# Knit vs knitted



## Florida Gal (Aug 25, 2011)

I know this has been discussed before but not sure if I totally understand. 
Past tense: " I knitted a hat for my friend last year ". Or
" I knit a hat for my friend last year ". 

I thought I understood the correct usage is " knit " 
I see a lot of people using " knitted " 
Sometimes when I say knit as a past tense is sounds funny.
What do you all do?


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## missdeb42 (Mar 13, 2012)

I try not to be too judgemental of people who are pouring their heart out and sharing their joys and sorrows on this forum.


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## Florida Gal (Aug 25, 2011)

I'm not judging anyone, just trying to find out the proper usage. Personally I like the word "knitted"


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## missdeb42 (Mar 13, 2012)

I think either way people will understand what you are talking about.


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## casey1952 (Jul 8, 2011)

Florida Gal said:


> I know this has been discussed before but not sure if I totally understand.
> Past tense: " I knitted a hat for my friend last year ". Or
> " I knit a hat for my friend last year ".
> 
> ...


I just looked it up in my "Funk and Wagnells" (yes, I own a Funk and Wagnells dictionary) and either way is correct.
casey


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## missdeb42 (Mar 13, 2012)

Wow. You still have a Funk & Wagnalls? I used those encyclopedias when I was in high school and that was......many years ago. I'll bet a lot of people have never even heard of them.


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## casey1952 (Jul 8, 2011)

missdeb42 said:


> Wow. You still have a Funk & Wagnalls? I used those encyclopedias when I was in high school and that was......many years ago. I'll bet a lot of people have never even heard of them.


I'm old enough to remember the ones we used in school. But we figure a dictionary is still good no matter how old, just like me, LOL. The copyright is 1980. Long after I was in school.


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## missdeb42 (Mar 13, 2012)

UM...long after I was in school too.....


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

"I knitted a hat" sounds better to me than "I knit a hat" even if both are correct.
The use of "crochet" as an adjective also puzzles me...in a post a week or so ago ago I wrote about working a "crocheted" border, then noticed other people talking about "crochet" hats, "crochet" afghans etc etc. Still not sure which way is right...


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## dora mac (Nov 15, 2011)

missdeb42 said:


> Wow. You still have a Funk & Wagnalls? I used those encyclopedias when I was in high school and that was......many years ago. I'll bet a lot of people have never even heard of them.


I have one that sits on an old Scottish school lectern. It's the perfect place for it since it can be left open to some of the great illustrations that it has. I use it all the time since I find it more pleasurable to actually turn real paper pages. It must weigh between 10-15 pounds.


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## huneebee331 (Nov 23, 2012)

missdeb42 said:


> I try not to be too judgemental of people who are pouring their heart out and sharing their joys and sorrows on this forum.


I had a good chuckle from this. Thanks!


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## inishowen (May 28, 2011)

I too have a huge Funk & Wagnalls dictionary. The story is, my dad bought it for a lot of cash when they were just married. My mum was not impressed at what she considered a waste of money. However I'm still using it, sixty years later. Dad would be so pleased! By the way, I think the past tense should be "knitted".


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## smasha12 (Oct 27, 2012)

I've always believed that knit is the past tense in American English and knitted in British English.

As someone who grew up -and learned to knit- in England, I've always used knitted. I find the use of knit as the past tense sounds unfinished.


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## Florida Gal (Aug 25, 2011)

smasha12 said:


> I've always believed that knit is the past tense in American English and knitted in British English.
> 
> As someone who grew up -and learned to knit- in England, I've always used knitted. I find the use of knit as the past tense sounds unfinished.


I totally agree. When I say "I knit that yesterday", it sounds funny. I may just go back to using "knitted".
But when I say "I knitted that yesterday" that kind of sounds funny to. 
Whatever.


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## CaroleD53 (Aug 7, 2012)

To me, knit is present tense and knitted is past tense.


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## kaixixang (Jul 16, 2012)

Why not have:
Knitted - past tense
Am knitting - present tense
Will knit - future tense

MUCH better!!!?


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Florida Gal said:


> smasha12 said:
> 
> 
> > I've always believed that knit is the past tense in American English and knitted in British English.
> ...


How about "I knat a sweater yesterday?" (kidding, of course)


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## Cathryn 2ed (Feb 1, 2011)

Florida Gal said:


> Past tense: " I knitted a hat for my friend last year ". Or
> " I knit a hat for my friend last year ".
> I thought I understood the correct usage is " knit "
> I see a lot of people using " knitted "
> ...


It is traditionally more correct to say "I have knitted a hat for my friend." Used as a noun or an adjective 'knit' is correct. When used as a verb it becomes another animal and subject to different rules.


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## Diane1025 (Mar 11, 2012)

Funk and Wagnell's encyclopedias???? Are those the beige ones you purchased at the grocery store each week until you had the full set??? I can see them on our bookcase right now!!! A hundred years ago....or 40 at least. Boy, do I feel old right now.............


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## Kathleendoris (Sep 20, 2012)

I have to be honest and say that I find the use of 'knit' to express all the tenses of the verb 'to knit' irritating. There are so many nuances that can be expressed by the use of this verb: 'I once knitted...', 'I used to knit...', 'I often knit...', 'I am currently knitting...', etc, all of which are lost when the single term 'I knit' is used. I had assumed that it was simply US usage, but this discussion leads me to think that it is by no means accepted throughout the States. I read a lot of American literature, so am fairly well used to reading 'American' much in the way I read French, that is to say, as a language that I understand well, but which, now and again, contains words or sentences whose meaning I have to pause and consider before I fully comprehend. I would enter a plea for a more considered use of 'knit', but I fear it would be a total waste of time: the versions of the English language spoken in various parts of the world are developing characteristics of their own and that process has a momentum that we as individuals will never stop.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

I think most of the verbs ending in "it"--bit/fit/sit/hit--are difficult to convey in the past tense. Children generally slap on an "ed" ("Yesterday I hitted my sister" "Yes, I bited into a cookie"), but of course that's incorrect. What is the right way to manage these verbs? There must be some rule that applies to all of them.


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## Joy Marshall (Apr 6, 2011)

I don't think it matters. I hope we don't knitpick on KP. No pun intended.


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## nittineedles (Apr 14, 2011)

Say the one you are comfortable with. Both are grammatically correct.


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## inishowen (May 28, 2011)

My pet hate when people say "I am sat" "He was/is sat". It should be "He was sitting" "I am sitting" etc., It's so common in UK to get this wrong.


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## bobctwn65 (Jul 27, 2012)

ha ha just say I made that yesterday......


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

inishowen said:


> My pet hate when people say "I am sat" "He was/is sat". It should be "He was sitting" "I am sitting" etc., It's so common in UK to get this wrong.


I don't hear that mistake too often in the US, but a lot of people (myself included) have trouble with lit/lighted. "Last night he lighted the lamp" is the correct way to say it (I think), but to my ear it sounds really odd.


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## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

Two things I agree with. "Knitted" as past tense sounds better to my ear as well. But Merriam-Webster also says both are OK.


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## Florida Gal (Aug 25, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> inishowen said:
> 
> 
> > My pet hate when people say "I am sat" "He was/is sat". It should be "He was sitting" "I am sitting" etc., It's so common in UK to get this wrong.
> ...


I would say " Last night I lit the lamp" 
If not, when would you use the word lit? I would think it is past tense. 
What have I started.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Just did an on-line grammer check, yes both "lighted" and "lit" can be used for the past tense. Well, my ear isn't as bad as I thought after all!


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## kaixixang (Jul 16, 2012)

susanmos2000 said:


> Just did an on-line grammar check, yes both "lighted" and "lit" can be used for the past tense. Well, my ear isn't as bad as I thought after all!


<G> Since you didn't post a side-view photo of yourself...we cannot verify.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Haha!


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## Abi_marsden (Aug 5, 2012)

Why not say I made then it doesn't matter either way.


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## kiwiannie (Jul 30, 2011)

I use knitted,because the knitting concerned is past tence.


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## nuthouse (Oct 30, 2012)

smasha12 said:


> I've always believed that knit is the past tense in American English and knitted in British English.
> 
> As someone who grew up -and learned to knit- in England, I've always used knitted. I find the use of knit as the past tense sounds unfinished.


As an Aussie, I agree!


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## Moondancermel (Nov 18, 2012)

Florida Gal said:


> I know this has been discussed before but not sure if I totally understand.
> Past tense: " I knitted a hat for my friend last year ". Or
> " I knit a hat for my friend last year ".
> 
> ...


It depends on use.
I am knitting. Present
I will knit. Future
I have knitted. Past

Standard grammar as far as I am aware.


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## Starama11 (Jul 11, 2012)

I just say made this sweater,socks, etc


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## darowil (Apr 17, 2011)

nuthouse said:


> smasha12 said:
> 
> 
> > I've always believed that knit is the past tense in American English and knitted in British English.
> ...


 :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: 
And BTW lit, never lighted


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## zoer (Aug 2, 2011)

I think it's an English v. American past tense. English - knitted, American - knit.:}


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## dixygrl (Jun 28, 2012)

This conversation has been fun and, frankly, a welcomed reprieve from computer garb. I too like to hold the pages.


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## Oldhenwife (Nov 4, 2012)

smasha12 said:


> I've always believed that knit is the past tense in American English and knitted in British English.
> 
> As someone who grew up -and learned to knit- in England, I've always used knitted. I find the use of knit as the past tense sounds unfinished.


Took the words out of my mouth :thumbup:


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## borr (May 9, 2012)

The verb knit is traditionally uninflected in the past-tense, perfect-tense, and past-participle forms. However, knitted has long been accepted, and it appears in all varieties of modern English.

Knitted is safest as a participial adjective (e.g., a knitted scarf), but it also works as a verb (e.g., she knitted all morning). Knit also works in these uses (e.g., a knit scarf, she knit all morning), but its falling out of favor.

Source: http://grammarist.com/usage/knit-knitted/


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## hampshirerose (Dec 31, 2012)

Well I am from the UK and in my way of thinking this is how I see it.
If you made a hat last week for a friend you would say...
Last week I knitted a hat for my friend.
If you intend to make a hat for your friend next week then you would say....
I am going to knit a hat for my friend.
Or if you are in the process of knitting a hat then you would say...
I am knitting a hat for my friend.

You can also use it like this...
I love to knit.
I love knitting.


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## Sala (Oct 21, 2012)

CaroleD53 said:


> To me, knit is present tense and knitted is past tense.


Carole is correct. 'I knitted a hat yesterday' is right. 'Knit' is the present tense. I think it IS important to use good grammar, even though people may still understand you if you don't. That is not the whole point though. The point is that good grammar, good sentence construction and good spelling make it far easier to understand what is meant and do not distract the reader.


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## darowil (Apr 17, 2011)

Sala said:


> CaroleD53 said:
> 
> 
> > To me, knit is present tense and knitted is past tense.
> ...


except that it seems both uses are correct -and may be influenced by where we actually live.


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## bonster (Jan 28, 2011)

Haha - you're showing your age! Wasn't that term (lokk that up in your F&W) on Laugh In? Brings back memories.


casey1952 said:


> Florida Gal said:
> 
> 
> > I know this has been discussed before but not sure if I totally understand.
> ...


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## Redhatchris (Apr 21, 2012)

Florida Gal said:


> I'm not judging anyone, just trying to find out the proper usage. Personally I like the word "knitted"


Have you tried WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY? I would think they are a far greater expert than most of us. 
I love looking up words and especially for the correct spellings; seems to be a lost art with txt abrevs. 
I think knit/knitted is one of those interchangeable words, but I will look it up when I get to work.


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## norm13 (Jul 15, 2012)

I find this all very interesting. I did not know in the US the past tense is knit . I always say I knitted this yesterday Wow now I am English Who would have "thunk""


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## dancewithmarg (Oct 2, 2012)

I have a set of Funk & Wagnall encyclopedias but am selling it - I am married to a man who knows everything!

(Ha ha, just a joke I heard today!)

Marg
NS Canada


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## LBush1144 (Jan 23, 2011)

From grammar on line and and English teacher: Knit and knitted are both correct for the past tense. Formerly, the verb knit was un-inflected for the past tense, but knitted is now acceptable. "Knitted" is also an adjective -- a knitted hat. so: I knit the hat last winter. I knitted the hat last winter.


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## rujam (Aug 19, 2011)

I was brought up to say "knitted" for the past tense and "knit" for present tense. eg "Do you knit every day"


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## davidw1226 (Jan 29, 2011)

casey1952 said:


> Florida Gal said:
> 
> 
> > I know this has been discussed before but not sure if I totally understand.
> ...


How many of us remember F&W? Funny. Thanks for giving me a chuckle.


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## AdeleRM (May 20, 2012)

According to my dictionary, either knit or knitted is OK.


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## Lovinknittin (Apr 2, 2011)

Moondancermel said:


> Florida Gal said:
> 
> 
> > I know this has been discussed before but not sure if I totally understand.
> ...


First, I love words and especially using and hearing correct English, as in America and by people in England. I feel better with past being "I knit yesterday." I think, if I remember correctly, have knitted is a passive. I agree that it sounds good with "have" to use knitted but yesterday, I "knit."

"Lit" is past and passive of light, I believe.

I like this post. Keeps us learning. 😊


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## Sala (Oct 21, 2012)

Why not have done with it and say 'knat'. Then you could try to say: 'I knat a hat' with a straight face.


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## Oldhenwife (Nov 4, 2012)

hampshirerose said:


> Well I am from the UK
> Last week I knitted a hat for my friend.
> If you intend to make a hat for your friend next week then you would say....
> I am going to knit a hat for my friend.
> ...


That's correct usage (just because something is said in a book doesn't make it so) in English.

What our friends in USA speak is a version of English and there are many variations, some we'd be marked down for if used in an essay.


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## anouk (Oct 31, 2012)

thank you all for your comments......always interesting to learn new things.....


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## Joy8753 (Jan 1, 2013)

borr said:


> The verb knit is traditionally uninflected in the past-tense, perfect-tense, and past-participle forms. However, knitted has long been accepted, and it appears in all varieties of modern English.
> 
> Knitted is safest as a participial adjective (e.g., a knitted scarf), but it also works as a verb (e.g., she knitted all morning). Knit also works in these uses (e.g., a knit scarf, she knit all morning), but its falling out of favor.
> 
> Source: http://grammarist.com/usage/knit-knitted/


I agree, I personally use knitted as an adjective or a verb, and knit as past tense, but then I am old uk grammar school educated and reluctant to follow the modern lazy Facebook style of speech!


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## Florida Gal (Aug 25, 2011)

dancewithmarg said:


> I have a set of Funk & Wagnall encyclopedias but am selling it - I am married to a man who knows everything!
> 
> (Ha ha, just a joke I heard today!)
> 
> ...


I just read your little joke to my husband and he said " there is no Funk & Wagnall encyclopedia only a dictionary ". 
Yep another know it all husband ! ! 
Aren't we blessed.


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## lindseymary (Oct 29, 2011)

dancewithmarg said:


> I have a set of Funk & Wagnall encyclopedias but am selling it - I am married to a man who knows everything!
> 
> (Ha ha, just a joke I heard today!)
> 
> ...


That goes with:-When I married him ,I knew he was Mr Right.Just didn't know his first name was Always.Lindseymary


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## Joy8753 (Jan 1, 2013)

lindseymary said:


> dancewithmarg said:
> 
> 
> > I have a set of Funk & Wagnall encyclopedias but am selling it - I am married to a man who knows everything!
> ...


