In that post I discussed the difference between set, sat, and sit (sat is the past tense of sit). All of them are verbs. And this is the one statement from that post you need to remember:
PEOPLE/ANIMALS "sit" down (for the action of sitting).
You "set" an OBJECT down.
Now, I got an email while I was away regarding this issue. Spike wanted me to clear something up. An episode of Criminals Minds "sat" a dead body on the ledge. Spike's mother and father had a disagreement about whether that was right. And we all know how that kind of thing goes ...
Well, Criminal Minds ... you were WRONG.
Sorry, Charlie! Or whoever you pay to write your scripts. Shame on you. Shame. Shame. Shame.
If you refer to the bold area above you'll see that people "sit" (because they can do the action of sitting). Now a dead body was a person. But now, since it's dead, it's an object. It can't "sit" on it's own. So you don't "sit" the body on the ledge, you "set" it on the ledge.
Therefore, when applying this rule, just remember the difference between peoples/animals and objects. Dead people (and animals) are objects. If you want to use the would sit/sat--the person/animal MUST be able to do the action of sitting. Otherwise, it's an object. Any questions?
Oh, and if anyone is wondering which of Spike's parents was right ... it was his mother. Way to go, Mom!
~JD
12 comments:
Yeah, but even if the body was alive and kicking--if someone else did the setting, rather than the creature sitting of its own volition, it's still "set". I don't want anyone to get hung up on the "dead" part!
Sarah has a good point. Sit and set - check! Got it.
There are exceptions. I purposely use sit with objects as part of style (e.g. in a metaphor). It really depends on why you're using the word.
Thank you Grammar Police. :-)
I actually have a question: is it...?
with regards to (subject)
or
with regard to (subject)
Great point about Charlie! But I also agree with Stina...and Sarah...and Alex. Haha! Got to love the volatility of language!!
hmmm... interesting. i wonder if dad would have argued that they SAT the hamburger onto the table... i mean it once was alive. :P
I need to sit down after all this...!!
LOL!!
Awww yay my favourite grammar police officer is BACK!! Take care
x
Yay to the grammar police being back! :)
So, everyone needs to listen to Sarah waaay up there at the top! I had totally overlooked that point of the equation. As always, she has offered her insane grammar knowledge for us all. Now, go write that down. ;-)
~JD
heh heh * scratches head* trying to keep up here--reads over comments again. :D Hey you, how are you?
I always have to remind myself of this one! Glad to avoid the sheriff's grammar cuffs this time around.
Makes perfect sense to me! I recently won a book called The Wrong Word Dictionary. It's going to come in very handy when editing.
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