I hate the Bay and Sears.

They use bad grammar.

I decided to put this here, instead of on my website, because it’s a specific example, not a general rule, and it concerns stores and brands and stuffs, so that puts it into the media category. Sort of. ANYWAY.

You know how you always hear them saying “GET A FREE GIFT WITH A PURCHASE OF OVER $$$ OR MORE” in commercials and stuffs?
Ums, that’s two errors right there.
1) “Free gift” is unnecessarily repetitive. By definition, gifts are free. Saying “free gift” is like saying “stupid evilhilary”…the adjective is already included in the definition of the noun, so please. Don’t repeat. By repeating, it throws doubt on the actual definition… “Hey, if it’s a ‘free gift’ this time, what happens to the next ‘gift’? We have to pay for it?” Then…it’s not a gift, simple as that.
2) “With a purchase of over $$$ or more”. The word “over” already specifies that your purchase has the exceed the given amount. The addition of “or more” is just another way of saying it tagged onto the existing sentence; it’s not necessary and clutters up the sentence. Basically the same issue as the first issue: repetitiveness. Either cut out the “over” or “or more”…you don’t need both. In fact, with both, it’s incorrect.

I don’t buy from these stores. I won’t until they tidy up their grammar.