IMPROPRIETIES FOR CORRECTION.
ERRORS OF PARTICIPLES.
[Fist] [As the principles upon which our participles ought to be formed, were necessarily anticipated in the preceding chapter on verbs, the reader must recur to that chapter for the doctrines by which the following errors are to be corrected. The great length of that chapter seemed a good reason for separating these examples from it, and it was also thought, that such words as are erroneously written for participles, should, for the sake of order, be chiefly noticed in this place. In many of these examples, however, the participle is not really a separate part of speech, but is in fact taken with an auxiliary to form some compound tense of its verb.]
LESSON I.—IRREGULARS.
"Many of your readers have mistook that passage."—Steele, Spect., No. 544.
[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the preterit verb mistook is here used for the perfect participle. But, according to the table of irregular verbs, we ought to say, mistake, mistook, mistaking, mistaken; after the form of the simple verb, take, took, taking, taken. Therefore, the sentence should be amended thus: "Many of your readers have mistaken that passage.">[
"Had not my dog of a steward ran away."—Addison, Spect. "None should be admitted, except he had broke his collar-bone thrice."—Spect., No. 474. "We could not know what was wrote at twenty."—Pref. to Waller. "I have wrote, thou hast wrote, he has wrote; we have wrote, ye have wrote, they have wrote."—Ash's Gram., p. 62. "As if God had spoke his last words there to his people."—Barclay's Works, i, 462. "I had like to have came in that ship myself."—N. Y. Observer, No. 453. "Our ships and vessels being drove out of the harbour by a storm."—Hutchinson's Hist. of Mass., i, 470. "He will endeavour to write as the ancient author would have wrote, had he writ in the same language."—Bolingbroke, on Hist., i, 68. "When his doctrines grew too strong to be shook by his enemies."—Atterbury. "The immortal mind that hath forsook Her mansion."—Milton. "Grease that's sweaten from the murderer's gibbet, throw into the flame."—Shak., Macbeth. "The court also was chided for allowing such questions to be put."—Col. Stone, on Freemasonry, p. 470. "He would have spoke."— Milton, P. L., B. x, 1. 517. "Words interwove with sighs found out their way."—Id., ib., i, 621. "Those kings and potentates who have strove."—Id., Eiconoclast, xvii. "That even Silence was took."—Id., Comus, l. 557. "And envious Darkness, ere they could return, had stole them from me."—Id., Comus, 1. 195. "I have chose this perfect man."—Id., P. R., B. i, l. 165. "I will scarce think you have swam in a gondola."—Shak., As You Like It. "The fragrant brier was wove between."—Dryden, Fables. "Then finish what you have began."—Id., Poems, ii, 172. "But now the years a numerous train have ran."—Pope's Odyssey, B. xi, l. 555. "Repeats your verses wrote on glasses."—Prior. "Who by turns have rose."—Id. "Which from great authors I have took."—Id., Alma. "Ev'n there he should have fell."—Id., Solomon.
"The sun has rose, and gone to bed,
Just as if Partridge were not dead."—Swift.
"And though no marriage words are spoke,
They part not till the ring is broke."—Id., Riddles.