ABC issued a press release about the much-anticipated finale of The Bachelor. The headline reads:

“DeAnna Pappas Pays a Surprise Visit to Jason That Impacts His Final Decision.”

First, the prepositional phrases in this sentence are problematic. She pays a “visit to Jason that impacts his decision.” Why not “pays Jason a visit that impacts his decision.” What has the impact: Jason or the visit?

Second — and this one really bugs me — impact is not a verb, just a noun. DeAnna’s visit influences Jason’s decision. It informs it, shapes it, affects it, altars it, challenges it. And, yes, it has an impact on it. But it does not impact it.

As the acclaimed lexicographer Bryan Garner put it, “Reserve impact for noun uses and impacted for wisdom teeth.”