Thanks for the Questions (Vol. 1)

A couple of really good questions were asked on Mr. K's Grammar World page on Facebook, and the explanations could get lengthy, so today I will begin a new series to answer specific grammatical questions. I will put two or three explanations on each page, depending on how lengthy they get. Here goes.

From Grammar Pupil: "Is it okay to say 'they got panicked' instead of 'they panicked.' If so, what's the difference between them?"

To understand this, you need to back up a few steps. I will give a short explanation of ~ed/~ing adjectives here, but if you would like more, let me know and I will post a separate entry later.

There is a group of adjectives that I call ~ed/~ing adjectives. Usually these are emotions that come from verbs, like:

• excited/exciting (excite)
• confused/confusing (confuse)
• bored/boring (bore)

The original verb is a non-action verb and can be used in several patterns.

• The directions are confusing. (~ing adjective)
• I am really confused by the directions. (~ed adjective)
• The directions confuse me. (verb)

When you are talking about a change in your mental state, or a change in feeling, you can change the "be" verb to get or become, so it is correct to say "I am getting confused." If you want to include both the thing that is causing the confusion (the directions) and the person who is feeling confused (me), then using the verb form in an SVO clause is probably the best choice. "The directions confused me."

However, does panic fit in with this group? To me, the answer is "No. Not really." While the verbs mentioned above are non-action verbs, panic is more of an action verb. To panic means not only to feel fear, but also to react to that fear by running away or behaving in an irrational way. Also, when I double-checked this in a dictionary, there was no mention of panicked or panicking as adjectives. (Confused, however, was listed as an adjective.)

Therefore, I would say the statement "They got panicked" is not standard for formal English. However, in informal English, it makes sense to me, it fits logically with other emotions and I would say it's ok in limited, conversational situations. For formal, academic situations, though, I would definitely go with "They panicked," using panic as a verb.

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From Ang Kok Weng: "Which of these sentences is* correct?

1. I have never taken care of my mother since 2009.
2. I never took care of my mother since 2009.
3. I have never been taking care of my mother since 2009."

In this sentence, there are two things that determine how to make this statement grammatically correct. The first one is the tense marker** since. Whenever you use the word since, which is both a preposition and a conjunction, to mean how long, you MUST use the present perfect tense (have done). There is no other alternative in English.

Second, the use of never is not appropriate because it implies that the writer has not taken care of his mother even once in his entire life. That just makes him a bad son, which I assume is not true. (Also, you wouldn't include the length of time, since never means in your entire life.) The correct choice of negative word in this case is not. Put these two together and the best way to explain this situation is:

• I haven't been taking care of my mother since 2009.

There are a couple of other things that I would suggest as an editor. Whether the writer decides to make the changes is purely optional depending on the situation and what he is trying to communicate.

1. I'm assuming that this is referring to the care of an elderly parent. If so, it might be appropriate to add the helping verb have to. This might sound a little harsh, as if the writer resents this duty. He may not want to be this strong. If so, then the original is best.

2. In the negative form, it is also correct to use the present perfect "I haven't taken care of..." This is simpler than the continuous form, which the writer used, and because the action is finished, it is no longer continuing. (If this were an affirmative statement, as in "I have been taking care of my mother...", then the continuous form is the best choice because the action is still continuing.)

3. Finally, from this information, I assume that the writer had been taking care of his mother before 2009 and for some reason, the situation changed. Therefore, I would like to know why. Is your mother now healthy enough to take care of herself again? Is your mother now living with one of your brothers or sisters? If the former is correct, then haven't had to is definitely the best choice. If the latter is true, then change the subject and make it an affirmative sentence. Here are my suggestions.

• I haven't had to take care of my mother since 2009 (because she is feeling much better.)
• My sister has been taking care of my mother since 2009 (because her youngest child is now in school and she has more free time).

Ultimately, the writer must decide which of these suggestions is best for what he is trying to express.

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*A tense marker is what I call the word (usually an adverb) in the sentence that determines what verb tense to use. Usually means you must use the simple present, right now indicates the present continuous and since requires the present perfect.