This is one I used to struggle with regularly in my day-to-day work, until I got used to it.
Someone pled guilty or pleaded guilty?
The rule for us in journalism is pleaded. The lawyers like pled.
I imagine this goes back to the good ole English court terminology somewhere in history.
In any case … I like pled. It sounds more natural.
You don’t say you “saided” something.
interesting. i would say it has to do with tense.
someone else has written about this:
http://www.cjr.org/resources/lc/pleadguilty.php
The defense attorney saided, “He pleaded guilty to being bleeded all over after he shotted the plaintiff.”
I thought it was spelt plead, or is that more for
“do you plead guilty, sir?”
Just a thought!
Jasmine x
leslie, that’s a good way of putting it, having shotted the plaintiff he was indeed bleeded all over.
jasmine, you could be right; maybe that’s how it should be. after all, uo didn’t red this but you read it.
the legal community actually uses the word “pled” in its vernacular to replace “pleaded.” the english language is weird … and then weirder when different groups using the language for specialized purposes get involved.
I grew up hearing pled but then in the 90’s all the dumb arse journalists changed it by starting to use pleaded. But you can’t change just one word, it’s a whole family of irregular verbs ending in –ed sound. I don’t care which you use but dagnit, be consistent! Is it:
Plead: Pleaded vs. Pled
Read: Readed vs. Read (pronounced red)
Speed: Speeded vs. Sped
Bleed: Bleeded vs. Bled
Need: Needed vs. Ned
Thanks for listening.
-Engineer type.
Consistently irregular usage:
Yesterday morning while I sped read the journal I cut myself and bled on my shirt. I pled with my wife that I ned a bandaid but she sped to work instead.
vs. ‘regularized’ usage.
Yesterday morning while I speeded readed the journal I cut myself and bleeded on my shirt. I pleaded with my wife that I needed a bandaid but she speeded to work instead.
vs. inconsistently irregular usage.
Yesterday morning while I sped read the journal I cut myself and bled on my shirt. I pleaded with my wife that I needed a bandaid but she sped to work instead.
Vote now!
great work, jim.
i guess we’re just stuck with it by now, though … just like everything else in this confusing english language. it’s like we need an english-equivalent metric revolution.
e
I mean, is it any wonder so many kids go bi-polar after 12 or 18 years of English grammar class.
“Mom, my teacher says the past tense of speed is sped but need is needed. It makes me so depressed I’m going to stay home and eat bonbons in my sweats today.”
“Dad, their and there are pronounced the same so if spelling doesn’t affect pronunciation I’m going start cross dressing from now on. It makes no difference right?”
Jeez.
the sooner we all accept that language is fluid and morphing and lose the traditionalist approach, the better. in all the examples given by jim, the meaning was there, the context making it clear. as long as the meaning is not lost, there’s no problem. right?
I know your right Dan!
I’m using ned instead of needed from now on.
absolutely write, jim.
we all nedded to stop being anal about this fluidity of language. it’s anal fluidity we should be worried about; well, that and swine flu.
behold the future of TXT. U C L8R, MK MY WDS.
I kind of like “saided”. If you don’t mind, I start using it!
folks here are mix and double tensing words. ‘Said’ is already past tense (of say). Adding a -ed would be like saying raned is the past tense for run.
Speedread is one word. As such, you can’t break it into two and make both halves past tense. The past tense of speedread is speedread (pronounced as -red at the end).
With regards to pleaded vs. pled, they are both correct. The main distinction between them is that pleaded is what journalist seem to have adopted (this is they way you’ll see it written or hear it said on tv/radio) pleaded. Lawyers on the other hand use the word pled.
So, a lawyer may hold a press conference and announce that his client pled not guilty and the next morning the papers will say that he pleaded not guilty.
I suppose I like it better with certain constructions…
1. My client pleaded with her not to take the kids.
2. My client pled with her not to take the kids.
I like the first better in that case…
1. My client pled guilty last night.
2. My client pleaded guilty last night.
I like the second construction there.
Maybe it is the context, getting a headache pondering over it.
i like pled for legal pleas … pleaded for your everyday plea for mercy. those are a normal occurrence for me these days.