tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post6466273109749583088..comments2024-03-27T21:54:06.467-07:00Comments on Wordlady: If the past tense of "teach" is "taught", why isn't the past tense of "reach" "raught"?Katherine Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06775090067364948963noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-40251034857032395022017-04-21T16:51:55.855-07:002017-04-21T16:51:55.855-07:00using nouns as verbs and verbs as nouns is not a n...using nouns as verbs and verbs as nouns is not a new trend. It has been going on in English for centuries. See this post https://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2010/09/verbs-its-ok-to-do-this-really.htmlKatherine Barberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775090067364948963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-33820850861134618622017-04-20T00:14:43.416-07:002017-04-20T00:14:43.416-07:00A phrase was common among language literate comput...A phrase was common among language literate computer engineers when I was in college in the mid- and late 80s: "All nouns can be verbed." It now seems to be a trend.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-65491057753438150482016-11-01T06:16:11.255-07:002016-11-01T06:16:11.255-07:00The inconsistency of various past tenses of the wo...The inconsistency of various past tenses of the word "teach" is but one of millions of head-scratchers now in or entering our language. We use to "take a look." Now TV reporters ask us to "take a listen." I'm guessing we will soon be not only "drawing a conclusion" but "drawing and opinion" as well.<br /><br />I blame Wolf Blitzer for accelerating this language creation frenzy we are "enjoying." During the original Gulf War in 1990, he indicated he didn't have many details on the subject about which he was reporting, but he was "efforting" to learn more. I am conclusioning that there will soon be no hard and fast rules in languaging.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-27961047710415171182016-02-08T08:03:03.257-08:002016-02-08T08:03:03.257-08:00I LOVE your website. I can easily "lose"...I LOVE your website. I can easily "lose" an hour on the bunny trails that appear. I am fascinated with the ins and outs of our language. As an ESL teacher, I am often confronted with the "why" of the seeming exceptions, such as these. Knowing some etymology helps us see that they are not truly exceptions (although that doesn't always help my students deal with the irregularities)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02599793202715824228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-33657144076615391432013-04-13T08:08:38.265-07:002013-04-13T08:08:38.265-07:00Preach was never an Anglo-Saxon word so it didn...Preach was never an Anglo-Saxon word so it didn't have an irregular conjugation. We got it from the Norman French "precher", a squished-down version of the Latin praedicare (to proclaim publically) and then its spelling was changed by analogy with words like reach and teach.<br />The origin of "leach" is obscure. "Breach" has been used as a verb only since the 1800s, formed on the noun "breach" meaning "a break". Verbs formed like this, and at such a late date, are always regular. Katherine Barberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775090067364948963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-26250653610590943032013-04-12T15:11:22.881-07:002013-04-12T15:11:22.881-07:00What about words like preach, leach, breech did th...What about words like preach, leach, breech did they ever appear as praught etc?<br /><br />JoeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com