NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/alt/usage/english/10917

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-22 | 1.6 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Alien)
Newsgroups: alt.usage.english
Subject: Re: verb + "er" vs. verb + "or"
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Date: 21 Jan 93 23:01:29 GMT
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Re the -or, -er ,or -ar endings: -or is obviously applicable to Latin-based
words whether from back-formation or not; -er is from Anglo-Saxon words, is
still the rule in German for all male do-ers; am I right in thinking that
-ar comes from French-based words?
  Someone mentioned that lowly occupations take the -er ending e.g 'carpenter'
  and prestigious ones take the -or ( whilst beggar and scholar seem to
  indicate that there is no such rule-of-thumb for the -ar ending). Anyway
  this is right and is so for historical reasons i.e the educated classes
  had the posh jobs and knew Latin whereas the poor grunts spoke good olde
  Englishe.
 However, the 'rule' is far from being comprehensive and yet many of us
 still have *no* difficulty choosing which to use! Does this mean we have
 incredible memories or is there a rule if we could think of it? Saying
 one has a 'feel' for it is not good enough.

 P.S "Feel badly"? I've heard "feel poorly" before but feel badly sounds
 all wrong to me -even though they appear to be grammatically identical.

 P.P.S In German there is not such a hard distinction between adverb and
 adjective...


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