A form such as lovede was liable to syncope, which means, practically, that the word was frequently pronounced (luv·də) or (luv·ed); it mattered little which was chosen. Before a vowel, the final -e could suffer elision, which reduced the form to lov'd' (luvd).
This explains the scansion of many lines. Thus, in A 1196, it does not matter whether we say (luv·də) or (luv·ed); but in A 1197, 1198, the only possible form is (luv·d).
[§ 92]. Three classes of weak verbs. We may distribute the weak verbs into three classes; the types being, respectively, loven, heren, to hear, and tellen.
1. Infin. lov-en, lov-e; pt. t. lov-ëde, lov-ëd, lov-(e)de; pp. lovëd, lov(e)d. The pt. t. pl. sometimes adds -n. Past tenses in which the full form in -ede occurs are not common, on account of the tendency to shorten the word. We find lakk-ede, wedd-ede, ned-ede, in full, and the plurals lok-eden, knokk-eden, yell-eden; and even aqueynt-eden, from a word of French origin. Liv-eden in D 1877 is really liv'den. The second e is dropped in ax-ed, folw-ed, lok-ed, long-ed, &c. As an example of the convenience of a double form, observe the pt. s. espy-ed riming with the pp. all-yed, B 3718; and the pt. pl. subj. espy-de riming with tyde, L. 771.
Here belong answere, pt. t. answer-de; make, pt. t. mak-ed, ma-de (for mak-e-de), an extreme example of syncope, pp. mak-ed, maad, mād; clepe, pt. t. clep-ed, clep-te; pley-en, pt. t. pley-de, &c. Also some in which the stem has suffered some alteration, as twicche, pt. t. twigh-te; picche, pt. t. pigh-te; prike, pt. t. prigh-te; reve, pt. t. ref-te, raf-te, pp. raf-t; clothe, pt. t. cladde, cledde, pp. cloth-ed, clad, and even cled; syke, to sigh, pt. s. syk-ed, sigh-te.
Note. The second person of the past tense takes the suffix -st, as in lovedest, contrary to the habit of the strong verbs. An anomalous form occurs in thou made, instead of thou madest.
2. Pt. t. hēr-en, hēr-e, to hear; Pt. s. hĕr-de, Pp. hĕr-d. The vowel is shortened in the pt. s. and pp. before the two consonants. Here belong verbs ending in -an in A.S., which almost invariably exhibit a mutated vowel in the infinitive mood; cf. A.S. sendan, Goth, sandjan.
Here belong: blende, pt. blente; fēde, pt. fedde; fēle, pt. felte; fille, pt. filde; grēte, to greet, pt. grette; hente, pt. hente; hyde, pt. hidde, pp. hid, Kentish hed; kepe, pt. kepte; kisse, pt. kiste, Kentish keste; lede, pt. ledde, ladde; mene, to mean, pt. mente, mēte, to meet, pt. mette; rende, pt. rente; sende, pt. sende, sente; sette, pt. sette; sprēde, pt. spradde; swete, pt. swatte; wende, to go, pt. wente; wēne, to imagine, pt. wende. So also, dēmen, to deem, sēmen, to seem, which should make the pt. tenses demde, semde; but, as these forms seemed awkward, they became demed, semed.
So also lēve, to leave, pt. lefte, lafte; kythe, to make known, pt. kid-de, pp. kid or kythed.