Over the winter break, we had friends over, played lively games of “Throw, Throw Burrito” (Have you tried it? Always fun. Sometimes heated.), and debated the finer points of grammar. Yes, we’re kinda nerdy like that. Besides me correcting my children’s tendency to ask “Where is it at?” (son- you don’t need that extra preposition), we debated the use of “by accident” versus “on accident”.
I immediately thought “by accident” was right because it’s what I’m used to. But saying “on accident” just substitutes one preposition with similar meaning for another, so could it be incorrect? I consulted Grammar Girl, the Grammarist, and Urban Dictionary to find out.
Grammar girl consulted a study done by Leslie Barratt, a professor of Linguistics at Indiana State University. Barratt found that the use of “by accident” or “on accident” appears to be driven by age. People born before 1970 use “by accident”, people born between 1970 and 1994 use either form, and people born after 1995 usually use “on accident”. “By accident” is more popular in written language, but its use has declined since 1940. Urban dictionary called “on accident” a “terrible, terrible grammar plague.” The Grammarist says the “on purpose” variation is used exclusively in the United States.
No one, including Barratt, can explain why. Some have suggested the change came as a parallel construction to “on purpose”. Some think it could be the influence of Spanish language in the U.S. Others think “an accident” has been misheard as “on accident”. Many agree the expression has spread via the media, and that is why it’s more popular with younger Americans. Although some style guides discourage the use of “on accident”, it will probably grow in popularity as time progresses.
So there you go… like so many other things in life, this question has a gray answer. If you still aren’t sure which phrase to use, you could always say “accidentally”. That avoids the whole problem!
Thank you to Catherine for this blog post inspiration, and good luck in the grammar debate with your dad!
Which do you use, “by accident or on accident”, and why? I definitely prefer “by accident”, but perhaps that’s showing my age. 😉
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
Interesting. I thought it was regional in the US. I’m born in 1971 in the Mid-Atlantic and say “by- ;” a girl I dated who grew up in Texas by way of Wisconsin and was born in 1972 said, “on- .” Now my 12yo daughter says the former and my 8yo son says the latter. Both have been educated so far in Vermont.
You’ll also note that I punctuate inside of quotes.
Finally, my 12th grade English teacher told us that you could predict the number of baths in the house someone grew up in by the amount of semicolons that a person uses. I always aspired to seem like we had more than one bathroom!
😉
Ha! So all theories are debunked in your experience! I like the semicolon ~ bathroom relationship! I’d never heard that but it made me smile. Thanks for contributing. 🙂
Born in the 60’s, “by accident” is what I’ve always known until my daughters started saying “on accident”. I thought it was odd, but it’s definitely gaining significant popularity, and that’s how language changes. I figured it’s the counter to “on purpose”.
Personally I think that if “on accident” (ugh) is used exclusively (or almost exclusively?) in the United States, then your preferred use of it shows how wordly you are, not your age. 🙂
Well, thank you. I appreciate the compliment! Thanks for stopping by!
That’s ridiculous. So, if I travel the world and hear others say “by accident,” I’m suddenly going to start saying that instead of “on accident?”
Furthermore, if someone is born and raised in England, but never travels elsewhere, nor does he care to study other cultures, he is still more “worldly” because of his accidental birth into a country that uses “by accident?”
C’mon…
So, Sean, I think you are debating what makes someone worldly here, not the use of on accident vs. by accident, yes? Perhaps I could explore that in another post. The basic gist of my post here is that there is no right answer and in the US usage seems to depend on age.
On a semi-related/unrelated note, here is a question: are you British? I ask because you seem to eschew the American grammar rule that punctuation goes inside quotation marks, as in (above), …you could always say “accidentally”. – and several other places in this same “by vs. on” article. AP, APA, Grammar Girl, Chicago, and MLA style books often italicize the word always when discussing the rule that in the U.S. the punctuation goes inside (except on Jeopardy), in Britain outside.
Ha ha! I am not British. I just think it makes more sense to have the punctuation outside of the quotation mark if it isn’t part of a quote. I did NOT realize that my bias flies in the face of so many American grammar experts. I will look into this further, and perhaps do a post on it! Thanks for the question! 😉
Sorry, I’m late to the party yet again.
I’m a “by accident” person. Probably because I was born some time before 1970. Also, I live in Australia and I haven’t heard “on accident”, even from young folks.
As for your extra preposition, “off of” always gets my goat.
Better late than never! Thanks for contributing your experience and giving some outside US perspective!
I have always used “by accident”, “on accident” just sounds odd to me. Of course that could be due to my age, falling into the born before 1970 category!
I hear you Carl! I’m a 1971 baby, and it sounds odd to me too! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
By accident! Always! On accident makes me cringe!
Fascinating post! I’m a “by accident” lady!
Yay! Always knew I liked you. 😉
Often, American terms are actually older English ones that have fallen out of use here, but in England I’ve never heard “on accident” used, even by my teenaged daughters.
Thank you! That confirms the research I found saying that “on accident” is an American phenomenon! I think “by accident” sounds better. 😉