[273] Wells has also the following citations, which most probably accord with his own opinions, though the first is rather extravagant: "The propriety of these imperfect passive tenses has been doubted by almost all our grammarians; though I believe but few of them have written many pages without condescending to make use of them. Dr. Beattie says, 'One of the greatest defects of the English tongue, with regard to the verb, seems to be the want of an imperfect passive participle.' And yet he uses the imperfect participle in a passive sense as often as most writers."—Pickbourn's Dissertation on the English Verb.
"Several other expressions of this sort now and then occur, such as the new-fangled and most uncouth solecism, 'is being done,' for the good old English idiomatic expression, 'is doing,'—an absurd periphrasis, driving out a pointed and pithy turn of the English language."—N. A. Review. See Wells's Grammar, 1850, p. 161.
The term, "imperfect passive tenses," seems not a very accurate one; because the present, the perfect, &c., are included. Pickbourn applies it to any passive tenses formed from the simple "imperfect participle;" but the phrase, "passive verbs in the progressive form," would better express the meaning. The term, "compound passive participle," which Wells applies above to "being built," "being printed," and the like, is also both unusual and inaccurate. Most readers would sooner understand by it the form, having been built, having been printed, &c. This author's mode of naming participles is always either very awkward or not distinctive. His scheme makes it necessary to add here, for each of these forms, a third epithet, referring to his main distinction of "imperfect and perfect;" as, "the compound imperfect participle passive," and "the compound perfect participle passive." What is "being builded" or "being printed," but "an imperfect passive participle?" Was this, or something else, the desideratum of Beattie?
[274] Borne usually signifies carried; born signifies brought forth. J. K. Worcester, the lexicographer, speaks of these two participles thus: "[Fist] The participle born is used in the passive form, and borne in the active form, [with reference to birth]; as, 'He was born blind,' John ix.; 'The barren hath borne seven,' I Sam. ii. This distinction between born and borne, though not recognized by grammars, is in accordance with common usage, at least in this country. In many editions of the Bible it is recognized; and in many it is not. It seems to have been more commonly recognized in American, than in English, editions."—Worcester's Universal and Critical Dict., w. Bear. In five, out of seven good American editions of the Bible among my books, the latter text is, "The barren hath born seven;" in two, it is as above, "hath borne." In Johnson's Quarto Dictionary, the perfect participle of bear is given erroneously, "bore, or born;" and that of forbear, which should be forborne, is found, both in his columns and in his preface, "forborn."
[275] According to Murray, Lennie, Bullions, and some others, to use begun for began or run for ran, is improper; but Webster gives run as well as ran for the preterit, and begun may be used in like manner, on the authority of Dryden, Pope, and Parnell.
[276] "And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead, and hungry."—Isaiah, viii, 21.
[277] "Brake [for the preterit of Break] seems now obsolescent."—Dr. Crombie, Etymol. and Syntax, p. 193. Some recent grammarians, however, retain it; among whom are Bullions and M'Culloch. Wells retains it, but marks it as, "Obsolete;" as he does also the preterits bare, clave, drove, gat, slang, spake, span, spat, sware, tare, writ; and the participles hoven, loaden, rid from ride, spitten, stricken, and writ. In this he is not altogether consistent. Forms really obsolete belong not to any modern list of irregular verbs; and even such as are archaic and obsolescent, it is sometimes better to omit. If "loaden," for example, is now out of use, why should "load, unload, and overload," be placed, as they are by this author, among "irregular verbs;" while freight and distract, in spite of fraught and distraught, are reckoned regular? "Rid," for rode or ridden, though admitted by Worcester, appears to me a low vulgarism.
[278] Cleave, to split, is most commonly, if not always, irregular, as above; cleave, to stick, or adhere, is usually considered regular, but clave was formerly used in the preterit, and clove still may be: as, "The men of Judah clave unto their king."—Samuel. "The tongue of the public prosecutor clove to the roof of his mouth."—Boston Atlas, 1855.
[279] Respecting the preterit and the perfect participle of this verb, drink, our grammarians are greatly at variance. Dr. Johnson says, "preter. drank or drunk; part. pass, drunk or drunken." Dr. Webster: "pret. and pp. drank. Old pret. and pp. drunk; pp. drunken." Lowth: "pret. drank; part, drunk or drunken." So Stamford. Webber, and others. Murray has it: "Imperf. drank, Perf. Part, drunk." So Comly, Lennie, Bullions, Blair, Butler. Frost, Felton, Goldsbury, and many others. Churchill cites the text, "Serve me till I have eaten and drunken;" and observes, "Drunken is now used only as an adjective. The impropriety of using the preterimperfect [drank] for the participle of this verb is very common."—New Gram., p. 261. Sanborn gives both forms for the participle, preferring drank to drunk. Kirkham prefers drunk to drank; but contradicts himself in a note, by unconsciously making drunk an adjective: "The men were drunk; i. e. inebriated. The toasts were drank."—Gram., p. 140. Cardell, in his Grammar, gives, "drink, drank, drunk;" but in his story of Jack Halyard, on page 59, he wrote, "had drinked:" and this, according to Fowle's True English Grammar, is not incorrect. The preponderance of authority is yet in favour of saying, "had drunk;" but drank seems to be a word of greater delicacy, and perhaps it is sufficiently authorized. A hundred late writers may be quoted for it, and some that were popular in the days of Johnson. "In the choice of what is fit to be eaten and drank."—Beattie's Moral Science, Vol. 1, p. 51. "Which I had no sooner drank."—Addison, Tattler, No. 131.
"Thy brother's blood the thirsty earth hath drank,
Broach'd with the steely point of Clifford's lance."—Shakspeare.