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## Lynda from Watford (Nov 15, 2011)

As an English teacher and a purist I've read this strand with great interest. There are definitely local variations. In England the correct usage is
I knit/I am knitting - present tense
I knitted/I have knitted - past tense
I will knit - future tense

There are always problems with lit/lighted, laid/layed and hanged/hung and so on and so on. 

Of course, I when I'm teaching it all has to be 100% correct because it can be important eg in English exams, applying for a job etc but for the purposes of this forum, with contributions from all over the world, we tend to write as we speak - informally, in a friendly way without worrying too much about grammar and spelling. I love all your posts regardless and it's ok as long as we can all understand each other - after all, that's what communication is all about!

Here endeth the lesson!


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## kaixixang (Jul 16, 2012)

For those nay-sayers of Funk & Wagnells Dictionary:
http://www.amazon.com/Wagnalls-Volume-Encyclopedia-Dictionary-Edition/dp/B001N56I8O
http://newhampshire.ebayclassifieds.com/books-magazines/hudson/1955-funk-wagnalls-encyclopedia-set/?ad=18203854
http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/funk-wagnalls-new-world-encyclopedia-ebscogrades-5-8

Okay, I will admit no current book in PRINT is out there. But aren't y'all glad I looked?


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## flginny (Feb 6, 2011)

Either is correct. However, as many other words in our language have gradually changed as they have been used over time.........you probably sit on a sofa instead of a settee....popular usage is moving more and more toward "knitted," perhaps to distinguish it from the noun which names the product. 

I feel more comfortable saying "knitted."

Virginia


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## louf42 (Nov 18, 2012)




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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Oldhenwife said:


> hampshirerose said:
> 
> 
> > Well I am from the UK
> ...


Well, but that's one of the purposes of school: to promote the use of standard English. At my son's school the kindergarten teachers spend a lot of time stamping out the "ain'ts" and double negatives many of the younger children bring with them. Older children: yeah, epic, nah--all taboo in the classroom, in a written essay, during a job interview etc etc. I think it's important to at least know standard English, even if at times we choose not to use it.


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## Gmfur (Oct 29, 2011)

Knitted is an adjective, a word to describe..such as a knitted bedspread. If you want to say you did something you use the verb. You would say I knit a bedspread. If you are doing something..it would be knitting. 

From dictionary.com


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## Kathleendoris (Sep 20, 2012)

My Oxford English Dictionary gives the past participle of the verb 'to knit' as 'knitted' , with 'knit' listed as a contraction. It also tells us that 'knitten has also been used'. I think I might adopt 'knitten', just for the sheer joy of the sentences I could form around it!


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## Dlclose (Jun 26, 2011)

Interesting discussion. It seems to me that there is no formal English anymore. Since so many people use slang in their vernacular I think whichever you prefer is acceptable. I have seen college papers turned in to professors to grade filled with the slang of the day. It's getting difficult to distinguish between the educated and the not so much.


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## Dlclose (Jun 26, 2011)

Lynda from Watford said:


> As an English teacher and a purist I've read this strand with great interest. There are definitely local variations. In England the correct usage is
> I knit/I am knitting - present tense
> I knitted/I have knitted - past tense
> I will knit - future tense
> ...


HAHAHA! I LOVE it!


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## Rosette (Oct 7, 2011)

I also thought Americans said knit when Brits say knitted. Just one of many differences in our common language. A friend in Seattle bought a house with a half bathroom. I expected to see a half size bath in there, but there was no bath at all!


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## C. Disher (Apr 14, 2011)

How about "I finished knitting-----yesterday and "I am kintting----Ginger


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## smvogle (May 15, 2011)

Knitted is the past tense of Knit. Or have, had knit. And tomorrow I will have knitted more! Daughter of an English teacher. Can't help myself. lol


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Dlclose said:


> Interesting discussion. It seems to me that there is no formal English anymore. Since so many people use slang in their vernacular I think whichever you prefer is acceptable. I have seen college paper turned in to professors to grade filled with the slang of the day. It's getting difficult to distinguish between the educated and the not so much.


I've noticed that our British and Australian sisters seem to have a firmer grasp of standard English. We Americans, on the other hand, hear a variety of accents and speech patterns on a daily basis--hard to know which is correct--and I myself am uncomfortable stating that Southern English/Ebonics/the German-American dialect my grandmother spoke is "wrong", especially in an informal setting.


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## jheiens (Jan 20, 2011)

CaroleD53 said:


> To me, knit is present tense and knitted is past tense.


Given the idiosyncrasies of English, as opposed to actual usage by most of us, either form of ''knit'' is correct; however, most native-speakers will use the "-ed" on the end because we tend to use that on so many verbs. This ''-ed'' ending for past tenses is becoming the accepted form even where there were other forms once considered to be the only proper usage by all the ''right'' people.

This is the nature of English usage as opposed to, say, the French with their Academie Francaise which is still making pronouncements on what usages are acceptable for 'proper' French.


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

casey1952 said:


> Florida Gal said:
> 
> 
> > I know this has been discussed before but not sure if I totally understand.
> ...


Hurray!!!!! Thank you.


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## headlemk (Feb 16, 2011)

For the correct conjugation:

http://www.verb2verbe.com/conjugation/english-verb/knit.aspx

Past 
I	knitted 
you	knitted 
she	knitted 
we	knitted 
they	knitted


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## Kathleendoris (Sep 20, 2012)

That is an interesting site! I have bookmarked it as I may want to use it again. As it conjugated the verb in exactly the way I would have done, I have to consider it very authoritative! Next time I am struggling with a French verb, I shall know where to look.


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## Earnie (Aug 8, 2012)

Ahh, the good old dictionary. Mine is a Webster's Collegiate Dictionary dated 1946. Keep it handy as my DH has trouble spelling.


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## tinkerbell (Mar 27, 2011)

CaroleD53 said:


> To me, knit is present tense and knitted is past tense.


I agree with you!


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## tmlester (Apr 8, 2011)

Well, not to get the grammar police on me...but I just say, I made this for ..... <giggle>


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## rlpknits (Apr 19, 2012)

Re Funk and Wagnells: does anyone remember the absolutely terrifying color plates of dinosaurs in the front of the D volume?


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## Brit33 (Nov 2, 2012)

kaixixang said:


> Why not have:
> Knitted - past tense
> Am knitting - present tense
> Will knit - future tense
> ...


That is the way it ought to be because it SOUNDS right.
My grammer isn't what is should be but I like the way this flows. LOL


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## Juleen (Jun 3, 2011)

Knitted sounds right to me except when I say, 'I knitted it"! <g> It's knitted seems fine, but, the English language is a rather difficult one due to so many words that we've adapted from other languages that don't follow our English grammar "rules". I guess no matter which you use, you're still to be admired for being a knitter. Ahhhh, knitee, one who knits? :O)


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## gsbyrge (Jul 12, 2011)

I think words morph...like "invitation" now is popularly called "invite." I admit it grates a bit, but I bow to the inevitable....


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Earnie said:


> Ahh, the good old dictionary. Mine is a Webster's Collegiate Dictionary dated 1946. Keep it handy as my DH has trouble spelling.


I believe Daniel Webster compiled his famous dictionary for the stated purpose of standardizing American English--the man had foresight.


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## jacf (May 18, 2012)

I agree with CaroleD53, knit sounds present and knitted past tense.


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## taborhills (Sep 8, 2012)

How about, "I just made that yesterday"?
Evasion has long been my strong suit.


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## domesticgod (Apr 6, 2011)

missdeb42 said:


> Wow. You still have a Funk & Wagnalls? I used those encyclopedias when I was in high school and that was......many years ago. I'll bet a lot of people have never even heard of them.


Only if they watched Laugh-In

:mrgreen:


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## Linda333 (Feb 26, 2011)

I went to "dictionary.com" and they listed the verb as "knit" and "knitted." Therefore, I believe the past tense of the verb would be "knitted." They also used the noun as a "knitted garment." I would say "I knit for fun, I am having fun now so I am currently "knitting" and I had fun yesterday when I "knitted" a scarf.

Having said all that, I must include this disclaimer: I am definitely NOT an expert on grammar!


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## bizzyknitter (May 10, 2011)

tmlester said:


> Well, not to get the grammar police on me...but I just say, I made this for ..... <giggle>


 :thumbup:


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## jinxy (Jul 22, 2012)

My American Heritage Dictionary also says either is correct, but I have never heard anyone use "knit" as the past tense . I will listen carefully in the future though. Maybe I didn't notice. Jinxy


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## valmac (Nov 22, 2012)

inishowen said:


> My pet hate when people say "I am sat" "He was/is sat". It should be "He was sitting" "I am sitting" etc., It's so common in UK to get this wrong.


I usually say I knit that (past tense) and use knitted as an adjective - it's a knitted hat. My pet peeve is the use of seen as the past tense of see - I seen her yesterday!!


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## bizzyknitter (May 10, 2011)

I can't believe we are on 7 pages of knitted or knit. To me you either already knitted it or you will knit it.


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## jangmb (Oct 27, 2011)

dancewithmarg said:


> I have a set of Funk & Wagnall encyclopedias but am selling it - I am married to a man who knows everything!
> 
> (Ha ha, just a joke I heard today!)
> 
> ...


That is priceless!!! Don't we all know someone like that

:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Alanan (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi I don't think it matters what word you use, as long as people understand what you mean. Myself I usually say knitted. I am originally from Scotland.


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## Oldhenwife (Nov 4, 2012)

Rosette said:


> I also thought Americans said knit when Brits say knitted. Just one of many differences in our common language. A friend in Seattle bought a house with a half bathroom. I expected to see a half size bath in there, but there was no bath at all!


I don't think that what Americans mean by 'bathroom' is what we mean. They usually mean a lavatory. A bath is a 'tub' - this in my experience.

Some American guests have been confused when I've said that our lavatory is first on the right at the top of the stairs and the bathroom is next to it, on the right.


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## Oldhenwife (Nov 4, 2012)

gsbyrge said:


> I think words morph...like "invitation" now is popularly called "invite." I admit it grates a bit, but I bow to the inevitable....


It's terrible. An invitation is the noun, invite is the verb. I re-use the correct word in another sentence if anyone says "an invite" to me. It's become very common in England.


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## Strickliese (Jan 6, 2012)

Since English is not my first language, I had to memorize irregular verbs. According to what we learnt in school, knit is such a verb. I do think though that the regularized version has become accepted usage. 

Here is something about the verb knit I found online:

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, the past tense knit is most likely to be used to refer to the process of making rows of looped-together yarn (or wool as is more commonly said in the UK), and less likely to be used in other senses, like making a whole garment or 'knitting' your brow. According to the aforementioned style guide, past tense knit has taken over. As far as I can tell, I say knit for all but the figurative senses. So, I'd say: Celeste knitted her brow while she knit her scarf.


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## taborhills (Sep 8, 2012)

Oh yes, I agree about the substitution for "invitation. My recent annoyance-eliciter is "grab a bit." Crude. I bet the French have no analogue; they respect the arts of cooking and eating.


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## taborhills (Sep 8, 2012)

Misspelled. Too much rush! "Grab a BITE."


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## Grammykt (Dec 8, 2012)

My three year old grand daughter asked me if I " knitteded her dolly"." Sometimes...you just have to smile.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Oldhenwife said:


> Rosette said:
> 
> 
> > I also thought Americans said knit when Brits say knitted. Just one of many differences in our common language. A friend in Seattle bought a house with a half bathroom. I expected to see a half size bath in there, but there was no bath at all!
> ...


My eleven-year old son is a California native and speaks of "having to use the restroom" even when we're at home. I'm guessing he picked that up from school, but whatever he's impervious to my corrections. I've given up.


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## inishowen (May 28, 2011)

When I was a five year old at school I wanted to go to the toilet. I said to the teacher "can I go to the toilet", she kept saying "I know you can". I didn't understand what she meant, until she eventually told me I should have said "may I go to the toilet". The silly woman was lucky she didn't have a puddle on the floor!


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## marimom (Aug 27, 2011)

While I was knitting an item a friend asked me about a shawl I had just knit. I told her I HAD knitted it in a week. Perhaps it depends on what you are saying.


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## valmac (Nov 22, 2012)

Oldhenwife said:


> Rosette said:
> 
> 
> > I also thought Americans said knit when Brits say knitted. Just one of many differences in our common language. A friend in Seattle bought a house with a half bathroom. I expected to see a half size bath in there, but there was no bath at all!
> ...


Don't ask them to knock you up in the morning either!!! Your US guests, that is!


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## knottyknittershop (Mar 16, 2012)

casey1952 said:


> Florida Gal said:
> 
> 
> > I know this has been discussed before but not sure if I totally understand.
> ...


Thank you for looking that up for us. I use both, depending upon my context. Like tomato tomato and many medical words, pronunciation can be influenced by geographics & orientation.
I love it when everybody can be right/correct!


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## Oldhenwife (Nov 4, 2012)

valmac said:


> Don't ask them to knock you up in the morning either!!! Your US guests, that is!


I did that in an hotel in Des Moines. I think it was dismissed because it came from one of those eccentric Brits.


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## SAMkewel (Mar 5, 2011)

Kathleendoris said:


> I have to be honest and say that I find the use of 'knit' to express all the tenses of the verb 'to knit' irritating. There are so many nuances that can be expressed by the use of this verb: 'I once knitted...', 'I used to knit...', 'I often knit...', 'I am currently knitting...', etc, all of which are lost when the single term 'I knit' is used. I had assumed that it was simply US usage, but this discussion leads me to think that it is by no means accepted throughout the States. I read a lot of American literature, so am fairly well used to reading 'American' much in the way I read French, that is to say, as a language that I understand well, but which, now and again, contains words or sentences whose meaning I have to pause and consider before I fully comprehend. I would enter a plea for a more considered use of 'knit', but I fear it would be a total waste of time: the versions of the English language spoken in various parts of the world are developing characteristics of their own and that process has a momentum that we as individuals will never stop.


It has and always will be "knitted" to me. The same goes for "crocheted".


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## mamahen (May 26, 2011)

valmac said:


> inishowen said:
> 
> 
> > My pet hate when people say "I am sat" "He was/is sat". It should be "He was sitting" "I am sitting" etc., It's so common in UK to get this wrong.
> ...


This is one of mine, also. Another pet peeve is when someone is referencing a person as "that" instead of "who".

How do you like the way young people are holding a pen or pencil? I was slapped across the face once by a nun because I was using all but my pinkie finger to hold my pencil instead of thumb, index and third finger. We had moved to a new city and my prior teacher had taught us the four-finger method. That was my one and only time to be hit by a teacher, but I remember it so vividly 60+ years later.

This is a fun post. I've had quite a few laughs. Oh, by the way, I say "knitted" but it does sound strange.


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## Friederike (Aug 26, 2011)

Florida Gal, thank you for bringing this up. When ever I write knit or knitted I wonder if one is more correct. Nothing to lose sleep over, just curious! I'll be following this thread.... :thumbup:


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## cathyknits (Nov 1, 2012)

taborhills said:


> How about, "I just made that yesterday"?
> Evasion has long been my strong suit.


It's nice to have alternatives.

On dictionaries: My dad was never a great speller (and conscious of it) so he was always on the lookout for compact dictionaries in thrift and second hand stores. When he passed away I found out that this had always been the case - I now have a tiny, pocket-sized dictionary, about 2 1/2" x 4", that is signed and dated by two other people before he added his name in 1941.


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

headlemk said:


> For the correct conjugation:
> 
> http://www.verb2verbe.com/conjugation/english-verb/knit.aspx
> 
> ...


That's how I use the word, but an earlier post said the Funk & Wagnall's approved either knitted OR knit as past tense. There are lots of words like that. I wonder if it's different in different countries?


