STRONG VERBS. 78. The strong verbs may be classified as follows— I. Verbs which modify the root-vowel to form the past imperfect tense, and form the perfect participle in -en or -n. Present Past Perfect Present Past Perfect Imperfect Imperfect Participle Imperfect Imperfect Participle II. Verbs which modify the root-vowel to form the past imperfect, and drop the ending -en in the perfect participle. III. Verbs which at present are alike in the present imperfect and past imperfect, and drop the participial ending -en. The weak verbs may be classified as follows— I. Verbs which form their past imperfect tense and their perfect participle in -ed or -d, e.g. love loved loved II. Verbs which contract -ed into -t without vowel-change. III. Verbs that form their past tense in -ed, -d, or -t, and, as a consequence of the syllable originally added to form the past tense, modify the root-vowel. IV. Verbs which have the same form for the present and past imperfect tense and for the perfect participle, the -d or -t having been merged in the -d or -t of the uninflected verb; as cast, cost, cut, hit, hurt, knit, let, put, rid, shed, shred, shut, slit, spit, split, spread, sweat, thrust. Some verbs follow the weak conjugation in the past imperfect and the strong in the perfect participle, e.g.— The following verbs, now weak, were originally strong— The following verbs are now strong, but were formerly weak The participles lorn and forlorn are formed from the obsolete verb leósan, to lose, perf. part. loren, Comp. froren = frozen, from freosan, to freeze. Tight, distraught, and straight, are respectively the perfect participles of tie, distract, and stretch, but are now used only as adjectives. Many old participles are preserved in compound adjective forms, e.g. uncouth unknown, from cuth, perf. part. of cunnan, to know; ill-gotten; misbegotten; unkempt, from comb; unborn, from bear; unbidden, from bid; unthrift, from thrive; bed ridden is a corruption of O.E. bed-rida (rída, a rider, knight). = Exercises. 1. Classify the verbs as strong or weak in the following passages a. We forded the river and clomb the high hill.—Byron. b. And yet he glanced not up, nor waved his hand, Nor bad farewell, but sadly rode away.-Tennyson. c. And all this throve until I wedded thee.-Id. d. e. And all his kith and kin Clave to him.-Id. When Adam dalve [delved] and Eve span, f. And Jacob abode with Laban.—Bible. g. Ice-chained in its headlong tract All throughout a wintry noon, All throughout a sun-bright even, Like the sapphire gate of heaven; Spray and wave, and drippings frore, For a hundred feet and more Caught in air there to remain Bound in winter's crystal chain.-I. Williams. h. It snewed in his hous of mete and drynk.—Chaucer. i. k. A clerk ther was of Oxenford also, That unto logik hadde long igo.—Id. And when he rood men might his bridel heare 7. Ful semely aftur hire mete she raught.-Id. m. And thereon heng a broch of gold ful schene.--Id. 2. Give the past imperfect tense and perfect participle of the following verbs: stick, grind, wink, ring, forbear, wring, swear, seethe, sting, smite, weave. 3. Give instances of (a) verbs formerly weak now strong, (b) formerly strong now weak. Account where you can for the changes. 4. Classify the strong verbs, as far as you can, according to their vowel changes. |