For example,. Alanna Madden is a freelance writer and editor from Portland, Oregon. Alanna specializes in data and news reporting and enjoys writing about art, culture, and STEM-related topics.
I can be found on Linkedin. Your writing, at its best Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant. Start writing with Grammarly. What is the difference between hanged and hung? What-to-know for hanged vs. Get the hang of hung The English language is full of versatile verbs, and we make no exceptions for hang. The history of hanged vs. What does hanged mean? Synonyms of hung Asphyxiated, assassinated, choked, executed, extinguished, garroted, killed, lynched, martyred, massacred, murdered, prosecuted, snuffed, throttled, strangled, terminated.
Usage guide : when to use hanged in a sentence? What does hung mean? He's not a person, but he's not inanimate either. Carol1 Apr Tony, your entry, which is correct, is taken whole from Perfessor that's how he spells it Cumber's list of pet peeves about English usage.
I commend the brief list to anyone interested in usage questions; it's an entertaining, commonsense guide www. I agree with all the writers who wonder about reporters' use of "hung" where "hanged" would be correct. Don't get me started on the other common grammatical errors in journalism. I have concluded that either that there are no editors anymore, or the editors are just as ignorant as the reporters. Leslie2 Jun I do believe it may be used either way now due to my arguements with somone who may not wish their name let out.
Anyway as I read this I may see that everyones findings are from old uses. I believe the correct usage of hanged has changed into hung. Thusly because the value of human life is mostly viewed lower than it should these days. Hung is correct in my belief but if I were correcting a paper I would not count hanged as wrong anymore.
I'm not exactly a prescriptivist. After all, we haven't spoken Old or even Middle English for centuries now. But I do find it sad that we have come to accept virtually any ignorant, sloppy, lazy mangling of our language. I guess political correctness has made even the stupid a protected class that we can't possibly offend. Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage says this is not a mistake, and if you use it you will be stigmatized for doing something that is not wrong.
John4 May Actually, that's not exactly what Merriam-Webster says. DBP's posting from M-W is more complete and precise. Oh, and for what it's worth, The dictionary's quoting of Ronald Reagan is hardly an endorsement for proper grammar. If anything, it proves the opposite point.
I think it's amusing and ironic that that particular Reagan quote has made it into the dictionary. He has been publicly and frequently lambasted for that very quote, as one of many malapropisms for which he was famous. He was constantly ridiculed for his misuse of the English language. I welcome the gradual disappearance of "hanged". I came to this page because I heard reporters saying it on television, and the usage just sounded wrong to me. For me there is no important distinction in the word.
If someone is hung on a coat hook as a joke versus being hanged for murder, I would lose no meaning if the terms were switched. Context means everything. Asb Sep DBP's quote is from Merriam-Webster's dictionary. John4 Sep Next time I wear a tux to a neck-tie party, I'll say the "guest of honor" would be hanged. If I wear khaki pants and a polo shirt, I'll say he'd be hung.
Some news agencies abide by a specific "style" such as AP Style, or Chicago Press Style whereby certain matters are addressed in grammar to distinguish one meaning from another. The reporters may simply be using a particular style, and quite actually saying it correctly according to the style. There is not a universally correct grammar, especially in regard to news reporting grammar style.
Were do you think 'hung drawn and quartered' came from? Because they 'hung' people. It has multiple meanings. I understand that the word "hanged" is a proper verb for capital punishment, what about if it is self-inflicted?
Thanks for your answer, you will be settling a bet between me and my overeducated husband who can't spell or write properly. Alla, it doesn't matter if the hanging is self-inflicted. I appreciate the distinction between the two forms.
They've been talked about as different verbs, but really I think they're basically the same thing suspension of some kind. So I think it's neat that we have a way of using this verb for this specific context of capital punishment.
On the other hand, the fortunate rarity of hangings these days naturally pushes the distinction into some obscurity. I have no problem with this either, but it's probably why news reporters may not always make it. AO Jul Many usage commentators recognize that this is a standard use, but some commentators, who apparently haven't done their research, persist in saying it's wrong. Other pairs like this include lie - lay and sit -set.
John4 Jul John, when you say " Since your last two posts, in well over a year, no one has asserted that "hung" is wrong. Actually, in all of the above posts, only two commentators, the second and third, back in , made such an assertion, and only once each.
How exactly does that qualify as "persistence"? Are you referring to my reply to alla arcuri? I never said that "hung" was wrong. I merely said that if a hanging is self-inflicted instead of capital punishment, then "hanged" is still appropriate. Just how much "research" is required? A simple check of one or a few dictionaries confirms what I said. You have stated several times I assume you're the same John as before that "hung" is correct, but you have never claimed that "hanged" is incorrect, did you?
Can I assume you don't have a problem with the word "hanged"? You're not saying "hanged" is wrong, are you? Every source I have checked says that "hanged" is especially appropriate to describe death by hanging and no, I did not just say that "hanged" is right and "hung" is wrong.
I don't think you disagree with this either, do you? So, um, what's the problem? Most people don't say they "hanged a picture", right?. And, I guess some newsreporters notwithstanding, most people still say "hanged by the neck until dead", right? And if both these statements are true, that still doesn't mean that "hung" is wrong in the same context, right? Porsche, Sorry People who write books about English usage. Some of them tell us that "hung" is wrong when referring to death by hanging.
But if they looked at the actual usage, they would see that both "hung" and "hanged" have been used in this context. Of course, i won the bet. In addition, I think our great language has evolved or maybe "devolved" is a better term to the point where if enough people are using the incorrect form -then is becomes the norm. I believe they use "hanged" to make capital punishment seem dated and backward. We were talking about this in English IV. My teacher said that "Only one thing is Hung, Everything else is Hanged MikeyHp Feb Thank you Mrs.
Liz1 Mar Gary1 May In German, for example, "haengen"- to hang something on a wall, etc. Paul3 May I always thought the rule was "hanged" for people, and "hung" for animals, but I feel like I may have been in error all these years. Jon2 Mar What happened to America, where was it proper to speak in a question. So many people, except Newscasters, speak with an upward tone at the end of a sentence. Sent electronically to friends or students. Did you spot a typo? Grammarly's app will help with: 1 Avoiding spelling errors 2 Correcting grammar errors 3 Finding better words This free browser extension works with webmail, social media, and texting apps as well as online forms and Microsoft Office documents, like Word and Teams.
Download the app. We have two books: 1 "Smashing Grammar" Written by the founder of Grammar Monster , "Smashing Grammar" has an A-Z glossary of grammar terms, a punctuation section, and a chapter on easily confused words.
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