Appendix
Lists of Verbs
In the first list, only such verb forms are given as are indisputably correct in accordance with the best prose usage of the present day. The pupil may feel perfectly safe, therefore, in using the forms registered in this list.52
A few verbs (marked *) which are seldom or never used in ordinary language are included in this list. These have various irregularities. A few verbs are partly strong and partly weak.
Weak verbs are printed in italics.
For the modal auxiliaries, see page 299.
I
| Present Tense | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| abide | abode | abode |
| am (subjunc., be) | was | been |
| arise | arose | arisen |
| awake | awoke, awaked | awaked |
| bear | bore | borne, born53 |
| beat | beat | beaten |
| beget | begot | begotten |
| begin | began | begun |
| behold | beheld | beheld |
| bend | bent | bent |
| bereave | bereft, bereaved | bereft, bereaved54 |
| beseech | besought | besought |
| bet | bet | bet |
| bid (command) | bade | bidden |
| bid (money) | bid | bid |
| bind | bound | bound |
| bite | bit | bitten |
| bleed | bled | bled |
| bless (see p. 298) | ||
| blow | blew | blown |
| break | broke | broken |
| breed | bred | bred |
| bring | brought | brought |
| build | built | built |
| burn (see p. 298) | ||
| burst | burst | burst |
| buy | bought | bought |
| cast | cast | cast |
| catch | caught | caught |
| chide | chid | chidden |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| *cleave (split)55 | cleft, clove | cleft, cleaved (cloven, adj.) |
| cling | clung | clung |
| come | came | come |
| cost | cost | cost |
| creep | crept | crept |
| crow (see p. 299) | ||
| curse (see p. 298) | ||
| cut | cut | cut |
| dare (see p. 299) | ||
| deal | dealt | dealt |
| dig | dug | dug |
| do | did | done |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| dream (see p. 298) | ||
| dress (see p. 298) | ||
| drink | drank | drunk (drunken, adj.) |
| drive | drove | driven |
| dwell | dwelt | dwelt |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| engrave (see p. 299) | ||
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feed | fed | fed |
| feel | felt | felt |
| fight | fought | fought |
| find | found | found |
| flee | fled | fled |
| fling | flung | flung |
| fly | flew | flown |
| forbear | forbore | forborne |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| forsake | forsook | forsaken |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| freight (see p. 299) | ||
| get | got | got56 |
| gird (see p. 298) | ||
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| grave (see p. 299) | ||
| grind | ground | ground |
| grow | grew | grown |
| hang | hung, hanged57 | hung, hanged57 |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| heave | hove, heaved58 | hove, heaved58 |
| hew | hewed | hewn |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hold | held | held |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| keep | kept | kept |
| kneel (see p. 298) | ||
| knit (see p. 298) | ||
| know | knew | known |
| lade59 | laded | laded, laden |
| lay | laid | laid |
| lead | led | led |
| learn (see p. 298) | ||
| leave | left | left |
| lend | lent | lent |
| let | let | let |
| lie (recline)60 | lay | lain |
| light | lighted or lit61 | lighted or lit61 |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| mean | meant | meant |
| meet | met | met |
| mow (see p. 299) | ||
| pay | paid | paid |
| pen(shut up) (see p. 298) | ||
| put | put | put |
| quit (see p. 298) | ||
| read | rĕad | rĕad |
| *reave | reft, reaved | reft, reaved |
| reeve | rove | rove |
| rend | rent | rent |
| rid | rid | rid |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| ring | rang | rung |
| rise | rose | risen |
| *rive | rived | riven, rived |
| run | ran | run |
| say | said | said |
| see | saw | seen |
| seek | sought | sought |
| *seethe (transitive)62 | sod, seethed | seethed (sodden, adj.) |
| sell | sold | sold |
| send | sent | sent |
| set | set | set |
| sew (see p. 299) | ||
| shake | shook | shaken |
| shape (see p. 299) | ||
| shave | shaved | shaved (shaven, adj.) |
| shear (see p. 299) | ||
| shed | shed | shed |
| shine | shone | shone |
| shoe | shod | shod |
| shoot | shot | shot |
