Category:Quirk class 4 A

This is a sub-class of Quirk's class 4, the group which has different past forms (the past tense and the -ed participle), and a different vowel in both past forms from that in the base form. In 4 A, the two past forms have the same vowel. The sub-class 4 A is further sub-divided into sub-sub-classes by the vowels concerned. These sub-sub-classes are of more interest to theoreticians than to those who simply want to write better English. They are listed here:

• 4 A a has the vowel 'oh' (IPA: /əʊ/) in the past forms. 'Break', 'choose', 'freeze', 'speak', 'steal', '[a]wake[n]' and 'weave' are the verbs in this class.
• 4 A b has the saound of 'air' (IPA: /eɪə^r/) in the base form, and '-or-' (IPA: /ɔː^r/) in the past forms. All four verbs in this group ('bear', 'swear', 'tear' and 'wear') have written forms '-ear', '-ore' and '-orn'.
• 4 A c has 'eye' (IPA: /aɪ/) in the base form, and the 'i' of 'it' and 'is' (IPA: /ɪ/) in the past forms. The three verbs in this class are 'bite', 'chide' and 'hide'.
• 4 A d has the '-e-' of 'get' (IPA: /ɛ/) in the base form, and the '-o-' of 'got' (IPA: /ɒ/) in the past. The three verbs here are 'beget', 'forget' and 'tread'. (Amerfican English retains a form of get which has become archa\ic in Britain.)
• 4 A e only has one member, lie (IPA: /laɪ/), which becomes lay (IPA: /leɪ/ and lain (IPA: /leɪn/).