Cato's Grammar Grumble

[Karl Henning]

Would you prefer "predicted"?

What is the past of "to cast"?

Not to be oblique, my preference is forecast for the past of to forecast.

[zamyrabyrd]

What is the past of "to cast"?
Not to be oblique, my preference is forecast for the past of to forecast.

So how would you tell the difference between present and past?

[North Star]

So how would you tell the difference between present and past?

From the context.

[kishnevi]

So how would you tell the difference between present and past?

Context.  Just as the context of this discussion makes it clear you were referencing grammatical tenses even though you did not use the word itself.

[Ken B]

What is the past of "to cast"?

Not to be oblique, my preference is forecast for the past of to forecast.

Past of stand, stood.
Past of understand, understanded.

[kishnevi]

Past of stand, stood.
Past of understand, understanded.

Maybe in Canada but where I am from, understanded is not a word and understood can be past or present tense.

[Karl Henning]

Past of understand, understanded.

You really know how to hurt a guy, don't you? 

[Ken B]

Maybe in Canada but where I am from, understanded is not a word and understood can be past or present tense.

Where I'm from sarcasm is subtle.

[Cato]

Maybe in Canada but where I am from, understanded is not a word and understood can be past or present tense.

Present Perfect Tense - e.g. I (have) understood

English is curious: one can say "landed," and "banded," and "sanded," and even "stranded," but not "standed."

Curiously, our cousin language German uses "stand" as a past tense! 

[Ken B]

Present Perfect Tense - e.g. I (have) understood

English is curious: one can say "landed," and "banded," and "sanded," and even "stranded," but not "standed."

English is not even-hood.

[Jo498]

"understood" can never be present tense, can it? it is either the simple past or the participle, so "is understood" is present passive because it uses the participle (which is technically a "perfect" participle, isn't it?)

Actually, modern German is exactly parallel with modern English in that "understand" and "verstehen" (or stand and stehen) have both strong flexion: understood and verstand(en). (The mostly false friend pairing is "stay" - "stehen")
I am not sufficiently versed in linguistics but for whatever reasons often the most important everday verbs (be, have, bring, see, give, put....) have strong flexion or are even highly irregular with different stems (this is really annoying in ancient greek, arguably the most difficult thing about that language).

[Mahlerian]

I am not sufficiently versed in linguistics but for whatever reasons often the most important everday verbs (be, have, bring, see, give, put....) have strong flexion or are even highly irregular with different stems (this is really annoying in ancient greek, arguably the most difficult thing about that language).

My vague recollection from that one linguistics class I took is that irregularities are more likely to survive if they're in words that are used commonly, while they're more likely to be ironed out of a language if they're in less commonly-used words.

[North Star]

My vague recollection from that one linguistics class I took is that irregularities are more likely to survive if they're in words that are used commonly, while they're more likely to be ironed out of a language if they're in less commonly-used words.

That's true; people bother to learn (and remember) if the words are commonly used, and also if it's a commonly used word, more people are outraged when the irregularities are dispensed with.

[Karl Henning]

Brethren!

[Ken B]

Brethren!

If all men are brothers would you let one marry your sister?

[North Star]

If all men are brothers would you let one marry your sister?

Or marry your own sister?

[Karl Henning]

If all men are brothers would you let one marry your sister?

Is that where Schiller was going with that!

[jochanaan]

If all men are brothers would you let one marry your sister?

Loved that Theodore Sturgeon story!

[Ken B]

Loved that Theodore Sturgeon story!

I was beginning to think no-one would spot the reference!

[Karl Henning]

I know, we can probably find several of these every day, but . . .

a country that is not diminishing it's military