now they are trying to return to basics but in my opinion we have failed many children by not teaching them the grammatical rules and correct spelling of the language they speak.

Comment by Suzanne Mathis McQueen on November 1, 2012 at 5:01pm: Excellent. Simple and easy to remember. Thank you, Maria.

Comment by Sharon D. Dillon on November 1, 2012 at 2:09pm: Thank you for this grammar lesson. I appreciate all the help I can get. My biggest gringe inducing word is "that," as in "Jeff was the person that called to tell me...."

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