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Dorothy Posted 23 years ago
Grammar
The use of the word went
For a year or so I have been hearing people on television use a very strange way of putting things that is getting on my nerves. I would like to know when this started and why. A good example of this is when they say "She went missing". It sounds so very strange. For some reason it sounds exceedingly ignorant to me. What is wrong with "She is missing". We don't really know where she went. More and more people are picking it up and using it that way.Thank you, Dorothy
Top answer
This use has been around for a long time and you will also find it in a dictionary. It means to become absent from home and impossible to find. This is mostly used with people and animals (pets).
- This use has been around for a long time and you will also find it in a dictionary.
- It means to become absent from home and impossible to find.
- This is mostly used with people and animals (pets).
- It's sometimes similar to 'disappear'.
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21 Answers
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This use has been around for a long time and you will also find it in a dictionary.
It means to become absent from home and impossible to find. This is mostly used with people and animals (pets). It's sometimes similar to 'disappear'.
It means to become absent from home and impossible to find. This is mostly used with people and animals (pets). It's sometimes similar to 'disappear'.
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I'm afraid you are wrong - this has not been being used everyday as it is now. Actually it came from people who speak Bohemian. They also refer to their hair as them instead of it."Went missing" is very bad English. Dorothy
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www.m-w.com give us this:
"go missing: chiefly British : to become lost : DISAPPEAR"
Since went is the past of go, "he went missing" appears to be accepted (at least by m-w).
"go missing: chiefly British : to become lost : DISAPPEAR"
Since went is the past of go, "he went missing" appears to be accepted (at least by m-w).
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Thanks Ryan.
Dorothy, you should remember that there are many types of English from around the world, not just what you learn in your own country. There are many times where I have learnt that there are ways of saying things that at first don't sound natural since they aren't used in my home country (New Zealand). The more you have contact with native speakers from other countries, the more
Dorothy, you should remember that there are many types of English from around the world, not just what you learn in your own country. There are many times where I have learnt that there are ways of saying things that at first don't sound natural since they aren't used in my home country (New Zealand). The more you have contact with native speakers from other countries, the more
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You can say: She went to the store. He went to the opera. But she went missing still sounds strange. Where is "missing"? Dorothy
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Where is "missing"?
Missing is a place that is not here and not known, I guess?
I would say, "She is m
Missing is a place that is not here and not known, I guess?
I would say, "She is m
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I don't know why you guys are getting all wound up about this.
The word "go" has more than 20 meanings in my dictionary, many of these relating to so-called figures of speech.
Where is missing? It's somewhere that I haven't thought to look.
Where is away? It's somewhere that I am not currently located.
We can say "go away," so why not "went missing?"
The word "go" has more than 20 meanings in my dictionary, many of these relating to so-called figures of speech.
Where is missing? It's somewhere that I haven't thought to look.
Where is away? It's somewhere that I am not currently located.
We can say "go away," so why not "went missing?"
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I wound up missing in the snow once, according to my friends. As far as I was concerned I was just lost.
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Thank you to all the people who responded to my letter about the phrase "went missing". It was all very informative. This morning I had a note on my computer that said "AOL went missing". But I was able to find it again although I don't know where it went while it was gone!! Dorothy
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