About "forthcoming."

[AG31]

So I read this sentence in a novel this morning: "She waited for an answer, but none came." But as soon as my brain processed "none," it supplied "was forthcoming" in place of "came." This set off a mini-obsession.

1 - "was forthcoming" seemed so familiar, I must have seen it a lot. But I was an English major. Do you only find it in pre-20th century writing?

2 - Is there ever a situation in modern writing where "was forthcoming" is more appropriate than "came?"

3 - Apart from trying to reproduce an old-fashioned style, do you use especially formal language? If so, what are some examples.

TIA
AG

 

[TheRedChamber]

It's obviously more formal than came. As a speaker of British English I might find myself using it in business writing. Depending on the voice I'm writing in, I'd probably use it in fiction as well. I tend to write a lot of educated nerds.

 

[ElectricBlue]

3 - Apart from trying to reproduce an old-fashioned style, do you use especially formal language? If so, what are some examples.

Someone commented that my Ruby character in the Garter Belts and ... stories spoke in quite a formal way, but I don't see it. Perhaps the commentator thought "literate" means "formal", I don't know.

 

[StillStunned]

I see them as interchangeable. I might not use "was forthcoming" in my own writing, though, because I find that short words give me more control over the rhythm of my sentences.

I'm more likely to use "forthcoming" in the sense of "willing to share information".

 

[NotWise]

I avoid formal language even in my technical writing, which is generally more formal than fiction, in favor of language that is more easily understood.

More formal words or phrases might come up when quoting another source, or when trying to create the effect of language from some other source. Even then, it will probably refer to a future event, not to a past event.

 

[SimonDoom]

"Came" seems preferable to me to "was forthcoming" by just about every measure. It's shorter, punchier, more direct, and it's in active voice.

I don't see "was forthcoming" as archaic or old-fashioned. It would work. But it's not as good.

 

[Voboy]

So I read this sentence in a novel this morning: "She waited for an answer, but none came." But as soon as my brain processed "none," it supplied "was forthcoming" in place of "came." This set off a mini-obsession.

1 - "was forthcoming" seemed so familiar, I must have seen it a lot. But I was an English major. Do you only find it in pre-20th century writing?

It's not necessarily time- or year-dependent. It is also context-dependent.

2 - Is there ever a situation in modern writing where "was forthcoming" is more appropriate than "came?"

Of course. This is English. There are few rules. If it reads better one way than another, you can just go with it. No need to navel-gaze about it.

3 - Apart from trying to reproduce an old-fashioned style, do you use especially formal language? If so, what are some examples.

Depends on the characters and the situation.

I think most of my characters want things to happen "quickly," but if I'm setting a story in the 1790s they might use "posthaste." Or even "tout suite," if they're either US soldiers back from WWI or swell dames in a noir. If they're cops, or dispatchers, they might want to do things "forthwith." The words we put into characters' mouths always help deepen the readers' understanding of those characters.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

1 - "was forthcoming" seemed so familiar, I must have seen it a lot. But I was an English major. Do you only find it in pre-20th century writing?

Merriam-Webster lists the first use as having been in 1532.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Her body tensed up, her eyes rolled back and her mouth opened wide as she was forthcoming.



Hmmm, not quite working.

 

[Voboy]

Her body tensed up, her eyes rolled back and her mouth opened wide as she was forthcoming.



Hmmm, not quite working.

It would, though, if there had previously been a thirdcoming. Or if you were foreshadowing a fifthcoming.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I've never even thirdcum before.

 

[stickygirl]

Merriam-Webster lists the first use as having been in 1532.

The Lord came forth and smote the Samarian horde and with pestilence, laid low those who would begat in the temple and wrought asunder those who would lie with their brother as though he were his sister in law when she was unclean.

Oh I love a bit of formal. It sounds so dignified.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

We should totally introduce a monthly award (symbolic, obviously) for the best pun on the AH, but also for the worst. Both winners would need to change their avatars into something fixed that identifies them as holders of the appropriate title for that month.

I might have gotten the inspiration from a couple of terrible puns in this thread

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Cold hearted pun that rules the site,
Removes the colours from our sight,
Red is gray and yellow white,
But we decide which is punny.
And which is ridiculous?

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

So I read this sentence in a novel this morning: "She waited for an answer, but none came." But as soon as my brain processed "none," it supplied "was forthcoming" in place of "came." This set off a mini-obsession.

1 - "was forthcoming" seemed so familiar, I must have seen it a lot. But I was an English major. Do you only find it in pre-20th century writing?

2 - Is there ever a situation in modern writing where "was forthcoming" is more appropriate than "came?"

3 - Apart from trying to reproduce an old-fashioned style, do you use especially formal language? If so, what are some examples.

TIA
AG

At it most basic, forthcoming is a future action where came is past tense.

 

[SkyBubble]

Someone commented that my Ruby character in the Garter Belts and ... stories spoke in quite a formal way, but I don't see it.

To some people, speaking proper English seems formal.