Dies, is Dead, has Died, Dead
This
post is going to be merely a few lines long.
The
main reason is my facility in English language has been going down forever,
starting from the lowest rung. And, I do not understand how in the English
language media, grammar is used/abused.
I
have seen headlines in some of the venerated English language media – The New
York Times, The Economist, The Guardian, The Hindu, The Pioneer (when it was
not dead) , The Washington Post …
When
announcing the death of a person, any one of the four formulations indicated in
the title is used.
[Someone],
[…,] dead [my inheritance to be realized soon!]
[Someone],
[…,] is dead [good riddance!]
[Someone],
[…,] dies [unmourned (!)]
[Someone],
[…,] has died [an orphan!]
Which
of the above would a nit-picking English grammarian use, like William Safire,
the syndicated columnist who wrote on English language and who dies/is dead/died/has
died in 2009? Do you mean to tell me that each of them is not wrong if used
appropriately.
Then,
in an obituary?
Raghuram
Ekambaram
3 comments:
Hahaha. Love this. The nuances you've ascribed to the various usages is ticklish. I'm dying laughing.
Thanks, Matheikal. I wrote this more than a month ago, but was afflicted with Frozen Shoulder. Even now, I have much pain, but I was going crazy thinking about it. Hence I took this out, fine tuned it and you saw it. My effort, despite the pain, has been rewarded!
Matheikal, when I read that you are "dying laughing", I immediately thought of your take on, "[be] dying" and wanted to comment on it. But, when I came towards the end of my response, I plum forgot. Sorry. While I appreciate that you respond to almost all my posts, this one takes the cake. Thanks.
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