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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Underage vs underaged

Could someone tell me which one is right?

My underage friends went drinking.
My underaged friends went drinking.

I know that underaged shows up as a spelling error in MS Word, but when I look on some sites on the Internet, it says that underaged is a valid word.

Could someone tell me which sentence would be correct and why?

Thank you
  

Top answer

Underage and underaged are both correct according to American Heritage Dictionary, but tho most common one is underage . However, most dictionaries don't cover underaged :

— Persian Learner

  • Underage and underaged are both correct according to American Heritage Dictionary, but tho most common one is underage .
  • However, most dictionaries don't cover underaged :
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8 Answers
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Underage and underaged are both correct according to American Heritage Dictionary, but tho most common one is underage.
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AnonymousCould someone tell me which one is right?
They are both right, but 'underage' has greatly overtaken 'underaged' in terms of frequency of use. See the Google Ngram at the link below.

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Thank you for the responses.

Am I correct in saying it would be safe to write "my underage friends went drinking"? It just looks odd, but if it is right, I'll go with it.

Thank you
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AnonymousAm I correct in saying it would be safe to write "my underage friends went drinking"?
Yes. It is preferable to 'underaged'.

CJ
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Just one last question. I'm not sure if I am able to post links, but on Yahoo Answers, it says the difference between underage and underaged is as follows:

"Underage" is an adverb, as in "underage drinking". "Underaged" is an adjective, as in "underaged drinker". Similar to "batting left-hand" vs "left-handed batter".

Other than on Yahoo, I haven't seen this mentioned any
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AnonymousI'm just wondering if you have seen something making a reference to one being an adverb and the other an adjective?
I have not.
Anonymous I'm not sure if I am able to post links
You can do that.
AnonymousYahoo Answers
Everybody and his brother posts opinions there. It's not my go
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  1. Her underaged son is having ***
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My underaged friends went drinking.

Because it makes more sense with the ed knowing that it was past tense

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