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�The end of speech is that men might understand one another�s meaning; certainly that speech, or that way of speaking, which is most certainly understood, is the best way of speaking. If any man were to ask me what I would suppose to be a perfect style or language, I would answer, that in which a man speaking to five hundred people, of all common and various capacities, idiots or lunatics excepted, should be understood by them all, and in the same sense which the speaker intended to be understood,� Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) Political pamphleteer, writer, journalist �The Complete English Tradesman, chp. 3�. �Let the earth be drunken with our blood; I�ll kill my horse, because I will not fly. Why stand we like soft-hearted women here, Wailing our losses, whiles the foe doth rage,� The Earl of Warwick to Richard, King Henry VI Act 2 Scene 3. The words �drink�, �run�, �shrink�, �lie�, �lay� �swing�, �wring�, �sting�, �spring�, �sling� are irregular verbs. The principal parts for �drink� are: drink (PRESENT), drank (PAST), (has) drunk/drunken (PAST PARTICIPLE). �Drunken� as a past participle of �drink� is rarely used these days. It is found in Old English. �Drunken� is now chiefly used as an adjective, and is often contracted to �drunk� (intoxicated; inebriated with strong liquour), e.g. The men were engaged in a drunken quarrel. It was a drunken binge by some drunken gentlemen in a bibulous evening. Some of the synonyms for �drunken� are: bibulous, inebriated, boozy, intoxicated, sottish. The Principal Parts for �run� are: run (PRESENT), ran (PAST), (has) run (PAST PARTICIPLE). Note the Past Participle carefully; it will be wrong to say; �has ran�. The Principal Parts for �shrink� (to make smaller or less; to draw back; to recoil) are; shrink (PRESENT), shrank or shrunk (PAST), (has) shrunk or shrunken (PAST PARTICIPLE). Note the Past Participle carefully; it will be wrong to say: �has shrank�. Examples: My child is shy; she shrinks from visitors; The dog is wild; it never, shrinks from the stick; When his wealth decreased, his influence began to shrink; Mary�s woollen pullover shrank when it was washed; �Kenkey� has shrunk in size, even though the price has remained 50 pesewas per ball. �Lie� when it means �to recline, remain in position�, has the Principal Parts: lie (PRESENT), lay (PAST), (has) lain (PAST PARTICIPLE), Thus, we have sentences like: Let mother earth lie softly on the dead man. In Ghana, dead men lie in state for some hours before burial. The drunken man lay in the gutter for some time before being rescued by some passers � by. The book has lain on the teacher�s desk for a long time now. When �lie� means �tell an untruth�, the Principal Parts are: lie (PRESENT), lied (PAST), (has) lied (PAST PARTICIPLE). A boy who often lies to her mother is a liar. Kontoh lied to me yesterday about the loss of his pen. Kuranchie has lied to me about his lateness to class. Another word worth considering is �lay�; the Principal Parts of which are: lay (PRESENT), laid (PAST), (has) laid (PAST PARTICIPLE). The committee lays down the rules of behaviour. The workers laid down their tools as a show of strength against management. Flowers have been laid on the grave of Old Tom. The table has been laid for supper. A hen can �lay� an egg. The hen laid a big egg yesterday. The hen has laid an egg now. The Principal Parts for �swing� are: swing (PRESENT), swung (PAST), (has) swung (PAST PARTICIPLE). Note that Past and Past Participle have �swung�. The Principal Parts for �wring� are: wring (PRESENT), wrung (PAST), (has) wrung (PAST PARTICIPLE). Note that the Past and Past Participle have �wrung�. The Principal Parts for �sting� (e.g. as a bee stings) are: sting (PRESENT) stung (PAST), (has) stung (PAST PARTICIPLE). The Principal Parts for �spring� are: spring (PRESENT), sprang (PAST), sprung (PAST PARTICIPLE). The Principal Parts for �sling� are: sling (PRESENT) slung (PAST), slung (PAST PARTICIPLE). Note that the Past and Past Participle have �slung�. POSTSCRIPT: Let it be noted that when words change from verbs to adjectives, a few changes occur, e.g. A court or the police can certify the copy of a document. When this is done, the copy is said to be a �certified true copy�. It is NOT �certify true copy�. Let all those whose duty it is to certify documents, note that when they have finished certifying the documents, the documents they have certified become �certified true copies� or �certified copies�. It will not be contemptuous to ask for the destruction of all the stamps in our law courts and police stations on which have been inscribed �Certify True Copies�. These should be replaced by ones on which have been inscribed �Certified True Copies�. Let us reiterate that Present Participles always end in ��ing�, e. g. (is) reading, (are) walking, (am) talking. Past Participles, on the other hand, do not have any consistent ending. While the Past Participle of all regular verbs end in ��ed�, the Past Participles of all irregular verbs vary considerably, e.g. bring (PRESENT), brought (PAST), (has) brought (PAST PARTICIPLE); sing (PRESENT), sang (PAST), (has) sung (PAST PARTICIPLE).