Is hung a correct word - Word и Excel - помощь в работе с программами

Have you ever debated whether to use hanged vs. hung in a sentence? Were you writing about an execution? The word hanged refers to a person’s death at the end of a rope. That is its sole correct usage.

If no one is dead, then you shouldn’t use hanged.

Hung’s Relationship to Hang

The word hung is the past tense of hang when that verb refers to suspending an object.

Conversely, the word hanged is the past tense of hang then that word indicates taking someone’s life by affixing a rope to the neck and suspending them.”

Using Hung Correctly

A hat can be hung on a hat rack. A sheet can be hung to dry. If you are a hunter, your trophy buck’s head can be hung above the mantle to impress your friends.

If the suspended object is not a person, hung is always the correct word.

However, just because a person is suspended does not mean they are hanged.

At the beginning of the movie Goldeneye, superspy James Bond hung off a bridge from a bungee line to infiltrate an enemy base. In A Fish Called Wanda, the barrister played by John Cleese was hilarious hung out of a window by his ankles by an irate Kevin Kline.

Neither of these involves the subject dying, so hung is the correct verb.

Using Hanged Correctly

On the other hand, the suspected witches at the end of The Crucible are all hanged (spoiler alert for a 70-year-old play).

Hanged is most used about executions and suicides.

Incorrect – Four people were hung for their roles in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Correct – Four people were hanged for their roles in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Incorrect – The fugitive hung himself when it became clear that escape was impossible.

Correct – The fugitive hanged himself when it became clear that escape was impossible.

Here is an excellent way to remember this. The person who oversees a hanging execution is called a hangman, not a hungman.

Other Distinctions Involving Hanged and Hung

You might find yourself needing to use hanged and hung in quick succession when referring to executions from earlier eras. The reason for this is that the bodies of condemned criminals were sometimes suspended from cages as deterrents to the populace.

Here is an example:

After the bandit was hanged, his body might be hung in a gibbet on the road outside town as a macabre example.

There are also uses of hang that do not involve physical suspension. The most common example is hang out, meaning socializing casually with other people. Though this involves other humans, it does not include death in any way. Consequently, the past tense form of hang out is hung out.

Incorrect – I hanged out with my buddies in the park yesterday.

Correct – I hung out with my buddies in the park yesterday.

Another example of using hang figuratively is the expression hang up. This phrase means a lingering concern. To warn someone not to worry unnecessarily, you would tell them not to get hung up.

Incorrect – You shouldn’t get hanged up on the details of the proposal.

Correct – You shouldn’t get hung up on the details of the proposal.

In Conclusion

When choosing between hanged vs. hung, you should think first about whether you are discussing capital punishment. If you are not, the correct term is most likely hung.

Indeed, hung universally works for in figurative use and where the object is not human. However, if a person expires at the end of a rope, you should generally go with hanged.

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Источник

The past tense of hang in almost all situations is hung. You hung a picture on the wall, or you hung out at the mall. Only use hanged when referring to someone being sentenced to death via hanging.

Some people bristle when they hear hanged or hung used incorrectly. Their blood boils. Their vision blacks out. Mixing up hung and hanged will make these people thoroughly cheesed off and mad as heck. Irate copy editors are no fun, but you can escape their ire. Read on.

hung

Observing the popular distinction between ‘hanged’ and ‘hung’ will not make you a better writer, but it will spare you the annoyance of being corrected for having done something that is not wrong.

The standard rule for the past tense of hang is this: in almost all situations, you should use the word hung.

I hung a picture of Noah Webster on the wall.
After school, she hung out in the library.

Use hanged when referring to a person being suspended by a rope around the neck until dead.

The Salem «witches» were not burned; they were hanged.
Justice Wargrave ordered Edward Seton to be hanged by the neck until dead.

It’s not that simple, however: most usage guides reserve hanged for people subjected to death, which means if an inanimate object is suspended from a gallows, the correct term is hung.

Despised by the voters, he was hung in effigy.

A stripped-down version of why we have these two different words is that the word hang came from two different verbs in Old English (and possibly also one from Old Norse). One of these Old English verbs was what we might think of as a regular verb, and this gave rise to hanged; the other was irregular, and ended up becoming hung.

