A little grammar on Sunday afternoon.

Tenses

On the front page of today's The Jackson Sun, I read the following: "Since his graduation . . . in 1971, he has went to nearly every Homecoming Parade . . . ."
"Went" is the past tense of the verb "go." "Went" is not the past participle of "go." The verb "go" is inflected as follows: go > went > gone. According to lexicographer and lawyer Bryan A. Garner, "To use went as a straight-faced past participle is to engage in low DIALECT that isn't appropriate even for the sports pages . . . ." Garner, Garner's Modern American Usage, at p. 395 (2009). ("Since his graduation . . . in 1971, he has gone to nearly every homecoming parade . . . ."Or, "Since his graduation . . . in 1971, he has attended nearly every homecoming parade . . . .")

The misuse of "begs the question."

Last week, our president, during his speech at the Alfred E. Smith Dinner, said, "In less than three weeks, voters in states like Ohio and Virginia and Florida will decide this incredibly important election -- which begs the question, what are we doing here?" 
The transcript notes that laughter followed the president's statement. Was the laughter in response to the president's misuse of "begs the question"? I doubt it since so many in the media misuse it. "Begs the question" does not mean "raises the question" or "invites a follow-up question." The phrase means "to base a conclusion on an assumption that is as much in need of proof or demonstration as the conclusion itself." Garner, Garner's Modern American Usage, at p. 93 (2009). But, according to Garner, the phrase's misuse is "virtually universal but is opposed on cogent grounds by a few linguistic stalwarts . . . ."

Have a good week!