Jul 10
Shooting Down the Dove
In yesterday’s grammar section of Newsblues, an online newsletter for the TV news industry, resident grammar expert Mrs. B points out that dictionaries list the word dove as the past tense of dive.
But that doesn’t mean much.
The past tense of dive, as in “Sam likes to dive into the pool,” should be dived, not dove.
- INCORRECT: He dove in.
- CORRECT: He dived in.
That is, at least, according to the The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage and The AP Stylebook.
So why would a wrong word be in the dictionary? (Remember, most of them list irregardless, too.)
Mrs. B says:
“That’s because dictionaries often reflect colloquial usage (which may be substandard) as well as standard usage. Standard usage is for you as a professional user of the language.”
And most of us, at least every now and then, want to know how to sound professional when we speak, right?
So the next time you hear someone whine, “But it’s in the dictionary,” remind them that when it comes to poor grammar, that’s still no excuse.
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July 10th, 2008 at 2:44 am
Yay for “dived.” I’ve been an aficionada for years. “Dove” is for the birds.
July 10th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Interesting. I have never used the word “dived.”
July 10th, 2008 at 11:07 am
This brings up an old argument about what dictionaries are supposed to do: prescribe how we (should) speak, or describe how we (do) speak. I haven’t ever dove OR dived, nor have I swam OR swum (because I sink in the water).
But I start sentences with conjunctions all the time, a cardinal sin that could’ve busted me back to 3rd grade from 4th when I was in school. My dad pronounced ‘mischievous’ mis-CHEE-vee-us till the day he died at 75, but he was no language inoramus. He was taught that this was correct by a beloved and mostly knowledgeable teacher when he was young, so there was no correcting him! Don’t even get me started on how to pronounce “February”!!!
I think the key is that we should know most of the rules before we can go around bending and breaking them willy-nilly. And then admit that we’ve all got pet peeves that don’t bother others in the least. See “February” above for one of mine. heh
BTW, I never knew that rule about “due to” but then I never use the phrase because it sounds pompous to me.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Er…ignoramus. Appropriate word to misspell, eh?