250.  There seems to be in Modern English a growing tendency toward phonetic spelling in the past tense and past participle of weak verbs.  For example, _-ed_, after the verb bless, has the sound of t:  hence the word is often written blest.  So with dipt, whipt, dropt, tost, crost, drest, prest, etc.  This is often seen in poetry, and is increasing in prose.

Some Troublesome Verbs.

[Sidenote:  Lie and lay in use and meaning.]

260.  Some sets of verbs are often confused by young students, weak forms being substituted for correct, strong forms.

Lie and lay need close attention.  These are the forms:—­

  Present Tense. Past Tense. Pres.  Participle. Past Participle.

1.  Lie               lay            lying               lain
2.  Lay               laid           laying              laid

The distinctions to be observed are as follows:—­

(1) Lie, with its forms, is regularly intransitive as to use.  As to meaning, lie means to rest, to recline, to place one’s self in a recumbent position; as, “There lies the ruin.”

(2) Lay, with its forms, is always transitive as to use.  As to meaning, lay means to put, to place a person or thing in position; as, “Slowly and sadly we laid him down.”  Also lay may be used without any object expressed, but there is still a transitive meaning; as in the expressions, “to lay up for future use,” “to lay on with the rod,” “to lay about him lustily.”

[Sidenote:  Sit and set.]

261.  Sit and set have principal parts as follows:—­

  Present Tense. Past Tense. Pres.  Participle. Past Participle.

1.  Sit             sat           sitting            sat
2.  Set             set           setting            set

Notice these points of difference between the two verbs:—­

(1) Sit, with its forms, is always intransitive in use.  In meaning, sit signifies (a) to place one’s self on a seat, to rest; (b) to be adjusted, to fit; (c) to cover and warm eggs for hatching, as, “The hen sits.”

(2) Set, with its forms, is always transitive in use when it has the following meanings:  (a) to put or place a thing or person in position, as “He set down the book;” (b) to fix or establish, as, “He sets a good example.”

Set is intransitive when it means (a) to go down, to decline, as, “The sun has set;” (b) to become fixed or rigid, as, “His eyes set in his head because of the disease;” (c) in certain idiomatic expressions, as, for example, “to set out,” “to set up in business,” “to set about a thing,” “to set to work,” “to set forward,” “the tide sets in,” “a strong wind set in,” etc.