Topic outline

    • Strong Verbs

      We know that the main tenses of a verb are the present, the past and the past participle and all other tenses are formed from these three forms.

      Let’s look at the following examples:

            1.   arise (present), arose, (past), arisen (past participle)

            2.   awake (present), awoke (past), awoken (past participle)

      In the above examples, the vowel sound changes in the past tense, but without adding –ed, -d or –t to the Present.

      Therefore, Strong Verbs are those which form their Past Tense by merely changing the vowel in the body of the Present, without adding –ed, -d or –t to the Present.

       

      There are two kinds of strong verbs

            1.   Verbs that form the past participle by the addition of n, en or ne.

            2.   Verbs that form the past participle without any such addition.



      List of Strong Verbs

      Present

      Past

      Past Participle

      arise

      arose

      arisen

      awake

      awoke

      awoken

      bear

      (produced)

      bore

      born

      bear

      (carry)

      bore

      borne

      beat

      beat

      beaten

      become

      became

      become

      begin

      began

      begun

      behold

      beheld

      beheld

      bid

      bade

      bid

      bidden

      bid

      bind

      bound

      bound

      bite

      bit

      bitten

      blow

      blew

      blown

      break

      broke

      broken

      choose

      chose

      chosen

      cling

      clung

      clung

      come

      came

      come

      crow

      crew

      crowed

      dig

      dug

      dug

      do

      did

      done

      draw

      drew

      drawn



      drink

      drank

      drunk

      drive

      drove

      driven

      eat

      ate

      eaten

      fall

      fell

      fallen

      fight

      fought

      fought

      find

      found

      found

      fling

      flung

      flung

      fly

      flew

      flown

      forget

      forgot

      forgotten

      forsake

      forsook

      forsaken

      freeze

      froze

      frozen

      get

      got

      got

      gotten

      give

      gave

      given

      go

      went

      gone

      grind

      ground

      ground

      grow

      grew

      grown

      hang

      hung

      hung

      hide

      hid

      hidden

      hold

      held

      held

      know

      knew

      known

      lie

      lay

      lain

      ride

      rode

      ridden

      ring

      rang

      rung

      rise

      rose

      risen

      run

      ran

      run

      see

      saw

      seen

      shake

      shook

      shaken

      shine

      shone

      shone

      shrink

      shrank

      shrunk

      sing

      sang

      sung

      sink

      sank

      sunk

      sit

      sat

      sat

      slay

      slew

      slain

      slide

      slid

      slid

      sling

      slung

      slung

      smite

      smote

      smitten

      speak

      spoke

      spoken

      spin

      span

      spun

      spit

      spat

      spat

      spring

      sprang

      sprung

      stand

      stood

      stood

      steal

      stole

      stolen

      stick

      stuck

      stuck

      strike

      struck

      struck

      string

      strove

      striven

      swear

      swore

      sworn

      swim

      swam

      swum

      swing

      swung

      swung

      take

      took

      taken

      tear

      tore

      torn

      thrive

      throve

      thrived

      thriven

      thrived

      throw

      threw

      thrown

      tread

      trod

      trodden

      wake

      woke

      woken

      wear

      wore

      worn

      weave

      wove

      woven

      win

      won

      won

      wind

      wound

      wound

      wring

      wrung

      wrung

      write

      wrote

      written

       

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