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Thursday, October 30, 2014

Update on Pleaded or Pled (10/30/14)

I previously blogged on the choice of pleaded or pled as the past tense of the verb plead.  Is it Pled or Pleaded? (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 1/18/13), here.  Today, I received a daily email from a site called Daily Writing Tips, here.  Today's serving was on "Pleaded vs. Pled."  As I noted in my earlier blog entry, I usually use pled rather than pleaded.  But the choice is a matter of debate among English aficionados and others with anal retention proclivities.  So, I thought I would provide readers some more links that address the issue.  The bottom-line, I take it, is that either usage is correct, at least in the ultimate test of the English language -- common usage and understanding.  Hey, some people insist that it is wrong to split infinitives.  See Wikipedia, here (citing as an example of the dreaded split infinitive, the following from Star Trek: "to boldly go where no man has gone before").
  • Daily Writing Tips, Pleaded v. Pled, here.
  • Staci Zaretsky, Grammar Pole of the Week: Pleaded v. Pled (Above the Law 12/16/11), here.
  • Debra Cassens Weiss, Law Prof Enters the Great Debate: Is It ‘Pleaded’ or ‘Pled’? (ABA Journal 11/22/10), here, with links in the blog entry to Eugene Volokh's discussions.
  • Natalie West, When Choosing Pleaded or Pled, Grammar Pitted Against Popular Usage (The Docket July/August 2013), here.
So, I previously pled guilty to using "pled" rather than "pleaded in my writing."  I expect to  be a repeat offender, if offense it be (can't teach an old dog new tricks).
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1 comment:

  1. GlobalCapitalismOctober 30, 2014 at 9:10 AM

    Jack you must be bored currently....with regards to your "anal retention proclivities" please keep it here PG otherwise I have to censor my kids internet privileges !!

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