The Grammar of English Grammars Part 76

Burst, burst _or_ bursted, bursting, burst _or_ bursted.

Catch, caught _or_ catched, catching, caught _or_ catched.

Clothe, clothed _or_ clad, clothing, clothed _or_ clad.

Creep, crept _or_ creeped, creeping, crept _or_ creeped.

Crow, crowed _or_ crew, crowing, crowed.

Curse, cursed _or_ curst, cursing, cursed _or_ curst.

Dare, dared _or_ durst, daring, dared.

Deal, dealt _or_ dealed, dealing, dealt _or_ dealed.

Dig, dug _or_ digged, digging, dug _or_ digged.

Dive, dived _or_ dove, diving, dived _or_ diven.

Dream, dreamed _or_ dreamt, dreaming, dreamed _or_ dreamt.

Dress, dressed _or_ drest, dressing, dressed _or_ drest.

Dwell, dwelt _or_ dwelled, dwelling, dwelt _or_ dwelled.

Freeze, froze _or_ freezed, freezing, frozen _or_ freezed.

Geld, gelded _or_ gelt, gelding, gelded _or_ gelt.

Gild, gilded _or_ gilt, gilding, gilded _or_ gilt.

Gird, girded _or_ girt, girding, girded _or_ girt.

Grave, graved, graving, graved _or_ graven.

Grind, ground _or_ grinded, grinding, ground _or_ grinded.

Hang, hung _or_ hanged, hanging, hung _or_ hanged.

Heat, heated _or_ het, heating, heated _or_ het.

Heave, heaved _or_ hove, heaving, heaved _or_ hoven.

Hew, hewed, hewing, hewed _or_ hewn.

Kneel, kneeled _or_ knelt, kneeling, kneeled _or_ knelt.

Knit, knit _or_ knitted, knitting, knit _or_ knitted.

Lade, laded, lading, laded _or_ laden.

Lay, laid _or_ layed, laying, laid _or_ layed.

Lean, leaned _or_ leant, leaning, leaned _or_ leant.

Leap, leaped _or_ leapt, leaping, leaped _or_ leapt.[292]

Learn, learned _or_ learnt, learning, learned _or_ learnt.

Light, lighted _or_ lit, lighting, lighted _or_ lit.

Mean, meant _or_ meaned, meaning, meant _or_ meaned.

Mow, mowed, mowing, mowed _or_ mown.

Mulct, mulcted _or_ mulct, mulcting, mulcted _or_ mulct.

Pa.s.s, pa.s.sed _or_ past, pa.s.sing, pa.s.sed _or_ past.

Pay, paid _or_ payed, paying, paid _or_ payed.

Pen, penned _or_ pent, penning, penned _or_ pent.

(to coop,) Plead, pleaded _or_ pled, pleading, pleaded _or_ pled.

Prove, proved, proving, proved _or_ proven.

Quit, quitted _or_ quit, quitting, quitted _or_ quit.[293]

Rap, rapped _or_ rapt, rapping, rapped _or_ rapt.

Reave, reft _or_ reaved, reaving, reft _or_ reaved.

Rive, rived, riving, riven _or_ rived.

Roast, roasted _or_ roast, roasting, roasted _or_ roast.

Saw, sawed, sawing, sawed _or_ sawn.

Seethe, seethed _or_ sod, seething, seethed _or_ sodden.

Shake, shook _or_ shaked, shaking, shaken _or_ shaked.

Shape, shaped, shaping, shaped _or_ shapen.

Shave, shaved, shaving, shaved _or_ shaven.

Shear, sheared _or_ sh.o.r.e, shearing, sheared _or_ shorn.

s.h.i.+ne, s.h.i.+ned _or_ shone, s.h.i.+ning, s.h.i.+ned _or_ shone.

Show, showed, showing, showed _or_ shown.

Sleep, slept _or_ sleeped, sleeping, slept _or_ sleeped.

Slide, slid _or_ slided, sliding, slidden, slid, _or_ slided.

Slit, slitted _or_ slit, slitting, slitted _or_ slit.

Smell, smelled _or_ smelt, smelling, smelled _or_ smelt.

Sow, sowed, sowing, sowed _or_ sown.

