Express(ed)

["Summers, Jan" <jsummers -at- LOGICON -dot- COM>]

     >>I will continue to use it as "expressed written consent" simply
     because our forefathers wrote it that way.  However, even if it IS
     gramatically incorrect (as you state), since it is now written in
     legal documents, that's the way it shall stand.  Oh well. There's
     probably nothing you or I could do to change it.

     So, our forefathers didn't know how to write well.  But again, that's
     not the first time I've found something screwy with the English
     language.<<
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     This one shouted at me.  Perhaps I misinterpreted what was said above,
     but my take on it is that it doesn't matter what the correct usage is
     NOW, because our "forefathers" (how long ago are you talking
     about?/was that a joke?) wrote it as "expressed..." that's what you're
     going to use.  If you are not writing in a legal sense, and you want
     to use expressed, that's one thing.  But if you are writing text that
     is written (hi, Arlen) for legal interpretation, then IMHO you are
     discrediting the intent of the document, and certainly not doing your
     client/employer any favor.  Others have cited the (obvious)
     differences in the definitions of "express" and "expressed", so I
     won't do it again, but there are very important differences.  English
     language usage has changed dramatically over the years since our
     "forefathers."  I would hate to imagine what could happen to legal
     interpretations if writers and editors randomly used language as our
     forefathers did.

     jan (jsummers -at- cclink -dot- logicon -dot- com)