Are there really books saying that "done" is substandard? I guess we can add
this to the list of rules that aren't really rules. It is amazing how
passionate people can get about such shibboleths. 

Nancy L. Tuten, PhD
Professor of English
Director of the Writing-across-the-Curriculum Program
Columbia College
Columbia, South Carolina
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803-786-3706

-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Karl Hagen
Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 2:43 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: done

We might equally well ask where this word rage against "done" =
"finished" comes from, since it doesn't appear to be based on any facts
about actual English usage.

"Done" has been used as an adjective in this sense since the 14th
century (originally with "have", and since the 18th century with "be").
It has been used by any number of canonical authors, including Dickens
and Twain.

The handful of usage books that claim it's a problem are simply perverse
and should be ignored. It's unquestionably standard.

Jane Saral wrote:
> I know that this issue has been addressed before, but I was just at dinner
> with someone who grows livid hearing the word "done" used to mean
> "finished."  I have never found it particularly objectionable, though I
> probably would not use it in really formal circumstances. (Still, I
> might...)  Anyway, where did the usage come from?  and when did it arise?
> Jane Saral
> Atlanta
> 
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