On the same note: You SCRATCH an ITCH. You don’t ITCH a SCRATCH.
God, that really hides my chaps…er…
As noted above, “loose” is a verb as well as an adjective.
Exactly, which is why it seemingly makes more sense to assume “loosen” is the past-perfect form of the verb “loose,” just as “given” and “taken” are the past-perfect form of the verbs “give” and “take.”
I assume the verb “to loosen” conjugates as “I loosen; I loosened; I have loosened,” while the verb “to loose” conjugates as “I loose; I loosed; I have loosen.” But I’m not sure and I freely admit I’ve never heard anyone actually say “I have loosen.”
Does anyone know of any other infinitive verbs that end in “-en”? Just curious.
Just off the top of my head, “lighten” and “darken.” If you allow German, I can come up with a bunch more.
Oh, and “breath” is a noun. “Breathe” is a verb.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Thudlow Boink *
**
harken/hearken
harden
toughen
Not really analogous, though.
Another one that bugs me is “lead” versus “led.” All of a sudden people are using “lead” as its own past tense. “He led in the polls last week.” Not “He lead in the polls last week.” The only time “lead” rhymes with “bed” is when discussing the metal.
**
Of course the most obvious would be “tighten.” I have seen “loose” used as a verb before, mostly in older writing, but I cannot think of a quote to illustrate it. It’s kind of interesting that we have “loose” and “loosen,” “tight” and “tighten,” but in one case both can be used as verbs while in the other this isn’t true.
I would think it’s “I loose; I loosed; I have loosed.” Just my guess. If you start with “Let loose the dogs of war” (I think that’s a real quote), then you get “I loose the dogs of war; I loosed the dogs of war; I have loosed the dogs of war.” I have rarely heard “loose” used as a verb; I would used “loosen.” (These words are really starting to look strange now.)
Actually, Esprix’s version is the formal American way of doing punctuation with quotes, but it not universal. I’ve seen The Ryan’s way being used more and more.
I always thought the quote was “cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war.” From Shakespeare?
Yes, it’s a quotation is from Julius Caesar.
Other words, frighten, stiffen, brighten, lighten, straighten.
This Pit thread begins to look like an orphan from GQ or MPSIMS.
“O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times.
Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,–
Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips,
To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue–
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;
Blood and destruction shall be so in use
And dreadful objects so familiar
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quarter’d with the hands of war;
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:
And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice
Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial”
–Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene i
Not a bad pit rant, actually.
Here’s one I’ve seen a few times, and was just reminded of today in another Pit thread.
The term is “deep-seated” NOT “deep-seeded”.
It makes me near homicidal to see this sort of thing;
“A womEn …”
I can’t count how many times I have seen this happen.
I have noticed it more from people I have talked to in Canada.
Maybe I should recant long enough to ask,“Is this the way you guys spell it?”
anyone,anyone,?