The Disappearance of the Irregular Verb and Other Words ...

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The other night I was watching one of those horrid "runners" at the base of some TV news show, and one of the items read something like "The suspected shooted the officer." This was later followed by some comment about someone having swimmed instead of swam or swum and some where else this week I read that something was hanged instead of hung.

Is it just me, or is this annoying as hell? And do you find yourself, while writing, debating over whether an irregular verb needs to be written irregularly or if common usage has now made it common? And when you're reading and you see what used to be an iregular verb being used as a common verb, does it make you do a double-take and then fell all pissy and old and complaining about how no-one knows how to use the language these days? Am I a batty old woman, now? And what other words are falling out of favor that you find yourself missing?

Present Preterite Perfect Participle
Am was bin (or ben)
Attack attackted attackted
(Be) was bin (or ben)
Beat beaten beat
Become become became
Begin begun began
Bend bent bent
Bet bet bet
Bind bound bound
Bite bitten bit
Bleed bled bled
Blow blowed (or blew) blowed (or blew)
Break broken broke
Bring brought (or brung, or brang) brung
Broke (passive) broke broke
Build built built
Burn burnt burnt
Burst Bust busted busted
Buy bought (or boughten) bought (or boughten)
Can could could
Catch caught caught
Choose chose choose
Climb clum clum
Cling (to hold fast) clung clung
Cling (to ring) clang clang
Come come came
Creep crep (or crope) crep
Crow crowed (or crew) crowed
Cut cut cut
Dare dared (or dast) dared
Deal dole dealt
Dig dug dug
Dive dove dived
Do done done (or did)
Drag drug dragged
Draw drawed drawed (or drew)
Dream drempt drempt
Drink drank (or drunk) drank
Drive drove drove
Drown drownded drownded
Eat et (or eat) ate (or et)
Fall fell (or fallen) fell
Feed fed fed
Feel felt felt
Fetch fetched fetch
Fight fought fought
Find found found
Fine found found
Fling flang flung
Flow flew flowed
Fly flew flew
Forget forgot (or forgotten) forgotten
Forsake forsaken forsook
Freeze frozen (or froze) frozen
Get got (or gotten) gotten
Give give give
Glide glode glode
Go went went
Grow growed growed
Hang hung hung
Have had had (or hadden)
Hear heerd heerd (or heern)
Heat het het
Heave hove hove
Hide hidden hid
H’ist h’isted h’isted
Hit hit hit
Hold helt held (or helt)
Holler hollered hollered
Hurt hurt hurt
Keep kep kep
Kneel knelt knelt
Know knowed knew
Lay laid (or lain) laid
Lead led led
Lean lent lent
Leap lep lep
Learn learnt learnt
Lend loaned loaned
Lie (to falsify) lied lied
Lie (to recline) laid (or lain) laid
Light lit lit
Loose Lose lost lost
Make made made
May might’a
Mean meant meant
Meet met met
Mow mown mowed
Pay paid paid
Plead pled pled
Prove proved (or proven) proven
Put put put
Quit quit quit
Raise raised raised
Read read read
Rench renched renched
Rid rid rid
Ride ridden rode
Rile riled riled
Ring rung rang
Rise riz (or rose) riz
Run run ran
Say sez said
See seen saw
Sell sold sold
Send sent sent
Set set sat
Shake shaken (or shuck) shook
Shave shaved shaved
Shed shed shed
Shine (to polish) shined shined
Shoe shoed shoed
Shoot shot shot
Show shown showed
Sing sung sang
Sink sunk sank
Skin skun skun
Sleep slep slep
Slide slid slid
Sling slang slung
Slit slitted slitted
Smell smelt smelt
Sneak snuck snuck
Speed speeded speeded
Spell spelt spelt
Spill spilt spilt
Spin span span
Spit spit spit
Spoil spoilt spoilt
Spring sprung sprang
Steal stole stole
Sting stang stang
Stink stank stunk
Strike struck struck
Swear swore swore
Sweep swep swep
Swell swole (or swelled) swollen
Swim swum swam
Swing swang swung
Take taken took
Teach taught taught
Tear tore torn
Tell tole tole
Think thought thought
Thrive throve throve
Throw throwed threw
Tread tread tread
Unloosen unloosened unloosened
Wake woke woken
Wear wore wore
Weep wep wep
Wet wet wet
Win won (or wan) won (or wan)
Wind wound wound
Wish (wisht) wisht wisht
Wring wrung wrang
Write written wrote
(from H.L. Mencken's The American Language Bartleby

I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Saturday, 8 May 2004 08:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I think swim and particularly hang have been borderline for a while now.

attackted

WTF? is this a typo?

Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Saturday, 8 May 2004 11:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Is this I Love Books?

