I leave it to the spell checquer to fix my ie/ei choices. IE is correct almost twice as often as EI. Out of a bit more than 7000 words in my on-disk dictionary.
Interestingly, the semantics of the modal auxiliaries (which were originally stative verbs and not “auxiliaries” at all) have been playing a sort of musical chairs. Shall used to mean something like “must” (ought, owe [ even literally money]) (must actually is the preterite of mot, sometimes misspelled mought, so originally something like “had to”), can used to mean “know (how to)”, may used to mean “be able” (it’s cognate with might “strength”), will used to mean “want (to)”, which is why for a while as a marker of the future it was particularly used for the first person, since reporting on someone else’s desire isn’t often called for in discourse.
The message is that the semantic migration from “be able” to “be permitted” seems to be a normal one, anyhow it happened to may long before it happened to can.
Shall still means something like “must” in legal contexts; otherwise in ordinary English it functions as a request for a command or a statement of preference—"Shall I make the reservations? Shall we go? Will we be driving, or shall I call a cab?"
Concretionist over 3 years ago
I leave it to the spell checquer to fix my ie/ei choices. IE is correct almost twice as often as EI. Out of a bit more than 7000 words in my on-disk dictionary.
Doug K over 3 years ago
There’s also “Can I make it to the can?” … before … …
flyertom over 3 years ago
“i before e”
Except when your foreign neighbor Keith
received eight counterfeit beige sleighs from
feisty caffeinated weightlifters.
Weird.
Serial Pedant over 3 years ago
But…what about ‘wired’, and ‘fryed’? Wait…
Masterskrain over 3 years ago
“I before E, except after C…” Heck, Einstein has it wrong TWICE in his name alone!!
sandpiper over 3 years ago
Once again, Caulfield is trying, very trying
Ed The Red Premium Member over 3 years ago
I before E except after C was disproved by science.
Lambutts over 3 years ago
Why do you call it “taking a leak” and “taking a ….. dump” when you’re actually leaving something behind?
AndrewSihler over 3 years ago
Interestingly, the semantics of the modal auxiliaries (which were originally stative verbs and not “auxiliaries” at all) have been playing a sort of musical chairs. Shall used to mean something like “must” (ought, owe [ even literally money]) (must actually is the preterite of mot, sometimes misspelled mought, so originally something like “had to”), can used to mean “know (how to)”, may used to mean “be able” (it’s cognate with might “strength”), will used to mean “want (to)”, which is why for a while as a marker of the future it was particularly used for the first person, since reporting on someone else’s desire isn’t often called for in discourse.
The message is that the semantic migration from “be able” to “be permitted” seems to be a normal one, anyhow it happened to may long before it happened to can.
Shall still means something like “must” in legal contexts; otherwise in ordinary English it functions as a request for a command or a statement of preference—"Shall I make the reservations? Shall we go? Will we be driving, or shall I call a cab?"
christelisbetty over 3 years ago
May 1, 1700, John Dryden died. Can anyone in class tell me what he was know for ?
Stephen Gilberg over 3 years ago
What’s offensive about “I before E,” besides its limited application?
sew-so over 3 years ago
I before EExcept after COr when as AAs in neighbor or weigh.
Still no where near 100%, but a lot better than just quoting the first line.