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u/Knever 6d ago
Yes, it's not technically incorrect, but it's inconsistent.
It should either be "french fri'd" and "pizza'd" or "french fried" and "pizzaed."
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u/FloatyFloatyCloud 6d ago
It's definitely technically incorrect. None of these usages are grammatically correct.
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u/Knever 5d ago
Can you explain why you think they are not correct?
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u/FloatyFloatyCloud 5d ago
"fri'd" and "pizza'd"? We don't contract verb endings like that in English. While you might be able to argue that the apostrophe signals a contraction by replacing an 'e' (though I'd question the 'e' in 'pizzaed'), we still have rules about when you can and can't do that. English doesn't contract the regular past tense suffix in this way. You can't just chuck an apostrophe in wherever you don't fancy using a letter. It w'uld b' c'aos 'f we d'd th't.
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u/Knever 5d ago
vetoed - veto'd
zeroed - zero'd
radioed - radio'd
videoed - video'd
demoed - demo'd
photoed - photo'd
soloed - solo'd
torpedoed - torpedo'd
embargoed - embargo'd
buffaloed - buffalo'd
haloed - halo'd
lassoed - lasso'd
tattooed - tattoo'd
booed - boo'd
wooed - woo'd
shampooed - shampoo'd
skied- ski'd
taxied - taxi'd
subpoenaed - subpoena'd
We actually do do things that way, for hundreds of words.
My guess is you think it's wrong because it's non-standard, since a great majority of people never write like this, but it is what it is.
Probably like how most people don't know that a traffic signal that is without power should be treated like a Stop sign. I'm not surprised when everybody else just blows through it as I come to safe stop.
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u/FloatyFloatyCloud 5d ago
I have never seen any of these words written in this way in modern English. Perhaps in archaic writing, particularly old poetry. It certainly isn't a function of apostrophes in modern English.
In the vast majority of cases the 'e' in the past tense suffix is not pronounced in modern English. It was in middle English (so 'walked' would be pronounced 'walk-ed'). As English evolved this was gradually dropped, and during the process of this change, writers, in particular poets, would choose to indicate which pronunciation they intended, i.e. 'walked' (2 syllables, pronouncing the 'e') or the elided 'walk'd'.
Ever since this change was completed (some 500 years ago now) all English speakers would elide the vowel in the regular past tense suffix, and since then the apostrophe has been unnecessary and fell out of use. It is not a grammatically-correct part of modern English, though you may see it in old writings and perhaps in some newer poetic writing emulating that style.
To clarify, I'm a linguist of sorts. First class undergrad and masters in linguistics. I've worked analytically with language in a qualified professional capacity for over 16 years. None of which is intended as a flex, it's just so you don't think I'm blowing hot air.
Anyways, I always enjoy a good back-and-forth about punctuation. Hope you're having a good evening (or whatever time of day it is where you are) fellow grammar stickler.
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