Another monosyllabic base form for PSP

[Joel S. Berson]

I don't understand why context is necessary.  The sentence is ""You
didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."  To me "didn't"
is once in the past, and thus I take "bat" to be the simple past also
(like "I sat (down)").   If I read Neal correctly immediately below,
there was one initial encounter, and at their next meeting she says
"didn't ... bat".

I would say "didn't ... batted", however.  Something like Bogart and
Bacall in "To have and have not" ("You whistled?")

If the example had been ""You don't come here because I bat my
eyelashes at you", that is continuing action, and "bat" is the
present tense.  The same for "You aren't coming here because I bat my
eyelashes at you."

Joel

At 5/7/2012 12:38 PM, Neal Whitman wrote:
>The earlier context: She had been sent to bring in "the Big Guy" (i.e. the
>Hulk) to be part of the world-saving Avengers team. She and Banner have a
>tense conversation about why he should agree to do this, whether attempted
>confinement in cages or other rights violations would occur. He ultimately
>agrees. This seemed to be their first encounter, so there would have been no
>chances for eyelash-batting before this to influence his decision.
>
>Later, when the team is assembled, this line occurs, and the intended
>meaning is that his coming was not a result of her batting her eyelashes at
>him -- whether she did or not being incidental, just that she was referring
>to their initial conversation and his decision to come.
>
>Neal
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 12:13 PM
>Subject: Re: Another monosyllabic base form for PSP
>
>
>>---------------------- Information from the mail
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>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>>Subject:      Re: Another monosyllabic base form for PSP
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>Not to be picky, but that's still consistent with it being present tense,
>>where the previous occurring of eyelash-batting serves as evidence for the
>>habit, disposition, or whatever.  (cf. Pitcher to batter: I'm walking you
>>because you bat .500 against me.)   If there had been a time adverbial
>>(".last time/week", "before that fight", whatever), it would be
>>undeniable.  Actually, from the context, I'm not even sure whether Romanov
>>is citing her eyelashing-batting as the reason for Banner not coming, or
>>as a non-reason for his coming, much less whether her batting was a prior
>>event or an ongoing practice.
>>
>>LH
>>
>>On May 7, 2012, at 10:46 AM, Neal Whitman wrote:
>>
>>>Yes, it was definitely referring to a previous incident in the movie, not
>>>a
>>>habitual action.
>>>
>>>NW
>>>----- Original Message -----
>>>From: "Amy West" <medievalist at W-STS.COM>
>>>To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 9:03 AM
>>>Subject: Re: Another monosyllabic base form for PSP
>>>
>>>
>>>>---------------------- Information from the mail
>>>>header -----------------------
>>>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>>Poster:       Amy West <medievalist at W-STS.COM>
>>>>Subject:      Re: Another monosyllabic base form for PSP
>>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>On 5/7/12 12:04 AM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
>>>>>Date:    Sun, 6 May 2012 23:44:23 -0400
>>>>>From:    Neal Whitman<nwhitman at AMERITECH.NET>
>>>>>Subject: Another monosyllabic base form for PSP
>>>>>
>>>>>The latest (to me) example of a monosyllabic verb with a lax vowel
>>>>>nucleus
>>>>>and dental stop coda comes from the movie_The Avengers_, in which
>>>>>Natasha
>>>>>Romanov says to Bruce Banner:
>>>>>
>>>>>"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."
>>>>Very interesting. . .
>>>>
>>>>Dumb question: does the context clearly indicate that the past tense is
>>>>intended? It sounds fine to me as a present indicating habitual/repeated
>>>>action. Perhaps I've just got a tin ear.
>>>>
>>>>Thanks for the blog pointers: I'll go take a look when avoiding grading.
>>>>
>>>>---Amy MacEvilly
>>>>
>>>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>
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>>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
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>
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