Grammar matters!

[Valrus]

Googolplex:
Regarding "task," just don't even ask. I frequent this thread (oh really?) and I know I don't want to know.

Regarding Romeo: Actually, I wasn't complaining about the grammar. This time. What I was referring to was the interpretation of the word "wherefore" to mean "where." That really bothers me. It doesn't mean "where." It means, roughly, "why."

So I was actually alluding to the "evolution" of language via Shakespeare. (Oh no! Darwinist propaganda!)

-the valrus

[scruffy]

Originally posted by googolplex
How do you use task as a verb?

tasking? tasked? to task?

Lucky you, you haven't heard it yet. It seems to be management-speak, especially in computers. "I am going task you with this", or even "I am going to task you to do this" means "I am going to assign you this (as a task)".

[Valrus]

Damn, scruffy. I was about to set googolplex straight but you beat me to it.

That's another thing. A lot of people seem to think that in Shakespeare, "thou," "thy," etc. are really formal pronouns, when in fact it's the opposite - the pronouns we use today are the formal ones, whereas the "old-sounding" ones were used either to talk to someone you knew well or to insult someone you didn't.

Hence "your Highness," not "Thy Highness." If you ever catch anyone saying "Thy Highness," you'll know they're full of it.

Oh, and that's another thing. When you're trying to emulate Elizabethan speech, do not just slap an "-eth" on the end of every verb. Or an "-est," for that matter. It's just not funny. It's not!

Thank you, come again.

-the valrus

[nkuvu]

When trying to emulate Elizabethan speech, the '-eth' or '-est' are not funny. When trying to poke fun at Elizabethan speech they are. "I am going to tasketh this to thee". It's funny. Laugh. Or don't. I think it's funny. But only in jest. The same kind of funny when Brad Pitt says "I want a ride in your el trucko" in the Mexican...

So scruffy -- which is lay and which is lie? I constantly get them confused...

[genghiscohen]

As in, "He's lying about laying her."

And I love the French phrase "Ne me tutoie pas!"

[scruffy]

And
Lie on the couch.
Lay the blanket on the couch.

To lay an object is to place it horizontally - you can lay something, but you cannot just plain lay.
To lie is to be horizontal, or to place yourself horizontally - you don't lie something, just lie.

[googolplex]

But lay is the past tense of lie. Like this:

"I lay down for a bit yesterday".

That is correct. Isn't it?

[Valrus]

Originally posted by googolplex
But lay is the past tense of lie. Like this:

"I lay down for a bit yesterday".

That is correct. Isn't it?

I think it's "I laid down for a bit."

-the valrus