IRREGULAR VERBS are next to be confidered. In all regular verbs the indefinite past time active, and the participle perfect, or paffive, are formed by adding to the verb ed, or

only when the verb ends in e: as, turn, turned; love, loved. Verbs which vary from this rule are called irregular verbs.

The English language being compounded of the Saxon, and Norman French, muft neceffarily partake of the nature of both; but the formation of all our verbs is derived from the Saxon.

All our irregular verbs are monofyllables, except the compounded ones; and are generally the fame verbs which are irregular in the Saxon...

There are three claffes of irregular verbs. The first clafs confifts of thofe verbs which are become irregular by cons traction, and either have the prefent and paft time active, and participle perfect, or paflive, all exactly alike; or else vary in the formation of the paft time, and participle, from the prefent, by fhortening the diphthong, or changing the dat the end of the verb into h. The fecond clafs of irregular verbs are thofe that in the paft time and participle end in ght, and change the vowel or diphthong of the prefent time into cu or ou. Irregulars of the third clafs form the past time by changing the vowel or diphthong of the prefent; and form the participle, by adding 'the termination en, with generally the change of the vowel or diphthong.

Irregular Verbs of the First Class, which have the Prefent, Paft Time, and Participle alike.

* The verbs marked thus *, throughout the three claffes of irre

gulars, have the regular as well as the irregular form in use.

The

The two firft have also beaten and burften in the participle; and thus they fometimes belong to the irregulars of the third clafs. The verb light is pronounced fliort in the past time and participle; as, I have lit the candle; but the regular form is preferable-lighted. The verb read is also pronounced short in the paft time and participle: as, I have red, for read.

The following vary in the form of the past time and participle from the prefent: lead, led; fweat, fwet*; meet, met; bleed, bled; breed, bred; feed, fed; speed, sped; bend, bent*; lend, lent; rend, rent; fend, fent; spend, spent; build, built*; geld, gelt; gild, gilt*; gird, girt; lose, loft. The following are formed by contraction: have, had; make, made; flee, fled; fhoe, fhod. And fome change the vowel alfo : as, fell, fold; tell, told; clothe, clad*; stand, ftood; dare, durst.

The following verbs have the participle now formed, without the termination en; except two of them, viz. drunken and bounden; though this was undoubtedly their original form.

The following are irregular in the participle only; and

even then they do not change the vowel:

The following also are irregular in the participle only,

which they form in the fame manner :

Bake,

Thefe have alfo the regular as well as the irregular form; and the regular form frould always be preferred.

Besides the irregular verbs, there are alfo others called defective verbs; which are not only irregular in their forms, but also wanting in fome of their forms; fome have no paft time, fome no participle, and others neither.

Moft of the auxiliary verbs are of this class.

The whole number of verbs in the English language, regular and irregular, fimple and compounded, taken together, amount to about 4300: whereof fifty-two are irregulars of the first clafs, eight irregulars of the fecond clafs, and 107 irregulars of the third clafs; which, with the ten defective verbs, make 177: all the rest are regular verbs, and have the past time active, and participle perfect or paffive, formed alike, aud ending in d or ed, as was before obferved. Of the irregular verbs there are not fo many as 100, which have different forms for the past time active, and the participle. This has given occafion to introduce a great corruption, by confounding the different forms of the paft time and participle with each other, in irregular verbs. Thus, the participle is fometimes ufed for the paft time: as, he run, for he ran; he drunk, for he drank: but the past time is very frequently ufed inflead of the participle: as,