Is "liaised" the past tense of liaise? If so, is this correct or common usage?
1 Answer
Liaison is a noun and cannot have a past tense. But yes, liaised is the past tense of the verb to liaise.
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1Just adding re: "is this . . . common usage?" that "to liaise" is not common in AmE compared to "liaison". My dictionary says "Chiefly British" so maybe more common in the UK. Mar 8, 2014 at 23:19
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@joseph_morris I didn't know that, thanks. In BrE 'to liaise' is commonly used in business/work situations whereas 'liaison' is more social/sexual, especially of an illicit affair. Is that the same in AmE too?– MynamiteMar 8, 2014 at 23:42
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I think if you say 'they were in a liaison' it implies sexuality. But if you said 'Ben was in liaison with Martha' it would be taken to be a business relationship.– WS2Mar 9, 2014 at 0:36
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@WS2 I think I'd be more likely to say 'Ben was liaising with Martha', but both would be acceptable.– MynamiteMar 9, 2014 at 0:44
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@Mynamite, the literal denotations are the same, but the predominate usage is of the probably-illicit-affair variety. Perhaps, being more puritanical over here, people want to avoid inadvertently giving the impression that they are having an affair with a business contact. Or it was an effect of the movie "Dangerous Liaisons." I dunno. Mar 9, 2014 at 7:11