NOTE.—Professor Lounsbury says, "Modern English has lost not a single one [irregular, or strong, verb] since the reign of Queen Elizabeth"; and adds, "The present disposition of the language is not only to hold firmly to the strong verbs it already possesses but … even to extend their number whenever possible." And he instances a few which since 1600 have deserted from the regular conjugation to the irregular.
But it should be said that new English verbs, from whatever source derived, form their past tense and participle in ed. So that while the regular verbs are not increasing by desertions from the irregular, the regular verbs are slowly gaining in number.
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LESSON 134.
FORMS OF THE VERB—CONTINUED.
CONJUGATION [Footnote: We give the conjugation of the verb in the simplest form consistent with what is now demanded of a text-book. Much of this scheme might well be omitted.
Those who wish to reject the Potential Mode, and who prefer a more elaborate and technical classification of the mode and tense forms, are referred to pages 373, 374. ]—SIMPLEST FORM.
REMARK.—English verbs have few inflections compared with those of other languages. Some irregular verbs have seven forms—+see+, +saw+, +seeing+, +seen+, +sees+, +seest+, +sawest+; regular verbs have six—+walk+, +walked+, +walking+, +walks+, +walkest+, +walkedst+. As a substitute for other inflections we prefix auxiliary verbs, and make what are called compound, or periphrastic, forms.
+Direction+.—Fill out the following forms, using the principal parts of the verb walk—present +walk+; past +walked+; past participle +walked+:—