Yes, I too have heard some folks who are adamant about this because some
former English teacher harped on them that "A roasted turkey is done; people
are finished."  I marvel at how those stay with people.  

All I really remember from my high school English class is my teacher was
get livid repeatedly because folks would mispronounce the word "conduit"
like "con-do-it."  According to him and some source he cited frequently, it
was supposed to be pronounced "con-dit."  

My goal as a teacher is to leave my students with more meaningful memories
than something like that!

Linda

 
Linda Comerford
317.786.6404
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www.comerfordconsulting.com

-----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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