Re: USAGE : English past tense and participle in -et
| From: | Costentin Cornomorus <elemtilas@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Saturday, December 27, 2003, 23:03 |
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--- "Mark J. Reed" <markjreed@...> wrote:
> On Sat, Dec 27, 2003 at 01:21:12PM -0800,
> Costentin Cornomorus wrote:
> > I like that notion of alot being a
> quantifier. In
> > this usage, it is clearly not the noun "lot"
> > though it's related.
>
> That's just overcomplicating the grammar to no
> purpose.
Not so sure about that. And anyway, grammarians
are not at all unfond of complicating English
grammar!
> The set phrase "a lot" may have collapsed into
> a
> monophonemic unit which is unanalyzed by most
> native
> speakers, but there's no reason to reinterpret
> it as a new
> word.
Except that it is used as a word different from
the original phrase. Thus a "new" word.
Contraction, new word - six of one, half dozen of
the other, in the end!
Padraic.
=====
la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.
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