Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Today's topic is semicolons. Wendy Y. grammar I use both "hung" and "hanged". Please see the following: 1. He hung himself in the basement. 2. He was sentenced to be hanged by the neck until dead. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=19527#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=19527#Comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:26:37 GMT Stephen grammar Saddam Hussein was definitely hanged. Only one of his wives would know if he was hung. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=18220#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=18220#Comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:24:51 GMT Grammar Girl grammar Frank, if you're killing something by dangling it from a rope, it was hanged whether it is a person or an animal. Other actions, like mounting things on walls, cause things to be hung. So I suppose if you took a person and put him up on the wall by looping his belt over a hook and just left him up there, he would have been hung. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=16483#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=16483#Comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:41:23 GMT Frank grammar So, essentially, there is no real rule as to when or why one would use hung versus hanged. I see where you have noted the 'professor' says pictures are hung and people are hanged, so does that mean living things are hanged, i.e. animals, whereas inanimate objects are hung, i.e. hats, coats? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=16480#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=16480#Comments Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:04:19 GMT Kate grammar Dear Grammar Girl, My friend's professor had a saying to help students remember when to use hanged and hung. She said, "Pictures are hung, people are hanged." I thought you might appreciate that, and I wanted to tell you that your grammar episodes are brilliant. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=16134#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=16134#Comments Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:46:29 GMT Darrell grammar OK, so what about "lighted" vs. "lit"? I've always thought you "lighted" a cigarette or a torch, but a room was brightly lit. But I see "brightly lighted" all the time nowadays. ??? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=9992#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=9992#Comments Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:24:34 GMT Grammar Girl grammar "Pled," "plead," and "pleaded" are all acceptable, but many people prefer "pleaded."Garner's Modern English Usage states that "pleaded" is the common form in Britain, and "pled" is considered an Americanism. He notes that many commentators (on both sides of the pond) look down on anything other than "pleaded."So to be safe, you should say, "I have pleaded guilty," unless you are innocent. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=2339#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=2339#Comments Sat, 18 Aug 2007 22:09:53 GMT Sarah grammar What is the correct past perfect continuous form of the verb "to plead"? Should I say "have plead guilty" or "have pled guilty," or "have pleaded guilty"? Or, is any choice correct? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=2338#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=2338#Comments Sat, 18 Aug 2007 20:28:55 GMT aardvark grammar Hi Adam, If you divide a whole ant into two pieces, you will have two halves of the ant. Each of those halves is called a half. Half is singular and halves is plural. So, on your blueprint, you can mark your work as the top half and the bottom half. Both of those halves go to make a whole blueprint. Hope this helps. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=2336#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=2336#Comments Thu, 09 Aug 2007 04:02:18 GMT aardvark grammar Hi Adam, If you divide a whole ant into two pieces, you will have two halves of the ant. Each of those halves is called a half. Half is singular and halves is plural. So, on your blueprint, you can mark your work as the top half and the bottom half. Both of those halves go to make a whole blueprint. Hope this helps. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=2337#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx?commentid=2337#Comments Thu, 09 Aug 2007 04:02:18 GMT Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:26:37 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hanged-versus-hung.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us