Attention sports directors, political pundits, gambling gurus, and anyone else who really ought to know better. You may be extremely well-versed and competent when it comes to knowing who’s who and what’s what in terms of players, teams, betting lines, and political candidates. But please try to give as much attention to how you say things.
Of course, I’m not referring to all of the practitioners of the occupations listed above. Only the ones whom I seem to be subjected to when I watch or listen to any number of media platforms.
I’ll try to be brief. The word you’re meaning to use is versus. It’s Latin. But you needn’t have even taken a lesson in Latin to know that. If it helps to clarify, here you go.
Verse (noun)
a group of lines that form a unit in a poem or song; a stanza.
plural noun: verses
Versus (preposition)
against (especially in sports and legal use).
“Penn versus Princeton”
So, it’s not “Ali verse Frazier.” It’s “Ali versus Frazier.”
It’s not “Bird verse Magic.” It’s “Bird versus Magic.”
It’s not “Harris verse Trump.” It’s “Harris embarrasses versus Trump.”
Very simple, yet very important. And it will undoubtedly make you very much more respected in your professional career and everyday life.
By the way, when you’re writing, you can cheat and get away with simply using “vs.”or even “v.” (of course if you prefer British English, you can drop the periods and just use “vs” or “v”.
But remember, whichever way you write it, always speak it as “VERSUS’.
