Comments on: Here we grow again

By: Aravinda

Aravinda — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:13:22 +0000

It indeed odd that we all dislike Bill Clinton’s usage of the transitive grow, even though we all depend on the farmers who grow millet, rice, wheat and so many other things we eat as we uphold the integrity of our beloved language. Maybe we are offended because the farmers who are really growing things are being sidelined as the economists, whose stuff is fluff are bagging prizes for spinning policies putting the farmers out of house and home, driven to starvation and suicide.

Unfortunately Bill is at least as notorious for this line as Ronald is for “Mistakes were made,” an example I routinely use in communications class exhorting my students against passive. Of course most of them are going to use it anyway because hell if they are going to say whodunit — but maybe their alarms will get activated when someone tries to run a passive by them.

Or insinuate that they can grow the economy. While keeping their shoes shiny.

By: Dr. Fred Lieberman

Dr. Fred Lieberman — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:03:24 +0000

The first time I heard the verb ” to grow” being used as a transitive for such concepts as the economy, businesses, etc., was by Bill Clinton. I considered it very low class, especially from someone who was well educated and seemed to otherwise speak the English language well. I don’t know where he picked up his use of the word, but since then it has received traction. When I hear it over the airways, or read it in periodicals, I too “hate” its—-what I consider—misuse.
Would you please consider writing an Op-Ed to the LA Times, expressing our, and others’, mutual hatred of the misuse of the verb, so it can eventually be expunged from our vocabulary by means of a backlash?

Sincerely yours,

Fred Lieberman, M.D.

By: Bill Brohaugh

Bill Brohaugh — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:28:36 +0000

Agreed, goofy, though the inspiration for the post was indeed a specific “I hate it profoundly when ‘grow’ is used as a transitive verb!” with less nuance and more exclamation points than your points.

By: goofy

goofy — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:53:19 +0000

It’s not the transitive use that people complain about. No one minds “I grow plants.” “I grew the business” means “I caused the business to grow”, but “I grew plants” doesn’t exactly mean “I caused the plants to grow” – it means “I cultivated plants.” The disputed usage is a inchoative/causative alternation, where “grow” is being used causatively, like “melt”, “open”, “close”, or “pour”.

The business grew.
I grew the business.

The ice melted.
The sun melted the ice.

The door closed.
I closed the door.

The beer poured.
I poured the beer.

By: Bill Brohaugh

Bill Brohaugh — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:29:20 +0000

You’re growing my ego, Hanasu . . .

Thanks for the kind words—and I’ll be blabbing about such things for a while, because the topic fascinates me so.

By: Hanasu

Hanasu — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 22:05:48 +0000

Thank you. Please keep writing about all these kinds of interesting things… please!