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## SAMkewel (Mar 5, 2011)

zoer said:


> I think it's an English v. American past tense. English - knitted, American - knit.:}


I'd agree that there are regional differences in the USA, but I can't agree that "knit" is American. My grandmother, mother, and I have always said "knitted," as well as a lifetime of many contacts at many LYS's. It's only within the past decade that I've heard anyone say "knit" instead.


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## Friederike (Aug 26, 2011)

Oldhenwife said:


> valmac said:
> 
> 
> > Don't ask them to knock you up in the morning either!!! Your US guests, that is!
> ...


LOLOLOL.....I can't stop laughing..... :thumbup:


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## Oldhenwife (Nov 4, 2012)

SAMkewel said:


> I'd agree that there are regional differences in the USA, but I can't agree that "knit" is American. My grandmother, mother, and I have always said "knitted," as well as a lifetime of many contacts at many LYS's. It's only within the past decade that I've heard anyone say "knit" instead.


Yes but I've never heard it said in England, in the say it's used in America. I think I first saw it in a Zimmerman book, written well more than ten years ago.


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

mamahen said:


> valmac said:
> 
> 
> > inishowen said:
> ...


Yes, "that" instead of "who" always stands out to me, but just because I had an English teacher who pointed it out. We're all different and notice different things. I can't bear to leave a typo or misspelled word (if I catch it) in my writing, and if I see it, I can't help but notice it. My daughter, on the other hand, taught English in college (literature) and isn't a "naturally" good speller. 
The misspelled word doesn't jump out at her at all. Funny the things we notice.

Mamahen, I just thought of another one you might notice. When someone is sensitive to gender to the point of glaring clash. "The VOTER should bring an umbrella in THEIR car in case it rains." Just someone's oversight - I don't mean to criticize the person. I'm just saying it's something I can't help but notice. If you're like me, you'll notice a lot of these on tv.

On the other hand, show me an incorrect math problem, and my eyes will glaze over.

And now I'm afraid to type any more because I'll probably make a mistake - and then won't I look funny!


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## seasha2000 (Sep 29, 2012)

I think Knitted is past tense and Knit is either presence or future tense...


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## Suzie1 (May 11, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> Florida Gal said:
> 
> 
> > smasha12 said:
> ...


"Knit," "Knat," "Knut" ??? Just kidding too.


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

Suzie1 said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > Florida Gal said:
> ...


Love "knat!" Let's use it!!


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## Kadydee (Apr 28, 2011)

huneebee331 said:


> missdeb42 said:
> 
> 
> > I try not to be too judgemental of people who are pouring their heart out and sharing their joys and sorrows on this forum.
> ...


Me also!


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## taborhills (Sep 8, 2012)

"I can't bear to leave a typo or misspelled word (if I catch it) in my writing, and if I see it, I can't help but notice it."
CORRECT USAGE: I can't help noticing it." There is no "but" in this logic or structure.


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## mamahen (May 26, 2011)

bonbf3,

We must have had the same English teacher. Ha. Or should I say teachers? All of mine had high regard for correct grammar. They seemed to enjoy putting red circles throughout an essay or test paper.

Did you diagram millions of sentences from about fourth through seventh grades? We even had to use a ruler so the lines would be straight. No wonder I'm so super compulsive. Ha.


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## bluecarly (Mar 18, 2011)

I have friends in England and they say "I am sat at the table," "I am stood on the pavement," and "This is me house." I have never known whether or not this was the proper British English?


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## taborhills (Sep 8, 2012)

It's easier to correct grammar and punctuation than to reflect on the content of an esssay and write a comment which encourages and actually helps the student grow.


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## elsie lacey (Dec 31, 2012)

According to "Maxwell's School Grammar",knit is an irregular verb and the present tense is knit, the past tense is knit and the past participle is knit.


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## Lynda from Watford (Nov 15, 2011)

Juleen said:


> Knitted sounds right to me except when I say, 'I knitted it"! <g> It's knitted seems fine, but, the English language is a rather difficult one due to so many words that we've adapted from other languages that don't follow our English grammar "rules". I guess no matter which you use, you're still to be admired for being a knitter. Ahhhh, knitee, one who knits? :O)


So true about the rules and just great that we are all knitters. I knitted it sounds fine to the English ear. Sorry, but you are wrong about knitter and knittee. I am a knitter cos I knit, my daughter is a knittee cos she receives what I knit. See it's so simple when knitters get together! lol


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## dancewithmarg (Oct 2, 2012)

> I just read your little joke to my husband and he said " there is no Funk & Wagnall encyclopedia only a dictionary ".
> Yep another know it all husband ! !
> Aren't we blessed.


Tell your hubby "nyah nyah nyah nyah na na" ha ha!
Marg


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## Lynda from Watford (Nov 15, 2011)

bluecarly said:


> I have friends in England and they say "I am sat at the table," "I am stood on the pavement," and "This is me house." I have never known whether or not this was the proper British English?


It's dialect in certain parts of the UK but is not used in SE England and is not 'correct' grammar.


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## KathieMT (Apr 6, 2011)

This link has all the tenses of knit
http://www.verbix.com/webverbix/English/knit.html


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## Lynda from Watford (Nov 15, 2011)

elsie lacey said:


> According to "Maxwell's School Grammar",knit is an irregular verb and the present tense is knit, the past tense is knit and the past participle is knit.


Not in British English. This is such fun, finding out about all these different 'correct' versions. I love it.


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## domesticgod (Apr 6, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> Earnie said:
> 
> 
> > Ahh, the good old dictionary. Mine is a Webster's Collegiate Dictionary dated 1946. Keep it handy as my DH has trouble spelling.
> ...


Sorry to pop your balloon, but that was Noah Webster.


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## venicesusie (Feb 19, 2011)

What other people do is not important. Just do as the dictionary says. Webster's dictionary says either is correct.


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## gma11331 (Oct 18, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> Florida Gal said:
> 
> 
> > smasha12 said:
> ...


knit, knat, knut......


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

bluecarly said:


> I have friends in England and they say "I am sat at the table," "I am stood on the pavement," and "This is me house." I have never known whether or not this was the proper British English?


Wow, that must definitely be Britspeak, never heard anyone here in California use sat/stood in that way. "This is me house" sounds Irish and rather familiar to me, lots of Irish immigrants in and around San Francisco.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

domesticgod said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > Earnie said:
> ...


Yes, you're right. My mistake.


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

SAMkewel said:


> zoer said:
> 
> 
> > I think it's an English v. American past tense. English - knitted, American - knit.:}
> ...


I'm an American, and I've only seen "knit" as past tense here on KP. I've never actually heard anyone use it. We should have a survey - give country and your version of knit/knitted. That would be interesting. I'll start by posting at the end of this topic and see if anyone wants to add to it.


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## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

I received a note home from our daughter's 4th grade teacher, just a short paragraph, no great essay. However, the teacher had so many spelling and grammatical errors, I almost red circled them for returning to said "teacher." I had heard that there were teachers without basic skills, but I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself.


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

Bonbf3 - USA - knit

(Bonnie)


Anyone else want to weigh in on this?


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

Suzie1 said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > Florida Gal said:
> ...


 :shock: :thumbup:


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## Lynda from Watford (Nov 15, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> bluecarly said:
> 
> 
> > I have friends in England and they say "I am sat at the table," "I am stood on the pavement," and "This is me house." I have never known whether or not this was the proper British English?
> ...


"This is me house" sounds Cockney as well (London working class - Eastenders for those who watch it) but it would probably be "This is me 'ouse". Because so many Irish people went to the US during the Great Famine I can detect a lot of 'Irishisms' in American speech. I also hear a lot of Yiddish in the speach of New Yorkers because of the huge amount of Jewish immigrants. And you can definitely hear how many Irish people and Cockneys were transported to Australia from the UK by listening to the Australian accent. Isn't it all fascinating. I could play this all day!!!!


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

StitchDesigner said:


> I received a note home from our daughter's 4th grade teacher, just a short paragraph, no great essay. However, the teacher had so many spelling and grammatical errors, I almost red circled them for returning to said "teacher." I had heard that there were teachers without basic skills, but I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself.


My eighth-grade teacher told us the Dead Sea was called so because it has no water in it


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## rderemer (Nov 13, 2012)

inishowen said:


> I too have a huge Funk & Wagnalls dictionary. The story is, my dad bought it for a lot of cash when they were just married. My mum was not impressed at what she considered a waste of money. However I'm still using it, sixty years later. Dad would be so pleased! By the way, I think the past tense should be "knitted".


I got a Merriam - Webster in 1973 for my high school graduation that I have used regularly ever since. I would miss it if I didn't have it!


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## Gundi2 (May 25, 2012)

Growing up in Germany and teaching my self the[ with the Help of Sesame street] american Languish, please dont be so harsh on all of us who make Mistakes.


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## annagemma (Jul 31, 2012)

Hi, from Scotland !!!!

We would never say "knit' for a past tense.
Here in U.K. it would always "knitted"

Best wishes to all members !!!!


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## rderemer (Nov 13, 2012)

susanmos2000 said:


> StitchDesigner said:
> 
> 
> > I received a note home from our daughter's 4th grade teacher, just a short paragraph, no great essay. However, the teacher had so many spelling and grammatical errors, I almost red circled them for returning to said "teacher." I had heard that there were teachers without basic skills, but I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself.
> ...


Maybe I'm a meanie but I would have edited it and sent it back with a cc to the principal!


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## Dcsmith77 (Apr 18, 2011)

Now that we have (sort of) settled that. Do you ravel or unravel something?

English is such a fun language until you try to teach someone how to read!


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Dcsmith77 said:


> Now that we have (sort of) settled that. Do you ravel or unravel something?
> 
> English is such a fun language until you try to teach someone how to read!


That's funny, as a child I couldn't figure out how Laura's homemade rag doll (Little House In The Big Woods) could have yarn hair that was "knit and raveled" (to make it curly). Took me a long time to figure out that the author meant what I always thought of as "unraveled"!


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## Evie RM (Sep 19, 2012)

missdeb42 said:


> Wow. You still have a Funk & Wagnalls? I used those encyclopedias when I was in high school and that was......many years ago. I'll bet a lot of people have never even heard of them.


I have heard of Funk & Wagnalls, but my set of encyclopedias are Americana. I still have them. Once in a great while, I will still go to them to look up something. Besides the internet, it is another source for researching something. I was going to get rid of them recently, but my grandson didn't want me to. So, when he gets married (several years down the road) he can have them.


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## gma11331 (Oct 18, 2011)

I had a roommate once who said she was going to "unthaw" something from the freezer. I finally convinced her that to unthaw would probably be to freeze it!


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## Evie RM (Sep 19, 2012)

Lynda from Watford said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > bluecarly said:
> ...


I know what you mean. All over the US there are different accents. When my parents and I moved from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California, people would ask my parents what part of the Midwest they were from. My parents were amazed that people knew they were from the Midwest and didn't realize they actually had a Midwest accent. My dad was originally from Newfoundland and when we visited there, I noticed people spoke quite differently than in eastern Canada. And then there is the southern part of the U.S. where people speak with what is called a "Southern Drawl." My mother was born in the US, but both of her parents were born in Germany. Her parents came over to the US when they were children. My mother never learned German and did not have a German accent. We are really a Heinz 57 mix of people here.


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## Metuppence (Dec 30, 2012)

The term " knitted" is used in Great Britain, being the past tense of "to knit". It took me a while to get used to the American use of knit, meaning to have knitted, but completely understand what is meant. It's very interesting to have these different uses of language.


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## gma11331 (Oct 18, 2011)

To be honest, I never really thought about knit v. knitted until today....


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## Dcsmith77 (Apr 18, 2011)

The current emphasis on science and math instead of reading and grammar is responsible, I think, for our teachers not knowing how to write. I maintain that reading is much more important and that if you can read, you can master most anything else because there is bound to be a book about it. Unfortunately, not many educators agree with me.


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## LEE1313 (Jan 25, 2011)

Well TAT and TATTED seem easier to grasp.
Crochet and crocheted are OK also.
Now what happened with KNIT and KNITTED?

I use knit as past tense also. And I think this is the first time I even gave it a thought.

But no matter what one is correct, I still enjoy doing "IT".
Linda
PS I am sure I shall think about this all day,


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## flginny (Feb 6, 2011)

Americans say "bathroom" where the British and most Europeans would say "toilette" or water closet. I knew that, but forgot and asked directions to a public bathroom. I couldn't believe I had to go so far! I climbed hills and traveled several blocks! Then, when I finally reached it, I remembered. There in the bathroom was a bathtub!

Virginia



Rosette said:


> I also thought Americans said knit when Brits say knitted. Just one of many differences in our common language. A friend in Seattle bought a house with a half bathroom. I expected to see a half size bath in there, but there was no bath at all!


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## sibergirl (May 4, 2011)

If you check out the grammar websites and dictionary websites, you will see that both "knit" and "knitted" are acceptable forms for the past tense.


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## nanma esther (Aug 22, 2011)

i will knit
i am knitting
i have knitted
usa terms, i got a's in eng class

hugs


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## Gurney (Feb 17, 2012)

To be really nerdy about this, the verb "to knit" is a weak verb, as evidenced by the fact that it takes an "ed" ending in the past tense, "knitted". There is a tendency for strong verbs (which have a different form in the past tense) to weaken over the years. A good example of this is the verb "to weave", of which the past tense, historically, is "wove". Nowadays I hear people saying "I weaved it", which sounds odd to me, but I would never correct them.

Just to continue in this vein for a bit longer - do stop reading if you're bored - American English seems to favour the retention of the strong verb past tense, eg. dive/dove, whereas British English has gone down the route of weakening that particular verb, so we now have dive/dived. I'm a gardener and still say thrive/throve, but notice that younger gardeners say thrive/thrived. Fascinating the way language changes. 

As for "crochet" (a French word) lots of British people pronounce it "crocher" and happily say, "I crochered this".


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## 3mom (Apr 20, 2011)

I wish I did still have a F & W, but a lot of slang words have been added since then


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## Evie RM (Sep 19, 2012)

nan-ma said:


> i will knit
> i am knitting
> i have knitted
> usa terms, i got a's in eng class
> ...


I think you are correct. I am sure there are other words out there that people use incorrectly without realizing it. People use the subjunctive incorrectly all the time and how about the object of a preposition---like whom instead of who, etc. I could go on and on. It seems like speaking really correct english is going by the wayside.


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## alese (May 16, 2012)

you bet your bippy i remember F&W! (kudos for naming the origin of the bippy!). But I don't have one. I have an Oxford English Dictionary, complete with magnifying glass to read it. And it gets used all the time, sometimes for the fun of etymology!



missdeb42 said:


> Wow. You still have a Funk & Wagnalls? I used those encyclopedias when I was in high school and that was......many years ago. I'll bet a lot of people have never even heard of them.


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## Danny (Jan 20, 2013)

to properly conjugate the verb knit:


knit
knitted
done


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## Judy M (Feb 17, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> "I knitted a hat" sounds better to me than "I knit a hat" even if both are correct.
> The use of "crochet" as an adjective also puzzles me...in a post a week or so ago ago I wrote about working a "crocheted" border, then noticed other people talking about "crochet" hats, "crochet" afghans etc etc. Still not sure which way is right...


I know, funny isn't it? When I do a search I search for a crochet or knit item or pattern and not a crocheted or knitted one. LOL


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

casey1952 said:


> I just looked it up in my "Funk and Wagnells" (yes, I own a Funk and Wagnells dictionary) and either way is correct.
> casey


OK, so I remember having the World Book Encyclopedia. It was the "less costly" version of Encyclopedia Britannica. A salesmen came to the door and convinced my mother that we children were going to grow up uninformed and ignorant without it. Well, I kept that set for decades after I was married. Always found it a quick look-up for most anything and used it often. (I doubt my kids ever cracked one.) I also had a Webster's Collegiate Dictionary forever. Now I just Google anything I need, but sometimes wish I had the beautiful books and yes, could turn the pages. You could run into things not printed---like pressed leaves and flowers, notes, even money. You can't tuck anything like that into Google!

