And it has a great name too: the Passive Periphrastic.
It has stayed with me not just because it has a wonderful name, like Englebert Humperdink, a stage name if you will believe it, but because it explains the origin of certain excellent English words properly and thus lets one use them with an informed understanding. That sounded really boring. But bear with me, as grammar can be most instructive, and I promise to keep it short.
The passive periphrastic employs a gerund [oh god, here she goes, ed.] which is a lovely word for a verb form behaving as a noun, and is used to imply need or want or must. In a short explanation you might well not want to read, it is well described as
the “gerundive of obligation,” as this construction carries a sense of duty or necessity, generally expressed in English with “must” or “should.”*
Gernerally, but not always, and that is why I still remember it and think it is cool. It has left its mark on modern english in certain words containing ‘end’. Horror turns into horrendous, for things that must induce horror, as tremor turns into tremendous, for things that make us tremble. Ginormous turns into gimendous, for things that make us fear large objects. [Nonsense, ed., you just ran out of examples.]
[interlude … much time passes]
Memorandum, referendum …. if only my memorandum was working better, I am sure I would be able to think of more. If so, I will add an addendum, if I can fit into my agenda.
I was going to say, have a stupendous day, but am suddenly afraid that might mean you must enter a stupor. Which seems all too likely if I drone on any longer.
The passive periphrastic, the ‘end’, which must be obeyed.
*http://individual.utoronto.ca/ajhicks/passive_periphrastic.pdf
amo, amas, amat. Two years of Latin and all I got was that lousy t-shirt!
Not really true. It gave significant but unquantifiable benefits in terms of grammar and vocabulary, and an appreciation for ancient history. There’s a copy of Caesar’s Gallic Wars somewhere on my shelf. Our instructor was the most memorable and impactful character of my entire academic life, for a multitude of reasons. He knew how to push each student’s buttons, to get the best out of each and every one of us, and more than we had thought possible. He stretched us. In the early days it was sheer terror. By the end, earning his respect was the only thing that mattered.
a troglodyte in Texas
troglo-what?
look it up, those who
do not know the word
for
I am
a lover of words
obscure exotic esoteric poetic pedantic petty greasy slimy odoriferous clanking cacophonous melodious odious arcane archaic
all
a primal pleasure to hear,
to write, to read when perched
in the right order and place
to take flight and allow
me to soar above
or hide below
the massed multitudes of monkeys
who share my deoxyribonucleic acid
(and you thought
I would simply say,
DNA)
for they
find solace in the day
shared with simian soul mates
but I,
the true troglodyte of Texas
prefer the singular scent of words
on trackless trails
over the sound of lovers
and their breathless tales
http://hellopoetry.com/words/pedantic/poems/
inspired by the ‘verbum diem’ 🙂 🙂 🙂
sheesh, now i think I killed the thread.
That was always my specialty. But that was one heck of a poem.
Here’s a thread killer, but a hideous thing to reed allowed:
The poem is called “The Chaos” and was written by G. Nolst Trenite, a.k.a. Charivarius (1870-1946).
could George Orwell have been wrong in this case? maybe the English language is easily and often with intent misunderstood because every rule of spelling and pronunciation has at least ten exceptions…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_and_the_English_Language
we have had our first snowfall here – and our first stickage too. it’s a winter fricking wonderland out there. good grief. this is why i have chosen to drink hard booze on a Monday. 🙁
Highball is the name for a family of mixed drinks that are composed of an alcoholic base spirit and a larger proportion of a non-alcoholic mixer. Originally, the most common highball was made with Scotch whisky and carbonated water,[1] which is today called a “Scotch and Soda”.
There are many rivals for the fame of mixing the first highball, including the Adams House in Boston.[2] New York barman Patrick Duffy claimed the highball was brought to the U.S. in 1894 from England by actor E. J. Ratcliffe.[3]
The Online Etymology Dictionary suggests that the name originated around 1898 and probably derives from ball meaning a “drink of whiskey” and high because it is served in a tall glass. The name may refer to the practice of serving drinks in the dining cars of trains powered by steam locomotives, when the engine would get up to speed and the ball that showed boiler pressure was at its high level, known as “highballing”. Or the name may have come from the railroad signal meaning “clear track ahead.”[4]
Well-known examples of highballs include Bourbon and Water, Cuba Libre, Scotch and Soda, Seven and Seven, the Moscow Mule, and gin and tonic. A highball is typically served in large straight-sided glass, for example, a highball glass or a Collins glass, with ice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highball
Cheap whiskey, Mountain Dew, ice, in a coffee cup. Mmmmm.
Timely phrase of the day:
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Persecution_complex
i went and burnt one since EO done went and kilt the thread.
I’d rather have a persecution complex than a jesus complex,
yes I would, if I only could …
i’d rather be a hammer than a nail, and i’d be a nice hammer too.
and has anyone seen 44?
i will artfully kill the thread. be kind. it’s monday.
mornin all, i’ll try to catch you this evening.
owl see you later 44. 🙂
Good article from Josh Brown about stock market crashes. I had skin in the game for 1987, 2000, and 2008. Of course, 1929 and 1932 are legendary. But my favorite of all is the Panic of 1907. I never miss a chance to read an article or book about it. Every read reveals new insights, and new questions.
http://www.thereformedbroker.com/2013/11/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-stock-market-crashes/
The Panic of 1907
processing info, freeing up brain cells, making sense of it all and conversing w/Mr Geeen.
for the gal.
a musical thread killer..nahh. EO(all) i’m interested in everything that everyone has to say.
EO i remember you and this song. 😮
and for my red crested friend……yes we are.
the album cover depicts Jackson Browne’s boyhood home. apparently his brother still lives there. there is quite an art tradition in the family. more here…
http://bigorangelandmarks.blogspot.com/2008/01/no-106-abbey-san-encino.html
Love it, though I find something particularly joyous about the live Hyde Park version.
it should be called the conspiracy of 1907. we all know that the entire event was staged so that the evil banking cabal could make their case for the Federal Reserve Bank. you know, first create the problem, then offer the solution.
edit: what the heck, i forgot where i was – i thought i was over at the other place. sorry. i know i don’t have to suck up to you guys… and i know the facts refute my evil conspiracy theory. 😎 😎 😎
This is what I listen to while I’m in the sauna. I go through part 2, the thunderstorm, and that’s about 20 minutes which I find to be just right. 😎
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/echoes-of-the-loon/id65949271
yep,
another tune for me.
http://www.xtybacq.com/heres-something-cool-i-learnt-in-latin/comment-page-1/#comment-3186
http://www.xtybacq.com/heres-something-cool-i-learnt-in-latin/comment-page-1/#comment-3186
Movie night
Where did that song come from? Here! Great movie, btw.