• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    45 days ago

    It reads like written by AI: some standard keywords, key phrases, an overall sentiment, and a few out-of-style words that sneaked in.

    • Pete Hahnloser
      link
      fedilink
      English
      45 days ago

      It’s weird to me that at some point since elementary school, “sneak” became a weak verb. We used “snuck” in such a case. “Snook” was also an option in other cases, but now it’s “all sneaked, all the time.”

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        35 days ago

        Hm, good point. I generally go on feeling, from an English as an Nth Language point of view… and my subjective feeling is that “snuck” has more of a “participle” meaning, while “sneaked” has more of a “past tense” meaning.

        According to AI Overview, there might also be some EN-US vs EN-GB at play:

        “Snuck” is an irregular past tense: It’s an alternative form that has gained widespread acceptance, especially in North American English.

        “Snuck” is sometimes considered nonstandard in British English: While it’s increasingly common in British English, it’s still often seen as nonstandard in formal writing.

        That would match the Wiktionary entry: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/sneaked

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          34 days ago

          I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS EARLIER.

          Specifically, (as a native English speaker) my gut is to do the same thing (participle vs. past-simple) with irregular verbs such as this (others being dealt, learnt, spelt, etc.).

          I couldn’t sworn I read something about that usage when I was a teenager but everything I look up regarding them, now, chalks them up to being just an EN-US and EN-GB difference but, otherwise, entirely equivalent.

          • Pete Hahnloser
            link
            fedilink
            24 days ago

            I have a strange idiolect. “Dealt” seems correct, but “learnt” and “spelt” do not. Neither would lead me to raise an eyebrow; I’d assume I’m interacting with a user of British English.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              12 days ago

              To be fair (according to everything I’ve been able to find), you ought to be as, apparently, they’re more favored, over there. I dunno; I do suspect I picked it up from reading and The Wind in the Willows and The Once and Future King were favorites of mine, in childhood, so maybe that’s it.