Hanged and hung were used interchangeably for hundreds of years, although over time the one from the irregular verb (hung) eventually became the more common one. Hanged retained its position when used to refer to death by hanging, possibly due to being favored by judges who were passing a sentence. However, both forms are commonly found, and both are commonly found used in either sense.

The Hanged vs. Hung Debate

Is the distinction important? It’s still commonly found in usage guides, which typically say that the past and the past participle of hang should be hanged only when referring to a person being subjected to death. Hung is preferred, at least by people who make a distinction, in almost every circumstance. However, not everyone makes this distinction. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage has a take on this that differs slightly from the one commonly found in usage guides:

The distinction between hanged and hung is not an especially useful one (although a few commentators claim otherwise). It is, however, a simple one and certainly easy to remember. Therein lies its popularity. If you make a point of observing the distinction in your writing, you will not thereby become a better writer, but you will spare yourself the annoyance of being corrected for having done something that is not wrong.

In other words, observing this distinction will help you to avoid criticism from people with strong feelings on the subject. But don’t get too hung up about it.

MORE CONFUSING VERBS

Drank or Drunk?
Sneaked or Snuck?
Broadcast or Broadcasted?

Источник

A while ago, I heard two Americans in person say this sentence:
1. Jack was hung.
I was shocked right there because my dictionaries teach me always to say:
2. Someone was hanged. Or,
3. Someone hung his clothes.
Instinctively, I considered that was another example of the inconsistence between a grammatical rule and common usage. If my instinct is right, that’s the reason why I love to ask native speakers’ judgments instead of consulting a dictionary.
What are my honorable friends’ conclusions?

This is one of those silly verbs in English that sounds dreadful no matter what (see the bore/bored/borne thread elsewhere). I believe correctly it’s «Jack was hanged.» much like «Jack was eaten.»

Despite this, a lot of people simply say «Jack was hung,» because it sounds better and is easier to say.

JamesM

This is one of those silly verbs in English that sounds dreadful no matter what (see the bore/bored/borne thread elsewhere). I believe correctly it’s «Jack was hanged.» much like «Jack was eaten.»

Despite this, a lot of people simply say «Jack was hung,» because it sounds better and is easier to say.

I agree. The correct word is «hanged» if you mean executed by hanging. «Jack was hung» has a sexual connotation as well (meaning that Jack is equipped with a large reproductive organ), so you have to be careful with that statement. It can cause unfortunate misunderstandings.

[edit]Just a note — «the picture was hung over the mantel» is correct. «Jack was hanged at noon in the town square» is correct. «Hanged» works only when talking about that particular form of execution/death (as in «he hanged himself with a bedsheet») and not for hanging something up («he hung a picture over the mantel to make the room feel more cozy»). Sorry to be so gruesome, but it’s the only way to make the distinction.

Thanks, jabogitlu. How do people say sentence 3.? Thanks in advance.

I agree. The correct word is «hanged» if you mean executed by hanging. «Jack was hung» has a sexual connotation as well (meaning that Jack is equipped with a large reproductive organ), so you have to be careful with that statement. It can cause unfortunate misunderstandings.

Thanks , JamesM. I learned a lesson, and I’ll be wary of it. Btw, how do you express sentence 3.?

JamesM

«Someone hung his clothes» works fine. «He hung his clothes in the closet», or «he hung his clothes on the clothesline», for example.

Also just a note — «hung», meaning well-equipped in the sex organs department, is used only for males.

I agree with everyone.

To hang (to suspend): past participle is hung
To hang (suspension of a person by something around the neck): past participle is hanged.

I, personally, think this is stupid because what’s the point in having different past participles for the same verb for each meaning? If someone said «The man was hung» I would probably understand (in appropriate context) and if someone said «I hanged the clothes up» I’d understand what they meant, although it would sound very weird.

-M

Dunno, probably they were both used at one time and nowadays they just both reside in their own little worlds…

I’d not thought of ‘he was hung’ as sexual! :eek:

JamesM

Dunno, probably they were both used at one time and nowadays they just both reside in their own little worlds…

I’d not thought of ‘he was hung’ as sexual!

Yes. «He was hanged like an animal» and «he was hung like an animal» mean two entirely different things.

