[Footnote 5: Preterites of don and dup, contracted from do on and do up.]

(The connecting link may be seen in the preterite form zog.)

Some persons used the strong preterites, and some the weak,some said snew, thew, sew, and some snowed, thawed, sowed.

"If we analize a conjunctive preterite, the rule will not appear to hold.

"Many verbs form both the preterite tense and the preterite participle irregularly."Ib., p. 28.

"Many verbs form both the preterite tense and the preterite participle irregularly."Ib., p. 28.

"Those preterites and participles, which are first mentioned in the list, seem to be the most eligible.

"The affectation of using the preterite instead of the participle, is peculiarly aukward; as, he has came.

"The preterite of read is pronounced red."Ib., p. 48.

Respecting the preterites which have a or u, as slang, or slung, sank, or sunk, it would be better were the former only to be used, as the Preterite and Participle would thus be discriminated."Dr.

Among other derivatives, I have been careful to insert and elucidate the anomalous plurals of nouns and preterites of verbs, which in the Teutonick dialects are very frequent, and, though familiar to those who have always used them, interrupt and embarrass the learners of our language.

Principal Parts.+The main forms of the verbso important as to be called the principal parts because the other parts are formed from them are the root infinitive, the preterite (past) indicative, and the past participle [move, moved, moved; sing, sang, sung; be, was, been].

There are three primary tenses: present, preterite (past), and future; and three secondary tenses for completed action:present perfect, past perfect (pluperfect), and future perfect.

English has only two simple tenses, the present and the preterite: I love, I loved.

The formation of the preterite tense, and the consequent division of verbs into strong and weak, will be discussed later.

The verb to be has the following indicative and subjunctive forms in the present and preterite: IND.

Thou were PRESENT { He is He be PRETERITE {

The preterite refers to present time.

It has been the custom to call all verbs which form the preterite and past participle by adding -d or -ed to the present, regular verbs [love, loved, loved], and to call all others irregular.

The weak verbs are those which form the preterite by adding -ed, -d, or -t to the present: love, loved.

All verbs which form the preterite without the addition of an ending are strong verbs.

PRESENT PRETERITE PAST

CAUTION.Do not confuse the preterite with the past participle.

Illustrate by an original sentence preterite and past participle of the following verbs.

In using the verbs drink, ring, shrink, sing, sink, spring, swim, it seems better to confine the forms in "a" to the preterite tense, and the forms in "u" to the past participle: as, "The bell rang five minutes ago"; "Yes, the bell has rung.