A Conversation for The English Language: Irregular Verbs
English Irregular Verbs
waterrodent Started conversation Mar 7, 2007
Nice list, but a few have been missed:
nim, nam, nomen (Okay, it's not in common use, but it beats one dictionary's inclusion of it as "nim, nimmed, nimmed" -- if the verb be obsolete or archaic, why reduce it to a weak verb form!)
shit, shat, shitten (also, beshit, beshat, beshitten).
And I'm thinking about posting an entry on the actual general LACK of irregular verbs in English. I was on the local (Southern York County [Pennsylvania]) school board, and reviewed a sixth grade "English" textbook that on one page talked about the future tense (which does not even exist in English or other Germanic languages) and included as examples of "irregular verbs" drive, drove, driven and ride, rode, ridden! It didn't even occur to the ninny that wrote the page that both of his (or hers -- the book had so many so-called authors that I have no idea who actually wrote the entry) examples demonstrated parallel conjugation. No wonder we are hearing "strive, strived, strived" and "thrive, thrived, thrived" instead of "strive, strove, striven" and "thrive, throve, thriven". More strong verbs being reduced to weak verbs hardly strengthens our linguistic heritage.
Erek Gass
New Freedom PA
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English Irregular Verbs
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