nom. for acc. (again)

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Aug 27, 2007, at 11:36 AM, Beverly Flanigan wrote:

> I saw this hypercorrection switcheroo today in a syndicated newspaper
> article on a released prisoner:  The ex-prisoner said his wife had
> stuck
> with him because they had sworn "Till death do we part."  Amusing, if
> impossible.
>
> Then again, maybe it's not the usual hypercorrection.  Since the
> subjunctive mood of the frozen phrase is probably no longer
> understood, the
> speaker (many, perhaps?) may have thought 'we' and 'do' must agree
> since
> 'death' and 'do' couldn't.  I use a couple of such frozen phrases
> in class
> to illustrate syntactic change, and students often can't explain the
> structures even though they know the phrases "by heart":
> So be it
> Be that as it may
> Albeit
> Would that it were so
> And more word order inversion:
> With this ring I thee wed
> etc.

surely the right analysis.  speakers are making the verb agreement
"look right", even though it doesn't really make sense -- but then
it's a fixed expression, and they don't *have to* make sense.

tens of thousands of webhits for "do we part", taking in "till/til'/
til/until death ..."  a CSI:Miami episode "Til Death Do We
Part" (2005), a Murphy Brown episode "Till Death or Next Wednesday Do
We Part" (1992), a Tales From the Crypt episode "Till Death Do We
Part" (1993), a Tonya Dee song "Death Do We Part" (1961), a book "Til
What Do We Part: A Wedding Planner for the Etiquette Impaired", a San
Francisco Family Law Blog "'Til Prenup Do We Part", a blog entry
"Until [Johnny] Depp Do We Part", a Milwaukee television news story
"Til Debt Do We Part", and much, much more.

arnold

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