> In 2007, a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dissent claimed that when a black woman said, in terror, “He finna shoot me,” she may have been referring to somethi

> In 2007, a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dissent claimed that when a black woman said, in terror, “He finna shoot me,” she may have been referring to something in the past, when in fact “finna” refers to the immediate future. This one is ridiculous as well. Here's the quote: >“I need police. . . . Me and my mama’s boyfriend got into it, he went in the house and got a pistol, and pulled it out on me. I guess he’s fixing to shoot me, so I got in my car and [inaudible] left. I’m right around the corner from the house.” Here's the judge's argument: > I hear the words: “I guess he finna shoot me.” >the statement contains no auxiliary verb (e.g., “is” or “was”) connected to “finna,” which I understand to be a slang contraction for “fixing to,” much as “gonna” serves as a contraction for “going to.” See, e.g., http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=finna http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=finna (last visited Apr. 19, 2007) (defining “finna” as, “Abbreviation of ‘fixing to.’ Normally means ‘going to.’”).8 The lack of an auxiliary verb renders determination of whether Gordon intended to imply the past or present tense an exercise in sheer guesswork. http://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/07a0181p-06.pdf http://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/07a0181p-06.pdf The majority said that "he's fixing to shoot me"/"he finna shoot me" means that there is an ongoing attempt by the defendant. The dissenting judge said that's not something you can definitively conclude absent an "is" or "was" given that the rest of the statement was in past tense. So when the author of the article writes: >when in fact “finna” refers to the immediate future It's obvious he hasn't actually bothered to go and read the opinion. Or I suppose it's possible that a professional writer doesn't understand that you can use future tense when recounting stories in the past.