a construction that could use (to be) studied
Joel S. Berson
Berson at ATT.NET
Mon Jul 23 14:10:46 UTC 2012
At 7/23/2012 09:14 AM, Charles C Doyle wrote:
>If we substitute "could stand" for "could use": "He could stand to
>be hosed down" but *"He could stand cleaned"--in my dialect.
My dialect too doesn't permit "He could stand cleaned"* -- unless it
was after he stood to be hosed down.
Joel
* I'd have to say "He could stand cleaning."
------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
More information about the Ads-l
mailing list