Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Brite
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Brand Logo

agnos.is Forums

  1. Home
  2. Ask Lemmy
  3. 'Read' and it's past tense are spelled the same. How should they be spelled?

'Read' and it's past tense are spelled the same. How should they be spelled?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Ask Lemmy
asklemmy
40 Posts 33 Posters 0 Views
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • _ [email protected]

    Both. How do you know it was red when you have not red it? Someone must have red it to state it's red.

    W This user is from outside of this forum
    W This user is from outside of this forum
    [email protected]
    wrote last edited by
    #13

    I can't reed

    1 Reply Last reply
    2
    • G [email protected]

      It's because the people who set the rules for the English language, could barely speak it.

      The first guy to popularize the printing press was Dutch, so the guy who bought England's first one didn't know how it worked and neither did any English speaker

      So he hired a bunch of Dutch who knew how to operate it.

      And they got a bunch of handwritten books and were told to mass reproduce them.

      Sometimes it was a mistake in the original, sometimes the typesetter made a mistake. Sometimes the writer just disagreed with how it should be written, and sometimes even the typesetters who couldn't speak English made choices to change it

      No one gave a fuck about accuracy, it was about pumping out as many books as possible. Because just owning a book was a huge status symbol still from when they were handwritten and crazy expensive.

      But all those books eventually got read, and the people who learned to read them were very proud that they could read. So they insisted that all the random bullshit was intentional and had to be followed to a T by everyone forever.

      Most other languages had a noble class who kept it sensical, but for a long ass time only peasants spoke English, the wealthy in England all spoke French, cuz they were French.

      Anyways, that's why English doesn't make any sense. There was also a natural thing happening where vowel pronunciation was changing. So when the typecasters solidified everything, it was already in a state of flux. That's why pronunciation doesn't line up with spelling.

      A This user is from outside of this forum
      A This user is from outside of this forum
      [email protected]
      wrote last edited by
      #14

      It certainly doesn't help that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.

      1 Reply Last reply
      2
      • I [email protected]

        What about similar oddities in English?
        (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

        E This user is from outside of this forum
        E This user is from outside of this forum
        [email protected]
        wrote last edited by
        #15

        Just remember

        snotflickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS 1 Reply Last reply
        25
        • E [email protected]

          Just remember

          snotflickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS This user is from outside of this forum
          snotflickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS This user is from outside of this forum
          [email protected]
          wrote last edited by [email protected]
          #16

          Pretty sure the past tense of "lead" is actually "led."

          Unless of course you're referring to the type of metal, lead, which I guess the meme isn't clear on.

          moondoggie@lemmy.worldM C leadore@lemmy.worldL I 4 Replies Last reply
          7
          • I [email protected]

            What about similar oddities in English?
            (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

            Z This user is from outside of this forum
            Z This user is from outside of this forum
            [email protected]
            wrote last edited by
            #17

            Read and readed

            1 Reply Last reply
            2
            • snotflickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS [email protected]

              Pretty sure the past tense of "lead" is actually "led."

              Unless of course you're referring to the type of metal, lead, which I guess the meme isn't clear on.

              moondoggie@lemmy.worldM This user is from outside of this forum
              moondoggie@lemmy.worldM This user is from outside of this forum
              [email protected]
              wrote last edited by
              #18

              Pretty sure there’s a chemical element named “lead”

              _ L 2 Replies Last reply
              14
              • G [email protected]

                It's because the people who set the rules for the English language, could barely speak it.

                The first guy to popularize the printing press was Dutch, so the guy who bought England's first one didn't know how it worked and neither did any English speaker

                So he hired a bunch of Dutch who knew how to operate it.

                And they got a bunch of handwritten books and were told to mass reproduce them.

                Sometimes it was a mistake in the original, sometimes the typesetter made a mistake. Sometimes the writer just disagreed with how it should be written, and sometimes even the typesetters who couldn't speak English made choices to change it

                No one gave a fuck about accuracy, it was about pumping out as many books as possible. Because just owning a book was a huge status symbol still from when they were handwritten and crazy expensive.

                But all those books eventually got read, and the people who learned to read them were very proud that they could read. So they insisted that all the random bullshit was intentional and had to be followed to a T by everyone forever.

                Most other languages had a noble class who kept it sensical, but for a long ass time only peasants spoke English, the wealthy in England all spoke French, cuz they were French.

                Anyways, that's why English doesn't make any sense. There was also a natural thing happening where vowel pronunciation was changing. So when the typecasters solidified everything, it was already in a state of flux. That's why pronunciation doesn't line up with spelling.

                N This user is from outside of this forum
                N This user is from outside of this forum
                [email protected]
                wrote last edited by
                #19

                A French. The language where you have 5 wovels, use 3 for the word goose and the other 2 to pronounce it.

                1 Reply Last reply
                1
                • I [email protected]

                  What about similar oddities in English?
                  (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

                  radix@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                  radix@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                  [email protected]
                  wrote last edited by
                  #20

                  Are reed and red taken?

