Bruce,
I hear (and see) a very large number of instances of "had went," and
agree with the idea it's just a dialectal variant. Many of my
(Michigander) students are unaware that "had gone" is the standard form
until I tell them, and I suspect some of them still don't believe me.
Bill Spruiell
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bruce Despain
Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 12:01 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: copy editing
I am not a copy editor, but I think the authors of these quote have
performed adequately in expressing their ideas. Personally I believe
some of it could be improved stylistically - not grammatically. The
second quote seems to be lacking the next sentence about what was heard
from the PR assistant. This would harmonize with the first sentence and
more fully justify the perfect aspect in the second. (Please don't get
upset because I didn't comply fully with your request - just ignore me
as unqualified. I've tried to find "had" in front of past tense verbs,
such as "had was" "had did" "had took" but haven't found them yet. I do
hear a "had went" occasionally, but assume it was a dialect variant of
"had gone" and not a past tense at all.)
I asked Hal if she knew of any Maghreb chefs in the banieues who were
specializing in French fare and she said she did. She had recently met a
young cook from one of the suburbs who was interested in doing French
cuisine. However, she couldn't recall his name nor where he worked.
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brad Johnston
Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 8:53 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: copy editing
Comrades,
If you can handle this without mentioning the forbidden p.p. words,
please consider one or both of these two quotes. Perhaps someone who
believes that correction is appropriate for learners (e.g., me) would
deal with the quotes as if you were the copy editor preparing the two
items for publication.
If you like, put words to be (deleted) in parentheses and underline
words to be added.
~~~
I asked Hal if she knew of any Maghreb chefs in the banieues who were
specializing in French fare. She said she had recently met a young cook
from one of the suburbs who was interested in doing French cuisine, but
she couldn't recall his name or where he worked.
~~~
I heard much the same from from a twentysomething PR assistant to Alain
Senderens while interviewing the legendary chef in 2006. When I had
asked Senderens if he was concerned about the dining habits of French
youths, he had waved his hands dismissively and assured me there was
nothing to worry about; the kids would come around -- they always did.
~~~
.brad.20nov09.
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