drug vs dragged - Page 3

ClairePMR · 03-24-2011, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queentess

I'm rather with the author on that one, though I would never say currently accepted grammar... I would say currently accepted word usage. I know it's not "proper", but it's become so common that it's correct just by popularity. That said, even though it doesn't bother me in conversation, I don't yet think it's to the point where it's acceptable in written language.

I don't disagree with your point; it just particularly annoyed me with this author because she always insists that her work is "perfect" in every way. Not so much, I'm afraid. (In one chapter alone, I found and corrected twenty-three errors.) Her point was correct; her usage was sloppy and inaccurate for a work intended for publication.

DixieGal · 03-24-2011, 03:01 PM

There is no excuse for misusing subjective "who" and objective"whom." the weird thing is that people want you to correct them in this specific example. They will say something, correct themselves, then look at me in confusion. I consider this a teachable moment.

wayrad · 03-24-2011, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cklls

Yes!!! That one drives me nuts! And don't get me going on the whole homonym thing. The one that irritates me most is the misuse of there, their, and they're. Oh, and loose and lose are used incorrectly more often than not. And then there's then and than.

(The beast has been unleashed!)

I get that way when prople confuse "affect" with "effect". And I have read any number of books lately whose authors didn't know the difference between "flaunt" and "flout". Geez, they don't even have the excuse of those being pronounced the same.

PS. This is slightly OT, but it is a recurrent authorial booboo - is anyone else fed up with the way half the characters in Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher books are "several axe handles" across the shoulders? Has she ever seen an axe? Sorry, I was reading one of them and just needed to get that off my chest.

mr ploppy · 03-24-2011, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

At least you got "borrow" right. In this country, poorly-educated people often mix up "borrow" and "lend". Eg, "Will you borrow me that DVD" (or whatever).

Well damn, I was actually trying to get it wrong.

HarryT · 03-24-2011, 03:09 PM

LOL

. If it's your book, you lend it; the recipient borrows it

.

Worldwalker · 03-24-2011, 11:32 PM

I'd rather see "who" used in all contexts than the atrocities turned out by people who think "whom" is a more correct form of "who" and use it in all contexts instead.

I think those are the same people who think "myself" is a more formal version of "I", so they say insanely idiotic things like "Myself and Fred went to the store." Ever see a grown Curmudgeon whimper? You're about to.

Also, what's with people using "and" when they mean "an"? I only started seeing that one a couple of years ago, and it makes me want to hurt people.

Another one from the advertising industry: losing the "-ed" on words like "boxed set" (no, it's not a "box set"; that's a set of boxes). My grocery store has "can meat" on one of its signs and I want to scream every time I see it.

As I've mentioned here I play World of Warcraft, and one of these days I'm going to send their home office a very strongly worded letter about the fact that you bring something when you come, and you take something when you go. Quest text is constantly saying "bring this box to Foozle" when it means to take it there instead.

You don't "hone in on" things -- why would you polish them? You home in on things, like a homing pigeon (just found that error in a pbook today).

rhadin · 03-25-2011, 08:26 AM

According to Garner's Modern American Usage, which is considered a leading, if not the leading, book on American language usage today, drug (for dragged) is a dialectal form common in the southern United States. The dictionaries consider it nonstandard and the OED calls it obsolete except in dialect. The American Regional English Dictionary (1991) lists the form dragged as "usual" and drug as "also frequent."

Drug (for dragged) has been found to be frequently used in Nebraska, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Illinois, Kansas, and Tennesee; "very common" in East Alabama; and "common" in Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, and in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.

One commentator, in 1953, summed up the difference as "Dragged . . . predominates among cultured informants everywhere. . . .[In the noncultured] types it is more or less narrowly limited by the competing form drug."

Pick your poison (cultural level) and shoot!

joycedb · 03-25-2011, 12:00 PM

Very interesting thread. You've touched on all the things I find annoying as a reader. Simply passing an English course doesn't qualify you as a writer, which many people seem to think these days.

Another pet peeve of mine is mixing up led and lead. And has anyone mentioned the misuse of hang, hanged, and hung?

Joyce

HarryT · 03-25-2011, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joycedb

Very interesting thread. You've touched on all the things I find annoying as a reader. Simply passing an English course doesn't qualify you as a writer, which many people seem to think these days.

It would, however, help many authors to study English!

Quote:

Another pet peeve of mine is mixing up led and lead.

That's interesting. We had a discussion on word usage a while ago, and one of our American friends claimed that "led" was NOT a valid past participle of "lead" in American English (it is in British English). Are you saying that "led" IS used in American English, after all?

Quote:

And has anyone mentioned the misuse of hang, hanged, and hung?

You mean that "hung" is incorrect when referring to the method of execution? That's technically true, but I don't think it crops up often enough to be a major problem.

rhadin · 03-25-2011, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's interesting. We had a discussion on word usage a while ago, and one of our American friends claimed that "led" was NOT a valid past participle of "lead" in American English (it is in British English). Are you saying that "led" IS used in American English, after all?