According to www.etymonline.com «hanged» was (as one would expect) the first past participle of the two, and «hung» emerged as a past participle in 16th century northern England (don’t all the best things?!). «Hanged» endured in the context of execution because it was part of legal language, which tends to be conservative.

According to www.etymonline.com «hanged» was (as one would expect) the first past participle of the two, and «hung» emerged as a past participle in 16th century northern England (don’t all the best things?!). «Hanged» endured in the context of execution because it was part of legal language, which tends to be conservative.

Personally, I cringe when I hear anyone talking about execution, and saying «She was hung», instead of «hanged».

There’s no difficulty in learning that distinction…

Why dumb everything down so far?

Personally, I avoid the confusion by remembering the Christmas poem: «The stockings were hung by the chimney with care…» things that are suspended are hung; people who are executed are the other one!

Why is using «hung» «dumbing down»? Granted, it’s not standard usage yet, but there is a legitimate linguistic argument to be had for «hung», and we may well see it replace «hanged» through commonly accepted usage.

We might see it replace hanged, though many places don’t hang people anymore. It’s not exactly used in every-day language.

Although, «ed» is English’s «productive verb ending» like Spanish’s «ar».

I haven’t heard «He was hung» having any sexual connotation, either.

I don’t think the distinction is too difficult to grasp, though. People=hanged Things other than people=hung.

JamesM

cabollochica said:

I haven’t heard «He was hung» having any sexual connotation, either.

That surprises me. I thought it was such a common saying that any AE speaker would have heard it.

Just so it’s clear that I’m not inventing this meaning, here are a few sampled Googled phrases using this sense of «hung» (mild versions only):

And he told all the ladies he was hung like a mighty oak tree.

Meanwhile, I used MySpace to figure out which one of my 21-and-under nephews believed he was “hung like a rhinoceros.”

I discovered he was hung like a Greek god…

«I used to believe your theory until I met my ex-husband whose hands were large, but he was hung like a mouse.»

“Yeah, he was hung like a mule.»

Yeah… I’m surprised that an American wouldn’t have heard of it, too!

Emma42 says, «According to www.etymonline.com «hanged» was (as one would expect) the first past participle of the two, and «hung» emerged as a past participle in 16th century northern England (don’t all the best things?!). «Hanged» endured in the context of execution because it was part of legal language, which tends to be conservative.»

This is an unusual case, because the general trend in English is for strong verbs to gradually become weak verbs over time.

Strong verbs have different forms for the past and past participle, often a shift in vowels, such as drink, drank, drunk or think, thought, thought. They are sometimes called irregular verbs. Generally they have one syllable, and derive from the Anglo-Saxon roots of English.

Weak verbs form their past and past participle by adding -ed, such as open, opened, opened, or investigate, investigated, investigated. They are sometimes called regular verbs. Most polysyllabic verbs are weak.

An example of a verb which is currently undergoing this transition is the verb to leap.
newer: leap, leaped, leaped older: leap, lept, lept

It’s interesting to learn of a verb like hang which is moving from weak to strong!

Источник

There is a good amount of confusion surrounding the verb hang and its various tenses. Is hanged or hung correct? Are they interchangeable? If not, what is the difference between the two?

In this post, I want to go over some basic tenses of the verb hang, illustrate them to you with example sentences, and give you a few tips to remember when to use which one for the future.

After reading this post, you shouldn’t have any trouble picking the correct tense to include in your writing.

When to Use Hang

Hang, of course, is the present tense form of the verb. Hang has a few different uses and meanings.

For example,

To fasten from above with no support from below; suspend – Will you hang this picture on the wall?
To hold or decline downward; let droop – Don’t hang your head in shame.
To pay strict attention – He hangs on my every word.
To cling tightly to something – Hang on to the rope.

When to Use Hanged

Hanged is the past tense and past participle of hang only when used in the sense of “put to death by hanging.”

For example,

The traitor was hanged for treason.
The criminal was hanged in the public square for his crimes.

It’s important to remember that hanged has a very specific use. We only use hanged when we are referring to the killing of a human being by suspending the person by the neck. With all other past tenses of hang, you will want to use hung.

And if death is not intended or likely, or the person is suspended by a body part other than the neck, use hung.