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  1
                  • moondoggie@lemmy.worldM [email protected]

                    Pretty sure there’s a chemical element named “lead”

                    _ This user is from outside of this forum
                    _ This user is from outside of this forum
                    [email protected]
                    wrote last edited by
                    #21

                    I heard lead leads in weight.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    1
                    • I [email protected]

                      What about similar oddities in English?
                      (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

                      pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.deP This user is from outside of this forum
                      pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.deP This user is from outside of this forum
                      [email protected]
                      wrote last edited by
                      #22

                      Bought, caught, taught, fought, thought, sought, and wrought are all past tense verbs and all rhyme. The present tense forms are buy, catch, teach, fight, think, seek, and work, none of which rhyme.

                      capuccino@lemmy.worldC R 2 Replies Last reply
                      11
                      • I [email protected]

                        What about similar oddities in English?
                        (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

                        jeffool@lemmy.worldJ This user is from outside of this forum
                        jeffool@lemmy.worldJ This user is from outside of this forum
                        [email protected]
                        wrote last edited by
                        #23

                        You should wrede a book they wrote, and after you've wred the book, write your own.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        1
                        • I [email protected]

                          What about similar oddities in English?
                          (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

                          lgsp@feddit.itL This user is from outside of this forum
                          lgsp@feddit.itL This user is from outside of this forum
                          [email protected]
                          wrote last edited by [email protected]
                          #24

                          Words in which I can never remember h and g order:

                          • length thought tough through

                          Inconsistent pronunciation of "ae"

                          • steak read bear bleak

                          And many more...

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • G [email protected]

                            It's because the people who set the rules for the English language, could barely speak it.

                            The first guy to popularize the printing press was Dutch, so the guy who bought England's first one didn't know how it worked and neither did any English speaker

                            So he hired a bunch of Dutch who knew how to operate it.

                            And they got a bunch of handwritten books and were told to mass reproduce them.

                            Sometimes it was a mistake in the original, sometimes the typesetter made a mistake. Sometimes the writer just disagreed with how it should be written, and sometimes even the typesetters who couldn't speak English made choices to change it

                            No one gave a fuck about accuracy, it was about pumping out as many books as possible. Because just owning a book was a huge status symbol still from when they were handwritten and crazy expensive.

                            But all those books eventually got read, and the people who learned to read them were very proud that they could read. So they insisted that all the random bullshit was intentional and had to be followed to a T by everyone forever.

                            Most other languages had a noble class who kept it sensical, but for a long ass time only peasants spoke English, the wealthy in England all spoke French, cuz they were French.

                            Anyways, that's why English doesn't make any sense. There was also a natural thing happening where vowel pronunciation was changing. So when the typecasters solidified everything, it was already in a state of flux. That's why pronunciation doesn't line up with spelling.

                            kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK This user is from outside of this forum
                            kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK This user is from outside of this forum
                            [email protected]
                            wrote last edited by
                            #25

                            This also occurred in the middle of the Great Vowel Shift, a period when spoken English pronunciation was changing significantly.

                            G 1 Reply Last reply
                            1
                            • I [email protected]

                              What about similar oddities in English?
                              (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

                              A This user is from outside of this forum
                              A This user is from outside of this forum
                              [email protected]
                              wrote last edited by
                              #26

                              Fast can mean moving with great speed or fixed securely in place (among other things).

                              Z 1 Reply Last reply
                              8
                              • A [email protected]

                                Fast can mean moving with great speed or fixed securely in place (among other things).

                                Z This user is from outside of this forum
                                Z This user is from outside of this forum
                                [email protected]
                                wrote last edited by
                                #27

                                The alarm went off so i turned it off.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                5
                                • moondoggie@lemmy.worldM [email protected]

                                  Pretty sure there’s a chemical element named “lead”

                                  L This user is from outside of this forum
                                  L This user is from outside of this forum
                                  [email protected]
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #28

                                  And German has a word for it: Blei

                                  G 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • snotflickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS [email protected]

                                    Pretty sure the past tense of "lead" is actually "led."

                                    Unless of course you're referring to the type of metal, lead, which I guess the meme isn't clear on.

                                    C This user is from outside of this forum
                                    C This user is from outside of this forum
                                    [email protected]
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #29

                                    I had to look this up.

                                    And today I learned ALL my brit friends are spelling it wrong. That's more than two!

                                    E 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK [email protected]

                                      This also occurred in the middle of the Great Vowel Shift, a period when spoken English pronunciation was changing significantly.

                                      G This user is from outside of this forum
                                      G This user is from outside of this forum
                                      [email protected]
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #30

                                      Yep...

                                      There was also a natural thing happening where vowel pronunciation was changing. So when the typecasters solidified everything, it was already in a state of flux. That’s why pronunciation doesn’t line up with spelling.

                                      kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • G [email protected]

                                        Yep...

                                        There was also a natural thing happening where vowel pronunciation was changing. So when the typecasters solidified everything, it was already in a state of flux. That’s why pronunciation doesn’t line up with spelling.

                                        kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK This user is from outside of this forum
                                        kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK This user is from outside of this forum
                                        [email protected]
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #31

                                        I missed that, my bad.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • snotflickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS [email protected]

                                          Pretty sure the past tense of "lead" is actually "led."

                                          Unless of course you're referring to the type of metal, lead, which I guess the meme isn't clear on.

                                          leadore@lemmy.worldL This user is from outside of this forum
                                          leadore@lemmy.worldL This user is from outside of this forum
                                          [email protected]
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #32

                                          It's not saying anything about past tenses in that meme, it's just saying that each word has two different pronunciations that rhyme with the other.

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          5
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups