[General] Denominal verbs are economical?

[elsha]

Hi,
Denominal verbs such as to knife, to bicycle, to hammer etc are said to be economical. But it seems like the frequency of denominal verbs is not that high.

For instance,

1. He went to town by bicycle.
2. He bicycled to town.

I guess No 1 is more frequently used than No 2. I wonder why.
Is there any difference between these two sentences?

Thanks

 

[teechar]

Hello elsha, and welcome to the forum.

"He cycled into town" is very common.

Here are a couple more (using denominal verbs) that are natural and common.

I was schooled at home.

Those plans were shelved long ago.

 

[jutfrank]

But it seems like the frequency of denominal verbs is not that high.

I disagree.

 

[GoesStation]

An interesting aspect of denominal verbs is that they can be invented on the spot. I remember a conversation on a school ski trip. A fellow student was crowing about having both seats on his side of the row of the bus to himself. Another student said "Once I one-seated it both ways!" Clumsy as that was, I think everyone understood what he meant.

 

[jutfrank]

Right now, as I'm preparing to post this post, I'm typing and scrolling.

 

[GoesStation]

Some years ago, the American film press decided that films should be lensed rather than filmed. Happily, the unneeded new verb didn't stick.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Hi,
Denominal verbs such as to knife, to bicycle, to hammer etc are said to be economical. But it seems like the frequency of denominal verbs is not that high.

For instance,

1. He went to town by bicycle.
2. He bicycled to town.

I guess No 1 is more frequently used than No 2. I wonder why.
Is there any difference between these two sentences?

Thanks

Actually, what's more natural and common in the US is "He rode his bike to town."

But your two examples are fine, and I don't know that the first is more common than the second.

PS - We might also say something like "He biked into town."