PAST TENSE—PAST PARTICIPLE
The interchange of these two parts of the irregular or
so-called strong verbs is, perhaps, the breach oftenest committed by
careless speakers and writers. To avoid mistakes it is requisite to know the
principal parts of these verbs, and this knowledge is very easy of acquirement,
as there are not more than a couple of hundred of such verbs, and of this
number but a small part is in daily use. Here are some of the most common
blunders: "I seen" for "I saw;" "I done it" for "I did it;" "I drunk" for "I
drank;" "I begun" for "I began;" "I rung" for "I rang;" "I run" for "I ran;" "I
sung" for "I sang;" "I have chose" for "I have chosen;" "I have drove" for "I
have driven;" "I have wore" for "I have worn;" "I have trod" for "I have
trodden;" "I have shook" for "I have shaken;" "I have fell" for "I have
fallen;" "I have drank" for "I have drunk;" "I have began" for "I have begun;"
"I have rang" for "I have rung;" "I have rose" for "I have risen;" "I have
spoke" for "I have spoken;" "I have broke" for "I have broken." "It has froze"
for "It has frozen." "It has blowed" for "It has blown." "It has flowed" (of a
bird) for "It has flown."
N. B.—The past tense and past participle of To
Hang is hanged or hung. When you are talking about a man
meeting death on the gallows, say "He was hanged"; when you are talking about
the carcass of an animal say, "It was hung," as "The beef was hung dry." Also
say your coat "was hung on a hook." |
