1

I know that you can use the word "found" in the past tense. For example:

He founded Google in 1998.

Say I plan to create/start up a new company in the future. Could I say:

I plan to found a tech company.

I know there are alternative ways to say this, but can I use the word "found" in this situation?

Improve this question
5
  • It sounds like a conflict of registers (but then so does 'found' with many modern things).
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Dec 27, 2020 at 19:31
  • Thousands of people have planned to found a company. Very few have done so.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Dec 27, 2020 at 19:34
  • If found is regular (which the past tense founded suggests), then it will have an infinitive form found, which will be grammatical after the to complementizer. The verb plan can take practically any infinitive clause with Equi-Subject like this (i.e, same subject of plan and found), provided the verb is one that can have a human subject.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Dec 27, 2020 at 19:46
  • This reminds me a little of a question we had 3 years ago from a 12-year-old who stated her intention to write a "classic novel"...who are we to stomp on their dreams?
    – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_
    Commented Dec 27, 2020 at 20:30
  • That is correct, but is sounds a bit unnatural. Here's an example from the OED: Bismarck is eager to found colonies in all parts of the world. And another from the Corpus of Contemporary American English: They're intrigued too by her hint of a plan to found a think tank where scientists and political analysts will create policy aimed at placing Planned Parenthood right in the middle of the nation's "family values" debates.
    – Tinfoil Hat
    Commented Dec 27, 2020 at 20:30

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

You can certainly use 'found' in that situation, just as you can use 'start', 'establish', 'begin', etc.

found verb (BEGIN)

B2 [ T ]

to bring something into existence:

Found (Cambridge Dictionary)

they planned to found a school of their own

Francis planned to found Fizwizz, an online retail recruitment agency

In 1147, Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester planned to found a convent

They moved to Athens in 1871 where Syngros planned to found a new bank.

He [Henry VIII] planned to found a college of canons governed by a dean

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .