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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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if we don't grow our business, we're going to continue to office in this same small space.
-joe (cubicled) friday
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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>Why do people hate verbing nouns so much?
Because verbing wierds language.;-)
J welcome, deer!
formerly known as etaoin...
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
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The one that really bothers me is the current use of the verb to grow. e.g. a plant grows - that's fine; a business grows - that's fine; but I am going to grow this business - that sounds terrible to my ears. Really? Why? "I am going to grow this business" may be overly optimistic or boastful, but it's not grammatically dodgy is it? I can't remember a time when it wasn't used that way. The OED defines it as both an intransitive and a transitive verb. There's nothing strange about it having an object. " v.t. produce (plants, fruit, wool, etc) by cultivation, bring forth, let (beard etc.), develop..." - quite appropriate to use for a business I would have thought? 
Last edited by The Pook; 04/22/08 11:07 PM.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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What The Pook said.
If corn can grow and you can grow corn why can't you grow a business if a business can grow?
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
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British people believe it is -ize that is the American upstart
Weird lot those Britons. Especially when it comes to the mother tongue. The suffix -ize has a zed in the original Greek. BTW, the OED opted for the form -ize. Good enough for Mr Murray, and it's goodenough for me.
British English has no claim to being older than USan English or the Oz/Kiwi versions. The Cockney and the Queen are just as distant from Caedmon and Bede as I am.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
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We do have a Queen but no English
Many Dutch speak English because it's easier on the throat pre-morning-coffee. Dutch and Hebrew are the international languages of love: all those velar, glottal, and pharyngeal fricatives. I have been mistaken for French, German, and Italian in the countries where those languages are spoken before I opened my mouth. The Netherlands is the only place where folks seem to speak to somebody they don't personally know in English. Weird.
[Fixed typo.]
Last edited by zmjezhd; 04/23/08 01:48 PM.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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a zed in the original Greek I thought she was Canadian...
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jan 2008
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Technically I concede that you are correct, but it still jars. Possibly this is a reflection of a generation gap as it is a relatively new use of the verb in this way, and I am just reacting against this type of business jargon.
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Posts: 390
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 390 |
Possibly this is a reflection of a generation gap as it is a relatively new use of the verb in this way, That really is a big generation gap given that the OED has the first recorded instance of this sort of usage - "To cause to increase, to enlarge." dated at 1481. If you learned English before that, then I understand why it would seem relatively new to you.
Last edited by latishya; 04/23/08 07:51 AM.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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It's pure indolence that makes the Dutch speak English.
So we won't have to help the English (and other foreigners) get on with "all those velar, glottal, and pharyngeal fricatives".
That's why foreigners hardly get a chance to learn it.
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