On second thought:: in “I’m done writing” “writing” is a present participle, not a gerund, and “done” modifies “writing” the same way as “finished “ or “through.” (“I love his writing” - gerund, “I watched him writing” - present participle.) It’s the use of a noun like “dinner” in the same way as a present participle that makes “l’m done dinner” sound different to many of us compared to “I’m done dining.” Anyway, as the New York child of a Chicago mom and Arkansas dad, I use “stand on line” and “stand in line” interchangeably but a pecan roll is a sticky bun and a stream is a creek.
Done is the past participle of do; do you ever use other past participles this way? “I’m had supper,” “I’m made lunch”? What we hear growing up sounds normal. As you asked, why didn’t the rest of us, even on the east coast, hear this construction? Did your linguist find written examples and if so, from how far back? Did HL Mencken write it? EA Poe?
i saw the genesis of this article in the twitter thread and i'm sorry but "I'm done dinner" breaks my fuckin' head it sounds insane.
On second thought:: in “I’m done writing” “writing” is a present participle, not a gerund, and “done” modifies “writing” the same way as “finished “ or “through.” (“I love his writing” - gerund, “I watched him writing” - present participle.) It’s the use of a noun like “dinner” in the same way as a present participle that makes “l’m done dinner” sound different to many of us compared to “I’m done dining.” Anyway, as the New York child of a Chicago mom and Arkansas dad, I use “stand on line” and “stand in line” interchangeably but a pecan roll is a sticky bun and a stream is a creek.
Done is the past participle of do; do you ever use other past participles this way? “I’m had supper,” “I’m made lunch”? What we hear growing up sounds normal. As you asked, why didn’t the rest of us, even on the east coast, hear this construction? Did your linguist find written examples and if so, from how far back? Did HL Mencken write it? EA Poe?