An English Grammar Part 50

This worthi man ful wel his wit _bisette_ [used].--CHAUCER.

Of smale houndes _hadde_ she, that sche _fedde_ With rosted flessh, or mylk and wastel breed.--_Id._

This ending has now dropped off, leaving some weak verbs with the same form throughout: as set, set, set; put, put, put.

257. Irregular Weak Verbs.--Cla.s.s I.

_Present Tense_. _Past Tense_. _Past Participle_.

bereave bereft, bereave bereft, bereaved beseech besought besought burn burned, burnt burnt buy bought bought catch caught caught creep crept crept deal dealt dealt dream dreamt, dreamed dreamt, dreamed dwell dwelt dwelt feel felt felt flee fled fled have had had (_once_ haved) hide hid hidden, hid keep kept kept kneel knelt knelt lay laid laid lean leaned, leant leaned, leant leap leaped, leapt leaped, leapt leave left left lose lost lost make made (_once_ maked) made mean meant meant pay paid paid pen [inclose] penned, pen penned, pent say said said seek sought sought sell sold sold shoe shod shod sleep slept slept spell spelled, spelt spelt spill spilt spilt stay staid, stayed staid, stayed sweep swept swept teach taught taught tell told told think thought thought weep wept wept work worked, wrought worked, wrought

258. Irregular Weak Verbs.--Cla.s.s II.

_Present Tense_. _Past Tense_. _Past Participle_.

bend bent, bended bent, bended bleed bled bled breed bred bred build built built cast cast cast cost cost cost feed fed fed gild gilded, gilt gilded, gilt gird girt, girded girt, girded hit hit hit hurt hurt hurt knit knit, knitted knit, knitted lead led led let let let light lighted, lit lighted, lit meet met met put put put quit quit, quitted quit, quitted read read read rend rent rent rid rid rid send sent sent set set set shed shed shed shred shred shred shut shut shut slit slit slit speed sped sped spend spent spent spit spit [_obs._ spat] spit [_obs._ spat]

split split split spread spread spread sweat sweat sweat thrust thrust thrust wed wed, wedded wed, wedded wet wet, wetted wet, wetted

[Sidenote: _Tendency to phonetic spelling._]

250. There seems to be in Modern English a growing tendency toward phonetic spelling in the past tense and past participle of weak verbs.

For example, _-ed_, after the verb _bless_, has the sound of _t_: hence the word is often written _blest_. So with _dipt_, _whipt_, _dropt_, _tost_, _crost_, _drest_, _prest_, etc. This is often seen in poetry, and is increasing in prose.

Some Troublesome Verbs.

[Sidenote: Lie _and_ lay _in use and meaning._]

260. Some sets of verbs are often confused by young students, weak forms being subst.i.tuted for correct, strong forms.

Lie and lay need close attention. These are the forms:--

_Present Tense._ _Past Tense._ _Pres. Participle._ _Past Participle._

1. Lie lay lying lain 2. Lay laid laying laid

The distinctions to be observed are as follows:--

(1) _Lie_, with its forms, is regularly _intransitive_ as to use. As to meaning, _lie_ means to rest, to recline, to place one's self in a rec.u.mbent position; as, "There _lies_ the ruin."

(2) _Lay_, with its forms, is always _transitive_ as to use. As to meaning, _lay_ means to put, to place a person or thing in position; as, "Slowly and sadly we _laid_ him down." Also _lay_ may be used without any object expressed, but there is still a transitive meaning; as in the expressions, "to _lay_ up for future use," "to _lay_ on with the rod," "to _lay_ about him l.u.s.tily."

[Sidenote: Sit _and_ set.]

261. Sit and set have princ.i.p.al parts as follows:--

_Present Tense._ _Past Tense._ _Pres. Participle._ _Past Participle._

1. Sit sat sitting sat 2. Set set setting set

Notice these points of difference between the two verbs:--

(1) _Sit_, with its forms, is always _intransitive_ in use. In meaning, _sit_ signifies (_a_) to place one's self on a seat, to rest; (_b_) to be adjusted, to fit; (_c_) to cover and warm eggs for hatching, as, "The hen _sits_."

(2) _Set_, with its forms, is always _transitive_ in use when it has the following meanings: (_a_) to put or place a thing or person in position, as "He _set_ down the book;" (_b_) to fix or establish, as, "He _sets_ a good example."

_Set_ is _intransitive_ when it means (_a_) to go down, to decline, as, "The sun has _set_;" (_b_) to become fixed or rigid, as, "His eyes _set_ in his head because of the disease;" (_c_) in certain idiomatic expressions, as, for example, "to _set_ out," "to _set_ up in business," "to _set_ about a thing," "to _set_ to work," "to _set_ forward," "the tide _sets_ in," "a strong wind _set_ in," etc.

Exercise.

Examine the forms of _lie_, _lay_, _sit_ and _set_ in these sentences; give the meaning of each, and correct those used wrongly.

1. If the phenomena which lie before him will not suit his purpose, all history must be ransacked.

2. He sat with his eyes fixed partly on the ghost and partly on Hamlet, and with his mouth open.

3. The days when his favorite volume set him upon making wheelbarrows and chairs,... can never again be the realities they were.

4. To make the jacket sit yet more closely to the body, it was gathered at the middle by a broad leathern belt.

5. He had set up no unattainable standard of perfection.

6. For more than two hundred years his bones lay undistinguished.

7. The author laid the whole fault on the audience.

8. Dapple had to lay down on all fours before the lads could bestride him.

9. And send'st him...to his G.o.ds where happy lies His petty hope in some near port or bay, And dashest him again to earth:--there let him lay.

10. Achilles is the swift-footed when he is sitting still.

11. It may be laid down as a general rule, that history begins in novel, and ends in essay.

12. I never took off my clothes, but laid down in them.

VERBALS.