Part of my point is that the difference between "fast" and "quickly"
in the initial sentence doesn't turn on part of speech, but on lexical
choice;
I completely agree. When I first posted it, I didn't give it a lot of
thought; it wasn't the main point, and I did add a smiley; it was just
something that seemed correct to me.
Both you and Suzanne are better linguists than I, and I wouldn't argue
(much) in my own defence, but, having slept on it, I think the difference
between "fast" and "quickly" is related to whether one is describing a
completed action, similar to the difference between the imperfect and
perfect tenses.
part of my point is to show how a tiny linguistics experiment
can help clear up the question about the initial sentence by looking
at the data from a different angle.
I agree completely here too! I am reminded of Enoch Powell, an English
politician of thirty or so years ago, who, when asked about his precise
speech, replied that he translated everything into latin before saying it,
and if it wouldn't translate, it must be wrong. I don't think I would dream
of doing anything like that, even if I could, but it would certainly be a
way of looking from a different angle.
--
Enjoy,
Tony
www.WordArticles.com
"grammatim" wrote in message
...
Part of my point is that the difference between "fast" and "quickly"
in the initial sentence doesn't turn on part of speech, but on lexical
choice; part of my point is to show how a tiny linguistics experiment
can help clear up the question about the initial sentence by looking
at the data from a different angle.
On Feb 15, 5:57 pm, "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com
wrote:
As Suzanne says, these are adjectives, but there is still a difference; in
isolation, I prefer the first, although either could be acceptable,
dependent upon the wider context.
I might need to sleep on it before expressing a cogent defence, though :-)
--
Enjoy,
Tony
www.WordArticles.com
"grammatim" wrote in message
...
Which of these does either of you prefer:
"Who was faster, Bannister or Coe?"
"Who was quicker, Bannister or Coe?"
(You don't need to be able to say _why_ you prefer one or the other,
only that one of them "feels" better than the other -- or not.)
On Feb 15, 4:03 pm, "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote:
Okay, I will accept that you are making a distinction of usage rather
than
grammar, and I'll bow to that since context certainly does determine the
suitability of given words.
--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USAhttp://word.mvps.org
"Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote in
l...
I never suggested it wasn't - or couldn't be - an adverb; I merely
think
it's the wrong adverb in context.
I do not like, and would not normally use, "he ran fast", whatever the
OED
says. I might use "... need to drive so fast". The difference is so
subtle
that it seems only I can see it g.
I must, of course, bow to the OED, and accept it as being correct.
--
Enjoy,
Tony-