| show | showed | shown |
| shred (see p. 298) | ||
| shrink | shrank | shrunk (shrunken, adj.) |
| *shrive | shrove, shrived | shriven, shrived |
| shut | shut | shut |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sink | sank | sunk |
| sit | sat | sat |
| slay | slew | slain |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| slide | slid | slid, slidden |
| sling | slung | slung |
| slink | slunk | slunk |
| slit | slit | slit |
| smell (see p. 298) | ||
| smite | smote | smitten |
| sow | sowed | sowed, sown |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| speed (see p. 298) | ||
| spell (see p. 299) | ||
| spend | spent | spent |
| spill (see p. 299) | ||
| spin | spun | spun |
| spit | spit | spit |
| split | split | split |
| spoil (see p. 299) | ||
| spread | spread | spread |
| spring | sprang | sprung |
| stand | stood | stood |
| stave | stove, staved | stove, staved |
| stay (see p. 299) | ||
| steal | stole | stolen |
| stick | stuck | stuck |
| sting | stung | stung |
| stink | stunk | stunk |
| strew | strewed | strewn |
| stride | strode | stridden |
| strike | struck | struck (stricken, adj.)63 |
| string | strung | strung |
| strive | strove | striven |
| swear | swore | sworn |
| sweat (see p. 299) | ||
| sweep | swept | swept |
| swell | swelled | swelled, swollen |
| swim | swam | swum |
| swing | swung | swung |
| take | took | taken |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tear | tore | torn |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| thrive | throve, thrived | thriven, thrived |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| thrust | thrust | thrust |
| tread | trod | trodden |
| wake | woke, waked | woke, waked |
| wax (grow) (see p. 299) | ||
| wear | wore | worn |
| weave | wove | woven |
| wed (see p. 299) | ||
| weep | wept | wept |
| wet | wet | wet |
| win | won | won |
| wind | wound | wound |
| wring | wrung | wrung |
| write | wrote | written |
Bear, break, drive, get (beget, forget), speak, spin, stink, swear, tear, have an archaic past tense in a: bare, brake, drave, gat, spake, etc.
Beat, beget (forget), bite, break, forsake, hide, ride, shake, speak, weave, write, and some other verbs have archaic forms of the past participle like those of the past tense. The participles in en, however, are now the accepted forms. Chid and trod are common participial forms.
Begin, drink, ring, shrink, sing, sink, spring, swim, often have in poetry a u-form (begun, sung, etc.) in the past tense as well as in the past participle. This form (though good old English)64 should be avoided in modern speech.
Bend, beseech, bet, build, burst, catch, dwell, rend, split, wet, have archaic or less usual forms in ed: bended, beseeched, betted, etc. Builded is common in the proverbial “He builded better than he knew.” Bursted is common as an adjective: “a bursted bubble.”
Bid, “to command,” has sometimes bid in both the past tense and the past participle; bid, “to offer money,” has these forms regularly.
Blend, leap, lean, have usually blended, leaped, leaned; but blent, leapt, leant are not uncommon.
Clothe has commonly clothed; but clad is common in literary use, and is regular in the adjectives well-clad, ill-clad (for which ordinary speech has substituted well-dressed, badly or poorly dressed).
Dive has dived; but dove (an old form) is common in America.
Plead has past tense and past participle pleaded. Plead (pronounced plĕd) is avoided by careful writers and speakers.
Prove has past tense and past participle proved. The past participle proven should be avoided.
Work has past tense and past participle worked. Wrought in the past tense and the past participle is archaic, but is also modern as an adjective (as in wrought iron).
Some verbs have rare or archaic weak forms alongside of the strong forms; thus digged, shined, past tense and past participle of dig, shine; showed, past participle of show.
Ate and eaten are preferred to eat (pronounced ĕt).
Quoth, “said,” is an old strong past tense. The compound bequeath has bequeathed only.
Miscellaneous archaisms are the past tenses sate for sat, trode for trod, spat for spit; also writ for wrote and written, rid for rode and ridden, strewed and strown for strewn.
