I just finished reading the letter from Tori Eccles (“You made a mistake!” Jan. 8) and wanted to assure you that the author made the mistake of believing you made a mistake, so relax.
According to the Second Edition of the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, “The standard and most frequent form of the past participle of DRINK in both speech and writing is DRUNK: Who has drunk all the milk? However, perhaps because of the association of DRUNK with intoxication, DRANK is widely used as a past participle in speech and must be considered as alternate standard form: I’d drank my fill of scenery” (emphasis mine).
As an English teacher since 1968, I’ve seen many words evolve and have adapted, as I suggest writer Eccles should. There are so many more important things one could be inspired to rage against.
— Istar Holliday – Arroyo Grande
— Istar Holliday – Arroyo Grande
— Istar Holliday – Arroyo Grande
This article appears in Jan 15-22, 2015.
