Ask Dr. Dumb: Why Do Some People Say 'I Have Ran'?
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Folks, it pains me to admit this. But it appears that I am not entirely as powerful and influential as I once imagined.
I say this after realizing that people are still saying and writing “I have ran,” more than nine years after I explained, in this RunnersWorld.com article, that “I have ran” is blindingly, stupendously incorrect and that it DOESN’T EVEN SOUND RIGHT, SO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP USING IT.
This mis-use was, and is, epidemic. In that article, I wrote:
How widespread is this scourge? According to the World Grammar Council, a watchdog group based in Geneva, on any given day, "upward of half a million people globally may be uttering or writing the phrase 'I have ran' or 'I've ran.' Usually on Facebook, and often in conjunction with the word definately."
My message was very clear, beginning with the article’s imperative headline: Stop Saying ‘I Have Ran.’ And yet, here we are today. Way too many people are still doing it.
Why?
To help me grapple with this grammatical… uh… g’annoyance, I turned to our resident expert on all things irritating, Dr. Dumb.
Dumb Runner: Doctor, thanks for joining us to parse this peculiar… um…
Dr. Dumb: Yeah, let’s just get to it.
OK, so why is “I have ran” so persistent?
Experts aren’t sure, but theories abound. Some blame long COVID, some our increasingly polarized political landscape, others per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), popularly referred to as “forever chemicals.”
What is your own theory?
My theory is that people are lazy and sloppy and no one cares about anything anymore.
That’s rather cynical, don’t you think?
Is it? Have a look at this post I found, shared with you on your very own Facebook page:
I withdraw my comment.
My wife and I’s friend says, “Exactly.”
By the way, in preparing for this interview I looked up the word run in Merriam-Webster and was reminded just how versatile it is.
Yes! “Run” can mean so many things, as a noun and adjective, and especially as a verb: “flee” or “escape,” “hasten,” “ravel lengthwise,” “incur,” and my personal favorite, “consort.”
But whichever definition you’re using…
… saying “I have ran” is never, ever correct and will make you sound like a big, galloping doofus. Right.
Doctor, it just occurred to me that we haven’t told readers what they should be saying and writing—just what they shouldn’t. For the record, what is the correct way to use “run” to describe something you have done?
You can say either “I have runned” or, in more formal usages, “I done achieved runnage.”
I’m pretty sure those are both incorrect.
Well look it up yourself, then.
Thank you for your time, Dr. Dumb. I believe this will be the most useful Q&A my readers have ever saw.
Anytime. Or any time. Whichever.
