# I did something on accident. Correct English? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 29, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018 "2006-12-29T19:12:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/1 "2006-12-29T19:12:39Z")
I was just talking to a friend at work and he told me that I always say something incorrectly. Example: I dial the number and realize I was not meaning to call him, so I say “I called you on accident, sorry”. He says I should be saying ‘by accident’. Am I an non-English speaking moron? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/2 "2006-12-29T19:16:01Z")
No, but your friend is right. I would mention that it should be “a (not an) non-English speaking moron”, but that would be piling on, plus I probably left out a necessary hyphen or something. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/3 "2006-12-29T19:22:15Z")
**Jack** ’s right, but it does make me wonder why we say “ **by** accident” but “ **on** purpose”. Never really noticed that before. ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/4 "2006-12-29T19:22:26Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] No, but your friend is right. I would mention that it should be “a (not an) non-English speaking moron”, but that would be piling on, plus I probably left out a necessary hyphen or something. ☹ [/QUOTE] DAMN. I know that! What the hell is wrong with me??? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/5 "2006-12-29T19:55:44Z")
Rather than “incorrect” usage, I prefer the term “nonstandard”. Remember that today’s “errors” become tomorrow’s proper grammar. I pretty much guarantee that what will be considered correct English 100 years from now would utterly grate on the nerves of a grammarian today. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/6 "2006-12-29T20:40:05Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Rather than “incorrect” usage, I prefer the term “nonstandard”. Remember that today’s “errors” become tomorrow’s proper grammar. Some of them, yes. But when they do, I don’t see anything wrong with saying “This usage used to be considered incorrect, but is now correct English”. “Nonstandard” is okay too, I guess, but smacks rather of PC euphemism, like “differently abled” for “disabled”. In any case, I doubt that **MarineGuy** ’s idiosyncratic use of “on accident” for “by accident” is going to become standard any time soon. “By accident” has been going strong for [at least 400 years](http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/hamlet/hamlet.3.1.html) already: > [@Shakespeare in Hamlet](#): > > KING CLAUDIUS: Sweet Gertrude, leave us too; > For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither, > That he, as 'twere by accident, may here > Affront Ophelia: ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/7 "2006-12-29T20:46:19Z")
Wow, even the [urban dictionary](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=on+accident) is against me. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/8 "2006-12-29T21:24:24Z")
OTOH, it appears that another “incorrect” prepositional usage is now merely “informal” - using “off” or “off of” instead of “from”. The prevalence of online shopping may have something to do with this - “I bought that book off [of] Fred.” somehow sounds wrong, where “I bought that book off [of] Amazon.” sounds OK. Perhaps because Amazon is something you get “on” to shop at. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/9 "2006-12-30T00:13:01Z")
[QUOTE=FormerMarineGuy] What the hell is wrong with me??? [/QUOTE] Since this is GQ, do you want a factual answer to this? 😉 BTW, you could have just said, “accidentally.” ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/10 "2006-12-30T00:24:28Z")
[QUOTE=FormerMarineGuy] I was just talking to a friend at work and he told me that I always say something incorrectly. Example: I dial the number and realize I was not meaning to call him, so I say “I called you on accident, sorry”. He says I should be saying ‘by accident’. Am I an non-English speaking moron? [/QUOTE] ‘I called you by accident’ is an odd sentence. Were you trying to change channels and picked up your phone by mistake. It sounds better to say ‘Sorry, wrong number. I meant to dial someone else.’ ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/11 "2006-12-30T09:45:03Z")
[QUOTE=FormerMarineGuy] I was just talking to a friend at work and he told me that I always say something incorrectly. Example: I dial the number and realize I was not meaning to call him, so I say “I called you on accident, sorry”. He says I should be saying ‘by accident’. Am I an non-English speaking moron? [/QUOTE] It’s probably just a regional thing, but your use of phrases and tenses is slightly different from mine. (I’m from England.) I would say “I was talking to a friend at work and he told me that I always use inaccurate English” and “I dialled the number and realise I did not mean to call him”. The English department at my School state that as long as people understand you, it’s ‘transactional English’ and not worth worrying about. Unless you want to teach English… ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/12 "2006-12-30T09:46:27Z")
and “I dialled the number and **realised** I did not mean to call him”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-something-on-accident-correct-english/386018/13 "2006-12-30T11:34:36Z")
I’ve never heard anyone say ‘on accident’ before. Crazy Americans. 😉