Dennis Miller, tell us where did the confab "went"

Comedian Dennis Miller wasn't so funny when he recently blundered in his choice of verb tense. All of us blunder while speaking, but Miller's proved a gross error. After all, Mr. Miller makes his living through talking, so we may expect better of him.

In the aftermath of cohort Bill O'Reilly's recent interview with Senator Hilary Clinton, Miller commented to O'Reilly:

"It was a nice confab, but I don't think it should have went any further..."

The usually truculent host, O'Reilly, overlooked the gaffe, but we have not, even if the two considered their exchange a friendly chat. Friendliness should include a certain respect for elemental grammar. Miller, a wordsmith of considerable talent, particularly in younger days, made the hair rise upon the neck with his blunder.

Miller used the present perfect tense which is formed by employing "have" or "has" with a past participle. The present perfect "describes an action or state begun in the past and leading up to the present." (501 English Verbs, Thomas R. Beyer, Jr., Ph.D.).

Miller chose correctly based upon what he was describing, a conversation between Senator Clinton and O'Reilly that was proceeding. However, in using "have," an auxiliary verb (helping verb) used in forming the present perfect tense, he was required to use the past participle of go, which is gone. Thus, "have gone," not "have went."

(present) go, (simple past) went, (pres. perf.) [have] gone