The Word Nerds Discussion Forum Index » Grammar » Attendees    View previous topic :: View next topic  Attendees Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:36 pm Will   Joined: 27 Jun 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Wisconsin Why are people who attend a conference called attendees? Shouldn't they be called attenders, since they are the ones doing the attending, rather than being attended to? Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:47 pm mjs   Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 13 I guess that exist some use that don't have explain In the true, I don't know why, but this should help: http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/attendees http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/attender http://www.thefreedictionary.com/attender _________________ _______________________________ Marcos José Setim Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 7:06 pm Bloomer   Joined: 23 Oct 2008 Posts: 136 Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA I just corrected a student's sentence last week. She meant "attendee" but wrote "attendant" (which has a whole other meaning). Re: Attendees Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 1:09 pm MrPedantic   Joined: 16 Nov 2007 Posts: 9 Will wrote: Why are people who attend a conference called attendees? Shouldn't they be called attenders, since they are the ones doing the attending, rather than being attended to? A similar example can be found on signs inside London buses, where "standee" expresses "standing passenger", e.g. 1. Capacity: 74 seated 12 standees As you say, the -ee suffix seems inappropriate, in such contexts. Does this seemingly inappropiate usage turn up in "stative" contexts, I wonder; or contexts where the -ee is in some sense a passive agent? MrP Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 4:23 pm Bloomer   Joined: 23 Oct 2008 Posts: 136 Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA MP, Nifty observation! Here are a few other examples to consider with this proposal. AGENT/RECIPIENT: Trainer/trainee Employer/employee Tutor/tutee Mentor/mentee Counselor/counselee Donor/donee Presenter/attendee (presentee?) INTRANSITIVE AGENTS: -- /standee -- /attendee? But: jogger/ -- farmer/ -- runner/ -- walker/ -- Attendees   The Word Nerds Discussion Forum Index » Grammar You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum All times are GMT - 4 Hours   Page 1 of 1   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First  Select a forum General discussion----------------About The Word Nerds DiscussionIntroduce yourselfThe Word Nerds podcastWord Nerds archivesMiscellaneous topics Language and linguistics----------------GrammarSlangRegional speechNon-English languagesLiteratureRude words Technology and media----------------Podcasting