Ask Question. Asked 10 years, 6 months ago. Active 6 years ago. Viewed 20k times. Improve this question. JoAnn JoAnn 31 1 1 gold badge 1 1 silver badge 2 2 bronze badges. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. One meaning of the word ' go ' of which 'went' is the past tense is: to pass into a specified state Thus, it acts similarly to the word ' become ' and in that case, works perfectly well in the example cited in the question.
He went missing. Nevertheless, since many Americans object so strongly to the expression. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! I suspect went missing shares a history with other awkward phrases. Come daylight comes to mind. Some phrases seem to imply a different expression of actor and time than is common in plain English.
Having said that, it had never struck me as odd till I read this entry. Now I fear it will jar with me forever…. Why would someone ask if someone is postal? This is simply a discussion. It sounds odd, because, if you have a memory like mine, it IS odd. Being from England has nothing to do with it. Not everyone is so keen on things. I am not an expert, just an average person, so I can only imagine the cringing that goes on with the literati. I know it is grammatically correct, but I find it grating.
Perhaps because it is now overused. I think People use it because it is trendy and they seem to project some superiority with their new phrase. Do you have a question?
Submit your question here. Yes No. All Rights Reserved. Posted by swardie Filed in Expression 30 comments Share on Facebook. Share on Twitter. Email will not be published. Please enter your comment here. Comments Sort by Oldest Latest Rating. Is it any worse than "go crazy", "go awry", "go nuts", or "go gaga over"? It turns out that Grammar Girl listed "went missing" as her pet peeve for " The OED has, under "go": John4 Jan 5 votes Permalink Report Abuse.
Jill1 Apr 35 votes Permalink Report Abuse. Consider the following: - I go to the market on Mondays. I would imagine the same applies to the compound verb: - Don't talk to strangers or you could go missing. Leslie2 Apr 7 votes Permalink Report Abuse.
Jimmy2 Nov 34 votes Permalink Report Abuse. It truly sounds terrible and should not be used in the english language. Nancy1 Nov 45 votes Permalink Report Abuse.
Jasper Jun 0 vote Permalink Report Abuse. It appears the authoritative declaration of correct grammar went missing. DesertRat71, I honestly don't see any problem with wikitionary in this case, and it usually has usage notes on words or phrases that are or are seen as ungrammatical. Here are some 19th century examples: "That was the letter that went missing? It is perhaps worth quoting the famous William Safire, writing in his 'On Language' column in the New York Times in "Why has the construction lasted so long and now blossomed?
So 'missing' in this expression is ana adjective in predicative positions and go' is indeed acting as a linking or copular verb here, functioning grammatically like 'be': She is missing. She went missing two weeks ago. She has gone missing. Here 'go' has more of the meaning of 'become', another linking verb, as in the expressions porsche and I have already pointed out, as well as one or two others: She is crazy about him.
She has gone crazy. It's very dark. It suddenly went dark. His hair has gone grey. This milk is sour. This milk has gone sour. The children are really excited. The children went wild with excitement. This is all wrong. For newspaper reporters especially, go missing is a handy hedge that communicates that the full details of someone or something's disappearance are unknown. Should you avoid go missing?
No, unless you write for a newspaper and you know your editor isn't fond of the phrase. It is completely idiomatic in American and British English. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Are 'gone missing' and 'went missing' proper English?
More Words At Play. Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week - Oct. Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week - Nov.
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