You are not logged in. [Log In] Wordsmith.org Forums Beheading words On a slightly different note... Register Forums Calendar Active Threads Search Forum Help

Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Page 1 of 2 1 2 #23086 - 03/16/01 02:30 PM On a slightly different note...   Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 1 zephyr_ stranger zephyr_   stranger Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 1 Do you know what is the only verb in the French language to not have a past tense (or so I am told)? The verb "to guillotine". You can see I will be guillotined, I am being guillotined, but you cannot see I was guillotined. #23087 - 11/22/01 03:22 PM Re: On a slightly different note...   Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Wordwind   Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... I have no earthly idea of any truth in the above observation by zephyr, but I can imagine a French ghost saying that she was guillotined... WW #23088 - 11/22/01 04:50 PM Re: On a slightly different note (d'oh!)...   Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage   Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 They were guillotined! #23089 - 11/22/01 05:23 PM Re: On a slightly different note (d'oh!)...   Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Wordwind   Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... Just curious (as usual ad infinitum), when is the subjunctive necessary: "I could imagine a French ghost saying she was guillotined" or "I could imagine a French ghost saying she were guillotined"? "I can imagine a French ghost saying she was guillotined" or "I can imagine a French ghost saying she were guillotined..." And, to complicate matters a bit further, should all of the above have at least, "I can imagine a French ghost's saying..." blah, blah, blah. I think that apostrophe is probably a better form... Best regards, WW #23090 - 11/22/01 05:53 PM Re: On a slightly different note (d'oh!)...   Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh   Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 It seems to me that the original post erred in saying "see" when "say" would make the joke. I have heard that a few persons promised to try to indicate their brain was still working after being separated from the neck. I think it was Lafayette who was said to have blinked right eye only a couple times. But he could not have said " I have been guillotined" . #23091 - 11/22/01 09:08 PM Re: On a slightly different note (d'oh!)...   Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Wordwind   Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... "I have a very little neck..." Anne of the Thousand Days... It's documented somewhere exactly what she said. Hers is such a poignant tale, her personage brilliantly played by Geneviève Bujold... Edit: Grave error--Anne was beheaded; not guillotined. I need to make that correction here! Still wondering about the subjunctive case?/mood? WW #23092 - 11/23/01 11:09 PM Re: On a slightly different note (d'oh!)...   Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage   Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Still wondering about the subjunctive case?/mood? Mood. And it is a little out of our internal grammar these days, but I don't think that the subjunctive mood is called for in this instance, or if so, it would come out something like, "I can imagine a French ghost saying that she had been guillotined." And as far as the original complaint (joke or no) I'll probably shock all of you by saying that I was guillotined. There, I've done it. It's not impossible. #23093 - 11/23/01 11:53 PM Re: On a slightly different note (d'oh!)...   Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh   Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 " I was guillotined" Dear Faldage: I think it possible that your misadventure involved "an instrument, working on a similar principle, as for cutting paper." #23094 - 11/24/01 12:17 AM Re: On a slightly different note (d'oh!)...   Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage   Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 an instrument, working on a similar principle, as for cutting paper Nope. I was lying, plain and simple. Didn't stop me from saying it, though. In Latin there was such a thang as a defective verb. A defective verb lacked some of the standard forms. The onliest one I can think of is futuo, futuere, but I don't remember where it's defective and it might just be from lack of observed usage. It's not like it was a real literary word. #23095 - 11/24/01 12:21 AM Re: On a slightly different note (d'oh!)...   Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Wordwind   Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... Thank you, Faldage, for setting the mood. So sorry you were guillotined. My "Four White Horses" thread was also guillotined, so I feel your pain. Wishing you a speedy recovery, DubDub Page 1 of 2 1 2 Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------   Information and announcements   Q&A about words   Wordplay and fun   Words and languages in schools   Miscellany   Weekly Themes   Looking for (writers, speakers, ...) (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) ------   Words from medicine   Beheading words   Meta-words   Words from classical mythology   Animal Safari   Words with unusual etymologies   Eponyms or words derived from people's names.   Loanwords from German   English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message View Homepage Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message View Homepage Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message View Homepage Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts Forum Statistics Forums16 Topics13,880 Posts224,654 Members9,045 Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011 Newest Members DavidOrigami, RichEngle, Stosh2010, CarolWilliamson, Farscape07 9045 Registered Users Who's Online Now 0 registered members (), 97 guests, and 3 spiders. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters(30 Days) wofahulicodoc 48 A C Bowden 27 LukeJavan8 11 may2point0 2 Top Posters(All Time) wwh 13,858 Faldage 13,803 Jackie 11,613 tsuwm 10,538 LukeJavan8 9,120 wofahulicodoc 7,879 Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210 AnnaStrophic 6,511 Wordwind 6,296 of troy 5,400

Default Style BlackNTan Drab eBay GooG v2 infopop new dark new light original dark original stock rounded corners Slate snow sunny dropshadow theblues Touch Of Grey UBB.threads UBB.threads - Dark UBB.threads - Light UBBCentral UBBCentral - Crimson UBBCentral - Lime UBBCentral - Marshmallow UBBCentral - Mocha UBBCentral - Zen ubbthreads ubbthreads-dark show/hide columns on this page Forum Rules · Mark All Read Contact Us · Wordsmith.org · Top