Comments on: The Future Half-Life of Verbs http://blog.longnow.org/2007/10/24/the-future-half-life-of-verbs/ The Official Weblog of The Long Now Foundation and Friends Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:16:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.3 By: adrian http://blog.longnow.org/2007/10/24/the-future-half-life-of-verbs/#comment-2795 adrian Mon, 29 Oct 2007 22:56:16 +0000 http://blog.longnow.org/2007/10/24/the-future-half-life-of-verbs/#comment-2795 Stickly, I think you completely miss(ed) the point. Stickly, I think you completely miss(ed) the point.

]]> By: Stickly McSticklerson http://blog.longnow.org/2007/10/24/the-future-half-life-of-verbs/#comment-2790 Stickly McSticklerson Sun, 28 Oct 2007 18:31:16 +0000 http://blog.longnow.org/2007/10/24/the-future-half-life-of-verbs/#comment-2790 "Sinked?" Shurely you're joking. That's twice removed from the current, generally accepted simple past: "sank." The simple past forms of the verbs you cited *do not* all form with a u. They are: I sank, I stung, I swam, I wrung, I sprang. The past *perfect* forms are: I have sunk, I have stung, I have swum, I have wrung, I have sprung. Just because language evolves is no excuse to write or speak sloppily--it conveys an image that the writer or speaker would probably not wish to convey. Always the prescriptivist, Stickly McSticklerson “Sinked?” Shurely you’re joking. That’s twice removed from the current, generally accepted simple past: “sank.”

The simple past forms of the verbs you cited *do not* all form with a u. They are:

I sank, I stung, I swam, I wrung, I sprang.

The past *perfect* forms are:

I have sunk, I have stung, I have swum, I have wrung, I have sprung.

Just because language evolves is no excuse to write or speak sloppily–it conveys an image that the writer or speaker would probably not wish to convey.

Always the prescriptivist,
Stickly McSticklerson

]]> By: Marsh Gardiner http://blog.longnow.org/2007/10/24/the-future-half-life-of-verbs/#comment-2771 Marsh Gardiner Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:41:55 +0000 http://blog.longnow.org/2007/10/24/the-future-half-life-of-verbs/#comment-2771 What's the estimate for half-life of adjectives--how long will it take for vernacular to degrade to venecular? ;) (Enjoying your fab content as always, KK.) What’s the estimate for half-life of adjectives–how long will it take for vernacular to degrade to venecular? ;)

(Enjoying your fab content as always, KK.)

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