The Many Faces of Run

The Many Faces of Run The Many Faces of Run The Many Faces of Run By Maeve Maddox A reader has asked about the correct use of the words run vs. ran. Run is one of those words that can be either a noun or a verb. As a verb, the principal parts of run are: run, ran, (have) run. Today I run. Yesterday I ran. I have run for twenty minutes. NOTE: In some dialects run is used instead of ran as simple past form: He run out of the cafà © in a hurry. In my part of the country I often hear ran used instead of run for the past participle: I have ran three miles. Merriam-Webster offers an interesting historical observation: The past tense run still survives in speech in southern England and in the speech especially of older people in some parts of the United States. It was formerly used in literature, and was a standard variant in our dictionaries from 1828 until 1934. In 2009, the standard forms are run/ran/(have)run. The verb run has numerous meanings. Here are only a few: move faster than walking The children ran all the way home. operate My father has run the family business for fifty years. be in charge of Miss Jones runs the secretarial pool. seek office Ralph Nader has run for President several times. flee The indicted murderer skipped bail and ran. go back and forth This bus runs from here to the airport every two hours. to thread or penetrate The electrician ran a wire from the kitchen to the basement. His helper ran a splinter into his thumb. to publish The Gazette ran my sons story in the early edition. As a noun run has plenty of meanings as well. Here are a few: the act of running He went for a three mile run. a score in baseball How many runs does our team have so far? a term in football Tommy scored a 10-yard run. a sustained effort Hes making another run for the White House. a unit of production This is the books first run. a series of something Hes had a run of unfortunate relationships. The Mousetrap had a very long run in London. Weve had a run of bad weather. excessive withdrawals Economic turmoil led to a run on banks. normal kind These are not the usual run of first graders. freedom of movement We give our cats the run of the house. an enclosure for animals The dogs stay in the run. a flaw in knitted fabric These stockings have too many runs in them. Idioms with run to have the runs experience diarrhea to run around be sexually promiscuous to run around with associate with to run across discover by chance to run after seek someones company to run a tight ship manage strictly to run circles around demonstrate superiority to run interference for smooth the way for another person run-off 1. rain water (and other precipitation) drained by creeks and rivers 2. an election subsequent to a principal election in which no winner could be determined run of the mill ordinary runaround deceptive, evasive treatment of one person by another (When I asked about layoffs, the boss gave me the runaround (i.e., he did not provide a direct answer). on the run evading and hiding from pursuers Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Types of LanguageWriting the Century15 Idioms for Periods of Time