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Mr. Tom Posted 8 years ago
Vocabulary

Ash and captain as verbs

Hi

Do ash and captain sound natural to you as verbs? Are these sentences OK?

  1. I can't see an ashtray. Can I ash in the saucer?
  2. He kept ashing on the floor and that irritated me a great deal.
  3. Who will captain the team?
  4. I was captaining a very lazy team at the time.

Thanks,

Tom

  

Top answer

Mr. Tom Can I ash in the saucer? Absolutely not.

— AlpheccaStars

  • Mr.
  • Tom Can I ash in the saucer?
  • Absolutely not.
  • It sounds obscene to me.
  • Mr.
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3 Answers
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Mr. TomCan I ash in the saucer?

Absolutely not. It sounds obscene to me.

Mr. TomWho will captain the team?

Unusual, but understandable.

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As far as proper English rules are concerned, no, these are not verbs. But in everyday usage they very much are similar to how people say to "Google" something. Google is not a verb but we all know what they mean. "Ashing" a cigarette is a very common way to refer to that action. I think your examples for "ash" feel a little off because "ash" on it's own is not used often without context. Like

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Mr. TomWho will captain the team?I was captaining a very lazy team at the time.

These seem fine, informally. I've heard captain used this way in sport news on TV and radio.

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