Dominate vs. Dominant

In reading the weary words of dominant women back from their latest round of reading replies to their personal ads they often mention pathetic spelling, piteous grammar and inadequate composition skills of the submissive guys that offer themselves.

Sadly none of these are likely to be English professors seeking an obscure form of humiliation.

If my recollection is aright one of their most common complaints is that the guys say they are looking for a dominate rather than dominant woman.

My recent survey of BDSM personals has revealed to me that too large a number of tops call themselves dominate men, couples, etc.

I’m the last person to join the grammar and spelling Gestapo but … !

It diminishes - Hell, it chokes - my sense of submission when someone I might surrender to can’t get right something so elementary. I’m not anxious to be fussy. Take no pleasure in being pedantic.

But I’d be ever so grateful it you could correct this.

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6 comments ↓

#1 Dev on 03.29.08 at 2:42 am

The mistake is probably made by analogy to “laminate” (where you have a verb and then a noun). Perhaps these folks think cows are ruminates.

This one only bugs me a little since “dominant” and “dominate” (if you pronounce it like the noun form of “laminate”) sound so similar anyway. I try not to be too snobbish.

#2 roo-roo on 03.29.08 at 8:56 am

This one annoys me too. It’d be like me saying, “I’m a submit man.”

#3 Richard on 03.31.08 at 3:12 pm

Illiteracy diminishes my ability to feel submissive.

#4 AlmostMagic on 04.01.08 at 4:18 pm

I totally agree with you on this Richard.

I know some truly lovely, wonderful people who have a really hard time with spelling and grammar and proper word usage. And I’m no English professor myself, of course. But it’s still a huge turn-off to see the kind of thing you’re talking about in a personal ad or first-impression kind of email.

#5 SammyXXX on 04.06.08 at 9:52 am

Smart people knowing the lack of search-engine intelligence, search for a “dominant woman” + “dominate”.

But I guess there is a difference between users and people… oh well, diving too much into your own html and php code can be a bad idea after all. You forget who will be looking for and at your page: the regular dude or babe, not a geek! ;)

#6 -P on 05.29.08 at 4:58 pm

Richard-combine the improper spelling within a run-on paragraph reply.

Horrors.

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