P.S. I'm sure knit/knitted was in there, not only how to use the words, but how to do the knitting.


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## gma11331 (Oct 18, 2011)

alese said:


> you bet your bippy i remember F&W! (kudos for naming the origin of the bippy!). But I don't have one. I have an Oxford English Dictionary, complete with magnifying glass to read it. And it gets used all the time, sometimes for the fun of etymology!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You bet your bippy--Laugh In TV Show


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## alese (May 16, 2012)

hooray! i thought i was going to be the only old fossil to remember that.... not that you are an old fossil, of course. but i am! 


gma11331 said:


> alese said:
> 
> 
> > you bet your bippy i remember F&W! (kudos for naming the origin of the bippy!). But I don't have one. I have an Oxford English Dictionary, complete with magnifying glass to read it. And it gets used all the time, sometimes for the fun of etymology!
> ...


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## sczyx (Oct 12, 2012)

Florida Gal said:


> I'm not judging anyone, just trying to find out the proper usage. Personally I like the word "knitted"


Me too.


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## Shugntx (Oct 20, 2012)

My mother would have said to me that"you can or will crochet a hat today or tomorrow", but "you crocheted a table cloth yesterday". "You knitted a hat yesterday, and I am knitting one today and I will knit tomorrow if I choose. I have no idea which is right, but I can hear my mother correcting me abut the tense , at 80 like I did when I was 5. I would imagine that it is correct some where in the world, just like it is after 12 somewhere if you want a glass of spirits.


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## bpj (Oct 14, 2011)

I juat looked at the Webster's Dictionary that belonged to my Dad that sits by my computer and the copy right date is 1916. I could hardly believe my eyes.
I would use knitted more than I use knit, but feel both or proper.


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## mzmom1 (Mar 4, 2011)

missdeb42 said:


> I try not to be too judgemental of people who are pouring their heart out and sharing their joys and sorrows on this forum.


Her question was, "What do you all do?" I don't think that sounds judgmental, she just wants information.


----------



## Gurney (Feb 17, 2012)

Hi Evie RM, no, "I am sat"/"I am stood" are not proper (ie correct, grammatical) English in Britain, just lazy, or vernacular speech. It's a kind of demotic, anti-snob thing we have here. Stand-up comedians might use this kind of speech in their routines when telling a story, and then sometimes it spreads to journalists when broadcasting in the media. You wouldn't see these and similar phrases in writing except, maybe, in novels featuring ordinary working people's conversations.


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## Gurney (Feb 17, 2012)

BTW, I don't possess a Funk and Wagnalls, just the Oxford Shorter in 2 vols. but I often use the expression, "Look it up in the Funk & Wagnalls" from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in sooo many years ago. The phrase just stuck. We have a film reference book (Halliwell's Guide I think it's called) but I always call it the Funk & Wagnalls, just 'cos it's a wonderful name.


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## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

Strickliese said:


> Since English is not my first language, I had to memorize irregular verbs. According to what we learnt in school, knit is such a verb. I do think though that the regularized version has become accepted usage.
> 
> Here is something about the verb knit I found online:
> 
> According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, the past tense knit is most likely to be used to refer to the process of making rows of looped-together yarn (or wool as is more commonly said in the UK), and less likely to be used in other senses, like making a whole garment or 'knitting' your brow. According to the aforementioned style guide, past tense knit has taken over. As far as I can tell, I say knit for all but the figurative senses. So, I'd say: Celeste knitted her brow while she knit her scarf.


Hey, even the people who grew up speaking English have to memorize the irregular verbs. Also things that aren't taught anymore, like:

"I" before "E", except after "C",
Or when sounding an "A", as in sleigh and weigh.

The 44 possible spellings of English language sounds were once taught in elementary school. That's how I learned how to spell.


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## tmlester (Apr 8, 2011)

rderemer said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > StitchDesigner said:
> ...


 :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

This is a good time for everyone to get out their copy of Eats, Shoots, and Leaves!"


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

all of you make my day, but I must get back to knitting, my time might be short


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## Mrs. Mac (Feb 10, 2011)

Well, what planet have those people been on? There are several different publishers of dictionaries, as well as other reference materials. What edition of dictionary do you currently use?

It would be nice if people who post questions or other responses would be a bit more careful about usage and spelling. Of course, as a retired teacher and one raised by parents and grandparents who valued accuracy in speech, grammar, spelling, and manners, I consider myself fortunate to have been taught that value from earliest childhood. Not everyone has that advantage, I realize. It just makes for clarity and less chance of misunderstanding a post.

It is refreshing that a dictionary is used by some of us.



missdeb42 said:


> Wow. You still have a Funk & Wagnalls? I used those encyclopedias when I was in high school and that was......many years ago. I'll bet a lot of people have never even heard of them.


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## Boulderrose (May 31, 2011)

I would sy I knit, I knitted ,I am knitting


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## mamiepooh (Sep 19, 2011)

In French Quebec, we knit even when we crochet so ... I would probably say I knitted a crochet afghan ... the moral of this story is: no matter how, I've made something and I'm glad to share it with you.
http://conjugueur.reverso.net/conjugaison-anglais-verbe-knit.html


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## Mrs. Mac (Feb 10, 2011)

Just wondering where "cos" comes from. Probably from our current practice of texting? I suppose it means "because?"

I taught high school English for a time, and often heard my students remark after being corrected about a usage that the correct word or expression did not "sound right." Many standards have been altered in recent times by what "seems" or "sounds" right. Standards change. Is that always a good thing? Just wondering.....

There are so many popular ideas, and words used today that are not correct form, or grammar, but are used for ease, or to save time. Trouble is that these usages become habit, and we lose the standard of using correct language. It matters to some, not so much to others. Standards do change. Thank God we do not still use Elizabethan English, or the words of Chaucer as in his Canterbury Tales!

Of course, most languages change with passage of time, and changes in lifestyle. Standard English has become the language of international usage in technology and business, perhaps because it has been changing to meet needs of global interchange.

Would one who knits be a knitter?

K


Lynda from Watford said:


> Juleen said:
> 
> 
> > Knitted sounds right to me except when I say, 'I knitted it"! <g> It's knitted seems fine, but, the English language is a rather difficult one due to so many words that we've adapted from other languages that don't follow our English grammar "rules". I guess no matter which you use, you're still to be admired for being a knitter. Ahhhh, knitee, one who knits? :O)
> ...


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

StitchDesigner said:


> Hey, even the people who grew up speaking English have to memorize the irregular verbs. Also things that aren't taught anymore, like:
> 
> "I" before "E", except after "C",
> Or when sounding an "A", as in sleigh and weigh.
> ...


Oh, I definitely remember the "I before E except after C" rule. W E I R D! :?


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

tmlester said:


> Maybe I'm a meanie but I would have edited it and sent it back with a cc to the principal!


 :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:[/quote]

And I would have even attached a Grade to it----D. :thumbdown:


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## taborhills (Sep 8, 2012)

Norma B --

I before E, except after C,

or when sounded like A, as in "neighbor" and "weigh."

AND "neither leisured foreigner seized the weird heights."


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

Mrs. Mac said:


> Just wondering where "cos" comes from. Probably from our current practice of texting? I suppose it means "because?"
> 
> I taught high school English for a time, and often heard my students remark after being corrected about a usage that the correct word or expression did not "sound right." Many standards have been altered in recent times by what "seems" or "sounds" right. Standards change. Is that always a good thing? Just wondering.....
> 
> ...


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

Always fascinates me how two nations that supposedly speak the same language, have so many differences in interpretation and usage. 
My personal 'bug-bear' is how the American way of spelling has overtaken the internet, even on here my comments are constantly being underlined with red 'marker'. The most commonly highlighted (hi-lighted/US?)words tend to be the ones that I want to spell with an es but gets replaced by the US version that is spelt (spelled?) with a zed (zee?)..realise/specialise/utilise etc...also colour/behaviour(color/behavior)...theatre(theater) the list goes on, not saying that in the USA everyone should use 'The Queen's English' but would like to be able to write an essay using Microsoft Word without spending half an hour 'adding to dictionary' lol 
Love regional accents, they emote character and history, but unless written within the context of dialogue in a novel or a play, they should not be used as a form of written communication. It is worrying to imagine how future generations will continue to desecrate the English language. Yes, it may evolve, but the basic rules should still apply if correct,(unfortunately the old mnemonic of 'I before E except after C' has been proven to not be...ancient/conscience/deficient/height/caffeine/deign etc...so not all the old 'rules' should be followed but a basic understanding, even if ignored when communicating informally, should still be taught.
Please correct all my mistakes in the margin. Lol.


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## ann44 (Oct 14, 2011)

Just change it all and say 'knat'


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

Addendum to last post: Meant to add, however, that many, many Americans enunciate beautifully, some British youth mumble so badly they may as well be speaking a different language all together.


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

greanise said:


> Always fascinates me how two nations that supposedly speak the same language, have so many differences in interpretation and usage.]
> 
> I believe it was Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady" who said of the English language "Why in America they haven't spoken it in YEARS!"


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## gma11331 (Oct 18, 2011)

"One of the worst is someone "went missing". Just one of MANY examples. It's not just local, it even appears on AP. Either the writer or speaker is sloppy or undereducated or the current proofreaders are."

That "went missing" has always baffled me. I know that it's used in the news media all the time, both print and TV. I don't recall hearing it until not too many years back. Any idea where it originated? How does someone "go missing?"


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## sockyarn (Jan 26, 2011)

To knit. I have knitted. I will knit. I am knitting.


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## taborhills (Sep 8, 2012)

greenise, quote "
Love regional accents, they emote character and history,

No, they EVOKE ....


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## sockyarn (Jan 26, 2011)

I think this may come from GB.


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

sockyarn said:


> I think this may come from GB.


And hang nails and bad hair too!! :lol:


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

greanise said:


> Addendum to last post: Meant to add, however, that many, many Americans enunciate beautifully, some British youth mumble so badly they may as well be speaking a different language all together.


I think most Americans find British accents very attractive--but only if they're genuine. In school we had an aspiring drama student who decided to learn how to do a British accent by affecting it morning, noon, and night. We laughed ourselves sick over how ridiculous she sounded, but she wouldn't give it up (in retrospect I admire her determination).

The funny thing is that neither my son or I have a real California accent even though we're natives. My son speaks with a Spanish inflection (the result of years of intensive language study in school), my dulcet Midwestern tones (learned from my Minnesota-born mother) have been altered by fifteen years of marriage to an Eastern European man, and my husband hasn't tried to soften his accent at all (he works in the wine industry, where a European accent is seen as an asset).


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

taborhills said:


> greenise, quote "
> Love regional accents, they emote character and history,
> 
> No, they EVOKE ....


Damn!...I concede defeat..touche' lol


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

Norma B. said:


> sockyarn said:
> 
> 
> > I think this may come from GB.
> ...


Are we being 'racist' lol...you forgot our horrendous teeth and lack of Botox! (only teasing)


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

Norma B. said:


> greanise said:
> 
> 
> > Always fascinates me how two nations that supposedly speak the same language, have so many differences in interpretation and usage.]
> ...


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## joanieo (Aug 19, 2011)

Who cares - knit - knitted? As long as you are enjoying yourself that's all that matters.


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## Dsynr (Jun 3, 2011)

missdeb42 said:


> Wow. You still have a Funk & Wagnalls? I used those encyclopedias when I was in high school and that was......many years ago. I'll bet a lot of people have never even heard of them.


Um....when I was still in school [back in pre-historic times according to my great grandson]F&W was the standard! :-o


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## Dsynr (Jun 3, 2011)

or "knet'? "knut"? "Knutted"? "Knot"? "Knaught"?
Tee, hee, hee!


ann44 said:


> Just change it all and say 'knat'


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

greanise said:


> Norma B. said:
> 
> 
> > greanise said:
> ...


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## gma11331 (Oct 18, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> greanise said:
> 
> 
> > Addendum to last post: Meant to add, however, that many, many Americans enunciate beautifully, some British youth mumble so badly they may as well be speaking a different language all together.
> ...


I've lived in CA for 55 years and never heard anyone refer to a California accent. Living my early years in the mid-Atlantic states just below the Mason Dixon Line I had a bit of a southern twang but after living in Colorado and then California I felt pretty "accentless."


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## Elin (Sep 17, 2011)

http://grammarist.com/usage/knit-knitted/

Hopefully, this helps.


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## SAMkewel (Mar 5, 2011)

Oldhenwife said:


> SAMkewel said:
> 
> 
> > I'd agree that there are regional differences in the USA, but I can't agree that "knit" is American. My grandmother, mother, and I have always said "knitted," as well as a lifetime of many contacts at many LYS's. It's only within the past decade that I've heard anyone say "knit" instead.
> ...


EZ was English by birth; however, she was schooled in various other European countries before she relocated to the USA. That makes it difficult to determine where she learned it :~).


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## leeannj (Aug 9, 2011)

I like knitted. Doesn't sound judgmental to me.


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## Evie RM (Sep 19, 2012)

susanmos2000 said:


> greanise said:
> 
> 
> > Addendum to last post: Meant to add, however, that many, many Americans enunciate beautifully, some British youth mumble so badly they may as well be speaking a different language all together.
> ...


I grew up in the L.A. area and I don't think there is such a thing as a California accent. My Midwest accent disappeared real soon after our move to L.A. You can sure tell when someone is from Boston or New York or Minnesota or the South. And then there is the French/English mixture that the people in the Louisiana Bayou speak. Can't really understand them at all.


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## lizmaxwell (Jul 23, 2011)

Its difference between uk english and usa english like we call mathematics maths and in the us it is math, without the s.


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## Byrdgal (Jun 27, 2011)

CaroleD53 said:


> To me, knit is present tense and knitted is past tense.


Sounds right to me, too!


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## ann-other-knitter (Mar 17, 2012)

CaroleD53 said:


> To me, knit is present tense and knitted is past tense.


Yes, you are correct. Too many people have not learn't to speak or write correct English. My 3 children were not taught Grammar in school. I taught them English Grammar from birth to the the day they left the nest. Bad language was not used. My eldest says "Ain't was not part of our vocabulary". Call me any name you wish. That doesn't bother me. What does bother me is double negatives. I cringe at bad language. Ann -"Lover of my mother tongue"


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## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

Evie RM said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > greanise said:
> ...


You mean you can't understand what oyn-yons, Nor Lens, and mo'better are? :lol:


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

lizmaxwell said:


> Its difference between uk english and usa english like we call mathematics maths and in the us it is math, without the s.


True, and for me at least very fortunate--trying to go from the "th" sound to "s" ties my tongue in knots! :-D


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## Dcsmith77 (Apr 18, 2011)

When I moved from Texas to Massachusetts, I found that I had to learn a whole new language. They couldn't understand me and vice verse. It wasn't too different from when I went to England. I haven't lived in Texas now for nearly 50 years, but I still have something of what someone referred to as a Southern Drawl (not as bad as Louisiana, though). I have also traveled through the Carolinas where, when I asked for a water fountain, it wasn't until a few hours later that my husband and I figured out what he was saying was "spigot." We never saw a fountain at that gas station! It's one of the things that makes travel interesting.