For example,

They hung him out to dry.
He was hung upside down as part of the prank.
They hung him by his arms and beat him.

When to Use Hung

Hung is the regular past tense of hang. For example, the past tense of all of the beginning examples would use hung.

I hung the picture on the wall.
He hung his head in shame.
He hung on every word.
He hung on to the rope.

All inanimate objects, such as paintings, shelves, or Christmas ornaments are hung.

Last night we hung the lights on the Christmas tree.
I hung this shelving unit last week.

Can Hanged and Hung Be Used Interchangeably?

Some will say that these two words, hanged vs. hung, can be used interchangeably, even in the sense of “put to death by hanging,” and this is corroborated by some usage guides such as Fowler’s, stating that it isn’t necessarily erroneous to use hung in the case of executions, just less customary in Standard English.

However, I highly advise against using these words interchangeably. The vast majority of writing professionals object to the use of hung in execution contexts. The 2008 American Heritage Dictionary Usage Panel Survey showed 71 percent of experts objected to hung used in this sense. The Panel’s opposition has remained strong since the survey began in the 1960s.

The Chicago Manual of Style and The AP Stylebook both prescribe the traditional distinction, so it is probably in your best interest as a writer to do the same.

The AP Style entry on hanged vs. hung states,

One hangs a picture, a criminal or oneself.

For past tense or the passive, use hanged when referring to execution or suicides, hung for other actions.

History of Hanged and Hung

It’s good to know when to use which word, but you might be wondering, “Why in the first place is there two different past-tense forms of the same word?” There actually is a pretty neat history as to why.

According to Fowler’s Modern English Usage Guide, in Old English there were actually two different words for hang (hon and hangen), and the entanglement of these words (plus an Old Norse word hengjan) is why we have two past-tense forms for the same word in modern English.

Remember the Difference

A good mnemonic to remember the difference is the following sentence,

Curtains are hung and people are hanged.

This echoes what I said above, to use hung with inanimate objects like curtains, but to use hanged to refer to death by hanging.

Summary

The two words, hung vs. hanged, are both the past tense of hang but have different uses in a sentence.

Hanged refers to death by hanging, whether it be suicide or execution.

Hung is used is all other references.

Contents

1 When to Use Hang
2 When to Use Hanged
3 When to Use Hung
4 Can Hanged and Hung Be Used Interchangeably?
5 History of Hanged and Hung
6 Remember the Difference
7 Summary

Источник

When hang means, as it generally does, «to suspend,» then hung is the correct past-tense and past participial form of the verb: «Yesterday, I hung a picture on the wall»; «I have hung many pictures on many walls.» When hang means «to put to death by hanging,» however, hanged is the correct past-tense and past participial form: «We hanged the horse-thieving varmint yesterday»; «We’ve hanged nigh unto forty horse thieves this year.» Given that hanging has become a fairly infrequent means to a fairly infrequent end, you might think that this is an unimportant distinction. But, because of a colloquial use of hung that we blush bright yellowish green to mention here, you can end up embarrassing yourself if you use hung as an adjective to describe a male historical figure executed by hanging. History records that John Billington was hanged at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1630; whether Mr. Billington was hung, history does not record.

You’re correct. The news reporters are not. It’s a shame that people on television news shows do not always use proper grammar. I think part of it is due to wanting to sound like you’re ‘of the people’ as opposed to what really happens: they become role models of a sort. «That can’t be right! Tom Brokaw didn’t say it that way, and he should know, right?»

So sad.

the reason reporters use the word «hung» instead of «hanged» is that reporters are peoud to be counted amongst the semi-educated yet feeble-minded masses. writing a story in a grammatically correct fashion would be as silly as writing a story that was factually correct! as recent years have shown us, many reporters just resort to stealing other people’s work and don’t write articles at all!

You can forget the vast majority of grammar «rules» that you learned in all your schooling. They were, for the most part, nonsense.

So too with these two words.

M-W:
usage For both transitive and intransitive senses 1b the past and past participle hung, as well as hanged, is standard. Hanged is most appropriate for official executions but hung is also used . Hung is more appropriate for less formal hangings

What about an animal? Suppose a cat gets caught up in some cord, hangs by his neck, and dies. Was he hanged or hung? He’s not a person, but he’s not inanimate either.