Speed, sped _or_ speeded, speeding, sped _or_ speeded.

Spell, spelled _or_ spelt, spelling, spelled _or_ spelt.

Spill, spilled _or_ spilt, spilling, spilled _or_ spilt.

Split, split _or_ splitted, splitting, split _or_ splitted.[294]

Spoil, spoiled _or_ spoilt, spoiling, spoiled _or_ spoilt.

Stave, stove _or_ staved, staving, stove _or_ staved.

Stay, staid _or_ stayed, staying, staid _or_ stayed.

String, strung _or_ stringed, stringing, strung _or_ stringed.

Strive, strived _or_ strove, striving, strived _or_ striven.

Strow, strowed, strowing, strowed _or_ strown.

Sweat, sweated _or_ sweat, sweating, sweated _or_ sweat.

Sweep, swept _or_ sweeped, sweeping, swept _or_ sweeped.

Swell, swelled, swelling, swelled _or_ swollen.

Thrive, thrived _or_ throve, thriving, thrived _or_ thriven.

Throw, threw _or_ throwed, throwing, thrown _or_ throwed.

Wake, waked _or_ woke, waking, waked _or_ woke.

Wax, waxed, waxing, waxed _or_ waxen.

Weave, wove _or_ weaved, weaving, woven _or_ weaved.

Wed, wedded _or_ wed, wedding, wedded _or_ wed.

Weep, wept _or_ weeped, weeping, wept _or_ weeped.

Wet, wet _or_ wetted, wetting, wet _or_ wetted.

Whet, whetted _or_ whet, whetting, whetted _or_ whet.[295]

Wind, wound _or_ winded, winding, wound _or_ winded.

Wont, wont _or_ wonted, wonting, wont _or_ wonted.

Work, worked _or_ wrought, working, worked _or_ wrought.

Wring, wringed _or_ wrung, wringing, wringed _or_ wrung.[296]

DEFECTIVE VERBS.

A _defective verb_ is a verb that forms no participles, and is used in but few of the moods and tenses; as, _beware, ought, quoth_.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1. When any of the princ.i.p.al parts of a verb are wanting, the tenses usually derived from those parts are also, of course, wanting. All the auxiliaries, except _do, be_, and _have_, if we compare them with other verbs, are defective; but, _as auxiliaries_, they lack nothing; for no complete verb is used throughout as an auxiliary, except _be_. And since an auxiliary differs essentially from a princ.i.p.al verb, the propriety of referring _may, can, must_, and _shall_, to the cla.s.s of defective verbs, is at least questionable. In parsing there is never any occasion to _call_ them defective verbs, because they are always taken together with their princ.i.p.als. And though we may technically say, that their participles are "_wanting_," it is manifest that none are _needed_.

OBS. 2. _Will_ is sometimes used as a princ.i.p.al verb, and as such it is regular and complete; _will, willed, willing, willed_: as, "His Majesty _willed_ that they should attend."--_Clarendon_. "He _wills_ for them a happiness of a far more exalted and enduring nature."--_Gurney_. "Whether thou _willest_ it to be a minister to our pleasure."--_Harris_. "I _will_; be thou clean."--_Luke_, v, 13. "Nevertheless, not as I _will_, but as thou _will_."--_Matt._, xxvi, 39. "To _will_ is present with me."--_Rom._, vii, 18. But _would_ is sometimes also a princ.i.p.al verb; as, "What _would_ this man?"--_Pope_. "Would G.o.d that all the Lord's people were prophets."--_Numb._, xi, 29. "And Israel _would_ none of me."--_Psalm_, lx.x.xi, 11. If we refer this indefinite preterit to the same root, _will_ becomes redundant; _will, willed_ or _would, willing, willed_. In respect to time, _would_ is less definite than _willed_, though both are called preterits. It is common, and perhaps best, to consider them distinct verbs.

The latter only can be a participle: as,

"How rarely does it meet with this time's guise, When man was _will'd_ to love his enemies!"--_Shakspeare_.

OBS. 3. The remaining defective verbs are only five or six questionable terms, which our grammarians know not well how else to explain; some of them being now nearly obsolete, and others never having been very proper.