Because there is no “and” between “MacBook Pro” and “two software programs”, it should mean that they are part of a list, so the next item of the list should be another object for the same verb:

Many blunders–because they have been used for so long–have now sounded correct, but the fact remains that they are still grammatical errors.

‘I’ as a pronoun is used as the subject or in the subject of a sentence; thus, “I will give you a call.”

“Me” as a pronoun is used as the object of a verb or as the predicate or as part of the predicate. Like, for example, “Give me a call,” in which ‘me’ is the object title loans Delaware of the verb ‘give,’ as well as a part of the predicate “me a call.” The subject of the sentence is the invisible “you,” as in “You give me a call” or “You give Chris and me a call” or “You give me and Chris a call.”

Sorry, but in point number 7 you made an error that has become increasingly common in forming conditional and suberican speakers of the language.

However, if you review the example, it was in fact an “example” sentence that plays on the popular colloquialism “woulda, coulda, shoulda,” and I maintained the structure in the name of–you guessed it–parallelism.

This is one of those areas where grammatical technicians miss the point completelymunicating a point using a common reference point is better than worrying about something that is beside the point to the example. The whole sentence is bad, frankly, but that is beside the point.

Hopefully some of the people in question will read this post and change their ways

That being said, I’ll fix it, because I don’t want to mislead people into thinking the second sentence is totally correct. ??

“Over the weekend, Kevin bought online a new MacBook Pro and two software programs, and arranged for free shipping.” or: “Over the weekend, Kevin obtained online a new MacBook Pro, two software programs, and free shipping.” Or obviously the example given in the post.

I’m not sure if anyone’s mentioned it yet, but use of the apostrophe in the words “its” and “it’s” is always a little strange. I thought that maybe you’d like to add it.

Thank you very much for posting this! I am often annoyed by people making those exact mistakes in blogs and elsewhere on the internet.

Your rant against “different from” is surely exagerated–I mean it’s hardly a cardinal writing sin. “Different than” is perfectly correct in some cases, and widely accepted in the use to which you object. In fact a quick search turns up no unanimous condemnation of the phrase, but instead reams of disclaimers on how it often acceptable. Bartleby has more to say on the subject:

The phrases different from and different than are both common in British and American English. The British also use the construction different to. Since the 18th century, language critics have singled out different than as incorrect, though it is well attested in the works of reputable writers. If you want to follow traditional guidelines, use from when the comparison is between two persons or things: My book is different from (not than) yours. Different than is more acceptably used, particularly in American usage, where the object of comparison is expressed by a full clause: The campus is different than it was twenty years ago. You can use different from with a clause if the clause starts with a conpus is different from how it was twenty years ago.