II
The following verbs vary between ed and t (d) in the past tense and the past participle. In some of them, this variation is a mere difference of spelling. In writing, the ed forms are preferred in most cases; in speaking, the t forms are very common.
| bless | blessed, blest65 |
| burn | burned, burnt66 |
| curse | cursed, curst65 |
| dare | dared (less commonly, durst) |
| dream | dreamed, dreamt |
| dress | dressed, drest |
| gird | girded, girt66 |
| kneel | kneeled, knelt66 |
| knit | knit, knitted66 |
| learn | learned, learnt67 |
| pen (shut up) | penned, pent66 |
| quit | quitted, quit66 |
| shred | shredded, shred66 |
| smell | smelled, smelt66 |
| speed | sped, speeded66 |
| spell | spelled, spelt |
| spill | spilled, spilt66 |
| spoil | spoiled, spoilt66 |
| stay | stayed, staid |
| sweat | sweated, sweat66 |
| wed | wedded (p.p. also wed)66 |
III
The following verbs have regular ed forms in modern prose, but in poetry and the high style sometimes show archaic forms.
| Present Tense | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| crow | crowed, crew | crowed, crown |
| freight | freighted | freighted, fraught (figurative) |
| grave | graved | graved, graven |
| engrave | engraved | engraved, engraven |
| mow | mowed | mowed, mown |
| sew | sewed | sewed, sewn |
| shape | shaped | shaped, shapen |
| shear | sheared, shore | sheared, shorn |
| wax (grow) | waxed | waxed, waxen |
IV
The present tense of may, can, shall, is an old strong past. Hence the first and third persons singular are alike:—I may, he may. The actual past tenses of these verbs are weak forms:—might, could, should. Must is the weak past tense of an obsolete mōt, and is almost always used as a present tense (§ 292).
Dare and owe originally belonged to this class. Owe has become a regular weak verb, except for the peculiar past tense ought, which is used in a present sense (see § 293); dare has in the third person dare or dares, and in the past dared, more rarely durst. The archaic wot “know,” past wist, also belongs to this class. Will is inflected like shall, having will in the first and third singular, wilt in the second singular, and would in the past.
Conjugation of the Verb to Be
| INDICATIVE MOOD | |
|---|---|
| Present Tense | |
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
| 1. I am. | We are. |
| 2. Thou art. | You are. |
| 3. He is. | They are. |
| Past Tense | |
| 1. I was. | We were. |
| 2. Thou wast (wert). | You were. |
| 3. He was. | They were. |
| Future Tense | |
| 1. I shall be. | We shall be. |
| 2. Thou wilt be. | You will be. |
| 3. He will be. | They will be. |
| Perfect (or Present Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. I have been. | We have been. |
| 2. Thou hast been. | You have been. |
| 3. He has been. | They have been. |
| Pluperfect (or Past Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. I had been. | We had been. |
| 2. Thou hadst been. | You had been. |
| 3. He had been. | They had been. |
| Future Perfect Tense | |
| 1. I shall have been. | We shall have been. |
| 2. Thou wilt have been. | You will have been. |
| 3. He will have been. | They will have been. |
| SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD | |
| Present Tense | |
| 1. If I be. | If we be. |
| 2. If thou be. | If you be. |
| 3. If he be. | If they be. |
| Past Tense | |
| 1. If I were. | If we were. |
| 2. If thou wert. | If you were. |
| 3. If he were. | If they were. |
| Perfect (or Present Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. If I have been. | If we have been. |
| 2. If thou have been. | If you have been. |
| 3. If he have been. | If they have been. |
| Pluperfect (or Past Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. If I had been. | If we had been. |
| 2. If thou hadst been. | If you had been. |
| 3. If he had been. | If they had been. |
| Imperative Mood. | Present. Sing. and Pl. Be [thou or you]. |
| Infinitive. | Present, to be; Perfect, to have been. |
| Participles. | Present, being; Past, been; Perfect, having been. |
Conjugation of the Verb to Strike
ACTIVE VOICE
| INDICATIVE MOOD | |
|---|---|
| Present Tense | |
