Timeline for "Many English words ARE derived from French." VS "Many English words WERE derived from French." [closed]
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
22 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7 at 12:32 | history | closed |
Michael Harvey Peter Jennings TimR Chenmunka Mari-Lou A |
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| Aug 7 at 12:17 | answer | added | TimR | timeline score: 2 | |
| Aug 7 at 12:12 | comment | added | TimR | Your native language makes no distinction between present and past tense? | |
| Aug 7 at 11:57 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | EDIT: @FumbleFingers It's not only the number of hits that counts, it's also the context in which they are used. | |
| Aug 7 at 11:55 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | EDIT: I'll explain it now, and if you want to reply then post a comment under the answer: A nameless man, means a man, a person who has not been named in the text. It is an example of using "the" with the singular meaning of "man". Now post your comment challenging the meaning underneath my answer :P | |
| Aug 7 at 11:52 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | What you are saying is all the answers that were posted did not fully convince you. You can't expect me to believe you didn't understand, you understood something but it didn't totally clear up your confusion. And now, this is my last interaction. I have stuff to do! | |
| Aug 7 at 11:46 | comment | added | Loviii | @Mari-LouA why the opposite - I asked that because at that moment I didn't understand that. And I managed to understand only after I began asking that. | |
| Aug 7 at 11:45 | comment | added | Loviii | @Mari-LouA "stubbornly" - I tried to understand your beginning of the answer: "The man hunted, gathered wild berries, and fended for himself. - This refers to a nameless male individual." At this moment I still don't understand it. | |
| Aug 7 at 11:33 | comment | added | Loviii | @Mari-LouA "a third" - I didn't understand why I can't use "ingredients" without "the". That's why I continued asking questions about this. At this moment I still don't fully know it. "a fifth example" - I asked the question which I didn't understand. After those questions I finally understood it. | |
| Aug 7 at 11:27 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | @Mari-LouA, Loviii: The Google Books search for word was derived from shows me at least 10 pages with 10 results per page, which is exactly the same as I get after changing the search term to word is derived from (because initially Google Books only reports up to 100 results). A much clearer indication of relative prevalence can be obtained from an NGram chart. There's little room for doubt after looking at that! | |
| Aug 7 at 11:11 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | When you receive seven answers that tell you "Man" means mankind and does not require the definite article, you stubbornly ask why the opposite is not also true. | |
| Aug 7 at 11:10 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | You often challenge answers–not always a bad thing–when you comment on them and list a third, a fourth, or even a fifth example that you believe is correct when very often it is not. | |
| Aug 7 at 11:04 | review | Close votes | |||
| Aug 7 at 12:36 | |||||
| Aug 7 at 10:42 | comment | added | Loviii | @Mari-LouA 1) You wrote: "You could even quote one or two examples and ask "why" in those cases the past passive was chosen.". I'm interested in those examples I wrote in the original post, not in others. If you continue to think that after I go over your link, I can deal with them on my own, okay. 2) You wrote: "if someone posts an answer, but more often than not, you challenge that answer, refusing to take it at its face value". I don't know why you think so. I can only ask when I don't understand. If you perceived something as challenging, let me assure you I never had such a purpose. | |
| Aug 7 at 10:09 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | I think you do have this ability, but maybe you just don't want to put in the effort? It's quicker if someone posts an answer, but more often than not, you challenge that answer, refusing to take it at its face value. Googling is the minimal means of research. I gave you a link which contains the phrase "word was derived" in published texts. Why shouldn't that resource help you reach a better-informed understanding? You could even quote one or two examples and ask "why" in those cases the past passive was chosen. | |
| Aug 7 at 10:03 | comment | added | TimR | The door is painted blue. The door was painted blue. They can have the same meaning in context but don't necessarily have the same meaning. The door could be red now. With the past tense were derived you could be speaking of French loan-words no longer in use, as about 25% of them are not. It depends on what you mean by "English words", and the past-tense begs that question. | |
| Aug 7 at 9:57 | comment | added | Loviii | @Mari-LouA You wrote "You should be able to...". But I have no such ability which you seem to think I have. I can't answer this question by myself. Those sources you mentioned are not enough for me to understand it. Do you think I should not have asked it? | |
| Aug 7 at 9:12 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | Read the examples from the link, and see if there is a strong reason for using the past simple passive. | |
| Aug 7 at 9:10 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | You should be able to validate your variants by using Google books, Ngrams, and dictionaries. Do you find any examples of "word was derived from"? | |
| Aug 7 at 8:54 | comment | added | Smock | Most people would understand, however changing it to past tense could imply that might no longer be the case - and adds ambiguity. "Many English words were derived from French, but are now derived from Spanish" | |
| Aug 7 at 8:44 | comment | added | Michael Harvey | If the words or names are used now in the present then they have current existence and we use the present tense about them. Your 'variants' are unnecessary. | |
| Aug 7 at 8:10 | history | asked | Loviii | CC BY-SA 4.0 |