Strong Verbs (Word Usage)

Strong Verbs

As we have discussed many times in this series already, native English speakers in general have an excellent intuitive sense of the language, but are in some cases unable to converse about it in a technical way like a non-native speaker can. As a result, certain complex rules about the language are easy to miss, and understanding why a mistake has been made can be difficult, especially when the incorrect construction sounds right. In the case of strong verbs, I doubt very highly that most of you reading this article, nor your friends and peers, have much of an idea about what a "strong verb" might be, and this is certainly not your fault. I didn't learn it myself until I began studying foreign languages like German, where the distinction between strong and weak verbs is important for learning the language. However, note that although it is less important in English, knowing what a strong verb is and how it is conjugated properly makes a difference in the quality of your writing and speech, and will allow you to avoid the common misuses that plague so many students without their knowing it.

Most English verbs are known as "regular," meaning that they go through the same transformations we expect for most verbs. In English, this means that the verb changes its ending to reflect its tense, as in the case of the regular verb "to walk." "Walk" is the present tense form, "walked" is the past tense form, and "have walked" is the present perfect (which is really more like a kind of past tense). The important thing to remember here for regular verbs (also known as weak verbs) is that only their ending changes in the past and any tense that requires an auxiliary verb (like "have" or "had") by adding an "ed." Nothing about the stem of the word changes, and so the rule is remarkably easy to remember.

However, things get more difficult when it comes to the strong verbs which are the focus of this article. The weak verbs are perfectly predictable and easy for anyone to learn, but the strong verbs change in ways that are more complex and less predictable. A fine example of a strong verb which causes some difficulty is "to drink." Now, I have never heard anyone who spoke English as their first language make the mistake of saying something like "I drinked too much last night" because this is a very common strong verb and this construction simply sounds terrible. However, I have heard people ignoring the auxiliary form of the verb completely, and this is happening to such a degree that I feel it will not be long before this verb has two, rather than three, principle parts.

The three proper forms of the verb are "drink," "drank," and "drunk," and we can see them in their proper uses in the following sentences:

"I drink far too much every day."
"I drank eight glasses of water yesterday for my diet."
"I have drunk only sparkling water for the last five years."

The first two examples look and sound right to most people, but the third form seems strange to many. That is because, over time, the third form of most strong verbs has been neglected, and the second form has taken its place in everyday conversation, and even in writing in some cases (as we have seen with "to drink"). This is becoming more widely accepted, but if you have a teacher or professor who demands exactness, make sure that whenever you are dealing with a strong verb when it is in company with an auxiliary, use the third form.