Part 50 (1/2)

This worthi man ful wel his wit _bisette_ [used].--CHAUCER.

Of smale houndes _hadde_ she, that sche _fedde_ With rosted flessh, or mylk and wastel breed.--_Id._

This ending has now dropped off, leaving some weak verbs with the same form throughout: as set, set, set; put, put, put.

257. Irregular Weak Verbs.--Cla.s.s I.

_Present Tense_. _Past Tense_. _Past Participle_.

bereave bereft, bereave bereft, bereaved beseech besought besought burn burned, burnt burnt buy bought bought catch caught caught creep crept crept deal dealt dealt dream dreamt, dreamed dreamt, dreamed dwell dwelt dwelt feel felt felt flee fled fled have had had (_once_ haved) hide hid hidden, hid keep kept kept kneel knelt knelt lay laid laid lean leaned, leant leaned, leant leap leaped, leapt leaped, leapt leave left left lose lost lost make made (_once_ maked) made mean meant meant pay paid paid pen [inclose] penned, pen penned, pent say said said seek sought sought sell sold sold shoe shod shod sleep slept slept spell spelled, spelt spelt spill spilt spilt stay staid, stayed staid, stayed sweep swept swept teach taught taught tell told told think thought thought weep wept wept work worked, wrought worked, wrought

258. Irregular Weak Verbs.--Cla.s.s II.

_Present Tense_. _Past Tense_. _Past Participle_.

bend bent, bended bent, bended bleed bled bled breed bred bred build built built cast cast cast cost cost cost feed fed fed gild gilded, gilt gilded, gilt gird girt, girded girt, girded hit hit hit hurt hurt hurt knit knit, knitted knit, knitted lead led led let let let light lighted, lit lighted, lit meet met met put put put quit quit, quitted quit, quitted read read read rend rent rent rid rid rid send sent sent set set set shed shed shed shred shred shred shut shut shut slit slit slit speed sped sped spend spent spent spit spit [_obs._ spat] spit [_obs._ spat]

split split split spread spread spread sweat sweat sweat thrust thrust thrust wed wed, wedded wed, wedded wet wet, wetted wet, wetted

[Sidenote: _Tendency to phonetic spelling._]

250. There seems to be in Modern English a growing tendency toward phonetic spelling in the past tense and past participle of weak verbs.

For example, _-ed_, after the verb _bless_, has the sound of _t_: hence the word is often written _blest_. So with _dipt_, _whipt_, _dropt_, _tost_, _crost_, _drest_, _prest_, etc. This is often seen in poetry, and is increasing in prose.

Some Troublesome Verbs.

[Sidenote: Lie _and_ lay _in use and meaning._]

260. Some sets of verbs are often confused by young students, weak forms being subst.i.tuted for correct, strong forms.

Lie and lay need close attention. These are the forms:--

_Present Tense._ _Past Tense._ _Pres. Participle._ _Past Participle._

1. Lie lay lying lain 2. Lay laid laying laid

The distinctions to be observed are as follows:--

(1) _Lie_, with its forms, is regularly _intransitive_ as to use. As to meaning, _lie_ means to rest, to recline, to place one's self in a rec.u.mbent position; as, ”There _lies_ the ruin.”

(2) _Lay_, with its forms, is always _transitive_ as to use. As to meaning, _lay_ means to put, to place a person or thing in position; as, ”Slowly and sadly we _laid_ him down.” Also _lay_ may be used without any object expressed, but there is still a transitive meaning; as in the expressions, ”to _lay_ up for future use,” ”to _lay_ on with the rod,” ”to _lay_ about him l.u.s.tily.”

[Sidenote: Sit _and_ set.]