LISTS OF VERBS
In the first list, only such verb forms are given as are indisputably correct in accordance with the best prose usage of the present day. The pupil may feel perfectly safe, therefore, in using the forms registered in this list.[52]
A few verbs (marked *) which are seldom or never used in ordinary language are included in this list. These have various irregularities. A few verbs are partly strong and partly weak.
Weak verbs are printed in italics.
For the modal auxiliaries, see [page 299].
I
| Present Tense | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| abide | abode | abode |
| am (subjunc., be) | was | been |
| arise | arose | arisen |
| awake | awoke, awaked | awaked |
| bear | bore | borne, born[53] |
| beat | beat | beaten |
| beget | begot | begotten |
| begin | began | begun |
| behold | beheld | beheld |
| bend | bent | bent |
| bereave | bereft, bereaved | bereft, bereaved[54] |
| beseech | besought | besought |
| bet | bet | bet |
| bid (command) | bade | bidden |
| bid (money) | bid | bid |
| bind | bound | bound |
| bite | bit | bitten |
| bleed | bled | bled |
| bless (see [p. 298]) | ||
| blow | blew | blown |
| break | broke | broken |
| breed | bred | bred |
| bring | brought | brought |
| build | built | built |
| burn (see [p. 298]) | ||
| burst | burst | burst |
| buy | bought | bought |
| cast | cast | cast |
| catch | caught | caught |
| chide | chid | chidden |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| *cleave (split)[55] | cleft, clove | cleft, cleaved (cloven, adj.) |
| cling | clung | clung |
| come | came | come |
| cost | cost | cost |
| creep | crept | crept |
| crow (see [p. 299]) | ||
| curse (see [p. 298]) | ||
| cut | cut | cut |
| dare (see [p. 299]) | ||
| deal | dealt | dealt |
| dig | dug | dug |
| do | did | done |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| dream (see [p. 298]) | ||
| dress (see [p. 298]) | ||
| drink | drank | drunk (drunken, adj.) |
| drive | drove | driven |
| dwell | dwelt | dwelt |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| engrave (see [p. 299]) | ||
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feed | fed | fed |
| feel | felt | felt |
| fight | fought | fought |
| find | found | found |
| flee | fled | fled |
| fling | flung | flung |
| fly | flew | flown |
| forbear | forbore | forborne |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| forsake | forsook | forsaken |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| freight (see [p. 299]) | ||
| get | got | got[56] |
| gird (see [p. 298]) | ||
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| grave (see [p. 299]) | ||
| grind | ground | ground |
| grow | grew | grown |
| hang | hung, hanged[57] | hung, hanged[57] |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| heave | hove, heaved[58] | hove, heaved[58] |
| hew | hewed | hewn |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hold | held | held |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| keep | kept | kept |
| kneel (see [p. 298]) | ||
| knit (see [p. 298]) | ||
| know | knew | known |
| lade[59] | laded | laded, laden |
| lay | laid | laid |
| lead | led | led |
| learn (see [p. 298]) | ||
| leave | left | left |
| lend | lent | lent |
| let | let | let |
| lie (recline)[60] | lay | lain |
| light | lighted or lit[61] | lighted or lit[61] |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| mean | meant | meant |
| meet | met | met |
| mow (see [p. 299]) | ||
| pay | paid | paid |
| pen(shut up) (see [p. 298]) | ||
| put | put | put |
| quit (see [p. 298]) | ||
| read | rĕad | rĕad |
| *reave | reft, reaved | reft, reaved |
| reeve | rove | rove |
| rend | rent | rent |
| rid | rid | rid |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| ring | rang | rung |
| rise | rose | risen |
| *rive | rived | riven, rived |
| run | ran | run |
| say | said | said |
| see | saw | seen |
| seek | sought | sought |
| *seethe (transitive)[62] | sod, seethed | seethed (sodden, adj.) |
| sell | sold | sold |
| send | sent | sent |
| set | set | set |
| sew (see [p. 299]) | ||
| shake | shook | shaken |
| shape (see [p. 299]) | ||
| shave | shaved | shaved (shaven, adj.) |
| shear (see [p. 299]) | ||
| shed | shed | shed |
| shine | shone | shone |
| shoe | shod | shod |
| shoot | shot | shot |
| show | showed | shown |
| shred (see [p. 298]) | ||
| shrink | shrank | shrunk (shrunken, adj.) |
| *shrive | shrove, shrived | shriven, shrived |
| shut | shut | shut |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sink | sank | sunk |
| sit | sat | sat |
| slay | slew | slain |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| slide | slid | slid, slidden |
| sling | slung | slung |
| slink | slunk | slunk |
| slit | slit | slit |
| smell (see [p. 298]) | ||
| smite | smote | smitten |
| sow | sowed | sowed, sown |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| speed (see [p. 298]) | ||
| spell (see [p. 299]) | ||
| spend | spent | spent |
| spill (see [p. 299]) | ||
| spin | spun | spun |
| spit | spit | spit |
| split | split | split |
| spoil (see [p. 299]) | ||
| spread | spread | spread |
| spring | sprang | sprung |
| stand | stood | stood |
| stave | stove, staved | stove, staved |
| stay (see [p. 299]) | ||
| steal | stole | stolen |
| stick | stuck | stuck |
| sting | stung | stung |
| stink | stunk | stunk |
| strew | strewed | strewn |
| stride | strode | stridden |
| strike | struck | struck (stricken, adj.)[63] |
| string | strung | strung |
| strive | strove | striven |
| swear | swore | sworn |
| sweat (see [p. 299]) | ||
| sweep | swept | swept |
| swell | swelled | swelled, swollen |
| swim | swam | swum |
| swing | swung | swung |
| take | took | taken |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tear | tore | torn |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| thrive | throve, thrived | thriven, thrived |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| thrust | thrust | thrust |
| tread | trod | trodden |
| wake | woke, waked | woke, waked |
| wax (grow) (see [p. 299]) | ||
| wear | wore | worn |
| weave | wove | woven |
| wed (see [p. 299]) | ||
| weep | wept | wept |
| wet | wet | wet |
| win | won | won |
| wind | wound | wound |
| wring | wrung | wrung |
| write | wrote | written |
Bear, break, drive, get (beget, forget), speak, spin, stink, swear, tear, have an archaic past tense in a: bare, brake, drave, gat, spake, etc.
