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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Is it or is it not a given?
I have come across politicians and journalists using the phrase " it is not a given." or "it is a given."
This usage seems pretty unusual as the reader is expecting something to come after the word "given".
Is it acceptable for a past participle to be used as a noun?? It appears that "it is not a given" means "not to take something for granted" and "it is a given" means "something is obvious and occurs by default".
Can someone clarify this? It gets on my nerves whenever I come across such terms of usage.
This usage seems pretty unusual as the reader is expecting something to come after the word "given".
Is it acceptable for a past participle to be used as a noun?? It appears that "it is not a given" means "not to take something for granted" and "it is a given" means "something is obvious and occurs by default".
Can someone clarify this? It gets on my nerves whenever I come across such terms of usage.
Top answer
Anonymous Is it acceptable for a past participle to be used as a noun?? Anything may become acceptable after it has been used long enough by enough people. Modern English is vastly different from the English of the 9th century.
- Anonymous Is it acceptable for a past participle to be used as a noun??
- Anything may become acceptable after it has been used long enough by enough people.
- Modern English is vastly different from the English of the 9th century.
- Strictly speaking, nearly everything we say and write is unacceptable compared with what was correct in those days.
- CB
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5 Answers
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AnonymousIs it acceptable for a past participle to be used as a noun??Anything may become acceptable after it has been used long enough by enough people. Modern English is vastly different from the English of the 9th century. Strictly speaking, nearly everything we say and write is unacceptable compared with what was correct in those days.
CB
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Hi,
From the Macmillan Dictionary:
given noun [countable] a basic fact that you acceppt as the truth
It is a given that most animals will protect their young
take something as a given [phrase ] to accept that something is true and not expect it to change
We've taken it as a given that our memb
From the Macmillan Dictionary:
given noun [countable] a basic fact that you acceppt as the truth
It is a given that most animals will protect their young
take something as a given [phrase ] to accept that something is true and not expect it to change
We've taken it as a given that our memb
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That's the beauty of English: it is so flexible.
"It's a given that older people still read print newspapers." That is surely better than "It is obvious that older people still read print newspapers, something that they do by default."
"It's a given that older people still read print newspapers." That is surely better than "It is obvious that older people still read print newspapers, something that they do by default."
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anonymousIs it acceptable for a past participle to be used as a noun?
Yes.
the hunted, the chosen, the accused, the condemned, the lost
CJ
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