easyasabc wrote:I'm not a grammar cop or anything and I'm not at all picky. Especially on forums, we can't expect some kind of Shakespearean effort. However, I have noticed that some of the most educated and well-spoken people will misuse "hang" and "hung."
E.g., "That convicted criminal should be hung." He should say the criminal should be hanged.
While some dialects lean towards your preference, Eaabc, there is nothing at all in language that requires the use of 'hanged' for executions.
Language isn't decided by people making prescriptions. Language is decided by people who use language.
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"Hang tends to be regular in the execution/suicide sense; hung is certainly found in this sense (eg. hung in effigy), but is condemned in some usage manuals." [The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language]
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M-W
Main Entry Hang
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usage For both transitive and intransitive senses 1b the past and past participle hung, as well as hanged, is standard. Hanged is most appropriate for official executions <he was to be hanged, cut down whilst still alive ... and his bowels torn out -- Louis Allen> but hung is also used <gave orders that she should be hung -- Peter Quennell>. Hung is more appropriate for less formal hangings <by morning I'll be hung in effigy -- Ronald Reagan>.
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