A redundant verb is one that has two different, accepted spellings in the past tense and/or past participle. Sometimes, these spellings are interchangeable. Other times, though, their usage varies.
Believe it or not, there used to be many more such verbs, which can be considered both regular and irregular. For most, however, one past tense/participle spelling or the other slipped out of use.
Same usage:
to kneel
He kneeled down to pick up the pen.
She knelt down to pick up the notebook.
Difference in usage:
to hang
The horse thief was hanged at high noon.
The lovely painting was hung on the wall.
More Examples
of Redundant Verbs |
|
|---|
| Infinitive | Past tense/participle |
| to burn | burned, burnt |
| to dive | dived, dove |
| to dwell | dwelled, dwelt |
| to grind | grinded, ground |
| to leap | leaped, leapt |
| to light | lighted, lit |
| to plead | pleaded, pled |
| to prove | proved, proven |
| to ring | ringed, rung |
| to shine | shined, shone |
| to smell | smelled, smelt |