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## Dcsmith77 (Apr 18, 2011)

Now there's an interesting word: "learn't." British also use the word "mind" somewhat differently. I remember hearing the P. of Wales say something about "I mind that" in reference to not thinking something was a good idea (I think). Something like "I mind that our children are not schooled properly." And there's also "Mind the gap." We would say "Watch your step." Reading British detective stories can be really fun sometimes. Another expression that I like is "Coaches not allowed." at "wayside stops" I thought they had something against football trainers; never thought about what we call "buses." Fun and games with the English language can go on endlessly! "Our marvelous native tongue," indeed!


ann-other-knitter said:


> CaroleD53 said:
> 
> 
> > To me, knit is present tense and knitted is past tense.
> ...


----------



## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

gma11331 said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > greanise said:
> ...


I hear it most clearly when East meets West--that is, when my nieces and nephews being raised in New York mingle with the others. Most of the NY kids sound like miniature Archie Bunkers, and the California natives slur their vowels, slur entire words together, very few hard consonants, no "t's" at all (Sanna Claws, swedder, Chris'mus), and speak so quickly that one sentence seems to roll right into the next. I've heard the effect described as "mushy" AKA "the mushy mumble"--not terribly complementary--but at least all that slurring keeps the volume down. I'm always surprised at how loud and sharp my brother's kids sound, even the two pre-schoolers.


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## dandylion (May 31, 2011)

Thank you, Lindseymary !!!! that's going on my facebook page.")



lindseymary said:


> dancewithmarg said:
> 
> 
> > I have a set of Funk & Wagnall encyclopedias but am selling it - I am married to a man who knows everything!
> ...


----------



## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

lizmaxwell said:


> Its difference between uk english and usa english like we call mathematics maths and in the us it is math, without the s.


Perhaps I am odd(well no perhaps about it really..lol) but I am born and bred Southern England and myself and most people I know have always said 'math' without the es...we were taught that you would say, 'mathematics IS my favourite lesson', not 'mathematics ARE my favourite lesson' therefore math would not be plural.


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## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

greanise said:


> lizmaxwell said:
> 
> 
> > Its difference between uk english and usa english like we call mathematics maths and in the us it is math, without the s.
> ...


I'm from the US Deeeeeep South and that's what they taught us as well.


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## Sala (Oct 21, 2012)

Oldhenwife said:


> hampshirerose said:
> 
> 
> > Well I am from the UK
> ...


EXACTLY! You have put this very well. American English is a definite No No here too. I use the parts of the very 'to knit' exactly as you have, hampshirerose, because that is the correct usage in English.


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

Dcsmith77 said:


> Now there's an interesting word: "learn't." British also use the word "mind" somewhat differently. I remember hearing the P. of Wales say something about "I mind that" in reference to not thinking something was a good idea (I think). Something like "I mind that our children are not schooled properly." And there's also "Mind the gap." We would say "Watch your step." Reading British detective stories can be really fun sometimes. Another expression that I like is "Coaches not allowed." at "wayside stops" I thought they had something against football trainers; never thought about what we call "buses." Fun and games with the English language can go on endlessly! "Our marvelous native tongue," indeed!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Why do you have an apostrophe in learnt? that makes it learn not  As you rightly say, it isn't just grammar that we differ on sometimes but actual names of things, wonder why America felt the need to invent a whole new vocabulary for items that already had a name? For example (US word first)..faucet/tap, elevator/lift, vacation/holiday, suspenders/braces...our suspenders hold up ladies stockings and we also call teeth retainers braces too lol...candy/sweets, liquor/alcohol, drug store/ chemist, jelly/jam ...blimey sooooo many!  By the way we do have buses (omnibuses) but they are public transport, coaches are long distance and used for 'coach trips'. If some-one has written an American/English phrase book bet they have made a fortune...lol


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## Sala (Oct 21, 2012)

Sala said:


> Oldhenwife said:
> 
> 
> > hampshirerose said:
> ...


Whoops, I think it was oldhenwife who made the original post.


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## Vulcan1957 (Jun 20, 2012)

CaroleD53 said:


> To me, knit is present tense and knitted is past tense.


I agree, knit present and future tense and knitted being a past tense, but the English Language, whether King English or American English can be confusing at times....but according to my Webster Dictionary; knitted and Knit is an Intransitive verb and a transitive verb and Knitting can be both a vi or vt or a noun....confusing? Like so many confusing patterns and intricate stitches in knitting, it is no wonder the usage of the word itself can be confusing, but like different stitches, cast-ons and casting off I think what ever you feel comfortable with using is okay.....


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## Sala (Oct 21, 2012)

Vulcan1957 said:


> CaroleD53 said:
> 
> 
> > To me, knit is present tense and knitted is past tense.
> ...


What people feel comfortable using is often just plain wrong!


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## Hannelore (Oct 26, 2011)

Florida Gal said:


> I know this has been discussed before but not sure if I totally understand.
> Past tense: " I knitted a hat for my friend last year ". Or
> " I knit a hat for my friend last year ".
> 
> ...


Personally I think it may have to do with the country you live in and how you were taught English tenses. I know I use knitted for the past tense.


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## dancewithmarg (Oct 2, 2012)

I was born and bred in England, but I think if I went back now I'd have trouble understanding the "English as it is spoke" there. Listening to "Corrie" I have to think a bit when I hear words such as as tennies, bezzie friend, leccy bill and worst of all - Chrimbo (believe it or not, that's Christmas!) Yuk!

Marg
NS Canada


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## dec2057 (May 30, 2011)

I say knit :-D


Florida Gal said:


> I know this has been discussed before but not sure if I totally understand.
> Past tense: " I knitted a hat for my friend last year ". Or
> " I knit a hat for my friend last year ".
> 
> ...


----------



## Sala (Oct 21, 2012)

greanise said:


> Dcsmith77 said:
> 
> 
> > Now there's an interesting word: "learn't." British also use the word "mind" somewhat differently. I remember hearing the P. of Wales say something about "I mind that" in reference to not thinking something was a good idea (I think). Something like "I mind that our children are not schooled properly." And there's also "Mind the gap." We would say "Watch your step." Reading British detective stories can be really fun sometimes. Another expression that I like is "Coaches not allowed." at "wayside stops" I thought they had something against football trainers; never thought about what we call "buses." Fun and games with the English language can go on endlessly! "Our marvelous native tongue," indeed!
> ...


 The word 'learn't' does not exist. It is 'learnt' or 'learned'.


----------



## Sala (Oct 21, 2012)

susanmos2000 said:


> lizmaxwell said:
> 
> 
> > Its difference between uk english and usa english like we call mathematics maths and in the us it is math, without the s.
> ...


Saying 'math' sounds weird to me. We say 'maths' here.


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## mzmom1 (Mar 4, 2011)

Norma B. said:


> casey1952 said:
> 
> 
> > I just looked it up in my "Funk and Wagnells" (yes, I own a Funk and Wagnells dictionary) and either way is correct.
> ...


I had a set of World Book Encyclopedias that my parents got me when I was in elementary school. I loved them, I actually read them for fun!


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## mzmom1 (Mar 4, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> Florida Gal said:
> 
> 
> > smasha12 said:
> ...


then you could also say, I have knut three sweaters this year."
Actually I've always said 'knitted' and have/has/had knitted.'


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## mzmom1 (Mar 4, 2011)

Oldhenwife said:


> hampshirerose said:
> 
> 
> > What our friends in USA speak is a version of English and there are many variations, some we'd be marked down for if used in an essay.
> ...


----------



## Vulcan1957 (Jun 20, 2012)

greanise said:


> Dcsmith77 said:
> 
> 
> > Now there's an interesting word: "learn't." British also use the word "mind" somewhat differently. I remember hearing the P. of Wales say something about "I mind that" in reference to not thinking something was a good idea (I think). Something like "I mind that our children are not schooled properly." And there's also "Mind the gap." We would say "Watch your step." Reading British detective stories can be really fun sometimes. Another expression that I like is "Coaches not allowed." at "wayside stops" I thought they had something against football trainers; never thought about what we call "buses." Fun and games with the English language can go on endlessly! "Our marvelous native tongue," indeed!
> ...


Yes here in the US we have different words for the same things, but here in America we are a blend of different languages as well as different cultures which reflect in our ever changing lanuage....when I was in school you could not use slang words in any of your compositions, this has since changed and slang words are accepted in some Grammer classes. In GED classes only Proper American English is excepted, but if the word was clarified first, then it would be excepted, example: Mugwa; a Native American word for "Little Bear", or if you use the word "Lift" for elevator, a clarification in the beginning or during your composition would be required. I have family members that live in England and Ireland and have all their lives, but like my cousin once said to me, if you do not understand me then ask me what I am talking about, do not let me go on and on and you do not understand...(not an exact quote due to his use of rhetoric and curse words), but I think you get the point I am trying to make...


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## kaixixang (Jul 16, 2012)

Or if you are to continue using an abbreviation:

I want to use Stitch as st.

Clarifying a number.

There is more than One (1) way to state what you mean.

I'm getting a nice education in the use of written English. <G>


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## bbbg (Feb 23, 2012)

Perhaps this has been said:
Knit is a verb.....past tense knit or knitted
Knitted is also an adjective...ex. I see a knitted shawl.

So here's a correct statement.: The knitters knitted yesterday, and knit some knitted knickers. 
Ha!


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## Judy M (Feb 17, 2011)

bbbg said:


> Perhaps this has been said:
> Knit is a verb.....past tense knit or knitted
> Knitted is also an adjective...ex. I see a knitted shawl.
> 
> ...


oh, my LOL


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## Grandma G. (Oct 29, 2012)

Florida Gal said:


> smasha12 said:
> 
> 
> > I've always believed that knit is the past tense in American English and knitted in British English.
> ...


----------



## mtalmage (Apr 5, 2011)

I found this at Gramarist.com

Knit vs. knitted
The verb knit is traditionally uninflected in the past-tense, perfect-tense, and past-participle forms. However, knitted has long been accepted, and it appears in all varieties of modern English.

Knitted is safest as a participial adjective (e.g., a knitted scarf), but it also works as a verb (e.g., she knitted all morning). Knit also works in these uses (e.g., a knit scarf, she knit all morning), but its falling out of favor.
http://grammarist.com/usage/knit-knitted/

Also, the i before e "rule" isn't taught any more as it has become well known that English is one of the least consistent languages in spelling rules. The rule works only when the "ie" and "ei" have the sound of "ee", for ex. weird or ceiling. Then we have words where y is changed to i and es follows to form a plural - agencies - notice the c followed by ie not ei. In some words "cie" makes the sound of "sh" - for ex. ancient, proficient, conscience. And then notice the word science! and view! and friend! and many others. The last few words are actually words that elementary students would be expected to be able to read and spell so that rule would be of little use to them.

There are several excellent programs to teach kids the phonics and spelling they need to write well. Most of us are visual learners, that is we look at a word and can remember it (most words any way! The kids who can't need these alternative instructional methods.

This was such an interesting thread. Glad I opened it.


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## mjs (Mar 3, 2011)

missdeb42 said:


> Wow. You still have a Funk & Wagnalls? I used those encyclopedias when I was in high school and that was......many years ago. I'll bet a lot of people have never even heard of them.


I think those people would never have seen Laugh-in. Wasn't that the program that referred to Funk....?


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## Mariette EDE (Jul 6, 2012)

Definitely knitted


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## mjs (Mar 3, 2011)

Florida Gal said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > inishowen said:
> ...


I think you've started a bit of fun.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Here's a question for the Aussies/Brits: why in novels is the word "holidays" often shortened to "hols."?


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

bbbg said:


> Perhaps this has been said:
> Knit is a verb.....past tense knit or knitted
> Knitted is also an adjective...ex. I see a knitted shawl.
> 
> ...


Can't knock that!


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## GogoJules (Aug 27, 2012)

I think it depends on where you are living. I believe that in the US of A it is fine to use the present tense as the past, i.e. "I knit a jersey last year".
In England and here in SA we tend to use the full past tense of the word i.e. "knitted" but as everyone says, this is not a judgement call - and as long as one can be understood that is all that matters.


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## Kathleendoris (Sep 20, 2012)

susanmos2000 said:


> Here's a question for the Aussies/Brits: why in novels is the word "holidays" often shortened to "hols."?


I'm not sure what sort of novels you are reading if you come across this with great frequency! Certainly 'hols' would have been schoolboy slang for 'holidays' maybe in the 1950s or 1960s, but I haven't heard it or even seen it in print for many years. Outside of Enid Blyton, I am unsure where it would occur these days.


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## Ciyona (Jan 17, 2011)

I haven't read all the post and someone may have mentioned it all ready but if you are saying "I knit a hat or I knitted a hat with both being proper, I would say that if the term I knit would have been used as "I had knit a hat for my friend I would think that would even be better and a more proper use of the present tense. Just my observation and btw I use the word knitted a lot so if it were wrong to me your question is relavent. I am not that good of a speller and my punctuation stinks as well as my grammer, I have no clue how I even passed my English courses in School.


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## Lillyhooch (Sep 27, 2012)

smasha12 said:


> I've always believed that knit is the past tense in American English and knitted in British English.
> 
> As someone who grew up -and learned to knit- in England, I've always used knitted. I find the use of knit as the past tense sounds unfinished.


It does to me also.


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## sheila kay (Jan 2, 2013)

here in the UK, we would say
"I knitted a hat for my friend last year" - past tense
or

"today I will knit a hat for my friend" - present tense

but at the end of the day, it is a case of using whichever suits you

Sheila


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## Mariette EDE (Jul 6, 2012)

Hols is just a slang word for Holliday .


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## inishowen (May 28, 2011)

I was listening to Radio 2 a few weeks ago. They were discussing the way so many English kids were deliberately talking with Jamaican accents, because they think it's cool. There is a name for the accent "Jafakein". I do think it's sad that the english accent is changing so much. Sometimes I can't understand what teenagers are saying.


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## happycrafter (Sep 19, 2012)

This is why " they " say,English is the worst one too learn for people wanting a second language.


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## Lynda from Watford (Nov 15, 2011)

Gundi2 said:


> Growing up in Germany and teaching my self the[ with the Help of Sesame street] american Languish, please dont be so harsh on all of us who make Mistakes.


I'm so impressed by anyone who speaks more than one language. I'm a typical Brit who just relies on everyone else speaking English! I've studied linguistics and just love all the variation and how language is constantly changing. I've loved this strand cos it's so fascinating hearing everyone's opinions and experiences and especially how English has changed in all the countries that have it as their mother tongue from the original language taken there by settlers and the British Empire. And of course our language here in the UK has changed so much by acquiring words from so many other languages.

You'll get no harshness from me, I promise. 

luv Lynda


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## Gurney (Feb 17, 2012)

'cos is just a very old short form of because, sometimes used when speaking informally or to produce a cute effect, as of a small child speaking. Incidentally, the American use of the word "cute" differs from the British in that it is usually applied to small objects (or children, puppies, kittens etc). It always makes me smile when I read "He's real cute" about a hunky young man!


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Kathleendoris said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > Here's a question for the Aussies/Brits: why in novels is the word "holidays" often shortened to "hols."?
> ...


In fact Enid Blyton is exactly what I have been reading. I reread the St. Clare's series when I stumbled across some written by Pamela Cox, and the girls often discuss their "hols." Because of the period I didn't realize they were actually saying "hols", thought the word was being spoken in full but for some reason the author/editor chose to abbreviate it.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

inishowen said:


> I was listening to Radio 2 a few weeks ago. They were discussing the way so many English kids were deliberately talking with Jamaican accents, because they think it's cool. There is a name for the accent "Jafakein". I do think it's sad that the english accent is changing so much. Sometimes I can't understand what teenagers are saying.


