Has anyone addressed this before? The past participle of "swim" is "swum." "Swam" is the simple past. You can say, "I swam three times last week" or "I have swum in that pool many times," but you can never say "I have swam ..." It's simply not correct English.
Sorry to be persnickety, but as a former book editor, it drives me crazy every time I see it, and I see it increasingly more often now that I spend so much time here.:nono:
Has anyone addressed this before? The past participle of "swim" is "swum." "Swam" is the simple past. You can say, "I swam three times last week" or "I have swum in that pool many times," but you can never say "I have swam ..." It's simply not correct English.
Sorry to be persnickety, but as a former book editor, it drives me crazy every time I see it, and I see it increasingly more often now that I spend so much time here.:nono:
“This is the sort of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put.”
"The murderer was hanged." Oh, sorry, I guess that one's OK (right?).
Yup. No one said English is logical. The others are all recognized American alternatives to standard British usage and so are perfectly acceptable to use, but it's interesting how they appear out of nowhere, gain currency, and eventually squeeze out their predecessors. Five years ago, American newspapers all reported a defendant "pled" guilty. Nowadays you never see it. Personally, I just can't wrap my tongue around "pleaded."
Originally Posted by knelson
"The murderer was hanged." Oh, sorry, I guess that one's OK (right?).
Yup. No one said English is logical. The others are all recognized American alternatives to standard British usage and so are perfectly acceptable to use, but it's interesting how they appear out of nowhere, gain currency, and eventually squeeze out their predecessors. Five years ago, American newspapers all reported a defendant "pled" guilty. Nowadays you never see it. Personally, I just can't wrap my tongue around "pleaded."
I think he was referring to the physical attributes of the person in question rather than harm inflicted to him. Makes me think of a awkward moment that happened on a local news channel when the female co-anchor asked her male counterpart the name of his 12 person, all male musical group. His reply - "The Well Hung Jury." That put an end to the co-anchor cross talk.
I don't know that I agree with you on "pled" vs. "pleaded." In the legal setting, both have been used interchangeably for as long as I can remember.
I don't know that I agree with you on "pled" vs. "pleaded." In the legal setting, both have been used interchangeably for as long as I can remember.
I've been a part of Law enforcement for 15+ years now. It was always pled. This new pleaded has just taken off in the last few years and I can't stand it.
Two things in common usage bother me.First is "epicenter" when they mean center but want to sound fancy.Epi means on or above and epicenter refers to the site on the surface above the earthquake.The second is "decimate" which means "kill every tenth person".Reporters are always saying some area was decimated when I am just certain the tornado didn't line up the citizenry and kill every tenth one.