Eh, Saturday, 8 May 2004 12:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Isn't 'hanged' correct for people hanging by the neck, though not any other application?

Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 8 May 2004 15:14 (twenty-one years ago)

no-one knows how to use the language these days?
What are you saying? Have you not read any old book like The Postman always rings twice? I'll post some quotes :-D
"I suspicioned it before I went away, and right after my mother died I was sure."
"He suspicions us, Frank."

Fred, Saturday, 8 May 2004 15:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Martin: Yes. Thus: "The man who was hung was hanged."

Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 8 May 2004 16:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe this is what you meant:

The other night, I was watching one of those horrid "runners" at the base of some TV news show, and one of the items read something like: "The suspected shooted the officer." This was later followed by some comment about someone having "swimmed" instead of "swam" or "swum". Elsewhere this week I read that something was "hanged" instead of "hung".
Is it just me, or is this annoying as hell? And do you find yourself, while writing, debating over whether an irregular verb needs to be written irregularly or if common usage has now made it common? When you're reading and you see what used to be an irregular verb being used as a common verb, does it make you do a double-take and then feel all pissy and old and complaintant about how noone knows how to use the language these days? Am I a batty old woman now? What other words are falling out of favor that you find yourself missing?

Hope you don't mind - thanks for the Mencken list.

aimurchie, Saturday, 8 May 2004 23:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Bang-Bung -Bing.Or am I missing a big joke? please inform.

aimurchie, Sunday, 9 May 2004 00:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Have had had (or hadden)

See, the great thing about English is that you can use words like "shooted" or "hadden" and it's OK, so long as you're willing to accept the connotations.

Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 9 May 2004 02:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Artemus Ward to thread!:

MR. PUNCH, MY DEAR SIR, -- I skurcely need inform you that your excellent Tower is
very pop'lar with peple from the agricultooral districks, and it was chiefly them class
which I found waitin at the gates the other mornin.

I saw at once that the Tower was established on a firm basis. In the entire history of
firm basisis I don't find a basis more firmer than this one.

"You have no Tower in America?" said a man in the crowd, who had somehow detected
my denomination.

"Alars! no," I ansered; "we boste of our enterprise and improovements, and yit we are
devoid of a Tower. America, oh my onhappy country! thou hast not got no Tower! It's
a sweet Boon."

The gates opened after awhile, and we all purchist tickets and went into a waitin-room.

"My frens," said a pale-faced little man, in black close, "this is a sad day."


http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/innocent/award.html

scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 9 May 2004 13:12 (twenty-one years ago)

*laughing* Thanks for the corrections, Alison - I had that coming to me (some day I'll learn to proof my own writing - not soon, though).

I'm going to start a movement to bring back some of these verbs:

I wisht my flowers throved but I heerd they were attackted by a bug that stang them so they swole and busted.

I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Monday, 10 May 2004 05:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I.P.O.W, have you read Stephen Pinker's 'Words and Rules', which is all about regular/irregular past tense verbs, and regular/irregular plurals?
Pinker says that the general pattern over time is for less and less irregular verbs. Very occasionally, one goes the other way. I think Pinker says the most recent verb to go irregular was sneak/snuck, over a hundred years ago.

Joe Kay (feethurt), Monday, 10 May 2004 11:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Advertisers re-introducin' "proven" so as to sound Scottish and thus EXTRA-SECURE to thread! I so love that.

Gregory Henry (Gregory Henry), Monday, 10 May 2004 11:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I think they should get rid of all irregular verbs.

DV (dirtyvicar), Monday, 10 May 2004 15:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Man, I love it when Kingsley won't stay in his grave, god bless the old boy!

Ann Sterzinger (Ann Sterzinger), Monday, 10 May 2004 22:39 (twenty-one years ago)

My editing was another symptom of finals. I apologize. Robert Burns - and all of the old Scots writing - contains lots of irregular verbage and spelling and language usage. besides, my favorite verb from ILB is "arsed".

aimurchie, Tuesday, 11 May 2004 02:27 (twenty-one years ago)

"Going into jail and getting drug around: I woke up in a six-by-six cell with my hands handcuffed behind my back. That was enough right there to make Glen Campbell not take any more liquor." - 5/9/04

aimurchie, Tuesday, 11 May 2004 03:25 (twenty-one years ago)

A person is hanged, a picture is hung. Sorry, I'm pedantic.

Rowie, Tuesday, 11 May 2004 08:12 (twenty-one years ago)

A mule is hung, a fingernail is hanged.

SRH (Skrik), Wednesday, 12 May 2004 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

J.K. - Thanks, I just added the book to my ever-growing "I need these books right now!" list.

Actually, I just received a copy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves - I should look to see what the author has to say on this topic.

I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Thursday, 13 May 2004 05:08 (twenty-one years ago)


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