Strange format/spelling check!

[Poliwog]

Hello:

I have the following weird behavior in Word 2007. I typed the following
sentence. "Lyda dove out of the way..." Word flags 'dove' with a wavy
blue line (not red). When I right-click it, it gives me 'drove' as a
spelling option. When I choose Look Up, I get a bunch of definitions IN
ITALIAN! (Yes, 'dove' is Italian for 'where' but the original language
is correctly identified as 'English (US)'. Anyone with a guess as to
what is going on here?

Les

 

[macropod]

Hi Poliwog,

That's Word suggesting bad grammar - try "Lyda dived out of the way..."

Cheers

--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]


| Hello:
|
| I have the following weird behavior in Word 2007. I typed the following
| sentence. "Lyda dove out of the way..." Word flags 'dove' with a wavy
| blue line (not red). When I right-click it, it gives me 'drove' as a
| spelling option. When I choose Look Up, I get a bunch of definitions IN
| ITALIAN! (Yes, 'dove' is Italian for 'where' but the original language
| is correctly identified as 'English (US)'. Anyone with a guess as to
| what is going on here?
|
| Les
|

 

[Poliwog]

How dare it! 'Dove' is the simple past of 'dive'.

From the Free Online Dictionary:

Usage Note: Either dove or dived is acceptable as the past tense of
dive. Usage preferences show regional distribution, although both forms
are heard throughout the United States. According to the Dictionary of
American Regional English, in the North, dove is more prevalent; in the
South Midland, dived. Dived is actually the earlier form, and the
emergence of dove may appear anomalous in light of the general
tendencies of change in English verb forms. Old English had two classes
of verbs: strong verbs, whose past tense was indicated by a change in
their vowel (a process that survives in such present-day English verbs
as drive/drove or fling/flung); and weak verbs, whose past was formed
with a suffix related to -ed in Modern English (as in present-day
English live/lived and move/moved). Since the Old English period, many
verbs have changed from the strong pattern to the weak one; for
example, the past tense of step, formerly stop, became stepped. Over
the years, in fact, the weak pattern has become so prevalent that we
use the term regular to refer to verbs that form their past tense by
suffixation of -ed. However, there have occasionally been changes in
the other direction: the past tense of wear, now wore, was once werede,
and that of spit, now spat, was once spitede. The development of dove
is an additional example of the small group of verbs that have swum
against the historical tide.

And who, pray, can argue with THAT!

Les

 

[Poliwog]

I should also note that it similarly bluelined 'every one' (as in "God
bless us every one.") and suggested 'everyone'. Pfui!

 

[Jay Freedman]

Poliwog,

My copy of Word 2007 (the final release version) doesn't complain
about that sentence at all. Are you using a copy of the Beta release?
Maybe the issue has been fixed.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
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