A lot of American teens--both white and black--deliberately speak in "jive" (not sure what the current term for this kind of speech is). It's not particularly attractive, but oh well, at least they can switch it off when they want to.


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## Florida Gal (Aug 25, 2011)

I think when I have a problem with how it sounds is when I say,
" yes, I knitted it "
Maybe that is what I have been questioning. " Knitted it " just pounds funny.


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## Grandma G. (Oct 29, 2012)

susanmos2000 said:


> Here's a question for the Aussies/Brits: why in novels is the word "holidays" often shortened to "hols."?


I always associate "hols" with boarding school novels.


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## Dcsmith77 (Apr 18, 2011)

I am glad I am not alone in my admiration for our English language. I believe that the reason it is currently the universal language is its ability to adopt words from other languages as well as to allow many different words with the same meaning as we have seen in this thread. We have only touched the surface of the ways we can use words, adopt words, change the meaning of words over time, and generally adapt to whatever we need to say. Because it is so fluid, it is hard to learn. I don't think we invented new words for things that already had words to describe them so much as simply accepted words from many other languages that our emigrants brought with them, not just formal English. For example, rug. I have read that in Scandinavian languages this means a very warm, heavy, cape-like garment called a rugg. Scandinavians settled much of our mid-west. Since it was "sort of" like the material of a carpet, the words became interchangeable. How it got to mean a toupee is beyond me since it had nothing to do with hair - maybe a covering for something shiny? Probably the group that added the most color to American English are the Africans. They were often the caretakers of the children, so the kids took up a lot of the wonderful words we use casually today. Many modern or at least jazz music words come from that community, jazz itself being one, hip and jive are two others. This has been a very interesting thread for a lot of us, but we still don't seem to be 100% sure of knit and knitted! Once again, the beauty of English. Thanks, all you Brits out there!


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## taborhills (Sep 8, 2012)

You're a good sport! Be well, be happy.


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## Gurney (Feb 17, 2012)

I've really enjoyed this thread: and there's an example of the way words are constantly adapted to cover new inventions, such as the world wide web. Just don't get me started on misplaced apostrophes...


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

I wish you were my near neighbor!


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## gma11331 (Oct 18, 2011)

Dcsmith77 said:


> I am glad I am not alone in my admiration for our English language. I believe that the reason it is currently the universal language is its ability to adopt words from other languages as well as to allow many different words with the same meaning as we have seen in this thread. We have only touched the surface of the ways we can use words, adopt words, change the meaning of words over time, and generally adapt to whatever we need to say. Because it is so fluid, it is hard to learn. I don't think we invented new words for things that already had words to describe them so much as simply accepted words from many other languages that our emigrants brought with them, not just formal English. For example, rug. I have read that in Scandinavian languages this means a very warm, heavy, cape-like garment called a rugg. Scandinavians settled much of our mid-west. Since it was "sort of" like the material of a carpet, the words became interchangeable. How it got to mean a toupee is beyond me since it had nothing to do with hair - maybe a covering for something shiny? Probably the group that added the most color to American English are the Africans. They were often the caretakers of the children, so the kids took up a lot of the wonderful words we use casually today. Many modern or at least jazz music words come from that community, jazz itself being one, hip and jive are two others. This has been a very interesting thread for a lot of us, but we still don't seem to be 100% sure of knit and knitted! Once again, the beauty of English. Thanks, all you Brits out there!


Robert McNeill's book, The Story of English, which was a PBS series is wonderful showing how the American English has been influenced that the many different cultures that have made up our country. Deals with all sections of our country


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## Florida Gal (Aug 25, 2011)

gma11331 said:


> Dcsmith77 said:
> 
> 
> > I am glad I am not alone in my admiration for our English language. I believe that the reason it is currently the universal language is its ability to adopt words from other languages as well as to allow many different words with the same meaning as we have seen in this thread. We have only touched the surface of the ways we can use words, adopt words, change the meaning of words over time, and generally adapt to whatever we need to say. Because it is so fluid, it is hard to learn. I don't think we invented new words for things that already had words to describe them so much as simply accepted words from many other languages that our emigrants brought with them, not just formal English. For example, rug. I have read that in Scandinavian languages this means a very warm, heavy, cape-like garment called a rugg. Scandinavians settled much of our mid-west. Since it was "sort of" like the material of a carpet, the words became interchangeable. How it got to mean a toupee is beyond me since it had nothing to do with hair - maybe a covering for something shiny? Probably the group that added the most color to American English are the Africans. They were often the caretakers of the children, so the kids took up a lot of the wonderful words we use casually today. Many modern or at least jazz music words come from that community, jazz itself being one, hip and jive are two others. This has been a very interesting thread for a lot of us, but we still don't seem to be 100% sure of knit and knitted! Once again, the beauty of English. Thanks, all you Brits out there!
> ...


Just watched it last night. Very good. Found out that us Southerners ( or is it we Southerners) are the closest to the real English from England.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

I remember a teacher telling us in school that certain isolated areas of the South (particularly the Appalachians) have retained some of the speech patters common in Shakespeare's England. Hearing that blew my mind, but I guess it makes sense as so much of that area was settled by the English.


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

susanmos2000 said:


> I remember a teacher telling us in school that certain isolated areas of the South (particularly the Appalachians) have retained some of the speech patters common in Shakespeare's England. Hearing that blew my mind, but I guess it makes sense as so much of that area was settled by the English.


In my native Missouri, we have the Ozarks. I had relatives WAY back who were second or third generation residents who still spoke a peculiar patois. I thought it was just because they were uneducated, but I learned later it was a true Elizebethan English. They used words and phrases differently than I've ever heard before or since. I wish I had documented more of it, but the only words I remember were the plurals we'uns and you'uns. I have a beautiful mountain dulcimer made in Branson that is also a throwback to very old European instruments, including the zyther among others. The very word Ozarks is derivitive of Aux Arces (the shape of the Missouri and Arkansas Ozark mountains).


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## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

mtalmage said:


> I found this at Gramarist.com
> 
> Also, the i before e "rule" isn't taught any more as it has become well known that English is one of the least consistent languages in spelling rules. The rule works only when the "ie" and "ei" have the sound of "ee", for ex. weird or ceiling. Then we have words where y is changed to i and es follows to form a plural - agencies - notice the c followed by ie not ei. In some words "cie" makes the sound of "sh" - for ex. ancient, proficient, conscience. And then notice the word science! and view! and friend! and many others. The last few words are actually words that elementary students would be expected to be able to read and spell so that rule would be of little use to them.
> 
> ...


Sorry, I was still in school and a member of Future Teachers of America when both the New Math and the New English came into being. I was told then (by a teacher who had to implement them) that someone in the NEA had come to the conclusion that we needed to change the way both subjects were taught. So: Now students are taught to divide first by the overall largest number, then the next, then the next and add the answers for the final solution, ie if dividing by 564, first divide by 500, then by 60, and then by 4 and add them together. For English spelling, why, let's just through out all of those pesky rules and make the little darlings memorize all of the spellings. For grammar, why, let's start making arbitrary changes there, too.

No wonder Johnny can't read, spell, do basic math, or write a sentence, never mind a paragraph.


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

StitchDesigner said:


> No wonder Johnny can't read, spell, do basic math, or write a sentence, never mind a paragraph.


Somehow, I can't recall seeing many people coming out of my generation's schooling (the OLD method of teaching) not being able to write or speak correctly or do basic math necessary to daily living. We were expected and tested in general education before being admitted to college or hired for a white collar job, and we knew that if we didn't learn in both gradeschool and highschool we were going to be severely restricted in what we could do in life. If someone only wanted to be a laborer, that was not considered dishonorable, just a different direction. Was that a bad thing---to have to have basic education in order to be effectively marketable? When I was hiring people two generations later, they were pathetic in those areas. Now everyone has to be attached to a high tech device in order to function on a daily basis. They believe themselves to be far advanced over our generation. Are they REALLY? How would they survive if such technology suddenly became unavailable?

OK, I too sound like a mouldy oldie but I think some will agree that this all makes sense.


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## taborhills (Sep 8, 2012)

Yes, Norma B, I am with you in your opinions about edgacashun.


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

I agree


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## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

I just realized I have a bad typo in my last post. It should read, "let's just throw out..." Oh, boy! :lol:


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## gma11331 (Oct 18, 2011)

Norma B. said:


> StitchDesigner said:
> 
> 
> > No wonder Johnny can't read, spell, do basic math, or write a sentence, never mind a paragraph.
> ...


My grandparents both went from a one-room country school to college. A teacher was hired by the families of the community and I have some of the text books. They studied mythology, higher math, and had a real firm foundation. Also had Latin. And my elementary education gave me a firm foundation in history, geography (I'm 82). My kids knew so little of US geography that when we made a cross-country road trip my son commented about all the different "countries" we were going thru. No, Jim, those are states of which we are a part!


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

StitchDesigner said:


> I just realized I have a bad typo in my last post. It should read, "let's just throw out..." Oh, boy! :lol:


Twenty lashes with a wet noodle! :-D


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## SAMkewel (Mar 5, 2011)

Gurney said:


> I've really enjoyed this thread: and there's an example of the way words are constantly adapted to cover new inventions, such as the world wide web. Just don't get me started on misplaced apostrophes...


One of my pet peeves as well.....


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## dancewithmarg (Oct 2, 2012)

And to think we are up to page 19 of this discussion without anyone getting upset. I love this group!


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

dancewithmarg said:


> And to think we are up to page 19 of this discussion without anyone getting upset. I love this group!


I know, another thread on the site that began with a reasonably innocuous request to watch our spelling and grammar has degenerated into a morass of self-righteous indignation, name calling, nationality bashing, and many many tearful comments and apologies. Ugh! I wish the Administrators would step in--the thread is depressing as heck to read.


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## Ms43 (Aug 19, 2012)

Googled it and the past tense of crochet is crocheted.


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## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> dancewithmarg said:
> 
> 
> > And to think we are up to page 19 of this discussion without anyone getting upset. I love this group!
> ...


That's what the "Report Issue" button is for.


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

susanmos2000 said:


> dancewithmarg said:
> 
> 
> > And to think we are up to page 19 of this discussion without anyone getting upset. I love this group!
> ...


I've followed that one too, and it is a shame that there are a few (FEW!) who must take exception to anything out of their purview of "what should be". You can be offended over anything you choose, but WHY choose? Life is too short to be at odds with the world. ("Everyone is odd except me and thee, and sometimes I think THOU art!") :thumbup:


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

StitchDesigner said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > dancewithmarg said:
> ...


Actually I did end up reporting it--NOT because I want anyone's views censored or hands slapped, more in hopes that a few calming words from the administrators will help quell the furor and settle all those ruffled feathers.


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## mtalmage (Apr 5, 2011)

StitchDesigner said:


> mtalmage said:
> 
> 
> > I found this at Gramarist.com
> ...


I didn't intend to convey that students are not taught rules. They are just not often taught THAT rule as it is incorrect in so many instances. In fact the alternate methods I referred to teach the patterns of English spelling that are consistent. I believe that only approximately 40% of our spelling is consistently spelled but those words are used about 90% of the time. (Don't quote the numbers. They are not precisely correct - just an estimate to explain my point.) So if the students learn the rules of those 40% they can be good spellers. Children with a poor visual memory can only learn by using these rules and by rote instruction. I taught special education or remedial children to read for nearly 40 years and many, if not most, ended up in good colleges able to read and write well. BTW, that New Math went the way of the dinosaur decades ago. I remember it well - maybe not so well, actually. LOL!


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## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

Sounds like another member in good standing with the NEA. No rules, they don't work. Funny, they did for just under 200 years in this country. There are only 44 sounds in the English language. The rules teach all of the possible spellings of those sounds. We were then able to look at a word and read it by knowing the spelling of the sounds. We also learned to spell that way. 

Sorry, I've seen too much shoddy penmanship, lousy spelling, horrible sentence structure, and non-existent math skills. Modern education's "dumbing-down" worked! The kids all dumbed down!


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## Judy M (Feb 17, 2011)

StitchDesigner said:


> mtalmage said:
> 
> 
> > I found this at Gramarist.com
> ...


Yeah, I agree. My oldest daughter was messed up by that "new math." Not sure if she has improved. Younger daughter didn't get taught that way.


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

StitchDesigner said:


> The kids all dumbed down!


Unfortunately, so did a lot of the teachers.

Uh oh. Bet I'm in deep do-do now. :shock:


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> dancewithmarg said:
> 
> 
> > And to think we are up to page 19 of this discussion without anyone getting upset. I love this group!
> ...


I missed that one - not sorry.


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> dancewithmarg said:
> 
> 
> > And to think we are up to page 19 of this discussion without anyone getting upset. I love this group!
> ...


I missed that one - not sorry. This one is fun!


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

Norma B. said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > dancewithmarg said:
> ...


 :thumbup: :-D


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## mtalmage (Apr 5, 2011)

StitchDesigner said:


> Sounds like another member in good standing with the NEA. No rules, they don't work. Funny, they did for just under 200 years in this country. There are only 44 sounds in the English language. The rules teach all of the possible spellings of those sounds. We were then able to look at a word and read it by knowing the spelling of the sounds. We also learned to spell that way.
> 
> Sorry, I've seen too much shoddy penmanship, lousy spelling, horrible sentence structure, and non-existent math skills. Modern education's "dumbing-down" worked! The kids all dumbed down!


Easy here. We are saying the same thing. The 44 sounds of the English language are spelled with only 26 letters. If you read my post I went into a lot of detail trying to describe how kids can be taught with all the rules that DO work with some consistency. The program I used had 12 levels of rules and took 3 years to cover. I am starting to get personally insulted here. This thread has been interesting and pleasant. Let's keep it that way.


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## nuthouse (Oct 30, 2012)

As an ex-primary teacher in Victoria, Australia, I have seen the pendulum swing several times on the different methods of teaching maths, reading, spelling & grammar- it quite often coincided with a change in state Government. As children learn in many different ways a good teacher will take the best of many methods to teach them and disregard the 'fad' aspects. I used to get very annoyed that 'teacher bashers' would bemoan students missing out on rote learning of times tables, phonics, grammar & spelling rules/strategies - never happened in my classroom but I also used many other strategies to help students learn.


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## kaixixang (Jul 16, 2012)

nuthouse said:


> As an ex-primary teacher in Victoria, Australia, I have seen the pendulum swing several times on the different methods of teaching maths, reading, spelling & grammar- it quite often coincided with a change in state Government. As children learn in many different ways a good teacher will take the best of many methods to teach them and disregard the 'fad' aspects. I used to get very annoyed that 'teacher bashers' would bemoan students missing out on rote learning of times tables, phonics, grammar & spelling rules/strategies - never happened in my classroom but I also used many other strategies to help students learn.


That is because you could NOT use the same method (thankfully) on every student. Which reminds me, what happened to the 'ae' or 'ea' combination in most words... or was that a regional/typeface?


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## realsilvergirl (Nov 13, 2011)

I don't care what others say but i have never used 'knitted.' it is knitting this now or i knit that last year.


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## rujam (Aug 19, 2011)

realsilvergirl said:


> I don't care what others say but i have never used 'knitted.' it is knitting this now or i knit that last year.


To me "knit" is the present tense and "knitted'" the past tense but that might be because I'm English. No offence intended.


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## dancewithmarg (Oct 2, 2012)

dancewithmarg said:


> And to think we are up to page 19 of this discussion without anyone getting upset. I love this group!


I honestly meant this in a nice way - I wasn't joking. I have enjoyed this discussion and learned a lot from it, and loved the fact that it didn't turn into a flaming session. Sorry if you thought I was being sarcastic - I really wasn't.


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## Gurney (Feb 17, 2012)

Hi from another mouldie oldie (or should that be a golden oldie?) I took Latin to age 16 at school, hated it most of the time but realised the value later: it helps with spelling and with working out the meanings of words that are new to me. I agree with the comments about geography - woeful ignorance prevails in the UK about the locations of different counties and towns. Once when buying a railway ticket from Cornwall to Worcester I was asked if the route went via Kent.

On the other hand, my paternal grandfather left school aged 13 and had never been academic. He went into the Royal Navy as a boy cadet and later kept a daybook, which I now have as a prized possession. He was in the Mediterranean fleet in the great days of the navy and his daily records are grammatical, correctly spellt and in pen and ink copperplate handwriting that is a joy to read. I don't know any boys who could write like that, but have known many (even university graduates as bright as a button)whose writing is a disgrace.


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## theyarnlady (Feb 25, 2011)

Yep would's you like to come over we has a cup of Kaffe together. 

Not's seen a bathroom with tubs, or restroom to lye's down in Or water closet with water's in. 
But gees, I can gets somes of its rights. 

Anit sees any thugs wrongs with me's English, Is knots o.k.?

Wells I's did my bestest. Luv's whats poster hear, Englishs is mezz's second land guage. I's doing goods lean it's funs how uses alls spake ons hair.


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## dancewithmarg (Oct 2, 2012)

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## mtalmage (Apr 5, 2011)

nuthouse said:


> As an ex-primary teacher in Victoria, Australia, I have seen the pendulum swing several times on the different methods of teaching maths, reading, spelling & grammar- it quite often coincided with a change in state Government. As children learn in many different ways a good teacher will take the best of many methods to teach them and disregard the 'fad' aspects. I used to get very annoyed that 'teacher bashers' would bemoan students missing out on rote learning of times tables, phonics, grammar & spelling rules/strategies - never happened in my classroom but I also used many other strategies to help students learn.


AMEN.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

dancewithmarg said:


> dancewithmarg said:
> 
> 
> > And to think we are up to page 19 of this discussion without anyone getting upset. I love this group!
> ...


I didn't think you sounded a bit sarcastic--but I understand your desire to make that crystal clear. It's astounding how often innocent comments on the site get misinterpreted. A week or two ago I was mildly critical of something I saw on another site (a pattern? a post? I can't even remember now). Apparently I came across as much more strident than intended, and in an amazingly short space of time--like thirty minutes or less--I could see the battle lines being drawn. I jumped back in, apologized to one and all, and thankfully that was the end of it.
I think the inability to see people's facial expressions and gestures when they post has a lot to do with all the misinterpretation. The smilies on the left of the screen help a bit, I never hesitate to use them when I'm joking, but even then they don't always work.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Gurney said:


> Hi from another mouldie oldie (or should that be a golden oldie?) I took Latin to age 16 at school, hated it most of the time but realised the value later: it helps with spelling and with working out the meanings of words that are new to me. I agree with the comments about geography - woeful ignorance prevails in the UK about the locations of different counties and towns. Once when buying a railway ticket from Cornwall to Worcester I was asked if the route went via Kent.
> 
> On the other hand, my paternal grandfather left school aged 13 and had never been academic. He went into the Royal Navy as a boy cadet and later kept a daybook, which I now have as a prized possession. He was in the Mediterranean fleet in the great days of the navy and his daily records are grammatical, correctly spellt and in pen and ink copperplate handwriting that is a joy to read. I don't know any boys who could write like that, but have known many (even university graduates as bright as a button)whose writing is a disgrace.


You're fortunate--in high school in the 80s I wanted to take Latin (why I no longer remember) and couldn't. Even though the class was still listed in the catalog only two other students signed up for it--apparently not enough, and all of us were shunted off into a French class instead.

Geography? I feel like my own grasp of the globe is pretty sound (maybe because I'm married to a European), but American education does seem fairly deficient in this area. Every so often the press here rails against folks who can't find Japan on the map, think that Albania lies somewhere in the Siberian wastes, and don't understand that New Mexico is one of our fifty states.

History? Something of a problem for most Americans, myself included. American history only covers about 500 years ("in the year 1492/Columbus sailed the ocean blue") and it's rather overwhelming to run into five or six times that much when it comes time to study Europe.

I do think Americans get a bad rap when it comes to languages. Most Californians speak at least a little Spanish, and a lot of New Englanders I've run into have at least a rudimentary grasp of French. It comes, of course, from mingling with folks who actually use the languages--continental Europeans have a big advantage here.


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## gma11331 (Oct 18, 2011)

I remember my 5 or 6th grade history book covered everything from Jamestown settlement through WWI. This just prior to the Pearl Harbor. This was a one-room country school. How teachers managed to teach 8 grades all subjects amazes me but they did (my mother included). We had South American geography in 5th grade and when we finished the workbook there was no supplemental material, so we did it all over again. I can still see the maps in my head.


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

amazing how "progress" has slowed


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

My primary school history books (except in the fourth grade, where we focused on the history of California) always seemed to begin with Columbus and end with the events of the early 70s, but I can't ever remember getting past the chapters on WW2. It wasn't until high school that I learned anything about the JFK assassination, Vietnam, or Watergate. In retrospect I'm not sure that was due to any time constraints or lack of organization on the teacher's part--rather that she (occasionally he) wasn't eager to talk about events that might have generated a lot of controversy among the student's parents.


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

When I was at school (Again, a bit of an oldie here..lol) We had no choice but to learn Latin together with the core subjects of Math, English Language, English Literature, R.E (Religious Education),Geography, History and Two Sciences(either Chemistry, Physics or Biology...you chose which)and a language, French, Italian or Spanish. P.E and Art were considered less important.
At most of the private schools in England that is still pretty much the same I believe (Apart from the Sport aspect, Rugby, Rowing and Tennis seemingly the favourites.) 

However, having worked in a local Academy School I know that things have really changed in many public establishments. Emphasis IS still on English and Math but Art, Music and Drama are all now firmly embedded in the curriculum and subjects like 'Life skills'(how to manage your money/do well in interviews etc), Health and Social Care (How to take care of a baby, healthy eating, first aid etc), together with Food Science, Textiles and Photography are all popular subjects. At the school I worked in the pupils had a huge language department and could learn German, Italian, French, Spanish, Russian and even Japanese. 
The integration of computers into most class-rooms has had a massive impact (Not always for the better in my opinion, I still think you can't beat the joy of reading from a real book!..told you I was an oldie..  ) But it does allow less able pupils and ones with special needs to access the same learning opportunities(and enables schools to provide far more written information than a library could hold)
You can't halt progress but some teenagers (only some,there are many, many wonderful youngsters out there)could really do with going back to the old ways of education, discipline is a lot more lax now and sadly, even today, some pupils leave school with barely any evidence they have been educated at all! (This, however, is often a problem partly perpetuated by parenting.)

Whoops...verbal diarrhea again..sorry  

Lastly: History is a massive subject in UK and we learn as much as possible from stone-age to present day including local history too. American schools seem to be much better at the sports aspect and encourage their pupils to join teams and get college places based on a sport...here we tend to play netball, football and go cross-country running; all usually in the pouring rain.. Lol.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Public schools (schools funded and run by the government) are still the norm here, and that seems to cause some problems. Students from all different backgrounds--solid middle-class, recent immigrants, those who help support their families by working part-time jobs, many still struggling with the language--are all tumbled together and expected to perform at the same level under the banner of "Equal Education For All". Great in theory, the end result is a joke.

But I have no idea what the solution is, either. It seems obvious to me that some children are just not college material. They can't or won't do the necessary work, their energies are depleted by family and/or financial problems, some just want to get out into the real world and are not interested in prolonging their education until they're twenty or twenty-one.

Probably such kids would be better off learning a trade rather than enrolling in and later dropping out of high school, as so many of them do. But the thought of shunting off thirteen- and fourteen years into vocational schools disturbs a lot of people (myself included). It certainly doesn't seem fair or democratic to consign a young teen to a lifetime of unplugging toilets for a living.

It's a problem, as I said before, and there certainly are no easy answers.


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

susanmos2000 said:


> Public schools (schools funded and run by the government) are still the norm here, and that seems to cause some problems. Students from all different backgrounds--solid middle-class, recent immigrants, those who help support their families by working part-time jobs, many still struggling with the language--are all tumbled together and expected to perform at the same level under the banner of "Equal Education For All". Great in theory, the end result is a joke.
> 
> But I have no idea what the solution is, either. It seems obvious to me that some children are just not college material. They can't or won't do the necessary work, their energies are depleted by family and/or financial problems, some just want to get out into the real world and are not interested in prolonging their education until they're twenty or twenty-one.
> 
> ...


Interesting thoughts here! I went to a four-year vocational highschool. Gen ed requirements were reduced to allow for a student to spend 3 hours a day for 3 years in the vocation of their choice. I majored in Commercial Art. There were also woodworking, electrical, auto mechanics, power sewing, welding, stenography/secretarial, and bookkeeping/accounting programs. Maybe plumbing, but can't remember that. At fifteen years old I was awarded a full paid scholarship to a private university and started then as a freshman in college before my 16th birthday. Somehow I never felt I'd been restricted in any way by having gone to a vocational school. Looking back, I wouldn't choose to do anything differently. I wish there had been something like that for my children. They both did well in their chosen fields, but maybe something would've been better for them with a more focused education such as I was priveleged to have. Who knows?

P.S. I spent many years as an advertising artist, later returned to school for architecture and interior design and practiced in my own business for over 20 years. But along the way I was also a bookkeeper accountant for a department store, and managed a dental office for fifteen years. Sad thing is, now no one would hire me to clean latrines because I'm "too old". Oh well.


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## tryalot (Apr 29, 2012)

Lynda from Watford said:


> As an English teacher and a purist I've read this strand with great interest. There are definitely local variations. In England the correct usage is
> I knit/I am knitting - present tense
> I knitted/I have knitted - past tense
> I will knit - future tense
> ...


OK Linda, you are a teacher, tell me what happened to the pluperfect and preterit? As in "I hung a picture", and "he was hanged"
I asked my niece (Oxford graduate) she more or less told me I was a bit daft as everything had changed. I didn't really get much of an explanation, except a mumbled "past perfect"
When did it all change?
We learn all these things at school, then they go and change it :thumbdown: Is it really just to make older people feel bad :lol:


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## lizmaxwell (Jul 23, 2011)

My pet hate is when ignorant people qualify the word " unique " . Something is either unique or not.
Also the word at the moment that seems to be the watchword of anything unusual is " quirky ". We watch quite a lot of the antique programmes and if i hear another pundit say that word i may be forced to be uniquely quirky and throttle them or make them write out " i will not use the word quirky ever again " 500 times..........


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

I think the real problem I have with vocational high schools is that they begin about four years before the age of majority (18). I'm sure a lot of teens have very definite ideas on how far they want to go with their education--but if they aren't adults, is it really their choice to make? If vocational high schools were commonplace I'm sure a lot of bright kids would be pressured by their families into enrolling because "you need to bring in some money/it's a waste of time to educate a girl/you don't have the brains for college"--whatever.

Having said that, however, I have to admit that I'm appalled at the situation in our local high schools. Trying to achieve a 100% graduation rate has resulted in the repeated "dumbing down" of academic standards, and the government's new emphasis on testing and "curriculum enrichment" (as it's known around here) doesn't seem to be helping at all. We live in a diverse community, and here children of all economic classes share the same classrooms. It makes a lovely picture--but the reality is that some are bored silly, others are floundering, and no one is getting the education they want or deserve.

P.S. I was fascinated by your account of your own education--like something out of the Horatio Alger books (no offense  I think that's the way it's supposed to work--should work--that children with ambition and ability somehow find a way to achieve their goals despite their economic circumstances. I only wish it happened more often!


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

lizmaxwell said:


> My pet hate is when ignorant people qualify the word " unique " . Something is either unique or not.
> Also the word at the moment that seems to be the watchword of anything unusual is " quirky ". We watch quite a lot of the antique programmes and if i hear another pundit say that word i may be forced to be uniquely quirky and throttle them or make them write out " i will not use the word quirky ever again " 500 times..........


Like I bet you don't like like either. Like what's not to like about like? DUDE. Get with it. It's totally unique in the worst way. I mean, totally dude! :roll:


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

susanmos2000 said:


> dancewithmarg said:
> 
> 
> > dancewithmarg said:
> ...


I think you are 100% right!
:thumbup:


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## gma11331 (Oct 18, 2011)

I went to school at Berea College in KY which employed "affirmative action" (unknown phrase at that time) in that it gave preference to kids from Appalachia from "poor" areas. They had a foundation school (read HS) to prepare kids for college and those of us who had successfully graduated HS had to pass exams in basic subjects for entrance. If you didn't pass one subject (for me it was math) you were allowed to enter but had to take that subject at no credit until you met their standards. I passed after one semester. My roommate was still taking it in summer school when I left!


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## Vulcan1957 (Jun 20, 2012)

I think this has been a very interesting discussion on lanuage usage, but in the end I think it is a matter of preference as to how a person applies their words, yes we have been given instructions through the year from educators, as well as, from friends and family, but in the end, it is your choice how you would like to say something or not....I reflect back onto a GED class I taught, when a student approached me and said to me that he doesn't speak the way I would like him to write, he was a Rap Artist and his way of speaking is how he expresses himself. I told him I was not trying to change they way he spoke, but in order for him to pass the Essay part of the GED test he needed to write in a formal American English structure and "Yo Momma" would not be excepted unless you first told the reader what it meant to you....But I appreciate all the views on this subject, it has been entertaining.....


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## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

Here's another of those odd verbs: You can raise horses, hogs, fish, birds, dogs, or any other animal. But we rear our children. Do you think it has anything to do with the Board of Education being applied to the (rear) Seat of Knowledge? :lol:


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## Archer1955 (Jan 30, 2013)

I think it depends on how you structure your sentence:

I am going to knit a scarf.

I have knitted scarves in the past. 

I am no English major but, I think it has something to do with future perfect and past participles. Now, if there are any English Majors out there in Knit / Knitting land, correct me if I am wrong. LOL Hope all have a wonderful weekend. Here in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, it is supposed to be 19* F at 7a.m. EST.

P.S. - if I am anywhere near correct on my English, my second grade teacher, Mrs. Rolland will be smiling down from Heaven for sure.!


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## Hannelore (Oct 26, 2011)

SAMkewel said:


> Gurney said:
> 
> 
> > I've really enjoyed this thread: and there's an example of the way words are constantly adapted to cover new inventions, such as the world wide web. Just don't get me started on misplaced apostrophes...
> ...


As it is one of mine as well..


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## realsilvergirl (Nov 13, 2011)

realsilvergirl said:


> I don't care what others say but i have never used 'knitted.' it is knitting this now or i knit that last year.


Oops reading this now it sounds like i Was judging how others say knit/knitted. What i meant was anyone can say it how they want to. That is fine by me. I just never use 'knitted' myself. Maybe it is because growing up i never really finished anything to have said 'i knitted this.' It was usually 'i have been knitting this." Lol!


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

Norma B. said:


> lizmaxwell said:
> 
> 
> > My pet hate is when ignorant people qualify the word " unique " . Something is either unique or not.
> ...


