To paraphrase Winston Churchill, abuse of the English language is something up with which I will not put. I am tired of hearing and reading the following mistakes in the media.
I do not blame the bingo-callers who say these things while reading the news, for they are chosen for their looks and not their education. I do blame the writers and editors who commit these errors to paper or screen.
"Incidences" for "incidents"
"Incidence" means the rate or range of occurrence or influence of something, especially of something unwanted, e.g. "the high incidence of heart disease in men over 40". The word would almost never be used in the plural. If you have a number of occurrences (actions or facts or instances of occurring) of, say, murder, those would be "incidents".
"Service" for "serve"
Where I grew up, "servicing" was what you took your car or your cow in for, at the appropriate season. "Serving" you was what the butcher or the baker or the propietor of the general store did if you had cash money in your hand and they weren't out fishing.
There was a third one, beginning with "A", that I meant to write about, but it has slipped my mind. That's what happens when you get to an advanced age.
I will add it when I get apoplectic (that wasn't it) enough to remember it. Meanwhile, I refer you to a good online resource: www.dictionary.com. I wish media types would check it once in a while.
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