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'Graduated College'
But not with honors
By Evan Jenkins
Hey, ejenk,” Charlie McDonald e-mailed from Las Cruces, N.M., where he is retired as a high school English teacher but active as a freelance writer and weekend singer-guitarist, “how about jumping on ‘he graduated Harvard in 1966’ “? Clearly appalled at having heard a famous broadcaster say that, Mr. McDonald added, “Zounds!”
Zounds it is. “Graduated Harvard” (or anything else) is a common error; the phrase needs “from.” Technically, it’s the institution that does the graduating — moving the student up a grade — and some traditionalists hold out for “was graduated from.” The “was” is uncommon these days, but the “from” is not optional if we don’t want to look illiterate.
CJR
