hs and years in the
study of an "_art_" which they can not comprehend, for the simple reason
that they can not apply it in practice. Grammar has been taught as a
mere _art_, depending on arbitrary rules to be mechanically learned,
rather than a science involving the soundest and plainest principles of
philosophy, which are to be known only as developed in common practice
among men, and in accordance with the permanent laws which govern human
thought.

Verbs differ in the manner of forming their _past_ tenses, and
participles, or adjectives. Those ending in _ed_ are called _regular_;
those which take any other termination are _irregular_. There are about
two hundred of the latter in our language, which differ in various ways.
Some of them have the _past_ tense and the past participle the same; as,

Bid Bid Bid
Knit Knit Knit
Shut Shut Shut
Let Let Let
Spread Spread Spread, etc.

Others have the past tense and participle alike, but different from the
present; as,

Lend Lent Lent
Send Sent Sent
Bend Bent Bent
Wend Went Went
Build Built or builded Built
Think Thought Thought, etc.

Some have the present and past tense and participle different; as,

Blow Blew Blown
Grow Grew Grown
Begin Began Begun
See Saw Seen
Write Wrote Written
Give Gave Given
Speak Spoke Spoken
Rise Rose Risen
Fall Fell Fallen, etc.

There are a few which are made up of different radicals, which have been
wedded together by habit, to avoid the frequent and unpleasant
recurrence of the same word; as,

Am Was Been
Go (wend) Went Gone, etc.

Some which were formerly irregular, are now generally used with the
regular termination, in either the past tense or participle, or both;
as,

Hang Hung or hanged Hung or hanged
Dare Dared or dur