# What is this (English Question)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-english-question/461886>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 3, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-english-question/461886 "2008-09-03T16:47:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-english-question/461886/1 "2008-09-03T16:47:02Z")

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First of all,(?) let me say that I know absolutely nothing about written English. When to properly use commas, semicolons, who/whom, me/I, etc. completely escapes me. I wouldn’t know a dependent clause,(?) or any other such construct if it hit me in the face.

Nonetheless, there’s nothing I enjoy more than correcting certain types of people when they use words such as irregardless or went for gone. (These are mostly good friends with whom(?) I have a fairly sarcastic relationship, or managerial level employes who(?) have to kiss my ass no matter how big a prick I am.) They’re also usually engineer types.

Sometimes I’ll add to my nasty correction the phrase, “_what a dope –(?) you probably don’t even know what the passive paraphrastic is, do you.”?_)

Unfortunately it has recently come to my attention that I also have no idea what the passive paraphrastic is, or even if it’s really something at all.

So, is it something, and if so what is it? Analogies/metaphors (whichever is the correct word to use here) would be greatly appreciated. Yes I know could probably Google this, but I just don’t feel like doing that/this.

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**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-english-question/461886/2 "2008-09-03T17:11:12Z")

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You mean “periphrastic” or “[periphrasis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periphrasis)”. The “passive periphrastic” would be the way that English creates the passive form of verbs by adding words, particularly parts of the verb “to be”, rather than by inflecting them as Latin does.

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-english-question/461886/3 "2008-09-03T17:17:33Z")

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If you weren’t scared of Google, you’d find that it is an old Latin construct, and misspelled.

(From [http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/latinlearning/qt/passiveperiphra.htm](http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/latinlearning/qt/passiveperiphra.htm))

> [@](#):
>
> The passive periphrastic construction in Latin expresses the idea of obligation – of “must” or ”ought.” A very familiar passive periphrastic is a phrase attributed to Cato, who was bent on destroying the Phoenicians. Cato is said to have ended his speeches with the phrase “Carthago delenda est” or “Carthage must be destroyed.”

If you’re going to nitpick other people’s grammar, yours ought to be perfect, or people will only think you’re a fool. I would advise finding a copy of a classic such as _Warriner’s_ or whatever it is they’re using in schools these days and getting cozy with it.

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**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-english-question/461886/4 "2008-09-04T14:02:22Z")

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> [@Ring](#):
>
> First of all,(?) let me say that I know absolutely nothing about written English. When to properly use commas, semicolons, who/whom, me/I, etc. completely escapes me. I wouldn’t know a dependent clause,(?) or any other such construct if it hit me in the face.
> 
> Nonetheless, there’s nothing I enjoy more than correcting certain types of people when they use words such as irregardless or went for gone.

You tread in dangerous waters. These things aren’t difficult to learn, and your post seems to indicate you aren’t quite as clueless as you plead.