Too funny, you sound like a natural..lol
Lots of pet hates with me too, in the UK we have a TV programme called Anyway is Essex(obviously about people who live in Essex  ) They seem to have a language all of their own and it irritates me to distraction, I don't watch it but they crop up all over the place so are hard to avoid. They say things like 'I was well jell' ,meaning I was really jealous and 'Shu-up!' as an exclamation that something can't be true. Grrrr. 
Also get fed-up with how everything is so exaggerated all the time, as in, everything is AWESOME!, from ice-cream to a new hand bag, heavens knows what people will find to say if aliens really do ever decide to pay us a visit because we don't seem to have any words left unsullied that are sufficient to describe what a big deal it would be....although to be honest if they ever did , they would take one look at us and run for the hills.. lol


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

greanise said:


> Too funny, you sound like a natural..lol
> Lots of pet hates with me too, in the UK we have a TV programme called Anyway is Essex(obviously about people who live in Essex  ) They seem to have a language all of their own and it irritates me to distraction, I don't watch it but they crop up all over the place so are hard to avoid. They say things like 'I was well jell' ,meaning I was really jealous and 'Shu-up!' as an exclamation that something can't be true. Grrrr.
> Also get fed-up with how everything is so exaggerated all the time, as in, everything is AWESOME!, from ice-cream to a new hand bag, heavens knows what people will find to say if aliens really do ever decide to pay us a visit because we don't seem to have any words left unsullied that are sufficient to describe what a big deal it would be....although to be honest if they ever did , they would take one look at us and run for the hills.. lol


Well I mean like that would be just totally awesome if aliens did land, I mean like don't you think so? I mean really rad. (Uh oh. I think I just dated myself---I don't think anything is rad anymore. Or bitchin'---but I did like bitchin'. DUDE!)


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## Just Drene (Nov 9, 2012)

Ummm!!! let me see. Whichever I had done either knit the darn thing whatever it was or knitted it I am sure the recipient would be truly grateful.


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

Well I mean like that would be just totally awesome if aliens did land, I mean like don't you think so? I mean really rad. (Uh oh. I think I just dated myself---I don't think anything is rad anymore. Or bitchin'---but I did like bitchin'. DUDE!) [/quote]

Lol..this dialogue does NOT go with your photo   but like 'bitchin', it's WICKED ain't it tho? Do I look Bovvered? Talk to the hand cos the face ain't listening...(etc)


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Norma B. said:


> greanise said:
> 
> 
> > Too funny, you sound like a natural..lol
> ...


What about "epic"? That's my son's new favorite and for some reason it sets my teeth on edge.


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## Archer1955 (Jan 30, 2013)

Oh you people are a hoot; I'm gonna like this place!


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Or "derp", which my son adds when he feels something should be obvious. Once I realized it was the modern version of "duh" I made him stop saying it though, at least around me. I also put my foot down on his use of "F-f-f-u-u-u-" which he drawls out when something annoys him (of course it's the censored version of the f-word).
Reminds me of an incident when he was seven or so. When I arrived at school to bring him home I could tell he was upset about something, but he wouldn't tell me what had happened. I decided to just wait it out (I know my kid) and changed the subject...halfway home he started wailing in the back seat, turns out Teacher had caught him and some classmates indulging in some second-grade version of a dirty-talk session. But (he explained) Teacher had no right to be upset with HIM, he'd SPELLED out all the bad words!
Of course I made him apologize to her the next day, but wow it was hard keeping a straight face....


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## bonbf3 (Dec 20, 2011)

Vulcan1957 said:


> I think this has been a very interesting discussion on lanuage usage, but in the end I think it is a matter of preference as to how a person applies their words, yes we have been given instructions through the year from educators, as well as, from friends and family, but in the end, it is your choice how you would like to say something or not....I reflect back onto a GED class I taught, when a student approached me and said to me that he doesn't speak the way I would like him to write, he was a Rap Artist and his way of speaking is how he expresses himself. I told him I was not trying to change they way he spoke, but in order for him to pass the Essay part of the GED test he needed to write in a formal American English structure and "Yo Momma" would not be excepted unless you first told the reader what it meant to you....But I appreciate all the views on this subject, it has been entertaining.....


I agree with you. We speak to people in different ways - family, friends, co-workers, the principal, or the BOSS. Our writing is the same way - different depending on the "audience." Letters, essays, poems, technical reports - all very different. Our written words are usually much more formal and correct than what we say. After all, ink lasts - our spoken words just waft away in the breeze. We hope!


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## Dcsmith77 (Apr 18, 2011)

I'm getting pretty tired of "amazing." I know it comes in handy when you see something mediocre that you can't honestly call "beautiful" or "unique," but does it really mean anything nowadays? It follows "awesome" and I note that the Brits kind of overuse "brilliant." This is really beginning to belong on a general comments page, although, of course, my knitting is amazing, beautiful, unique, and even brilliant! Derp!


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

The fun of getting older learning, new and appreciating old. even language. School is to teach for tomorrow,It is difficult to live in yesterday. Love and accept all of you on my 82nd birthday


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## mamahen (May 26, 2011)

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Pansy. Happy birthday to you. And mmmmaaaaannnnnyyyyy more! YEAH!!!!!!!!!

Did you get teased as a child because you were born on Groundhog's Day? I was called Georgie Porgie puddin' and pie.......

BTW My 72nd birthday is next Saturday.

Georgie


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## Alpaca Farmer (Jan 19, 2011)

To -MAY -to; To -MAH -to.
Who cares? We know what we're talking about, that's all that matters.


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

mamahen said:


> Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Pansy. Happy birthday to you. And mmmmaaaaannnnnyyyyy more! YEAH!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Did you get teased as a child because you were born on Groundhog's Day? I was called Georgie Porgie puddin' and pie.......
> 
> ...


To you both (and any others celebrating a new number!)
'Happy Birthday to you, squashed tomatoes and stew, bread and butter in the gutter...Happy Birthday to you!
(A tradition in our house, so much so that we no longer say Happy Birthday to each other but 'Squashed Tomatoes' instead lol...I know, the Brits are loony!


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

What about "epic"? That's my son's new favorite and for some reason it sets my teeth on edge.[/quote]

When my eldest was a teenager everything was 'Sweet!' (said in a London accent) and even now he is 33 he still answers his mobile with the greeting 'Easy Geezer'...makes him sound like he's off 'EastEnders'..the rest of the time he sounds very middle-class English! I bet we drove our own parents mad though, My mum used to hate 'Ain't' and 'Watchya' (meant 'Hello'!) and she in turn would still occasionally say 'Groovy'....each generation appears to have the need to make something their own, however if you research some of these words they are not new at all. 'Cool' for instance was used in the 20's. Go Figure! lol


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

greanise said:


> What about "epic"? That's my son's new favorite and for some reason it sets my teeth on edge.


When my eldest was a teenager everything was 'Sweet!' (said in a London accent) and even now he is 33 he still answers his mobile with the greeting 'Easy Geezer'...makes him sound like he's off 'EastEnders'..the rest of the time he sounds very middle-class English! I bet we drove our own parents mad though, My mum used to hate 'Ain't' and 'Watchya' (meant 'Hello'!) and she in turn would still occasionally say 'Groovy'....each generation appears to have the need to make something their own, however if you research some of these words they are not new at all. 'Cool' for instance was used in the 20's. Go Figure! lol[/quote]

My son and his friends still occasionally use the word "sweet", also "boss", "cool", "awesome" and "dude". I honestly can't remember what slang I used as a teen/pre-teen, certainly "cool" must have been an important word in my vocabularly. "Ain't" seems to be making a comeback, at least at my son's school, lots of "Nah"s as well (that was one I and the other kids used fairly often, much to our teacher's dismay).


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## SAMkewel (Mar 5, 2011)

greanise said:


> mamahen said:
> 
> 
> > Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Pansy. Happy birthday to you. And mmmmaaaaannnnnyyyyy more! YEAH!!!!!!!!!
> ...


I don't think the Brits are loony; at my age your version of "Happy Birthday" is a refreshing change :~D!


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## mamahen (May 26, 2011)

greanise said:


> mamahen said:
> 
> 
> > Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Pansy. Happy birthday to you. And mmmmaaaaannnnnyyyyy more! YEAH!!!!!!!!!
> ...


Thanks for the good wishes. I like your Happy Birthday version!! I'm assuming it has the same tune--it seems to fit.

I only wish my body felt as young as my mind. Ha.


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

yes and still do, especially by my family of 4 boys, my daughter is more kind. I hope you enjoy your birthday as much as I have mine!


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

isn't fun to reminisce?


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## Kathleendoris (Sep 20, 2012)

susanmos2000 said:


> Or "derp", which my son adds when he feels something should be obvious. Once I realized it was the modern version of "duh" I made him stop saying it though, at least around me. I also put my foot down on his use of "F-f-f-u-u-u-" which he drawls out when something annoys him (of course it's the censored version of the f-word).
> Reminds me of an incident when he was seven or so. When I arrived at school to bring him home I could tell he was upset about something, but he wouldn't tell me what had happened. I decided to just wait it out (I know my kid) and changed the subject...halfway home he started wailing in the back seat, turns out Teacher had caught him and some classmates indulging in some second-grade version of a dirty-talk session. But (he explained) Teacher had no right to be upset with HIM, he'd SPELLED out all the bad words!
> Of course I made him apologize to her the next day, but wow it was hard keeping a straight face....


This reminded me so much of an incident when one of my grandsons was about six. His mum had gone in to school, as she does most weeks, as a volunteer. When she got there, she was told that her son and his friend had been sent to the head teacher. After nearly an hour, they arrived back in class, one in tears and the other nearly so. The head explained to my daughter that they had used the f-word on the playground. This surprised her somewhat, since it is not a word ever used in the family, but he then went on to say that it was not 'the really bad f-word' but 'the gaseous one', from which she deduced that what they had actually said was 'fart'. (Sorry!). It then emerged that they had in fact been singing a silly rhyme that included that word. The unfortunate consequence of this was that all the other kids then wanted to know 'If that isn't the really bad f-word, what is?'. I could not help but think that a simple request that they should not use the offending word in school would have been a more appropriate response to a fairly minor incident!


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## Norma B. (Oct 15, 2012)

Dcsmith77 said:


> I'm getting pretty tired of "amazing." I know it comes in handy when you see something mediocre that you can't honestly call "beautiful" or "unique," but does it really mean anything nowadays? It follows "awesome" and I note that the Brits kind of overuse "brilliant." This is really beginning to belong on a general comments page, although, of course, my knitting is amazing, beautiful, unique, and even brilliant! Derp!


Oh, I think you brought that back to knitting brilliantly. Awesome in fact. (I still like "duh".) But if I tell my lady at the LYS (knitting subject again) that I need a certain kind of yarn or needle, and she says "YOU GOT IT" I may stab her with something sharp and handy. :x


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## Archer1955 (Jan 30, 2013)

Why thank you; I hope you have a blessed day for your Birthday. My mom turned 83 on Sept. 7th.


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## susanmos2000 (May 10, 2011)

Kathleendoris said:


> susanmos2000 said:
> 
> 
> > Or "derp", which my son adds when he feels something should be obvious. Once I realized it was the modern version of "duh" I made him stop saying it though, at least around me. I also put my foot down on his use of "F-f-f-u-u-u-" which he drawls out when something annoys him (of course it's the censored version of the f-word).
> ...


Words are, after all, just groups of syllables strung together--it's amazing what power they have.

In fact I hate that word too (the "gaseous" f-word), it's not obscene of course, just terribly terribly disagreeable. Most in my family feel the same way, and over the years we've gradually adopted the Burmese version of it (courtesy of my sister-in-law), which sounds like boo-boo.
Never expected to run into problems with our imported sanitized euphemism, but when my son was about four one of his playmates came over simply covered in Bandaids. With all the natural exuberance of children he started telling my son all about the BOO-BOOs he'd gotten the day before, then asked if anyone wanted to see them. My son looked thunderstruck, one of the very very few times he's ever seen him rendered speechless.


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## Hannelore (Oct 26, 2011)

Archer1955 said:


> Why thank you; I hope you have a blessed day for your Birthday. My mom turned 83 on Sept. 7th.


Well, your mom has a very good day for her birthday in my humble opinion. That happens to be my birthday as well. A lot younger though as I will be 64 years young. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## rujam (Aug 19, 2011)

greanise said:


> Norma B. said:
> 
> 
> > lizmaxwell said:
> ...


My pet "hate" word is Absolutely, once upon a time absolutely was used as an adverb, but it seems everyone and his dog uses it now.


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

To you both (and any others celebrating a new number!)
'Happy Birthday to you, squashed tomatoes and stew, bread and butter in the gutter...Happy Birthday to you!
(A tradition in our house, so much so that we no longer say Happy Birthday to each other but 'Squashed Tomatoes' instead lol...I know, the Brits are loony! [/quote]

Thanks for the good wishes. I like your Happy Birthday version!! I'm assuming it has the same tune--it seems to fit.

I only wish my body felt as young as my mind. Ha.[/quote]

Bless you, know what you mean though, I still think I'm 19, until I look in the mirror and get a shock!
Yes, our version is same tune as traditional one, have no idea how or when it started but my 'baby' sister (who actually IS loony! lol, jesting, I adore her!) sings her own version to the same tune as follows....'Happy Birthday to you, I went to the Zoo, I saw a big gorillaaaaa and it looked just like you' !! 

Many Happy returns on your special day and 72 is NOT old!!


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

Norma B. said:


> Dcsmith77 said:
> 
> 
> > I'm getting pretty tired of "amazing." I know it comes in handy when you see something mediocre that you can't honestly call "beautiful" or "unique," but does it really mean anything nowadays? It follows "awesome" and I note that the Brits kind of overuse "brilliant." This is really beginning to belong on a general comments page, although, of course, my knitting is amazing, beautiful, unique, and even brilliant! Derp!
> ...


You funny!! lol


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

Norma B. said:


> Dcsmith77 said:
> 
> 
> > I'm getting pretty tired of "amazing." I know it comes in handy when you see something mediocre that you can't honestly call "beautiful" or "unique," but does it really mean anything nowadays? It follows "awesome" and I note that the Brits kind of overuse "brilliant." This is really beginning to belong on a general comments page, although, of course, my knitting is amazing, beautiful, unique, and even brilliant! Derp!
> ...


You funny!! lol


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## greanise (Dec 28, 2012)

whoops , was laughing and double clicked...sorry!!


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

oops


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

I did! Just fantastic day, beautiful sun with little wind, very good walking weather, and I did do that. thank you for greeting.


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

wonderful humor


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## theyarnlady (Feb 25, 2011)

Do you know, when heard I say to person, no I don't know,do you? Nasty, but makes me laugh


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## Mariette EDE (Jul 6, 2012)

Hello all yous beautiful people, I'm dumb. Please tell me what lol means?
I seem to see it all .&#127905;


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## Archer1955 (Jan 30, 2013)

LOL = L aughing O ut L oud


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## theyarnlady (Feb 25, 2011)

Mariette said:


> Hello all yous beautiful people, I'm dumb. Please tell me what lol means?
> I seem to see it all .&#55356;&#57249;


You are not dumb just have to learn all the lol's we all did. :thumbup:


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## Mariette EDE (Jul 6, 2012)

Thank you Archer and the yarnlady for your sterling answers. I thought it meant lots of love.


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## dancewithmarg (Oct 2, 2012)

I volunteer in the computer lab at the local school with grades K-3, and occasionally a child exclaims, "Oh my God!" obviously repeating a phrase they hear a lot at home and on TV. I don't know if they ever say this in the regular classroom or what the teacher says if they do, but I ask them to say, "Oh my goodness" instead. Yesterday one child replied to me, "That's what my granny tells me, too." I guess the parents let it go unchecked, it's only us old fogies it offends any more.

Marg


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

we are in a class of our own, isn't that precious?


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## StnFlwr (Feb 25, 2011)

missdeb42 said:


> I try not to be too judgemental of people who are pouring their heart out and sharing their joys and sorrows on this forum.


Right on!


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## pansy2 (Jan 28, 2013)

some of us need a shoulder to lean on, when there is no one around.


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