Tony, your entry, which is correct, is taken whole from Perfessor (that’s how he spells it) Cumber’s list of pet peeves about English usage. I commend the brief list to anyone interested in usage questions; it’s an entertaining, commonsense guide (www.acebo.com/cumber.htm). I agree with all the writers who wonder about reporters’ use of «hung» where «hanged» would be correct. Don’t get me started on the other common grammatical errors in journalism. I have concluded that either that there are no editors anymore, or the editors are just as ignorant as the reporters.

I do believe it may be used either way (now due to my arguements with somone who may not wish their name let out). Anyway as I read this I may see that everyones findings are from old uses. I believe the correct usage of hanged has changed into hung. Thusly because the value of human life is mostly viewed lower than it should these days. Hung is correct in my belief but if I were correcting a paper I would not count hanged as wrong(anymore).

I’m not exactly a prescriptivist. After all, we haven’t spoken Old or even Middle English for centuries now. But I do find it sad that we have come to accept virtually any ignorant, sloppy, lazy mangling of our language. I guess political correctness has made even the stupid a protected class that we can’t possibly offend.

«hung» is used to refer to death by hanging and it has always been used to refer to death by hanging. Merriam-Webster’s Concise Dictionary of English Usage says this is not a mistake, and if you use it you will be stigmatized for doing something that is not wrong.

Actually, that’s not exactly what Merriam-Webster says. DBP’s posting from M-W is more complete and precise. Oh, and for what it’s worth, The dictionary’s quoting of Ronald Reagan is hardly an endorsement for proper grammar. If anything, it proves the opposite point.

I think it’s amusing and ironic that that particular Reagan quote has made it into the dictionary. He has been publicly and frequently lambasted for that very quote, as one of many malapropisms for which he was famous. He was constantly ridiculed for his misuse of the English language.

Of course, he wasn’t nearly as inarticulate as our current commander-in-chief

I welcome the gradual disappearance of «hanged». I came to this page because I heard reporters saying it on television, and the usage just sounded wrong to me.

For me there is no important distinction in the word. If someone is hung on a coat hook as a joke versus being hanged for murder, I would lose no meaning if the terms were switched. Context means everything.

The -ang verbs are pretty irregular already. Why have two forms when one will serve just fine?

I was referring to Merriam-Webster’s Concise Dictionary of English Usage. DBP’s quote is from Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. 2 different publications.

Next time I wear a tux to a neck-tie party, I’ll say the «guest of honor» would be hanged. If I wear khaki pants and a polo shirt, I’ll say he’d be hung.

Some news agencies abide by a specific «style» (such as AP Style, or Chicago Press Style) whereby certain matters are addressed in grammar to distinguish one meaning from another. The reporters may simply be using a particular style, and quite actually saying it correctly according to the style. There is not a universally correct grammar, especially in regard to news reporting grammar style.

Were do you think ‘hung drawn and quartered’ came from?
Because they ‘hung’ people.
It has multiple meanings.

what is the proper way to say:
1) he hung himself or 2) he hanged himself

I understand that the word «hanged» is a proper verb for capital punishment, what about if it is self-inflicted?
Thanks for your answer, you will be settling a bet between me and my overeducated husband (who can’t spell or write properly).

Alla, it doesn’t matter if the hanging is self-inflicted. «He hanged himself» would still be correct.

by the way, who won the bet?

I appreciate the distinction between the two forms. They’ve been talked about as different verbs, but really I think they’re basically the same thing (suspension of some kind). So I think it’s neat that we have a way of using this verb for this specific context of capital punishment. On the other hand, the fortunate rarity of hangings these days naturally pushes the distinction into some obscurity. I have no problem with this either, but it’s probably why news reporters may not always make it.

«hung» has used to refer to death by hanging since the 1600s. Many usage commentators recognize that this is a standard use, but some commentators, who apparently haven’t done their research, persist in saying it’s wrong.

In Old English they were 2 verbs:
hōn, past tense heng, past particle hangen «to hang»
hangian, past tense hangode «to be suspended»

«hangian» derives from the causative of «hōn» — that is, «to cause to be hanged». Other pairs like this include lie — lay and sit -set.

By the 14th century, the 2 verbs had collapsed into 1.

hm… for hōn read «hon».

