"have ever been"

[sagehen]

>On Sep 12, 2006, at 1:04 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>
>> "Are you now or have you ever been...?" perhaps?
>>
>> -Wilson
>>
>> On 9/12/06, Arnold M. Zwicky <zwicky at csli.stanford.edu> wrote:
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       "Arnold M. Zwicky" <zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU>
>>> Subject:      "have ever been"
>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ----------
>>>
>>> caught in passing on the radio on sunday, a woman talking about her
>>> enthusiasm for Star Trek: "I am, and have ever been,..."
>
>but that's the 'at some time' "ever", in an interrogative context,
>where it's specially licensed.  though maybe the formula is
>relevant.  some history would be helpful.
>
>arnold
>
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think it's more like 'at any time,' rather than 'at some time.'
(At least if we're talking about the "loyalty" formula used by McCarthy,
HUAC & their ilk.)
AM

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org