Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Just say no to drugs. peter grammar Thank you, Grammar Girl! You have saved my manuscript from my poor grammar once again. If I ever finish this thing I will surely put a special thanks to you on the acknowledgements page. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=20560#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=20560#Comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:20:21 GMT Scotty grammar LMR, right you are! "Hanged" and "hung" are both past tense of "hang", but they each have a specific use and are not interchangeable. -- John, I'm not convinced it's wrong. Perhaps it has to do with changing word use and some regions of the US were slow to adopt the newer use. -- Now using "an" in front of a every noun that starts with an "h", even when the "h" is not silent, is always wrong. -- Stupid comment entry system. I wish it recognized newline characters. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15475#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15475#Comments Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:56:23 GMT LMR grammar Darn, nobody picked up on my lame joke (or maybe people were just ignoring me, which is more likely). A more correct statement woud be: People who missuse "drug" should be HANGED from the nearest tree! And no I do not advocate capital punishment for grammar violations. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15450#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15450#Comments Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:59:37 GMT John from Lorain grammar Scotty, you wrote: "While some will understand the use of "drug" others will become confused. Therefore it's wisest to use 'dragged' if your writing might find an audience outside of your local region." I strongly disagree. One should ALWAYS use, "dragged," even if one is writing only for people in a region where "drug" is widely used. As followers of grammar laws, proper spelling, correct usage, etc., intelligent people have the duty to try to help those in error (e.g., those who use "drug") to mend their ways. You should not reinforce their errors! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15449#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15449#Comments Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:25:14 GMT Scotty grammar "Drug" as the past-tense form of "drag" is not wrong. It's what I'd call a regionalism. It's proper usage in some parts of the United States. However "drug" is also a noun everywhere in the English speaking world and "dragged" is understood as the past-tense of "drag" almost everywhere, or at least it'll be recognized everywhere. While some will understand the use of "drug" others will become confused. Therefore it's wisest to use "dragged" if your writing might find an audience outside of your local region. Although I grew up with "drug" I use "dragged" in my writing and speech. Finally "drug" as the past-tense form of "drag" is not in Encarta or my great, fat Websters. "Shine", "shone", and "shined" is similar. But in this case "shone" is the preferred past-tense form. I run a little creative writing contest and one quarter the first paragraph of one of the entries started, "Everything shined like freshly-cut diamonds..." Wow, stopped me cold. When I read it to my wife she said she didn't think "shined" was a real word. It's not in Encarta, but it is in my great, fat Websters as a secondary form with "shone" the preferred word. I think the lesson is to recognize and avoid regionalisms--unless one is writing dialog. ;-) http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15386#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15386#Comments Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:16:25 GMT Sally.S grammar How do l get the free tips every month by E-mail, Grammar Girl? And also, this is not realating to the podcast but when you are saying 'The dog is cute', Do l have to use 'It is cute' or 'She/he is cute' depending on its sex?? Thanks:-) http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15351#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15351#Comments Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:39:37 GMT Jesse Deloe grammar Episode 151, Jan. 2. In the sentence, "Strangely, they don't say anything about it being used widely in the West, where I've lived my whole life, so I can't explain why I was confused," shouldn't it be "it's" preceding the gerund "being used"? Thanks! Enjoy the website immensely! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15350#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15350#Comments Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:42:35 GMT Kathy88 grammar Dear Grammar Girl, I see you're still tired from that construction work... You used "it's" in place of "its" when you wrote, "It's only standard meaning has to do with illegal drugs or pharmaceuticals." Glad to know you're human :-) http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15325#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15325#Comments Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:24:59 GMT Justin K. grammar Great Podcast! A lot of people use the word "drug" instead of using "dragged". People should go to your site more often! -Justin http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15315#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15315#Comments Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:05:13 GMT John from Lorain grammar LMR, maybe you need to read my message again, this time without letting your ultra-liberal emotions get the better of you. I said NOTHING about punishing people in any way (much less hanging) for making mistakes. Instead, I spoke of "educating" the un(der)educated. Now, grow up! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15310#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx?commentid=15310#Comments Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:24:09 GMT Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:20:21 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dragged-versus-drug.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us