Ever Since and Every Sense of the Word

Ever Since and Every Sense of the Word Ever Since and Every Sense of the Word Ever Since and Every Sense of the Word By Maeve Maddox Many misspellings are the result of mispronunciation. The first time I saw the expression â€Å"ever since† written as â€Å"ever sense,† I assumed that it had been written by the speaker of a regional dialect. For example, where I live, it’s often impossible to tell if someone is asking to borrow a pen or a pin. Since is an adverb. The expression â€Å"ever since† means, â€Å"from that time until now.† For example, â€Å"He was elected in 1983 and has served in the Senate ever since.† Sense is used as both noun and verb: The sense of sight is perhaps the most treasured of the five senses. (noun) Do you sense the excitement in the room? (verb) When I started searching the Web for examples of the â€Å"ever sense† error, I was surprised to find them all over the map. Of course, there’s no way to tell if a writer grew up in the American South, but I did find examples of sense for since on sites originating outside the South–in Utah, Michigan, and even in the United Kingdom. And not just on blogs or in forums, but on professional sites as well. Here are some of my gleanings: Ever sense the update, my iPhone 4S will randomly shut off at least once a day. Let’s assume for the sake of argument that this was the only bad thing [he’s] ever done in his life and he’s behaved perfectly ever sense. Ever sense the Maryland Senate elections, I’ve wondered He started mock elections in Payson and has been doing it ever sense. They have been talking about term limits ever sense term limits was made [a] word about 100 years ago. The resultant settlement has commanded broad consensual support ever sense. This example from a site offering research papers for sale uses the word since correctly in the same sentence as the error: .has been present since the 1950s and has only been growing ever sense. In the course of tracking this misuse of sense in the expression â€Å"ever since,† I encountered numerous examples of the misuse of ever in the idiom â€Å"in every sense of the word.† In â€Å"every sense of the word,† every is an adjective describing the noun sense. â€Å"In every sense of the word† means â€Å"in all the ways this word may be defined.† Ever is an adverb. The phrase â€Å"ever sense of the word† is meaningless, but that doesn’t stop it from being widely used: A real Palace in ever sense of the word Excellent in ever sense of the word! [The game] Ihan Crystal is flawed, in ever sense of the word. 2012 was a disaster in ever sense of the word. I mean big in ever sense of the word you can come up with. I am an optimist in ever sense of the word. Like the Elephant’s Child, I’m a little warm (in every sense of the word), but not at all astonished. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Masters Degree or Master's Degree?26 Feels of Insufficient Hyphenation