Q: In a story I just read, I found this: "I was woken up bright and early." Is "woken" a word? — June Leeper, Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania.

A: Yes.

Perhaps no verb family in English causes more mischief than "wake" and its various forms. The "wakes" are a rough-hewn, rootin'-tootin' backcountry clan with all kinds of eccentric relatives, including "waken" and "awaken."

Over the centuries, the irregular verb forms of "wake," "awake" and "awaken" have shifted more times than a city slicker on a corn cob mattress. During recent decades, the past tense "woke," e.g., "I woke at 7 a.m. yesterday," seems to have won out over the past tense "waked," e.g., "I waked at 7 a.m. yesterday."

Wake up, Word Guy! The question was about "woken"!

Um, sorry. "Wake" has two past participles: "waked" and "woken." So, you can say either, "I have waked," "I was waked," "I have woken" or "I was woken."

Stuffy pedants will tell you "woken" is nonstandard and colloquial, but it's the predominant past participle form in Britain and feels more natural than "waked" to many Americans as well. Still, in formal writing, it's best to stick with "have waked" and "was waked."

If those forms sound strange, simply add the word "up," e.g., "I have waked up," "I was waked up." Or you can use the past tenses of "waken," e.g., "I have wakened," "I was wakened."

But, in casual conversation, it's "woken" that's spoken.

Q. When does "material" become "materiel"? — Chris Ryan, New York City.

A. It's "materiel" when it refers to the equipment and supplies used by a large organization, especially the military. "Materiel," with the French pronunciation "muh-teer-ee-EL," is often used to distinguish hardware from the other main resource of armed forces — personnel. It seems that no World War II documentary is complete without several references to the movement of "men and materiel."

Civilians use the term as well. A retired engineer tells me that when he worked for TRW Space Systems it had a division called "Materiel," which handled all its inventory and stock.

So, why do Yanks and Brits use this French term? During the endless battles between France and Britain during the centuries, the French managed to lob several of their military terms over the barricades of English, including not only "materiel" but also "barrage," "grenadier," "enfilade," "bivouac," "espionage," "sabotage," "bombardier" and "fusillade."

I can't help wondering ... if Madonna dressed in military camouflage, would she be a "materiel" girl?

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Photo credit: Security at Pixabay