| H.L. Mencken (1880–1956). The American Language. 1921. |
Page 272 |
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| Present | Preterite | Perfect Participle |
| Am | was | bin (or ben) 26 |
| Attack | attackted | attackted |
| (Be) 27 | was | bin (or ben) |
| Beat | beaten | beat |
| Become 28 | become | became |
| Begin | begun | began |
| Bend | bent | bent |
| Bet | bet | bet |
| Bind | bound | bound |
| Bite | bitten | bit |
| Bleed | bled | bled |
| Blow | blowed (or blew) | blowed (or blew) |
| Break | broken | broke |
| Bring | brought (or brung, or brang) | brung |
| Broke (passive) | broke | broke |
| Build | built | built |
| Burn | burnt 29 | burnt |
| Burst 30 | | |
| Bust | busted | busted |
| Buy | bought (or boughten) | bought (or boughten) |
| Can | could | could |
| Catch | caught 31 | caught |
| Choose | chose | choose |
| Climb | clum | clum |
| Cling (to hold fast) | clung | clung |
| Cling (to ring) | clang | clang |
| Come | come | came |
| Creep | crep (or crope) | crep |
| Crow | crowed (or crew) | crowed |
| Cut | cut | cut |
| Dare | dared (or dast) 32 | dared |
| Deal | dole 33 | dealt |
| Dig | dug | dug |
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| Note 26. Bin is the correct American pronunciation. Bean, as we have seen, is the English. But I have often found ben, rhyming with pen, in such phrases as “I ben there.” [back] |
| Note 27. Be, in the subjunctive, is practically extinct. [back] |
| Note 28. Seldom used. Get is used in the place of it, as in “I am getting old” and “he got sick.” [back] |
| Note 29. Burned with a distinct d-sound is almost unknown in American. [back] |
| Note 31. Cotched is heard only in the South, and mainly among negroes. Catch, of course, is usually pronounced ketch. Even catcher is ketcher. [back] |
| Note 32. Dast is more common in the negative, as in “He dasn’t do it.” [back] |
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