“I have got a fine farm.” “He has got four sons and three daughters.” “James has got a rare collection of butterflies.” In such expressions got is superfluous. But, if the idea of gaining or acquiring is to be conveyed, the word got may be retained; as, “I have got my license,” “I have got my degree,” “I have got my reward.”
“Can I borrow a pencil off of you?” “I bought a knife off of him yesterday.” Such faulty expressions are very common among school children, and should be promptly checked by the teacher. The off is superfluous.
“He jumped off of the boat.” Say, “He jumped off the boat.”
The young lady appointed to sell articles at a church fair entreated her friends to “buy something off of me.” She should say, “Please buy something from me,” or “Make your purchases at my table.”
For to see
“But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?” Matt. xi, 8. “I will try for to do what you wish.” This form of expression, once very common, is now obsolete. Omit for.
Appreciate highly
To appreciate is to set a full value upon a thing. We may value highly, or prize highly, or esteem highly, but the word highly when used with appreciate is superfluous.
Ascend up