More PREP-Loss?

Thu Mar 13 03:03:02 UTC 2008

On Mar 11, 2008, at 2:54 PM, Andrea Morrow wrote:

> Maybe the intended meaning isn't like "believe in." Maybe it's
> transitive, like "believe + noun" - as in, I believe the theory of
> evolution, I believe Hillary, I believe my local newspaper, etc.  It
> sounds
> OK to me to say, "I believe modern physics," which is similar to
> saying, "I
> believe astrology," in form if not in content.  Maybe I'm just weird.

in the clearest cases, "believe" + NP is understood as 'believe what
NP says/proposes/maintains/etc.'  that's the sort of interpretation
(and not 'believe in') i'd get for "I believe modern physics" and "I
believe astrology", though frankly those sound odd to me.  and the
line between believing in astrology and believing what astrology says
is pretty fine.

arnold

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