tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post8054075993543760956..comments2024-02-19T07:51:46.118-05:00Comments on Throw Grammar from the Train: Some like it spatJanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03173219179480606941noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-44291928937121320662013-11-16T02:38:43.886-05:002013-11-16T02:38:43.886-05:00Spat is a perfectly normal past use for the verb &...Spat is a perfectly normal past use for the verb "to spit".<br />You're just being parochial.Alunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10174142721287359536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-10062371891609059602012-08-11T07:28:37.649-04:002012-08-11T07:28:37.649-04:00Thank you for helping me win an argument with my h...Thank you for helping me win an argument with my hubbs. I told him both were right when he corrected my spit with spat.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-83116910145495972562010-09-15T09:18:50.870-04:002010-09-15T09:18:50.870-04:00Weak is not the same as regular. Teach was a weak...Weak is not the same as regular. <i>Teach</i> was a weak verb in OE. Verbs with the stem ending in <i>-t</i> often lost the <i>-d-</i> past marker to assimilation. This would be the case with <i>spit</i>. <i>Spit, spat, spat</i> is the strong version that the weak <i>spit, spit, spit</i> converted to.Faldonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-51721489773368640052010-09-13T14:33:00.582-04:002010-09-13T14:33:00.582-04:00How is this a case of a weak-to-strong conversion?...How is this a case of a weak-to-strong conversion?<br /><br />spit-spat-spat is not a weak conjugation and spit-spit-spit isn't either...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-71175089348954073202010-06-08T19:36:55.931-04:002010-06-08T19:36:55.931-04:00Faldone: twig 'understand, catch on'.Faldone: <i>twig</i> 'understand, catch on'.John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-25262247867832997062010-06-07T09:31:32.224-04:002010-06-07T09:31:32.224-04:00This is twig in what sense? Verbix has tweogan, m...This is <i>twig</i> in what sense? Verbix has <a href="http://www.verbix.com/webverbix/go.php?T1=tweogan&imageField.x=8&imageField.y=9&D1=23&H1=123" rel="nofollow"><i>tweogan</i></a>, meaning 'to doubt', but it's weak.Faldonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12873736640907864834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-90187290786700832252010-06-02T09:02:57.367-04:002010-06-02T09:02:57.367-04:00I prefer spit just because "spat" sounds...I prefer spit just because "spat" sounds funny to me. Then again, it isn't a word I use often.Kaitlyn Bolyardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05435888739264095847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-11397603953961751402010-05-31T12:21:43.886-04:002010-05-31T12:21:43.886-04:00@John I've never heard a past tense other than...@John I've never heard a past tense other than 'twigged' and I would always say 'dived', too. But then I speak the Queen's English. And she doesn't spit. Ever. ;)Roshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02669423378438380019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-52422252425173959352010-05-30T14:29:28.269-04:002010-05-30T14:29:28.269-04:00Twug it is, and no, I don't use it either, but...<i>Twug</i> it is, and no, I don't use it either, but I've heard about it from an English friend who's a linguist.John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-8995621041507680832010-05-29T23:38:11.469-04:002010-05-29T23:38:11.469-04:00"Spit" is perfectly suited to become one..."Spit" is perfectly suited to become one of the English verbs that don't inflect for tense - they're almost all single-syllables ending in T (e.g. put, let, quit, shed), and they've been increasing in number. "Spit" is likely to join them.The Ridger, FCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01538111197270563075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-85020387820604757952010-05-28T10:21:46.342-04:002010-05-28T10:21:46.342-04:00This seems to be yet another example of the differ...This seems to be yet another example of the difference in usage between the USA and the rest of the English-speaking world. <br /><br />We in the UK will use 'spat' pretty well always for uses in the past tenses.arniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13068830078875310006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-49966187486504097052010-05-26T10:08:30.481-04:002010-05-26T10:08:30.481-04:00Right, John -- I grew up in a "dove" reg...Right, John -- I grew up in a "dove" region and rarely heard "dived" before adulthood. And don't forget "snuck," which is spreading fast. <br /><br />But "twig"? We barely know "twigged" in these parts, and I haven't heard "twag" at all -- or is it "twug"?Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01579983806826643000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-80821272008610562242010-05-26T08:19:09.396-04:002010-05-26T08:19:09.396-04:00so "spitted" is not right? Good to know...so "spitted" is not right? Good to know!Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12391790484727476737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811866763970314328.post-7411396699209600282010-05-26T02:30:25.821-04:002010-05-26T02:30:25.821-04:00Add one more to the short list of wrong-way conver...Add one more to the short list of wrong-way conversions from weak inflection to strong inflection: the best known are <i>dive, shine, ring, wear, twig</i>.John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.com