I was thinking about the word flee and became stuck on the past participle...I can say I will flee, I am fleeing, I am about to flee etc but was unable to come up with the past version...the best I could think of was I have fleeed which, although it looks rather good, probably isn't right...I think I probably do know the past participle but cannot remember it at this present moment in time (arghhh!) wonder if any of you can remember what I cannot!

flew?

Flown?

I fly, I flew, I have flown many times???

fled (heh).

Dang, tsuwm--I finally know something, and you beat me to it!

flew, flown, fled all are correct
I'm surprised Bex had to ask or was he just testing us.

I'd better fade away now

flew, flown, fled all are correct

The simple past and past participle of the verb to flee iare fled; the simple past of the verb to fly is flew and its past participle is flown. Two different and distinct sets of forms.

Interestingly, both verbs flee and fly are homonyms of nouns representing insects fly and flea.

I think the confusion might come from the fact that fly is often used metaphorically for flee.

yeah, flee fly flew.

Thanks!
It was really beginning to annoy me how I couldn't remember it! (although I did rather like fleeed )
Fled it is then...

To flea or not to flea. That is the question...

Woof!

I cut my finger and bleeed all over the place. I hope I don't blee any more.

Peter

ah...seems it was more complicated than I first thought.

seems it was more complicated than I first thought.

The flea fled, and the fly flew.

A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they do?
Said the fly, "let us flee!"
"Let us fly!" said the flea.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

a-HA. Good!

Not mine. I remembered it from time back way back, googled it, and stole it.

It sure fit right in with all the discussion of
flew, flea, flown,fly and the rest. Nice contribution, then.

Once upon a time, here, we discussed flied being a verb.

As in "the bug flied into the wall" ??

that would make him a 'high flier' then maybe!

As in "Pujols flied out to left field." The linguistic explanation is that this is not an extension of the verb fly but a verbing of the fly as in fly ball.

Death of a Fly

Fly see saucer
fly fly down
me see fly fly
fly walk round

fly take big sip
me take spoon
fly look wrong way
spoon go BOOM

cup go wobble
tea go splat
fly look wrong way
fly got flat

fly not fly now
fly not sip
fly just flied on final trip

They actually used "flied" in that sense??

"Hrbek flied out to left field."

yes, this sounds perfekly normal to anyone who's ever listened to much baseball talk. just try some alternatives:

Mauer flew out to right field last time up.
Williams has flown out to center field in all three at-bats today.
< ecch >

"Hrbek flied out to left field."

Yup, I have heard this one. Thanks.

Flying circus



Or:"Hrbek flied out to right field."












Like Bex's Poem too.

Now that's a funny one. Thanks Bran.

Death of a Fly I love it! Thanks for posting this.

yes...great picture, Bran

just got this in email....

JAMES (age 4)was listening to a Bible story. His dad read: 'The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city but his wife looked back and was turned to salt.' Concerned, James asked: 'What happened to the flea?'

It is a good one Bex....yours or borrowed??

Out of the mouths of children.

to take his wife and flee out of the city

The Bible and church songs were always a good source of all kinds of funny misinterpretations I remember. While the text was about "require of" I understood it as "ice cream".
(confusing 'eis' with 'ijs'; the sound being exactly the same for both words).
The ice cream promised was never offered. ha!

Faldage, you going to add your 2+ Gladly?

Huh? Gladly the cross-eyed bear?

Many children's misinterpretations float around here on
the 'net. They are often very funny.

Gladly the cross-eyed bear? 'Deed and indeed; nicely caught!

Edit: whoa, a better catch than I realized--that was supposed to be 2¢, not 2+. [smacking self e]

Luke, I borrowed it from a comic verse collection for children...not sure if I got all the words right, I'll check later. It came into my head as I was reading about the flea/fly comments. Sadly that is probably the only poem I can still remember almost word for word...possibly because of its simplicity! I don't have as much time to read poems any more...

Sadly memorizing poetry is pretty much in a disappearing
act in today's schools. I know of none where it is used
as a technique of learning. (Probably the same with
multiplication tables, but on that I am not too sure.)
Funny how we remember poems like that, and others we
forget.

My keyboard does not have a symbol for cents. Lucky you.

Try holding down your Alt button then hitting 155 (1 then 5 then 5 again) on your keypad over to your right. I hope that's where your keypad is; just don't use the numbers in the row across the top of your keyboard.

There're all kinds of cool things in there! 130 = é; 167 = º; 171 = ½. Experiment; backspace if you want to get rid of something.

It should work in e-mail, too, if you want to practice without coming here. Any time I'm practicing something or doing something I'm not too sure of, I set up an e-mail to myself so that if I accidentally hit Send I won't be mortified that somebody else is reading my foolishness.

And I owe my knowledge of this to tsuwm; thank you again, sir.

