ellenkushner: (Default)
[personal profile] ellenkushner
What is with this forbade from? Isn't it forbade to?

I hear/see it all the time now - on NPR, in a recent (excellent) story in the NYTimes, even on Neil Gaiman's blog! It's (mis?)used most often in the past tense: "They forbade them from landing on the beach." Isn't it "They they forbade them to land..."? Move it to the imperative and it becomes clearer: surely it's "I forbid you to open that door!" - not "I forbid you from opening that door!"

Is this a language elision, a regionalism, or what?

Date: 2008-04-10 04:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] snakey.livejournal.com
My understanding is that the use of possessives with gerunds depends on exactly what you're trying to communicate (http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/gerunds.htm#possessive)....

October 2014

S M T W T F S
   1234
567891011
121314151617 18
19202122232425
262728293031 

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Aug. 1st, 2025 02:48 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios