Subjects from Class 2

Sometimes, subjects of general interest will come up in class and we find a novel way of harmonizing the information so that we all can speak a common language.  This series of posts will deal with these rich and varied topics.

Take a look under this picture for a short, schematic explanation of the topic of our conversation, and how the students came to understand it in order to use it on their own...without me!

Confusing Irregular Verbs

English is a Germanic language that is well over 1500 years old.  Its oldest form, known as Old English or Anglo-Saxon, was actually a completely different language from modern English, heavily inflected with masculine, feminine and neuter nouns, different conjugations and word order, and even vastly different letters such as ð and þ (which are still used today in Icelandic!).  You can hear Anglo-Saxon being spoken in this excellent documentary series on one of the greatest kings of the Anglo-Saxon time, Alfred the Great.

But why all of this?  My point is that many small words have had 1500+ years to acquire meanings or gather confusing similarities.  Look at how similar these verbs are:

		1	2	3	4
		to fall	to feel	to fell	to file
		fell	felt	felled	filed
		fallen	felt	felled	filed

The first two columns are irregular verbs and the last two regular.  Columns 1 and 3 could be confused if they meant two similar things -- fortunately they do not (click on the links for the definitions).

You can practice your irregular verbs on this page, with quite a large selection of verbs.  This page, by Macmillan Dictionary, an excellent source, is very fun and user friendly.  Try it out!

You have another similar case with another set of verbs:

		1	2	3
		to lie²	to lay	to lie1
		lay	laid	lied
		lain	laid	lied

(The superscript numbers refer to the definitions on the link to www.dictionary.com.) 

You may find practice exercises for using these verbs on this page, at the bottom of this page, this page, on this PDF, or here.

There is no one best way to learn these definitions and usages except by using them in context in your own expression, oral or written.  You may try to memorize them, but unless you have an eiditic (commonly called "photographic") memory, you will find it very difficult to use them.  

How about trying the exercise pages instead?