| 1. I strike. | We strike. |
| 2. Thou strikest. | You strike. |
| 3. He strikes. | They strike. |
| Past Tense | |
| 1. I struck. | We struck. |
| 2. Thou struckest. | You struck. |
| 3. He struck. | They struck. |
| Future Tense | |
| 1. I shall strike. | We shall strike. |
| 2. Thou wilt strike. | You will strike. |
| 3. He will strike. | They will strike. |
| Perfect (or Present Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. I have struck. | We have struck. |
| 2. Thou hast struck. | You have struck. |
| 3. He has struck. | They have struck. |
| Pluperfect (or Past Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. I had struck. | We had struck. |
| 2. Thou hadst struck. | You had struck. |
| 3. He had struck. | They had struck. |
| Future Perfect Tense | |
| 1. I shall have struck. | We shall have struck. |
| 2. Thou wilt have struck. | You will have struck. |
| 3. He will have struck. | They will have struck. |
| SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD | |
| Present Tense | |
| 1. If I strike. | If we strike. |
| 2. If thou strike. | If you strike. |
| 3. If he strike. | If they strike. |
| Past Tense | |
| 1. If I struck. | If we struck. |
| 2. If thou struck. | If you struck. |
| 3. If he struck. | If they struck. |
| Perfect (or Present Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. If I have struck. | If we have struck. |
| 2. If thou have struck. | If you have struck. |
| 3. If he have struck. | If they have struck. |
| Pluperfect (or Past Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. If I had struck. | If we had struck. |
| 2. If thou hadst struck. | If you had struck. |
| 3. If he had struck. | If they had struck. |
| Imperative Mood. | Present. Sing. and Pl. Strike [thou or you]. |
| Infinitive. | Present, to strike; Perfect, to have struck. |
| Participle. | Present, striking; Past, struck; Perfect, having struck. |
PASSIVE VOICE
| INDICATIVE MOOD | |
|---|---|
| Present Tense | |
| 1. I am struck. | We are struck. |
| 2. Thou art struck. | You are struck. |
| 3. He is struck. | They are struck. |
| Past Tense | |
| 1. I was struck. | We were struck. |
| 2. Thou wast (or wert) struck. | You were struck. |
| 3. He was struck. | They were struck. |
| Future Tense | |
| 1. I shall be struck. | We shall be struck. |
| 2. Thou wilt be struck. | You will be struck. |
| 3. He will be struck. | They will be struck. |
| Perfect (or Present Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. I have been struck. | We have been struck. |
| 2. Thou hast been struck. | You have been struck. |
| 3. He has been struck. | They have been struck. |
| Pluperfect (or Past Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. I had been struck. | We had been struck. |
| 2. Thou hadst been struck. | You had been struck. |
| 3. He had been struck. | They had been struck. |
| Future Perfect Tense | |
| 1. I shall have been struck. | We shall have been struck. |
| 2. Thou wilt have been struck. | You will have been struck. |
| 3. He will have been struck. | They will have been struck. |
| SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD | |
| Present Tense | |
| 1. If I be struck. | If we be struck. |
| 2. If thou be struck. | If you be struck. |
| 3. If he be struck. | If they be struck. |
| Past Tense | |
| 1. If I were struck. | If we were struck. |
| 2. If thou wert struck. | If you were struck. |
| 3. If he were struck. | If they were struck. |
| Perfect (or Present Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. If I have been struck. | If we have been struck. |
| 2. If thou have been struck. | If you have been struck. |
| 3. If he have been struck. | If they have been struck. |
| Pluperfect (or Past Perfect) Tense | |
| 1. If I had been struck. | If we had been struck. |
| 2. If thou hadst been struck. | If you had been struck. |
| 3. If he had been struck. | If they had been struck. |
| Imperative Mood. | Present. Sing. and Pl. Be [thou or you] struck. |
| Infinitive. | Present, to be struck; Perfect, to have been struck. |
| Participles. | Present, being struck; Past, struck; Perfect, having been struck. |