![]() Many people, and not just usage commentators, feel that the use of brang and brung in place of brought is cringeworthy, and quite a few standard dictionaries reflect that opinion with labels such as " substandard" or " nonstandard." (Of the two inflected forms, brung more often carries a " dialectal" label, which at least attests to its frequency of use in certain regional varieties of English.) The fact that these words are recognized by dictionaries in the first place validates their legitimacy as words-but with the caveat that they do not have the majority vote for becoming a part of Standard English. ![]() ![]() ![]() But, as of yet, they haven't "broughten it." Use of 'Brang' and 'Brung' (In Old English, bring was bringan.) By late Middle English, the modern brought gains its title as "Past Tense and Past Participle of Bring," and the only "real" (they're a tag team born from analogy) contenders to take it away have, historically, been brang and brung. Such uses of brought should be familiar with English speakers, but we present to you, anyways, two morsels topped with "grammar gloss": "She brought brownies for the bake sale" (past tense) "My coworker had brought donuts for the office-and I couldn't resist" (past participle, and had gives that away).īrought has a distinguished pedigree that includes a number of variations in Old and Middle English, among them are the past tense brōhte and the past participle brōht. Brought is the long-standing past tense and past participle. By analogy, brang and brung should be inflections of bring-but that's not the case. Following the i to a or u conjugation, the past tense of spring is sprang (or sprung) and its past participle is sprung. The past tense of ring is rang and its past participle is rung the past tense of sing is sang (or sung) and its past participle is sung. Past Tense for Strong Verbsįor the verbs ring, sing, and spring, the root vowel ( i) is changed to indicate the past tense and the past participle. ( Talk, change, and build are examples of weak verbs.) Of the irregular verbs mentioned, three of them share another quality. That is to say, they all close with the same sound and they all belong to a class of "strong" irregular verbs that are inflected by a change in the root vowel rather than by the adding of a suffix-such as -ed, -d, or -t, or -ing-which is how " weak" regular verbs are inflected to indicate tense. Ring, sing, spring, and bring have two things in common: they rhyme and they are " strong" verbs. Maugham said with an urbanity that was not at all disconcerting, ‘are written in anguish, others just write themselves - and those are jolly to write.'” Harvey Breit, The Writer Observed 147 (1956).'Brought' has past tense and past participle variations that date back to Old and Middle English. Language-Change Index - (1) “rung” misused for simple-past “rang”: Stage 1 (2) “rang” misused for past-participial “rung”: Stage 1. ” “It’s a Giant Party in Volunteer Land,” Buffalo News, 31 Jan. The opposite error - “rang” as a past-participial form in place of “rung” - is much more common in British English than in American: “He said the phone had rang all day with messages from well-wishers - ‘even complete strangers.'” Michael Howie, “Home at Last to Hug from Mum and Dad,” Aberdeen Press & J., 22 July 2000, at 1.īut it does appear in American sources - e.g.: “Abdin (2523) got up at eight, after the bell had rang. The past-participial “rung” is often misused as a simple-past verb - e.g.: “Rich Pilon is not known for his soft hands but his hard fists he rung up 291 penalty minutes last season.” Keith Gave, “Eastern Conference Preview,” Dallas Morning News, 4 Oct. Senses that relate to encircling take the regular “-ed” inflections in the past tense and past participle. High-Stakes Briefing & Appellate Briefing.Step-by-Step Instructions and Troubleshooting.Policies and Information for In-Person Public Seminars.Policies and Information for Live Online Seminars.Academy of American Legal Writers Menu Toggle.Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts.Drafting & Editing Contracts (half-day).In-House Seminars & Trainings Menu Toggle.
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