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Victo Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Backpay ... back-paid ... back-paying
Are backpay ... back-paid ... back-paying actual words? I hear them all the time at work, but they don't appear in the dictionary.
I back-paid him. (Hyphen is needed for the verb, no?)
He was back-paid the difference. Good?
The company will be back-paying him for the hours he wasn't paid.
How much backpay (one word???) did he receive last week?
Do you agree w/all examples above? Thanks.
I back-paid him. (Hyphen is needed for the verb, no?)
He was back-paid the difference. Good?
The company will be back-paying him for the hours he wasn't paid.
How much backpay (one word???) did he receive last week?
Do you agree w/all examples above? Thanks.
Top answer
The dictionaries do not attempt to include all verb forms of a verb, so I wouldn't expect to see all those forms anyway. However, as you have already discovered, only the noun phrase (back pay) is accepted currently. Spoken language normally precedes the written language (internet coinages nowadays excepted), so although you have heard the verb, it is still considered casual English, for which a supervisor would (or should) still write 'The company will be gving him back pay'.
- The dictionaries do not attempt to include all verb forms of a verb, so I wouldn't expect to see all those forms anyway.
- However, as you have already discovered, only the noun phrase (back pay) is accepted currently.
- Spoken language normally precedes the written language (internet coinages nowadays excepted), so although you have heard the verb, it is still considered casual English, for which a supervisor would (or should) still write 'The company will be gving him back pay'.
- Until it appears as a recognized verb in frequencies adequate to judge the trend, you are free to write back pay, back-pay or backpay.
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1 Answers
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The dictionaries do not attempt to include all verb forms of a verb, so I wouldn't expect to see all those forms anyway. However, as you have already discovered, only the noun phrase (back pay) is accepted currently. Spoken language normally precedes the written language (internet coinages nowadays excepted), so although you have heard the verb, it is still considered casual English, for which
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