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dyak

Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 630
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 2:05 am Post subject: Past Simple |
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Just what is the past of sh�t?
I've heard:
shat
shatted
sh�t
sh�tted
sh�ted
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ls650

Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 3:18 am Post subject: For sh�ts sake |
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In my university days, an engineer friend of mine wrote a letter to the Oxford Dictionary people, asking them that exact question.
The Oxford people wrote him a nice response on their letterhead. The letter they wrote said because of 'sh�ts' Middle English roots, 'shat' is correct, but that 'sh�tted' was a common American usage.
He keeps the letter in a frame on his office wall.
Try looking at http://dictionary.reference.com/ |
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Guy Courchesne

Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 5:11 am Post subject: |
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defacated? ok,ok, I remember using shit unchanged in the present or past. "Damn, the dog shit all over the place"
This come up in a class Dyak? |
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Snoopy
Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 185
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 11:02 am Post subject: |
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What, for that matter, is the past participle? Shat, surely? |
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dyak

Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 630
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 12:35 pm Post subject: |
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Guy wrote: |
This come up in a class Dyak? |
Yes, an FCE one. All was quiet when the striking Venezuelan girl suddenly said, 'Teacher, what is the past of sh�t?', and she even stressed the is, as if it had been plaguing her for some time. She seemed satisfied with shat but then all the others poured into my head. But then I thought that if the past of pit is pitted then surely the past of sh�t would be sh�tted, as it even has the consonant vowel consonant double letter thing. But then I remembered, 'the cat shat on the mat', not my cat but the rhyme was convincing. Then I thought that if it were my cat I would have said, 'the cat had shat on the mat', making shat the past participle too. This left me with sh�t sh�tted shat, which didn't sit right... wait, sit sat sat! A�... time for a holiday. |
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