Re: USAGE : English past tense and participle in -et

Gary Shannon scripsit:

> But "lot" remains a singular noun, a unit of measure
> exactly equivalent, grammatically, to "inch", "meter",
> "gallon", "bunch", "rod", "bale", and "sheaf".  If you
> are going to mangle the language by writing "alot"
> then you should also write "agallon", "ameter",
> "abale", "aninch", and so on.
Quite so.  There is the similar loose quantity noun "raft",
as in "I have a raft of stuff in the garage", which does not
mean that there is an actual object made of logs (or inflatable
rubber) there.  IIRC "a raft of" is an Americanism, though it
may have spread more widely now.

--
John Cowan  www.ccil.org/~cowan  www.reutershealth.com  jcowan@reutershealth.com
In might the Feanorians / that swore the unforgotten oath
brought war into Arvernien / with burning and with broken troth.
and Elwing from her fastness dim / then cast her in the waters wide,
but like a mew was swiftly borne, / uplifted o'er the roaring tide.
        --the Earendillinwe