Is "forbade" forbidden?

August 19, 2016, 08:11

In an on-line Portland Oregonian article I found this: "They had been born in a Portland that forbid them from living south of East Burnside..."

The writer twice used "forbid" as if it were the past, not the present tense. Is this part of the "new normal?"

August 19, 2016, 15:55

goofy

I don't know how old it is. But the past tense of "bid" is "bid" so "forbid" as a past tense is not a surprising trend.

August 19, 2016, 17:58

BobHale

I have heard both "forbid" and "forbade" fairly commonly but, to my ear, "forbade" now has a slightly old-fashioned ring to it.

August 19, 2016, 21:02

tinman

I learned forbade, pronounced "fər-băd," as the past tense. I don't remember when was the last time I heard anyone say it, though I've seen it in print a few times.

Here's what one guy says:

quote:

For good and forbade
By Doug Smith

I would have bet a quarter that the proper past tense of forbid was forbade, and I would have lost. The Random House Unabridged says that forbid, forbade and forbad are all acceptable. I yield to RH in these matters.

Bryan A. Garner doesn't, however. Garner's Modern American Usage says, "The past tense is forbade (rhyming with glad). ... Forbid is sometimes wrongly used as a past-tense form. ... Some writers – no doubt those who pronounce forbade correctly — use the variant spelling forbad. Avoid it." If you're wondering about the correct preposition to go with all these forms of forbid, Random House is silent. Even the dauntless Garner hedges, saying that both to and from "appear frequently."

August 19, 2016, 21:14

Kalleh

I'd probably use "forbade" in writing, but not in speech. However, "forbid" doesn't sound right to me either. I'd probably say it in a different way.