What is "as English verbs go"?

Question

I found the clause "as English verbs go" in one of the answers on ELL:

In The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (p.113-4), this is called "motional be", and it's very unusual as English verbs go. In this meaning, be appears only in perfect constructions [...]

It was later edited to say:

In The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (p.113-4), this is called "motional be", and it has a requirement that's very unusual. In this meaning, be appears only in perfect constructions [...]

I tried hard to understand the meaning of the "as English verbs go" clause but failed. Will anyone clear the meaning of this?

score 6 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:11

6

This is a set phrase. Here's how Macmillan Dictionary defines it:

as someone/something goes
when you consider what other people or things of the same type are like

'As history textbooks go, this one is pretty good.'

I was saying the verb be is very unusual, considering what other English verbs are like.

This use of be appears only in perfect constructions. Very few verbs have that property, so be is unusual "as English verbs go".

Actually, be has lots of different properties that are unusual, but I wanted to focus on this particular use being unusual. That's why I decided to edit my post.

edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:11

Community

1

answered May 15 '15 at 10:14

So, should I consider it as a normal usage of 'as [something/s] goes/go' as Maulik V says? – Rucheer M May 15 '15 at 12:53
1

@RuchirM Yes, I think I'm using the phrase the way it's normally used. (I would have answered sooner, but I couldn't find a dictionary definition to quote―Damkerng helped me find one! Thanks, Damkerng! :-) – May 15 '15 at 13:06
Yes, of course, I said the same. – Maulik V May 22 '15 at 05:37
@MaulikV Of course. That's why I said "yes" instead of "no" when I was asked. – May 23 '15 at 20:54

score -1 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:55

-1

Since this portion is now removed from the original answer (as I see the edit done there by the answerer), I'm taking this phrase as a normal phrase [However, in the original post, I found it quite strange].

as English verbs go...

is a normal usage of 'as [something/s] goes/go'

However, the best person who can explain this is the answerer.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:55

Community

1

answered May 08 '15 at 06:07

Maulik V

66,059
109
310
456

4

Oh, what was strange about it? – May 08 '15 at 06:07
something strange means one has never encountered such thing before! @snailboat – Maulik V May 08 '15 at 06:08

What is "as English verbs go"?

2 Answers2

Linked