the difference between finished And complete unclear to many people. These two words are used interchangeably by a large portion of the English-speaking population, often following the word Iand used to indicate that the speaker has completed some task, episode or other thing. There’s a very good chance that some of you reading this may have gone through their lives thus far without hearing that either of these words could be problematic. And then there’s the rest of us, who’ve finished their dinner, slouched, and refuse help a second time by saying “I’m done,” only to be told curtly. “Everybody is done; cake/meat/baking/dinner is done.”
Although some individuals object to using ‘done’ to mean ‘complete’, some manuals agree with them.
Old Rule for “Done” and “Done”
We are not entirely sure about the ban finished means complete come from. The Merriam-Webster dictionary of English usage Note that finished has been used as an adjective, in the sense of “complete”, since at least the 14th century. There is a more recent usage (this is a made meaning, rather than older made senses), seems to be something that people don’t really care about, and this one dates back to the second half of the 19th century.
The earliest warnings we’ve seen against use finished to complete at HN MacCracken and Helen Sandison’s Handbook to learn English well since 1917. Most manuals of the 20th and 21st centuries make no notes on this matter. Theodore Bernstein, the author of several guides to languages in the mid-20th century, included an entry warning the reader to distinguish between them, although he later changed his mind about this. Bernstein may also be responsible for the culinary side of “everyone is done; the food is done” dicta.
from [done] should not be used well written to mean complete or complete. It’s true to say “baking is done,” but this doesn’t mean it’s done; it means the roast is cooked enough. —Theodore Bernstein, Careful writer1965
The “finished food” line was a very successful one and still appears occasionally to this day.
When you’re done eating, please don’t say you’re done. Everyone is “done”. The cake is “done”. —Lydia Ramsey, Dottie Walters, How to sell: Add polish to make a profit2008
It should be noted that there is very little contemporary guidance on how to use English, if any, assuming that people cannot finished; This ban, when found in print, tends to come from instructions on how to behave or written instructions published online by an individual.
One of the problematic aspects of using English is that we’ve accumulated so many rules, rigors, and prohibitions over the centuries that there’s really no way that anyone can speak. more than a sentence or two without saying something offensive to the other person. . For example, have you ever used the word dilapidated? If so, did you use it to refer to something made of stone? Because otherwise you are using this word, according to some old time manual, by mistake, like dilapidated comes in part from the Latin word lapis lazulimeans “stone,” and so should not refer to a wooden house.
“Rules” against the use of finished relating to a person is not so archaic and outdated as advice one should only use dilapidated to refer to things made of stone, but it’s still not based on any logical grammar rules. You don’t need to worry about using finishedbut if you find that using it now makes you uncomfortable, but don’t mind the sound of completeSome manuals recommend using because instead of.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