OK this sounds good.
Where do I do this, I mean, what is on the screen as I do
this? Post a reply on this site or open to something else.
I tried here in this post-window and nothing happens.

Ok I did not read all your post. I tried in an email
and see what you mean. Thanks so very much.
I will experiment and see what all I can come up with.
The ¢ and the º are going to be very helpful. I am
very appreciative.

The interested bystander should note that Jackie's technique works only on Windows OS. Macs have a whole nother way of doing it.

I finally got it to work. I've only been on computer
for 3-4 years, and am learning new things all the time.
I am very appreciative of the technique. I have Windows.

and, you should understand, in any case this is quite a techie sort of shortcut. the user guide would tell you to use the character map accessory, to be found for Windows under Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map

having got that far, just click on Character Map (using it once puts a temporary shortcut on your Start menu. the advanced student will want to learn how to make this temporary shortcut permanent. : )

I cannot believe, I actually sort of understood that.
I was going to simply bypass what you said as being
too technical and over my head until I noticed the
"all programs" part. I remembered what that was. I have
never had anyone teaching me anything, just trying to pick
it up on my own as I go along. So I followed the
directions>from one to the other and found it. Thank you.

Thanks Jackie and tsuwm...the 'alt numbers' didn't work on my computer (the numbers come up with different shotcuts), but I found the character map in menu. I did wonder how people inserted the ©. I always wrote ¼ ½ ¾ in full before.
And I have no idea what this symbol is but I love it ﮚ looks like a snake wearing a crown ♥

Character Map !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good grief, what a lot of stuff my computer has! Most of it, I've never explored, usually out of terror: "System Restore"??? I feel certain that the instant I clicked on it it would destroy every single thing I have ever saved in my computer. Nuh-uh--I ain't touchin' it.

Same here....but its good when I do learn about it.

Hehe I have a few shortcuts on my phone...hit the symbols button (for things like: "@#$%&*123456-+?/!:;/) then in the symbols keyboard if I hit the alt button I get lots of fun symbols that it is unlikely I am ever going to use (except on this thread! ¥£¢€~`|•Π√÷×{=_^°™®©¶\„…]) can't remember how to do most of those on my computer keyboard, I always end up using the insert symbols tab in word and then copy&pasting into whatever I needed them in

Now you've got me going: where is this MENU??????

And where is this 'CHARACTER MAP'????

huh?

above, you said you followed the directions and found it!

OK sorry.
I see...it is on the start button menu. Not good with
computer-talk. My bad.

I see now what Candy was talking about as well: the
Arabic characters on the scroll down. Thanks.

>Most of it, I've never explored

okay, as long as we're exploring here, and no one has cried 'uncle' yet, here's the next step(s).

if you've found Character Map and actually activated it, you should now find the shortcut icon for it copied to your Start menu. this means, of course, that you can click on it here rather than follow the n-step procedure to find it as noted above.

now, note that this shortcut icon appears underneath the horizontal line in the left-hand column of the menu. this indicates that it is a 'temporary' shortcut and will vanish after a certain number of days of non-use. not to worry, it's just a copy and will still be in the Systems Tools folder where you first found it. but notice that you have some icons for other apps/accessories above that horizontal line. these are 'permanent'.

so, how do you make one of these shortcuts permanent? you simply have to 'drag & drop' it above the line. drag & drop means you click on something without releasing the [left] mouse button, and move (drag) the mouse pointer to where you now want this item, and release the button (drop).

bobsyeruncle.

should you see something above the line on that list that you never use, right click on it and look at your options - one of then should be 'Remove from this List'.
___

some of you may not have had occasion to get much/any use out of the right-hand mouse button. here's the standard (unless you're left-handed and have swapped the utility of these):
the left button is for ACTIONs, and the right button is for OPTIONs (that is, you often will get a menu by clicking the right button). you should experiment with this on your desktop and within the apps that you commonly use; you will invariably learn something of value or interest!

Thank you.
I have had a number of frustrations, for instance with
the calculator, and had to go back and find it when it
disappeared from the start button menu. I now have it
above the line. I never even noticed the line before, but
now have the character map and the calculator above the
line.

It took a couple of tries, but I have never used the
'drop and drag' method before either. No one ever
explained it, did not know the concept existed. Am
pretty much self taught except for tips like these.
If someone does not suggest things some of us don't
learn, no where to do so.

see if you've got one of the SeniorNet Learning Centers in your vicinity. I used to volunteer there as an instructor/coach; they do good work.

(I helped develop a local course on 'personalizing your PC', which included a lot of stuff such as I've shown here.)

Great Idea: but they don't have one in my state.
I am going to check out the local community colleges,
perhaps they have them. It has to be cheap since
I am retired and on fixed income. Thanks for the
idea, however.

google "personalizing your (or my) PC"; you'll find lots of good info.

edit
NB: it's called "drag & drop", from the order of execution (in the event you try to explain it to someone).

