Grammar Question

A TV commercial says "we're servicing five hundred clients each week." Servicing is done on mechanical equipment - cars, air conditioners. Shouldn't they have said we "serve" five hundred clients?

• It's not about grammar, it's about marketing. People like to be serviced.

• Was it an ad for a brothel? If so, the use might be appropriate.

• It's called back-formation, OP. It is a common way for technically incorrect words to evolve from fringe misuse into common parts of the lexicon. It happens when people incorrectly confuse word endings (such as those that turn a verb into a noun (serve to service) or a verb into a participle (serve to serving)). Not understanding what the base word should often be, people create new base words that gradually come into common use. It's why you see words like conversate, commentate, notate, orientate, etc.

  Pollyanna%20Prisspot%2C%20School%20Marm

• [quote]It is a common way for technically incorrect words to evolve from fringe misuse into common parts of the lexicon. See "gifting".

• Another good example, R4. It gives prescriptive grammarians major headaches.

  PPSM

• OP, I agree. Lawn mowers and heifers are serviced.

• when I called a department at a big Boston hospital yesterday, I got a recorded message saying that the assistant was servicing other callers and would be with me shortly.

• sounds like what has happened with people who think brown shoes are ever appropriate with a navy suit.

• There's some kind of scammy-sounding outfit that advertises on the radio that will set up your small business with a "completely furnished" office in the location of your choice: Chicago, L.A. etc. "Wherever you decide to office." Shoot. Me.

• [quote]people who think brown shoes are ever appropriate with a navy suit. Isn't that a cowboy thing?

• I can't stand the use of "addicting" as an adjective.

• [quote] It happens when people incorrectly confuse word endings Like "orientated"? That one makes me nuts. Oh wait, I guess it doesn't fit. It's not that a word ending is confused with another; it's that the word ending doesn't exist.

• Oy I didn't read the whole post!

• I think [italic]orientated[/italic] is a Britishism.

• Remember Bush saying "Too many ob-gyns aren't able to practice their love with women"?

• I'm with you, vis a vis "addicting. Oh well. I guess it's now a word.

• "Servicing" always makes me think of blow jobs. My boss also sometimes innocently uses the expression "hook-up" to mean "meet" and I have to suppress a chortle.

• Hook-up was an innocent meeting, until ambiguous perverts with their nonsensical sex definitions hijacked it.

• To serve man.

• OP, why do you have such a distaste for using the word "service" as a verb? Are you grammarphobic?

• [quote]Shouldn't they have said we "serve" five hundred clients? It's a cookbook!

  Twilight%20Zone

• When I hear people say "conversate" I'm tempted to "service" them with my foot up their ass.

• You're cute, R21.

  R19

• R3 the word "serving" is also considered the gerund of the verb. In that sense it can act as a noun and not just a participle.

• OP..."servicing" is correct because it implies that the service is ongoing; there is action taking place. "Serve" is also correct, but "serve" in this context has the implication that it's very start and stop, meaning it's one after the other. Whereas, "servicing" implies ongoing customer service or a bit more personal.