John, when you say «…but some commentators, who apparently haven’t done their research, persist in saying it’s wrong…», who exactly are you referring to? Since your last two posts, in well over a year, no one has asserted that «hung» is wrong. Actually, in all of the above posts, only two commentators, the second and third, back in 2005, made such an assertion, and only once each. How exactly does that qualify as «persistence»?

Are you referring to my reply to alla arcuri? I never said that «hung» was wrong. I merely said that if a hanging is self-inflicted instead of capital punishment, then «hanged» is still appropriate. Just how much «research» is required? A simple check of one or a few dictionaries confirms what I said.

You have stated several times (I assume you’re the same John as before) that «hung» is correct, but you have never claimed that «hanged» is incorrect, did you? Can I assume you don’t have a problem with the word «hanged»? You’re not saying «hanged» is wrong, are you?

Every source I have checked says that «hanged» is especially appropriate to describe death by hanging (and no, I did not just say that «hanged» is right and «hung» is wrong). I don’t think you disagree with this either, do you? So, um, what’s the problem?

Most people don’t say they «hanged a picture», right?. And, I guess some newsreporters notwithstanding, most people still say «hanged by the neck until dead», right? And if both these statements are true, that still doesn’t mean that «hung» is wrong in the same context, right?

Porsche,
Sorry… by commentators I meant usage commentators. People who write books about English usage. Some of them tell us that «hung» is wrong when referring to death by hanging. But if they looked at the actual usage, they would see that both «hung» and «hanged» have been used in this context.

Dear Porsche

Of course, i won the bet. In addition, I think our great language has evolved (or maybe «devolved» is a better term) to the point where if enough people are using the incorrect form -then is becomes the norm.

P.S. is devolved a real word? lol
thanks for your help

Alla

I believe they use «hanged» to make capital punishment seem dated and backward. i.e. not modern. both terms can be understood that is why there is a debate about it.

We were talking about this in English IV. My teacher said that «Only one thing is Hung, Everything else is Hanged….» You guess what is hung

thanks for the wonderful discussion, i love it and it helped me to prove myself that i have gone to my primary school and paying attention while teacher was teaching me …

My 6th grade English teacher told us one day, «MEAT is hung. PEOPLE are hanged.» I got an immediate and lasting visual on that, and have never forgotten the rule. Thank you Mrs. Anderson!

Hanged may be correct but it sounds like an 1850’s prospector, Dag nab it.

I tend to agree with John’s «lay» vs «lie» analogy (transitive vs intransitive — «hanged» being the past participle when something/someone is «hanged» and «hung» referring to the past tense state of something/someone, um, dangling, if you will).

In German, for example, «haengen»- to hang something (on a wall, etc.) has the regular/weak past participle «gehaengt» (akin to «hanged»). «Haengen», however, describing the state of dangling or at least being pinned to a verticle surface, features the irregular/strong past participle «gehangen»- «hung».

If this pattern were followed in common usage, we would say such statements in English as «I hanged a poster up yesterday» & «The poster hung there for a day until it fell down.» But alas, in a language culture where laziness prevails, in which people «lay out in the sun» and someone has «set in a chair for three hours» and a person is asked to «leave the book lay there on the table», such a distinction hardly seems reasonable/realistic.

I’ve always understood the difference between hanged & hung when it comes to people vs. inanimate objects, but what is the rule when talking about an animal that died by hanging? I always thought the rule was «hanged» for people, and «hung» for animals, but I feel like I may have been in error all these years.

Anyone have an answer?

Thanks!
Rara

hanged is used when talking about people being hanged (killed by hanging). in other cases, you use hung.

I order that the previous commentator be hanged for being crass. Dick.Napoleon complex, anyone?

Personally, I think he should be hung.

which one’s correct?
«i will be hanged» or » i will be hung»

@Avi,

«I will be hanged» is correct as it is a future participle, but people, in their preference, tend to use «hung» as past tense and most people use «hung» because it doesn’t come off as awkward as «hanged» when referring to past events.

What happened to America, where was it proper to speak in a question. So many people, except Newscasters, speak with an upward tone at the end of a sentence. It sounds so stupid, when I am listening to a person speak and at the end of every sentence their voice goes in a upward direction as if they were speaking in questions all the time until they come to the end of their story, then they end on a downward tone. I hate it….

