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Usenet Posted 20 years ago
Usage

Dive v. Dove

I am having a rather heated debate over the past tense of dive. I recall having a HS English teacher insist on DIVE rather than DOVE.

Online references tend towards DOVE as an acceptable form. I'm really not a Queen's English linguist and although it may sound awkward at times I rather prefer DIVED over the accepted colloquial usage, DOVE. Whenever I hear DOVE, I cringe. I'm not a snob but it just sounds so rural!

Would anybody be sufficiently kind to provide an explanation of the usage?

The OED seems to be the definitive reference however it seems the editors at OED acquiesce towards common usage rather than what is proper and historically correct.
Thank you.
-G.W.
  

Top answer

[nq:1]I am having a rather heated debate over the past tense of dive. [/nq] You mean "dived," of course. As for the English teacher, almost nothing an English teacher does surprises me.

  • [nq:1]I am having a rather heated debate over the past tense of dive.
  • [/nq] You mean "dived," of course.
  • As for the English teacher, almost nothing an English teacher does surprises me.
  • [nq:1]Online references tend towards DOVE as an acceptable form.
  • I'm really not a Queen's English linguist and although it may ...
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8 Answers
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[nq:1]I am having a rather heated debate over the past tense of dive. I recall having a HS English teacher insist on DIVE rather than DOVE.[/nq]
You mean "dived," of course. As for the English teacher, almost nothing an English teacher does surprises me.
[nq:1]Online references tend towards DOVE as an acceptable form. I'm really not a Queen's English linguist and although it may ... accept
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[nq:1]Try to follow this thread for a while; you're likely to see some interesting comments from others.[/nq]
There's not really a lot to add. The "dove" form of "dive" is an unusual beast, being a relatively late addition to the class of "strong" verbs in English, a group that is shrinking in size overall; it was apparently formed by analogy with other strong verbs. Wikipedia has several inte
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I prefer dovem maybe it's a dive/dove, drive/drove. I never drived to the store.,I drove to the store.
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[nq:1]Merriam-Webster has done a pretty good job: "Dive, which was originally a weak verb, developed a past tense dove, probably ... English. Dove seems relatively rare as a past participle in writing." You can find this at ; search for "dive."[/nq]
So, have you diven off the high board yet?
Bill
Reverse halves of the user name for my e-address
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[nq:1]Your punctuation needs a bit of work. (Sorry, but this is an English usage group.)[/nq]
Usage, not punctuation!! Sorry 'bout the missed comma, ;>)
[nq:1](Check out some of my posted comments on "as such" over the years.)[/nq]
So what about "as per?" As in, "As per the previous memo, you will be at work on time." I believe it's simply "per."
[nq:1]As for the OED, its goal a
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[nq:1][/nq]
[nq:2]Your punctuation needs a bit of work. (Sorry, but this is an English usage group.)[/nq]
[nq:1]Usage, not punctuation!! Sorry 'bout the missed comma, ;>)[/nq]
There's either more or less to this than meets the eye.

What we began with was "The OED seems to be the definitive reference however it seems ..." The traditional punctuation around this sort of "howe
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Right now, however, the usage is in
[nq:1]transition, so I'm still entitled to object to it and hope it becomes set in concrete.[/nq]
Nothing like careful editing, folks. That was supposed to be revised to "doesn't become."
Maybe next time.

Bob Lieblich
World's Greatest Proofreader NOT
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DollarBill ha escrito:
[nq:1]I am having a rather heated debate over the past tense of dive. I recall having a HS English teacher ... seems the editors at OED acquiesce towards common usage rather than what is proper and historically correct. Thank you. -G.W.[/nq]
Dive / dived / dived or dive / dove / dived. Nearly 50 years ago, I was told not to use "dove," that "dived" was correct. Not t

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