What do you say when...THE GREAT DIVE GRAMMER THREAD

[RICHinNC]

Whats wrong with....
I got wetted yesterday....and I plan to get more wet today!!

 

[Walter]

Rich,

That's perfectly acceptable..................in NC.

 

[nettlebum]

Dove is a bird that lives in a dovecote. I either 'went diving' or I have dived. But then I'm English.... It's that old "I say Potato, you say Potato" thing. Either way, I got wet at the weekend in Poole (south coast of England) and had a fab time!

 

[ZenSquirrel]

I neatly side step this by saying that I'm "moving under the sea" or "moved under the sea". The nice thing about English is that it is such a mess that there is always another way to say something.

 

[zeN||]

Grammar is determined by usage, not schoolmarms that write rules for English ~Z

 

[GQMedic]

Of all the DUMB things my ex and I argued over, this, believe it or not, was ACTUALLY one of them! Dived -v- Dove.

She's a pretty gutsy chick who researched the hell out of it then presented me with the facts supporting. Hell, I was impressed, I conceeded. Yes, people, it is DIVED...

SG, I am so cracking up at this, I am definately posting you the link to this thread. Hope it makes you laugh as much as it did me. Nothing like a blast from the past..

 

[writer]

According to Webster, both are correct, but "dived" is the preferred term. You can tell because it's the first past tense listed if you look under "dive". But, as has already been mentioned, you can easily avoid it by saying "we went scuba diving." And it's scuba, not SCUBA. That changed a few years ago.
Oops, sorry for getting on the soapbox. I am a newspaper editor.

See you at the bottom!

Ken

 

[dbulmer]

The Oxford Dictionary allows American usage of Dove but if you're a Brit and use dove you deserve a good kicking

 

[Inkypoo]

dbulmer once bubbled...
The Oxford Dictionary allows American usage of Dove but if you're a Brit and use dove you deserve a good kicking

Hahahahah...am I wrong or do I get the impression that Brits do not hold Yankee standards for the English language in very high regard?

 

[Diversauras]

Walter once bubbled...
Dived is preferred, but dove is acceptable. Dove is a recent addition to the language, probably first used by Walt Whitman. Personally, I use dove when referring to birds and dived when discussing an activity I enjoy.

that way there is never any problem understanding phrases like "the white dove dove...."