I think John was essentially correct in his initial response. «Grammar Girl» gives this explanation of hanged and hung:

«It seemed a little curious to me that there would be two past-tense forms of the word hang that differ depending on their meaning, so I did a little research and found out that in Old English there were two different words for hang (hon and hangen), and the entanglement of these words (plus an Old Norse word hengjan) is responsible for there being two past-tense forms of the word hang today.»

She also says that «hanged» is the proper term for a past execution. I concur. Not that using «hung» in that sense would be a punishable offense, but the distinction is still a useful one.

although hung is more comment now a days hanged is still the correct way to say it when you are talkine about people however things are hung not hanged

I agree with caes —
«caes says:
October 14, 2009 at 3:03 pm
hanged is used when talking about people being hanged (killed by hanging). in other cases, you use hung.»

As I understand it, you have been hung if you are taken down still alive. If you die by hanging, then you have been hanged.

So «hung, drawn and quartered» meant being taken down alive so you could suffer the additional punishment of being gutted and chopped into pieces.

Objects cannot undergo death by hanging, so are alway hung and not hanged.

So, «He was hanged» means he is now dead, but «He was hung» leaves the question open.

I think there is a time to use hung and there is a time to use hanged but I just don’t know when to use either one. But what about sung instead of singed? Is hanged breaking an E.L.A. rule? That is what I think. I just read the Hunchback of Notre Dame and it used both words — which supports my answer — at different times. Whereas me being a writer I must know the importance of English language. I still do not know.

I have now agreed on several different opinions and the one I, as a writer believe is the true usage of the word is Jon’s past and future theory. My sibling, Joy says her teacher mastered English language in college and believes the hanged theory. Joy agrees with her teacher.

I thnk I can answer two of your questions Mary.

Q: You said «I think there is a time to use hung and there is a time to use hanged but I just don’t know when to use either one.»
A: As I understand it, you have been hung if you are taken down still alive. If you die by hanging, then you have been hanged. Also, objects cannot undergo death by hanging, so are alway hung and not hanged. Btw, Reagan was correct to use «hung» when he said «I’ll be hung in effigy» — since an effigy is not alive, it can be hung but not hanged.

Q: You asked «But what about sung instead of singed?»
A: Sung is the past tense of sing — «A song was sung» or «I sung a song». But singed is not the past tense of sing — «When he got too close to the fire, he singed his eyebrows.» or «Her hair was singed by the curling iron.»

Plz, look below and correct if you feel any mistake…

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Earlier i felt very bad on my speech i omited all of my interviews with clients as because of my speech was not good enough,
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It’s a hanging, not a hunging.

The question is not one of grammar, but of usage. Hanged is the traditional usage but hung is not incorrect.

Hung may not be «incorrect» (as a substitute for hanged), but it is certainly ambiguous.

A hanged person is one who was killed by hanging. But a hung person may still be alive after merely having been been suspended for a while.

Will someone «hang» me after reading all this? It was so addicting.

I agree with everyone who says that inanimate objects are never hanged. Instead, you’d say, «I’m going to hang the picture or the picture was hung.» Human beings are hanged. Though I understand it is correct to say, «After he was hanged, he hung from the tree limb for days.

I was corrected by my nephew when I said,»He will be happy to know you’ve hung his pictures.» «hanged.» was his curt reply. So I have an oldfashioned nephew? So far I have read only opions here. I guess it’s the same as the word «gay» not meaning happy anymore. Things change.

FWIW, the OED on my laptop says:

usage: In modern English, hang has two past tense and past participle forms: hanged and hung. Hung is the normal form in most general uses ( they hung out the wash; she hung around for a few minutes; he had hung the picture over the fireplace), but hanged is the form normally used in reference to execution by hanging ( she was hanged as a witch in April 1621).

