Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: see / saw / seen.

see / saw / seen. So inflected. Using the past tense for the past participle, and vice versa, is typical of dialect. Usually these errors occur only in reported speech — e.g.: o “‘If I was [read ‘had been’] here on time, I would have saw [read ‘seen’] what happened and the guy or gal who did this would be caught.'” Giovanna Fabiano, “Vehicle Hits, Kills Woman in Raritan,” Courier-News (Bridgewater, N.J.), 7 Sept. 2002, at A2 (quoting Louie Dellatorca). o “He said, ‘I seen [read ‘saw’] when you got that [interception], but you almost got it slapped away.'” Steve Ellis, “A Son Never Forgets,” Tallahassee Democrat, 21 Sept. 2002, at 1 (quoting Alonzo Jackson). Language-Change Index — “seen” as a simple past for “saw”: Stage 1. ——————– Quotation of the Day: “Irony deals with opposites; it has nothing to do with coincidence. . . . If a diabetic, on his way to buy insulin, is killed by a runaway truck, he is the victim of an accident. If the truck was delivering sugar, he is the victim of an oddly poetic coincidence. But if the truck was delivering insulin, ah! There he is the victim of irony.” George Carlin, Brain Droppings 115-16 (1997). – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
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