"Aren't some rules of grammar or usage being broken here?
"Linguists and lexicographers say no. It's natural, they say, for words to take on new roles. In this case, a 'content word' (one that means something) has become a 'function word' (one that has a grammatical function but little actual meaning). Academics call the process 'grammaticalization.' It's one of the ways language changes."
In the International Herald Tribune, Patricia T. O'Conner defends a usage of "like."
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