tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post8422629794021835821..comments2024-02-12T16:08:52.374-08:00Comments on Wordlady: Please forbear from using "forebearer"Katherine Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06775090067364948963noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-25678945329607888262018-10-14T11:05:19.419-07:002018-10-14T11:05:19.419-07:00I certainly hope that it's not in its death th...I certainly hope that it's not in its death throes, but...I may be wrong. Lie and lay are really two different concepts, if you analyze it. Lay is a transitive verb, in any case. You LAY your burden down, then go LIE down to rest. Sigh...Hope for the best here.BerkeleyDhillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04780197101479023988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-42092771440548302222018-09-20T07:52:39.037-07:002018-09-20T07:52:39.037-07:00I think it is a US (maybe also Canadian) phenomeno...I think it is a US (maybe also Canadian) phenomenon to use lay instead of lie for 'recline' in the present tense. In British English, lay is definitely only used for the past tense. It makes incorrect grammar alarm bells go off in my head when people use lay outside of the past tense. As for your example 'I laid down', this should be 'I lay down', unless you 'laid something else down', i.e. not yourself. 'Laid' is past tense, but is different in that it is a passive action, e.g. 'He was laid to rest' (he didn't lie down himself). It is interesting to see how language use in two different cultures develops differently.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-86187252087113885952017-04-21T16:49:28.630-07:002017-04-21T16:49:28.630-07:00I would recommend "forebear"I would recommend "forebear"Katherine Barberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775090067364948963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-80359827319154676532017-04-21T08:10:36.844-07:002017-04-21T08:10:36.844-07:00So if someone were to describe themselves as being...So if someone were to describe themselves as being "a religious forebearer", would this be considered acceptable?<br /><br />... ModiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-50568116117373404292015-12-23T11:53:49.046-08:002015-12-23T11:53:49.046-08:00yesyesKatherine Barberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775090067364948963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-40999167106297577962015-12-23T11:43:08.861-08:002015-12-23T11:43:08.861-08:00So the plural of forebear is forebears???So the plural of forebear is forebears???Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07705223960620322651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-86296761021334825082012-11-10T14:24:30.871-08:002012-11-10T14:24:30.871-08:00When we researched the dictionary, that was the mo...When we researched the dictionary, that was the more common spelling in Canada, but, as I recall, not by a huge margin. I don't use the word "preferred" as it implies a value judgement (or judgment!). If two spellings are given, users are free to use whichever of the two they like. I have never used "judgment" personally (the word, that is, not the thing!). Just goes to show that the dictionary does not necessarily reflect the practices of its editor, but rather of general usage.Katherine Barberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775090067364948963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-32414792815438875392012-09-09T16:02:40.723-07:002012-09-09T16:02:40.723-07:00This is just a general one I thought you and your ...This is just a general one I thought you and your language-loving audience might enjoy via another word loving friend:<br />(Pace W S Gilbert)<br /><br />Over on the language blogs, there's a continuing debate between extreme prescriptivists (who believe dictionaries are supposed to morally lead us, among other oddities) and just about everyone else. This has been making the rounds, care of The Stroppy Editor, who makes it clear what side of the fence he comes down on:<br /><br />I am the very model of an amateur grammarian<br />I have a little knowledge and I am authoritarian<br />But I make no apology for being doctrinarian<br />We must not plummet to the verbal depths of the barbarian <br /><br />I’d sooner break my heart in two than sunder an infinitive<br />And I’d disown my closest family within a minute if<br />They dared to place a preposition at a sentence terminus<br />Or sully the Queen’s English with neologisms verminous<br /><br />I know that ‘soon’ and not ‘right now’ is the true sense of ‘presently’<br />I’m happy to correct you and I do it oh so pleasantly<br />I’m not a grammar Nazi; I’m just a linguistic Aryan<br />I am the very model of an amateur grammarian<br /><br />I’m sure people appreciate my pointing out their grammar gaffes<br />And sorting out their sentences and crossing out their paragraphs<br />When you crusade for good English, it’s not all doom and gloom you sow<br />The secret of success is: it’s not who you know; it’s whom you know<br /><br />The standards of our language are declining almost every day<br />Down from a peak in 18– or 19– I think – well, anyway<br />Pop music, TV, blogs and texting are inflicting ravages<br />Upon English and unchecked, this will turn us into savages<br /><br />I fear that sloppy language is a sign of immorality<br />For breaking rules of grammar is akin to criminality<br />So curse those trendy linguists, lexicographers and anyone<br />Who shuns the model English of the amateur grammarian<br /><br />Conjunctions at the openings of sentences are sickening<br />I wish that the decline of the subjunctive were not quickening<br />And that more people knew the proper meaning of ‘anticipate’<br />Of ‘fulsome’ and ‘enormity’, ‘fortuitous’ and ‘decimate’<br /><br />I learned these rules at school and of correctness they’re my surety<br />I cling to them for safety despite having reached maturity<br />Some say that language changes, but good English is immutable<br />And so much common usage now is deeply disreputable<br /><br />My pedantry’s demanding but I try not to feel bitter at<br />The fact that everyone I meet is borderline illiterate<br />When all around are wrong then I am proud to be contrarian<br />I am the very model of an amateur grammarian<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-89116534194313933142012-09-07T18:32:22.247-07:002012-09-07T18:32:22.247-07:00In your teaching about 'forebear,' Katheri...In your teaching about 'forebear,' Katherine, I notice you used 'judgemental' with the 'e' after the 'g.' In the Canadian Oxford Dictionary there is no 'e' after the 'g' after the first listing. Would that not be the preferred spelling?Norman D. Lawsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690110675685389513.post-17985751231351807432012-09-07T14:49:12.903-07:002012-09-07T14:49:12.903-07:00Dear Wordlady,
Do you want to comment on the death...Dear Wordlady,<br />Do you want to comment on the death of the verb "to lie" meaning to recline? I think it's in its death throes too, as I hear and see many such statements as "I want to lay down;" "I laid down"; "The answer lays in the future."Isobel Ravenhttp://i-raven-ca.squarespace.comnoreply@blogger.com