Led is the past tense and the past participle of the verb lead, meaning to guide or direct. When used as a noun, lead refers to the metallic element or to the graphite in a pencil.

The tendency to write lead (instead of led) for the past tense/past particple of the verb form is likely a result of analogizing it to the verb read. This is an error in American English.

Led is the correct usage in American English when referring to the past tense of the verb lead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

You mean that "hung" is incorrect when referring to the method of execution? That's technically true, but I don't think it crops up often enough to be a major problem.

According to Garner's Modern American English, "coats and pictures are hung, and sometimes so are juries. But criminals found guilty of capital offenses are hanged. . . .[But if] a person is suspended for amusement or through malice, and death is likely or intended, then hung is the proper word. . . ."

HarryT · 03-25-2011, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhadin

Led is the past tense and the past participle of the verb lead, meaning to guide or direct. When used as a noun, lead refers to the metallic element or to the graphite in a pencil.

The tendency to write lead (instead of led) for the past tense/past particple of the verb form is likely a result of analogizing it to the verb read. This is an error in American English.

Led is the correct usage in American English when referring to the past tense of the verb lead.

Thank you for the clarification. That's exactly the way it is in British English, too.

queentess · 03-25-2011, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's interesting. We had a discussion on word usage a while ago, and one of our American friends claimed that "led" was NOT a valid past participle of "lead" in American English (it is in British English). Are you saying that "led" IS used in American English, after all?

Yeah.... that person was very wrong. It's most definitely lead/led.

HarryT · 03-25-2011, 12:38 PM

Here we are, this (and the next few posts) were where it happened:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=283

queentess · 03-25-2011, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Here we are, this (and the next few posts) were where it happened:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=283

Apparently the dictionary was wrong...?

HarryT · 03-25-2011, 01:29 PM

More a case of using the dictionary wrongly, I suspect. You wouldn't find "led" (in its "lead" sense) as a separate entry in most dictionaries - it would be a part of the entry for "lead".

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03-24-2011, 03:01 PM	#32
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	There is no excuse for misusing subjective "who" and objective"whom." the weird thing is that people want you to correct them in this specific example. They will say something, correct themselves, then look at me in confusion. I consider this a teachable moment.

03-24-2011, 03:09 PM	#35
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	LOL . If it's your book, you lend it; the recipient borrows it .

03-24-2011, 11:32 PM	#36
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	I'd rather see "who" used in all contexts than the atrocities turned out by people who think "whom" is a more correct form of "who" and use it in all contexts instead. I think those are the same people who think "myself" is a more formal version of "I", so they say insanely idiotic things like "Myself and Fred went to the store." Ever see a grown Curmudgeon whimper? You're about to. Also, what's with people using "and" when they mean "an"? I only started seeing that one a couple of years ago, and it makes me want to hurt people. Another one from the advertising industry: losing the "-ed" on words like "boxed set" (no, it's not a "box set"; that's a set of boxes). My grocery store has "can meat" on one of its signs and I want to scream every time I see it. As I've mentioned here I play World of Warcraft, and one of these days I'm going to send their home office a very strongly worded letter about the fact that you bring something when you come, and you take something when you go. Quest text is constantly saying "bring this box to Foozle" when it means to take it there instead. You don't "hone in on" things -- why would you polish them? You home in on things, like a homing pigeon (just found that error in a pbook today).

03-25-2011, 08:26 AM	#37
rhadin Literacy = Understanding Posts: 4,833 Karma: 59674358 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The World of Books Device: Nook, Nook Tablet	According to Garner's Modern American Usage, which is considered a leading, if not the leading, book on American language usage today, drug (for dragged) is a dialectal form common in the southern United States. The dictionaries consider it nonstandard and the OED calls it obsolete except in dialect. The American Regional English Dictionary (1991) lists the form dragged as "usual" and drug as "also frequent." Drug (for dragged) has been found to be frequently used in Nebraska, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Illinois, Kansas, and Tennesee; "very common" in East Alabama; and "common" in Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, and in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. One commentator, in 1953, summed up the difference as "Dragged . . . predominates among cultured informants everywhere. . . .[In the noncultured] types it is more or less narrowly limited by the competing form drug." Pick your poison (cultural level) and shoot!

03-25-2011, 12:00 PM	#38
joycedb Guru Posts: 997 Karma: 1086596 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Florida Device: none	Very interesting thread. You've touched on all the things I find annoying as a reader. Simply passing an English course doesn't qualify you as a writer, which many people seem to think these days. Another pet peeve of mine is mixing up led and lead. And has anyone mentioned the misuse of hang, hanged, and hung? Joyce

03-25-2011, 12:38 PM	#43
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Here we are, this (and the next few posts) were where it happened: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=283

03-25-2011, 01:29 PM	#45
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	More a case of using the dictionary wrongly, I suspect. You wouldn't find "led" (in its "lead" sense) as a separate entry in most dictionaries - it would be a part of the entry for "lead".

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