Search results for 'tag:Verbs tag:American English' matching tags 'Verbs' and 'American English'

Re: Difference between "lately" and "recently" ?

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:12:10 GMT

There is a difference in sentence position, it seems. At least in American English, "lately" does not seem natural between the subject and the verb, whereas "recently" sounds fine there.
For example: I've recently been studying Norwegian in earnest. (sounds okay)
                    I've lately been studying Norwegian in earnest. (weird)
Both can stand at the beginning and end of these sentences.
Also "lately" doesn't work in simple past sentences.
For example: Recently, I began studying Norwegian. (okay)
                    Lately, I began studying Norwegian. (weird)
The two words seem equal in the perfect tenses, except for the positional problem that "lately" has before the main verb.

Re: round him, to get

Kooyeen — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:03:33 GMT

Hi,
"round" can be used as an adverb in British English, as fas as I know, and it is the same as "around", which is the usual one in American English.

I put my arm round him to comfort him. = I put my arm around him to comfort him.

If we put the chairs a bit closer together (= move them nearer to each other), we should be able to get another one round the table. = I think here it means "to make another chair fit around the table".

Re: usgae of "was"..correct??..pls explain?

Sausages — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:56:52 GMT

The plural verb is apparently a feature of British English, where American English users opt for using chiefly the singular.

But, being native to neither language, I guess my hands are free :)

I have a theory, that if I were to speak this sentence, I would use 'were', whereas if I were to write it, I'd use the singular 'was'. Does that make sense?

Re: dreamed and dreamt

Grammar Geek — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:00:22 GMT

Hello anon,

I'm not sure why you chose to stand on your soapbox about the declining state of English on a post that was almost two years old, but you are mistaken.

Regarding dive:http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dive - usage Dive, which was originally a weak verb, developed a past tense dove, probably by analogy with verbs like drive, drove. Dove exists in some British dialects and has become the standard past tense especially in speech in some parts of Canada. In the United States dived and dove are both widespread in speech as past tense and past participle, with dove less common than dived in the south Midland area, and dived less common than dove in the Northern and north Midland areas. In writing, the past tense dived is usual in British English and somewhat more common in American English. Dove seems relatively rare as a past participle in writing.

Regarding sneak: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sneak - usage From its earliest appearance in print in the late 19th century as a dialectal and probably uneducated form, the past and past participle snuck has risen to the status of standard and to approximate equality with sneaked. It is most common in the United States and Canada but has also been spotted in British and Australian English.

Regarding fun: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fun - note the adjective function, making "so fun" perfectaly acceptable.

Regarding hang: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hang usage For both transitive and intransitive senses 1b the past and past participle hung, as well as hanged, is standard. Hanged is most appropriate for official executions <he was to be hanged, cut down whilst still aliveâ¦and his bowels torn out â Louis Allen> but hung is also used <gave orders that she should be hungâ Peter Quennell>. Hung is more appropriate for less formal hangings <by morning I'll be hung in effigy â Ronald Reagan>.

Next time, try consulting a dictionary instead of your own sense of indignation.

Re: participle as a subject

CalifJim — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:48:17 GMT

Cool Breeze
I am walking. Walking is an adjective?

"allegedly" See below.

From Introduction to the Grammar of English (Huddleston, Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)

... participles are said to be 'verbal adjectives'.

First example given:

He was telling the truth.

Later:

... a present participle ... allegedly has adjectival properties. I say 'allegedly' because it is difficult to see any significant functional resemblance to an adjective ... [in the first example on the list].

He goes on to say that the -ing words in such examples are clearly verbs, while in other contexts they are clearly adjectives.

_____

With respect to the original question then, I suppose the more accurate description is that participles are either parts of verb phrases or are adjectives. In either case, a participle -- being verb or adjective -- cannot be the subject of a sentence unless it is in the cleft sentence structure, as illustrated earlier in the thread by GG. I think that's the only structure that allows a participle or an adjective to be promoted to the status of a noun phrase so it can be a subject.

At least that's my claim. Maybe someone can provide a counterexample. That would be instructive.

Edit:

'Destroyed' is the best description of that town.

Here a participle (adjective) is promoted to a noun and is the subject of the sentence. So there are cases other than the cleft sentence structure that allow it. Nevertheless, note the quotes. It works in the same way that anything in quotes can be promoted to subject:

'Xygneoowytoeyy' is a nonsense word.

'got into the truck' is not a complete sentence.

_____

Your question opens up a good many sticky points in the terminology. Do we (Can we) talk about certain structures by naming them without regard to their function in context? Or not? Probably not. Is love a noun or a verb? Only context will tell.

Cool Breeze
To hear him sing is an unforgettable experience.

to hear him sing is a sentence with a non-finite verb used as a noun phrase in a higher level sentence. The idea is that the terminological identity of a word or group of words may change depending on which level in a hierarchy of clauses it is considered. At the lowest level of the "tree", to hear is indeed an infinitive (a non-finite verb), but in the context of the whole sentence (higher in the hierarchical tree), to hear him sing is the subject of the main clause, is nominal in nature, and is called a noun phrase. (Infinitives are often nominal in nature, so this is not surprising; for example, [I want + noun phrase] can take either of these forms: I want some pizza. I want to sing.)

Cool Breeze
Using an infinitive as a subject may not be common in American English

Actually, infinitives are used in AmE as subjects. The location geographically or historically has nothing to do with it. But infinitives (and their complement(s), if any), taken together, can make noun phrases.

To be absolutely precise, it is a noun phrase (NP) that must be the subject of a sentence. I oversimplified by saying 'noun or pronoun'.

Re: participle as a subject

Cool Breeze — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:02:01 GMT

CalifJim
The basic problem is that a participle is an adjective. Adjectives can't be subjects. Only nouns (or pronouns) can.
CJ

I am walking. Walking is an adjective?

To hear him sing is an unforgettable experience. To hear is an infinitive, in other words, a verb, not a noun or a pronoun. Using an infinitive as a subject may not be common in American English but it has been used that way for centuries - and is used as a subject in other varieties of English even today.

Re: illegal immigrant

Delmobile — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:09:34 GMT

You could say "California is the most heavily populated with illegal immigrants state in the US," maybe, but it's very awkward. I would say, "California has the largest population of illegal immigrants in the US."

Even in American English, with its many nouns used as verbs, hyphenated compounds made up on the spot, and other shortcuts, it is sometimes impossible to avoid chains of prepositional phrases.

Re: Advise vs. advice

Yoong Liat — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:07:05 GMT

Don't depend on Microsoft spellcheck all the time. Refer to your dictionary when in doubt.

Take care to spell these two words correctly. In both British and American English, the noun is advice and the verb is to advise. (The Right Word at the Right Time)

You're right. It should be Please advise.

Re: Football / Ice hockey results and scores: How to write and talk

optilang — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:13:17 GMT

That is interesting indeed and I agree with you Old Man Gordon. I am from Finland and according to my Finnish-English dictionary I should say "Finland is leading 2-0" without using the plural verb and
"The Finns are leading 2-0" when using a plural expression. But I guess this is just a difference between British and American English.

I guess so. I am not from America or Finland.

Re: Football / Ice hockey results and scores: How to write and talk

EagerSeeker — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:04:46 GMT

Old Man Gordon

Optilang-

Is that how it is said on sportscasts in England? The team uses a plural verb, even if the noun (England/Manchester United/etc.) is singular? In the US, we'd use the plural only when talking about the team name which is usually plural, eg The Yakees are losing./ New York is losing.

It gets confusing with the modern innovation of uncountable team names. The Detroit Shock is winning (are winning?).