Discussion Forum (Archived)
Guest
I usually try to answer "simple" question like this for myself, or with the assistance of online dictionaries. But I came up blank on this one. Found a few discussions on other language forums, but no real consensus. The question came up because of a large storm moving through Arizona today.
I hear thunder.
And so I say: It is thundering outside.
I also see lightning. So what's the verb form for that? It is (what?) outside.
I've always used lightning as both a noun and verb. Kinda like building and painting serve as both. But the dictionaries I checked listed lightning as an intransitive verb, and doesn't the "It" qualify as the object the verb references?
To say "It is lightninging outside." just sounds wrong. Am I rightning?
In my 15 minutes of research I have found disagreement but I see near consensus that lightning is not a verb. To express the action of lightning we should say, "lightning flashed." The best argument otherwise is the extremely common expression, "It is thundering and lightning." This all probably is no help, but I believe lightning should not be used as a verb. My opinion.
I mentioned this discussion to my wife and she said it is like "ceiling." If you install a floor you can say you are "flooring" the room, but if you install a ceiling you do not say your are "ceiling" the room, or even "ceilinging" the room. I think this compares directly to thunder and lightning. One can be made into a verb while the other can not. And just because people misuse the word (myself included) that doesn"t make it right.
Dick said:
And just because people misuse the word (myself included) that doesn"t make it right.
I agree that lightning is not currently a proper verb in English. But its use can be considered a form of wordplay. If everyone understands precisely what you mean, there is nothing wrong with using wordplay in informal settings.
It is precisely when people agree to a new word or new use that many of our words and grammar in English have come to us. So I think that the history of English would argue strongly that use can, in fact, make it right.
Perhaps people are reacting to the "-inging" of the participle. That ending gives it a playful sound. But there are plenty of legitimate words like it at which nobody balks: singing, bringing, clinging, etc. Even polysyllabic ones: upbringing, hamstringing, mudslinging.
Finally, consider these:
It is beginning to thunder and lightning.
It is beginning to lightning and thunder.
It thundered and lightninged all last night.
MS Word has a problem only with the third, the inflected one of these. But MS Word is hardly an authority I respect. If any of these sound good to most, then maybe lightning as a verb is on its way to becoming legitimate, just like flooring. Time will tell.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
1 Guest(s)