See, if Brad had never obsessed about "had," I might never have learned the word "forswunk." Everything happens for a reason.
Brian
________________________________________
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Spruiell, William C [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 8:24 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Still Doing It Right
Dear All:
I have hit upon what might be a modest proposal for ending the curse of the Past Perfect Fixation. Recall that the tense under discussion is also called the "pluperfect," and that, in fact, that is the more common name in older grammars. This provides a solution!
The tense need not be past. It must only be plu. Pluness (not to be confused with plurality) is a state that can be inferred from context, both textual and situational. Brad's sense of annoyance is a natural reaction to the fact that some dolt in the sixteenth century -- doubtless completely tanked on metheglyn, if not also forswunk at the time -- thought that "past" and "plu" were the same thing. No one likes false advertising.
That should settle everything nicely.
Bill Spruiell
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Bruce Despain
Sent: Wed 8/19/2009 8:06 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Still Doing It Right
Brad,
I don't know why I'm so stupid to reply to your comments. I know certain speakers of English will not understand the point of view that Kissinger intends to comply with in his use of "had." No matter how many times they may be told that there are dialects that accept the past perfect form in such a context, they must always prescriptively praise their own dialect as the only correct one. I understood Henry perfectly as he seems to be communicating with this form the same way I would make the attempt. For many months, this listserve was sustained by over 300 interested English teachers. Their appetite for a healthy discussion of relevant issues had made it a good resource of information and pedagogical strategies, which you have no doubt also enjoyed. Perhaps the current downturn in readership can be traced to certain repetitive observations of dialect differences that do not go away, but are maintained as the only correct versions.
Bruce
________________________________
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brad Johnston [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 4:28 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Still Doing It Right
There is a 905-word Op-Ed piece in today's paper, written by Henry Kissinger, in which there is a single 'had' and it is a blooper.
Nonetheless, it provides further evidence to refute Susan's claim that if no one does it right, it must be wrong. She did not stay around long enough for me to show her that lots of people do it right, including Henry, who is, by any standard, a wonderful manipulator of our language.
Rebalancing Relations With China
.
By Henry A. Kissinger, Wednesday, August 19, 2009
.
For several decades, the global economic system was sustained by acceptance of American predominance. A vast tide of liquidity coupled with America's appetite for consumer goods (had sent) sent enormous amounts of dollars to China, which, in turn, China lent back to us for still more buying.
That's the only 'had' there is -- right, wrong, or indifferent -- in the whole article.
Some people, sometimes, do it wrong. Lots of people do it right.
It should be taught the right way, not the wrong way.
.brad.19aug09.
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