Wednesday, 15 February 2012

The kind of proofreading error you don't want to make

The following passage appears on page 262 of Lexical Meaning in Context (Cambridge University Press, 2011) by Nicholas Asher, who cannot have meant to say what he said...
(9.57) a. # John is knowing French.
b.    John is being silly.
c.    John is just being John.
d.    John's being an asshole.

Contrast (9.57 b–d) with their non-progressive counterparts John is silly, John is John, John is French and it becomes obvious that the progressive form of be produces a coercion.
What was that counterpart of (9.57) d. again?!?!?

2 comments:

Abecedariusrex said...

I never cease to be amazed at the lexicographically lackadaiscal attitude our current society endures. Just the other day I heard a 6th grade girl say to another 6th grade girl that "so and so is a d**k". She saw nothing wrong in the term when I chided her for it b/c ... she heard it on TV. How did we get here?

MrTinkles said...

Hehe...priceless