The Bush Administration's common "Mistakes were made" is said to be in the past exonerative tense.
Heard on NPR, then googled
"The nonconfessions inspired William Schneider, a political guru here, to note a few years ago that Washington had contributed a new tense to the language. “This usage,” he said, “should be referred to as the past exonerative.”"
Sunday, March 18, 2007
1984 Grammar
2007-03-18T12:15:00-04:00
Arun
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