Did anyone notice how NBC kept talk about Phelps's unprecedented  
winning of eight gold medals in a single Olympic games?  A games?  Can  
you say that?

Peter Adams


On Aug 26, 2008, at 10:51 PM, STAHLKE, HERBERT F wrote:

> There's a slightly too broad maxim in English grammar that "any noun  
> can be verbed."  In many cases--claim, hope, report, etc.--they've  
> been used long enough to become established in formal standard  
> usage.  I know editors and teachers who will still reject "impact"  
> as a verb, although it's widely used and has a history going back to  
> 1601.  "Medal" first appears as a verb, in the OED entry, in 1822,  
> but all uses until 1966 are passive.  The first active use is about  
> divers medaling in several of their events, reported in the Van Nuys  
> Valley News.  The OED does not have an entry for "podium" as a verb,  
> so that one has to be more recent.  Whether a particular denominal  
> verb should be used is very much a matter of taste.
>
> Herb
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask] 
> ] On Behalf Of diane skinner
> Sent: 2008-08-26 20:43
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: noun verbs
>
> To All (or anyone),
>
> Assuming that nouns and verbs are labeled as form classes (they accept
> derivational and/or inflectional morphemes) and considering
> that restrictions on word selection and its position allow the hearer
> ( and/or reader) to understand what the speaker (and/or writer) is
> trying to communicate, yet recognizing that these form classes often
> overlap in function (a verb can act like a noun: I study English. /  I
> study English in my study.), how is it that a few commentators during
> the NBC broadcast of the Olympics --presumably speaking Standard
> American English--said, "He should medal" and "He should, at least,
> podium"?
>
> I'm not a purist, but I'm still trying to get used to "I'll email you,
> and you text me back."
>
> Diane Skinner
>
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