I checked out "personalizing", my problem is that I do
not understand all the terms that are used. I remember the
first day I bought a "computers for Dummies" book and it
talked about the "cursor" on page one. I had no idea what
that was. But I've bookmarked it and will try to go at
it slowly. Appreciative.

Leave it to me to even get that mixed up.

PM me if you like; I'll be happy to try and explain what things I do know. You're in the situation I was when I first tried reading recipes--or even now, Shakespeare: I could read the words (ex., sauté, blanch) but had NO idea what they meant.

Thanks. I know there is probably a list of things like
terms. But try reading a sentence and looking up the
words as you go, you forget what the sentence is saying.
It is sort of like translating Latin back when you are
a freshman in high school, you find words, and hope for
some meaning; or, like you said, Shakespeare. I will PM
and ask for whatever....I really don't know what to ask.

I'll jump onto Jackie's bandwagon: PM me, if you like. I've been on Macs for fifteen years, so I don't know much about Windows-specific techniques, but I do computer graphics, and hang out on a related forum enough to know that there's a lot of generic stuff, such as drag & drop, that is universal, and that Mac has a character palette instead of a map. The needs are the same, no matter what operating system, so the function is likely there somewhere. Don't be shy about asking ANYTHING about computer or text function, just as I won't be shy about saying, "I don't know." I'm not a computer geek, but I'm willing to help to the extent of my abilities, even if it's only to help you to know what to ask.

Peter

Can I come to you too....there is something I have always wanted to learn to do.....

Thanks Peter, this I will do. Along with Candy above,
there is so much that seems impossible to glean.

Do you have some knowledge of the technique of poetry as well? I noticed some references in more than one of your posts.
Just askin.

I wonder what I've been saying - I'd better be careful. It's been a long time since I actively studied poetry: I majored in English in college, just a few short decades ago. I haven't written much poetry; I like it, in general, when I stumble upon it, though I don't usually seek it out. I think that's because poetry requires more time than I have been able to afford to give it. I'm retired now, and hope to spend an increasing amount of time working and playing with language, including reading and writing poetry. I've performed in about a hundred productions as an amateur actor over forty or so years and I think I have a reasonably good ear for language, the one abetting the other.

It's probably fair for me to claim to have "some knowledge," but no real authority beyond having a high opinion of my own opinion!

And I talk too much, especially when I'm late for bed.

Peter

I hate being late for bed. Ruins my whole day.
I dabbled in theater, and wish I'd done more in my day,
but I knew there was something I really liked about you,
and that must be it.

I discovered theater in my last year of college, and have been in community theater ever since. Thought I was going to have to give it up when I moved to Alaska thirty years ago, but a company was coming out of hiatus just as we arrived, and I've been heavily involved ever since. Our town attracts tourists from around the world, and many have claimed that we are as good as, or better than, big-city, professional theater. Possible hyperbole, but you get the idea. I'll be on my way to the high school in moments to help direct this year's musical. I think I'd rather perform, but working with the students is wonderful, and I'm exploring the possibility of directing a show this summer. I haven't picked one yet.

Peter

To keep this on topic, there are those who think I FLED to Alaska.

I'd like to flee from here to Alaska.
How does the song go, "North to Alaska"???

I was in plays in high school and college, and worked
with kids in teaching. I enjoyed acting, but I also
enjoyed being "behind the scenes".

I wonder what I've been saying ! Uh...are you having a problem, sir?

As refers to poetry...

I wonder what I've been saying!
Doggerel by P. Tromboniator

My life is filled with hidden meaning,
enigmatic smithereening,
impervious to clever gleaning,
brain is often baffled.

Once I was engaged in teening;
decades, eons intervening.
Have to take mind in for cleaning.
Better if it's raffled.

Do they make meds for that????

Hey, I like that!

I'm impressed..especially by the last word...which I looked up, cause I wondered how it 'fitted'.

Raffle a jangle or tangle; a rabble, raff, or riff-raff of persons or things.
Examples: raffle of conversation, 1891; of cords; of intorted cordage, 1892; of flying drapery; of knaves, 1486; of priests and friars, 1670; of spars.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Yeah nice doggerel, Peter Tromboniater (see what I mean?). But perhaps the references to the sounds of words could also be as much actor as poet. When you do start playing and experimenting with language, do share?

He is good, that's for sure.

Avy, thank you. I'm honored by your request, and I'll be happy to share.

You've triggered some thoughts with "as much actor as poet"that I'd like to explore, but I might not get to for a few days. May I send a PM if/when I get something together?

The rest of you: thanks as well, it's fun to play. Candy, don't strain yourself to see how it fits in; I may have overlooked that aspect. And so I flee.

Peter

Yeah. Sure.

Yeah. Sure.