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Joined: Jan 2002
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 6 |
Am I just an old fogey? I thought that the word "likely" needed to be followed by an infinitive. Lately, I hear MANY newscasters (NPR take note!) using it directly before a verb. It just jars my ear!
Example:
It is likely to rain.
It will likely rain.
Which is correct, or both? I wouldn't dream of saying the latter, but it's quite common, of late.
What do you wordies think?
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
addict
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addict
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679 |
It will likely rain?
Not likely.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 393
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 393 |
My old dictionary has it as an adv. glossed 'probably', as well as the more usual adj. sense of 'probable', so it's not a new usage. But I agree it's unusual, perhaps dialectal.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Sometimes "liable" may be more appropriate than "likely". If you get caught speeding, you are not merely likely to get a ticket, you are liable to get a fine.
3 subject to the possibility of; likely (to do, have, get, etc. something unpleasant or unwanted) liable to
And if "likely" bothers you how do you feel , like. hearing "like" misused?
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
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It will likely rain?
Most likely.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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how do you feel , like. hearing "like" misused?
How could it be misused, Dr. Bill? It's not being used; it's just getting stuck in there. Ever since the language haters started jumping on the use of like as a conjunction there's been a bunch of them hanging around with nothing to do. The younger generation, with their younger ears, have been sensitive to this surplus of likes and have been giving them make work, in a sort of linguistic WPA. It's the undue strictures of their elders that has given rise to this so-called "misuse" and the elders resent having it thrown in their collective face. This is all that is behind the objections to like in this context.
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605 |
Ad slogan: Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should.
[Follow-up ad slogan: Which would you rather have: good grammar or good taste? ]
aarrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhh!!!!
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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"Follow-up ad slogan: Which would you rather have: good grammar or good taste? "
Which would you rather have, lung cancer of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
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Then there is the southern U.S. use of like, like in the sentence, "I like to died when she said that!."
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
I'm with Whitty on this one:
The sound of "It will rain, most likely" is ok to my ear; also, "It will most likely rain" sounds ok, too.
But "It will likely rain" sounds weird. I don't know that I've ever heard that construction.
"It is liable to rain" sounds old-fashioned.
Then there's my grandma Etta's, "I kin see black clouds in the element! Likely to rain today!" She's the only person I know who refers to the sky as the element.
Best regards,
WeatherWind
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