Beat, beget (forget), bite, break, forsake, hide, ride, shake, speak, weave, write, and some other verbs have archaic forms of the past participle like those of the past tense. The participles in en, however, are now the accepted forms. Chid and trod are common participial forms.
Begin, drink, ring, shrink, sing, sink, spring, swim, often have in poetry a u-form (begun, sung, etc.) in the past tense as well as in the past participle. This form (though good old English)[64] should be avoided in modern speech.
Bend, beseech, bet, build, burst, catch, dwell, rend, split, wet, have archaic or less usual forms in ed: bended, beseeched, betted, etc. Builded is common in the proverbial “He builded better than he knew.” Bursted is common as an adjective: “a bursted bubble.”
Bid, “to command,” has sometimes bid in both the past tense and the past participle; bid, “to offer money,” has these forms regularly.
Blend, leap, lean, have usually blended, leaped, leaned; but blent, leapt, leant are not uncommon.
Clothe has commonly clothed; but clad is common in literary use, and is regular in the adjectives well-clad, ill-clad (for which ordinary speech has substituted well-dressed, badly or poorly dressed).
Dive has dived; but dove (an old form) is common in America.
Plead has past tense and past participle pleaded. Plead (pronounced plĕd) is avoided by careful writers and speakers.
Prove has past tense and past participle proved. The past participle proven should be avoided.
Work has past tense and past participle worked. Wrought in the past tense and the past participle is archaic, but is also modern as an adjective (as in wrought iron).
Some verbs have rare or archaic weak forms alongside of the strong forms; thus digged, shined, past tense and past participle of dig, shine; showed, past participle of show.
Ate and eaten are preferred to eat (pronounced ĕt).
Quoth, “said,” is an old strong past tense. The compound bequeath has bequeathed only.
Miscellaneous archaisms are the past tenses sate for sat, trode for trod, spat for spit; also writ for wrote and written, rid for rode and ridden, strewed and strown for strewn.
II
The following verbs vary between ed and t (d) in the past tense and the past participle. In some of them, this variation is a mere difference of spelling. In writing, the ed forms are preferred in most cases; in speaking, the t forms are very common.
| bless | blessed, blest[65] |
| burn | burned, burnt[66] |
| curse | cursed, curst[65] |
| dare | dared (less commonly, durst) |
| dream | dreamed, dreamt |
| dress | dressed, drest |
| gird | girded, girt[66] |
| kneel | kneeled, knelt[66] |
| knit | knit, knitted[66] |
| learn | learned, learnt[67] |
| pen (shut up) | penned, pent[66] |
| quit | quitted, quit[66] |
| shred | shredded, shred[66] |
| smell | smelled, smelt[66] |
| speed | sped, speeded[66] |
| spell | spelled, spelt |
| spill | spilled, spilt[66] |
| spoil | spoiled, spoilt[66] |
| stay | stayed, staid |
| sweat | sweated, sweat[66] |
| wed | wedded (p.p. also wed)[66] |
III
The following verbs have regular ed forms in modern prose, but in poetry and the high style sometimes show archaic forms.
| Present Tense | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| crow | crowed, crew | crowed, crown |
| freight | freighted | freighted, fraught (figurative) |
| grave | graved | graved, graven |
| engrave | engraved | engraved, engraven |
| mow | mowed | mowed, mown |
| sew | sewed | sewed, sewn |
| shape | shaped | shaped, shapen |
| shear | sheared, shore | sheared, shorn |
| wax (grow) | waxed | waxed, waxen |
IV
The present tense of may, can, shall, is an old strong past. Hence the first and third persons singular are alike:—I may, he may. The actual past tenses of these verbs are weak forms:—might, could, should. Must is the weak past tense of an obsolete mōt, and is almost always used as a present tense ([§ 292]).
Dare and owe originally belonged to this class. Owe has become a regular weak verb, except for the peculiar past tense ought, which is used in a present sense (see [§ 293]); dare has in the third person dare or dares, and in the past dared, more rarely durst. The archaic wot “know,” past wist, also belongs to this class. Will is inflected like shall, having will in the first and third singular, wilt in the second singular, and would in the past.