October 9, 2007
Present Participle Banned in Brasilia
Brazil faces serious problems of homelessness, poverty, crime, economic inequality, and corruption. With that in mind, it is good to see that the leaders of the country are focusing on the MOST important issue: grammar.
Brazil's Federal District Governor Jose Roberto Arruda ``fired'' the present participle from his administration, citing inefficiency. Banning the verb form, which ends in ``ndo'' in Portuguese (``ing'' in English), was done to prevent government officials from using continuous tenses to obscure progress -- or the lack of it. Decree No. 28.314 was issued to end vague promises by government officials, such as: ``We'll be taking steps,'' Globo news agency reported, citing aides to Arruda it didn't identify by name.
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Posted by Andrew on October 9, 2007 7:21 PM.
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