why do they call a building a building when its already been built?

Question

the english language is something bizarre..knight,night, and to, two and too...and the word three should be tri..hence a trio singing group.i think they tried to make the english language as easy as they could but by doing so they made it more difficult...no wonder non-english speaking people have a hard time with it.

Answer 1

You may find it boring. . .but here's the facts --

"Building" meaning the OBJECT, and "Building" meaning the PROCESS have separate histories. The "ing" suffixes were originally different.

The origins of the forms:

The NOUN form -- in Old English, the suffix -ung (sometimes -ing) was often used to create nouns. This exact ending is still seen in German nouns that end with -ung. The noun can relate to the original verb ("build") in several ways. Often it refers to something that is the RESULT of the process the verb refers to.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-ung
http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/chairs/linguist/real/independent/eafrica/Diss_Diana/dissch4-3.htm

There are MANY examples of such words in Modern English. Consider the following houns which refer to objects which, like "building", are ordinarily NOT "in process" when we speak of them:
painting, dwelling, saying, writing, gathering, bedding, roofing, sacking, clothing, earnings

(There are other, related ways, that Old English formed nouns from verb roots. One of these is the suffix -(at)ion, such as: decision, isolation, explanation. Another is -ment: establishment.)


The VERB form -- in Old English, participles ended with -ende (a form still found in German).

In Middle English these forms fell together. That is, both the participle and noun ends became "-ing". In fact, the use of this form in expressions like "the building of" is a LATE development (whereas "building" as an object is a very old sort of form).
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=261832


For the distinction in the suffixes, see Webster's (1913)
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=261832
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Note that it is actually quite common for suffixes that look exactly the same to be used in different parts of a language to carry out different functions. This is not usually a problem and should not confuse speakers because the WAY the forms are used in sentences makes it clear which form is meant.

Examples:

-(e)r -- turns a verb into a agentive noun ("maker", "hitter")
OR for the comparative form of an adjective ("bigger")

-(e)s -- a singular present tense verb ending [originally -eth, as in King James "cometh] ("he hits")
OR to make a plural noun form ("hits")
OR (with an apostrophe) to form a possessive

-(e)st -- old ending for verb forms (2nd singular) such as "thou makest"
OR for superlative of adjectives ("finest")

-y -- to form a diminutive ("Timmy")
OR to form adjectives from nouns ("funny")

http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/L-ing-guistics-177534.html

Answer 2

I think that is because it is such a mixture of so many other languages. Wikipedia offers this:

English is a West Germanic language originating in England, and the first language for most people in Australia, Canada, the Commonwealth Caribbean, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (also commonly known as the Anglosphere). It is used extensively as a second language and as an official language throughout the world, especially in Commonwealth countries such as India, Pakistan and South Africa, and in many international organizations.

Palomar college has this to say:

English is far more world wide in its distribution than all other spoken languages. It is an official language in 52 countries as well as many small colonies and territories. In addition, 1/4 to 1/3 of the people in the world understand and speak English to some degree. It has become the most useful language to learn for international travel and is now the de facto language of diplomacy.

A building is a thing as well as a action, that is why it remains a building even after you are done. It can also be a brownstone or a hangar, but because someone built it, it will remain a building. Confusing? yes.

Answer 3

utilising certainty the observe 'progression' could desire to be the two a noun (naming observe) or a verb (doing observe). at a similar time as the term 'progression' is used indoors the context, 'she is progression it', then the observe is a verb. An action is occurring. at a similar time because it is used indoors the context, 'look at that progression', the observe is a (customer-friendly) noun. it is the call of a few thing. this means that the which potential of the observe 'progression' is context based, for this reason there is not any longer a relation between the noun and verb style. for this reason, the certainty a progression has already been built has honestly no longer some thing to do with its call.

Answer 4

I will tell you why they call a building a building when it's already built if you can tell me why they call a driveway a driveway when all you do is park your car on it---and why they call a parkway a parkway--when you dont park your car on it at all...

like Lily Tomlin once said, "I worry about things. Like--if you get peanut oil from squashing peanuts, and olive oil from squashing olive...where does baby oil come from?"

Answer 5

Why are they APARTments when they are so close together?
Why do you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?
Why are those called asteroids and these called hemmoroids?
The list goes on and on..........

Answer 6

Maybe they called them "built 'uns" (for "built ones") and that got corrupted into "builtin's" and that got turned into "buildings". Yes, I made that up.

Answer 7

And why are there INTERSTATE highways in Hawaii??

And what color does a smurf turn when you choke it? LOL??