M-W is a little looser: Hanged is most appropriate for official executions but hung is also used . Hung is more appropriate for less formal hangings

I think that saying hanged is just an old English thing.
To say «Bill hanged himself» sounds country.
But to say «Bill hung himself» sounds more educated rather than what I picture of a dumb school boy saying «Bill hanged himself»

I wholly agree with Julians comment, whenever I hear someone use the word «hanged» I cringe, as an educated society, ( Well an assumption that most of us are educated to some point. ) That word sound very country and hackish. Hung is more appropriate and rolls of the tongue with more ease, it sounds proper. Hanged, does not. I don’t claim to be a well educated woman but the usage of the word hanged irks me to no end.

jman: Hilarious comment! I can’t beleive no one else saw the humour….

Pictures and paintings are hung, people are hanged.

I agree with Warsaw Will. We are too ready to accept bad grammar although it is very difficult to correct someone. Some of my in-laws talk about having rang someone rather than rung and also say someone is more friendlier. How to correct them in a manner which will not cause offence?

@Mature Lady -the answer is simple — don’t! Why should any of us presume to ‘correct’ the way other people talk? In any case, as we can see in these pages, people’s ideas of what constitutes correct varies quite a bit. And just because I differentiate between hanged and hung doesn’t mean that someone else who doesn’t is wrong. There are quite a few newer usages I don’t like, so I don’t use them. But correct another native speaker’s grammar? Never. (Unless they’re laying down the law in these pages, in which they’re fair game!)

I fall in with the «objects are hung», «people are hanged» lobby.
There is, however, one notable instance when hung can be used in referring to a person.
I’m sure we all know what that one is. :-))

@Hairy Scot — I hope you’re not boasting!

You use «hung» when have, has, or had precedes it. In all cases, the past tense for hang is hanged. Most people are incorrect. Just because it has been accepted by the masses, who are extremely uneducated, it does not make it correct.

People got nervous using hanged because it reminded them of executions. That is why hung was used. It is not correct. It’s such a shame that so many unqualified baboons are teaching naive people the incorrect word, acting as if they know something, when in reality they do not know anything. Please refrain from telling people «hung» is the past tense of hang. You are a disgrace.

Why make personal comments? I don’t see the necessity.

This little tale illustrates one of the few times when hung can be used when referring to a person:-

Tam the local drunk is draped over the bar in his local when the door opens and this figure wearing a black frock coat and a black homburg comes in, glides over to a table and sits down.
The barman pours a glass of milk and takes it over to that guy at the table.
When he gets back behing the bar Tam says, «Milk! Wassataboot?»
The barman says, «He’s a mormon.»
Tam says, «Zatrite?»
«Aye, he has 5 wives and fifteen weans.»
«Izatatfact?»
Tam spends five minutes squinting at the guy, then slithers off his stool and staggers across to the table and say.
«ZYou a mormon?»
«I am.»
«Zyou the guy wi five wives and fifteen kids?»
«I am»
«Zyou should be f*@#in’ well hung!»
«I AM!»

@dracula — could you perhaps enlighten us disgraceful, naive and uneducated but ever eager to learn masses as to how you came across this strange theory that there is a verb — «hang, hanged, hung», when every (at least British) dictionary tells us there are two variants — «hang, hanged, hanged» and «hang, hung, hung». Is there something you know that they don’t? I think we should be told!

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/hang

Being an English teacher, I’m now off to play with the rest of my troop of unqualified baboons.

@Hairy Scot — You’ve got a thing about this, haven’t you? Nice story. But table service in a Scottish bar?

@dracula — from Online Etymology Dictionary:

Hung emerged as pp. in the 16c. in northern England dialect, and hanged endured only in legal language (which tends to be conservative) and metaphors extended from it (I’ll be hanged).

@WW
Not so much a thing about hung, more about illustrating the differences between hung and hanged.
I remember during the 60s a Scottish folk singer, as part of his intro to a song about Timothy Evans who had just recently been posthumously pardoned, making the comment «He must have been chuffed to his knickers, coz they hung him eleven years ago».
As for the table service: just a little bit of «poetic licence». :-))

I’m an antiquarian. I want my careful (though defective, of course) education to matter. Should my position have any legitimacy? I think it has always been a strong motivation for those who resist linguistic change; and sloppiness has always been a pressing reason for it.

I want to know , which is the correct sentence to use when your laptop freeezes. Like , » My laptop hung up or my laptop hanged or my laptop is hung

This explains it best. The man was hanged for stealing horses, but no one took him down and the body hung there for days.

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