=Preterite.= With regard to the tense formation of Strong Verbs reference may be made to the Glossary, where all the characteristic forms are recorded. We confine ourselves here to a few remarks. The following instances may be noticed of gradation between the singular and the plural of the preterite: _began_, pl. _begunne begonne_, _gan_, pl. _gonnen_, _ran_, pl. _runne_, _wan_, pl. _wonne_, _bond_, pl. _bounden_, _fond_, pl. _founden_, _song_ (_sang_), pl. _songe sunge_, _sprong_, pl. _spronge sprungen_, _drank_ (_dronk_), pl. _drunke_, _bar_, pl. _bere_ (_beere_), _brak_, pl. _brieken_, _spak_, pl. _spieke_, _sat_, pl. _sete(n) siete(n)_ _seete_, _bad_, pl. _bede_, _lay_ (_lih_), pl. _lihe leie(n)_, _wax_, pl. _woxen_, _wrot_, pl. _write(n)_, _rod_, pl. _riden_, _ches_, pl. _chose_, and among preterite-presents _can_, pl. _conne_, _mai_, pl. _mowe_, _schal_, pl. _schulle schull schol_, _wot_, pl. _wite_. There are some few instances in F of strong preterites with irregular _-e_ termination in the 1st or 3rd pers. singular, but in no case is this authenticated by metre or rhyme. The following are examples in which F and S are agreed, ‘_schope_ a wile,’ v. 4278, ‘he _bare_ him,’ v. 5236, ‘which _sihe_ his Soster,’ v. 5810, ‘_lete_ come,’ vi. 1186, ‘he tho _toke_ hire in his arm,’ viii. 1732. These are perhaps mistakes, and they have sometimes been corrected in the text on the authority of other MSS. The 2nd pers. sing. has the _-e_ termination, as _sihe_ (_syhe_), iii. 2629, iv. 599, _were_, iv. 600, _knewe_, vi. 2313, _come_, viii. 2076, but _tok_, i. 2421. The 2nd pers. sing. of the preterite-present _mai_ is regularly _miht_ (_myht_), never ‘mayest.’ Occasionally the best MSS. give it as _mihte_, e.g. i. 2457, vii. 2637, 3819, but there is no metrical confirmation of this form. The preterite plural is very rarely found without _-e_, as v. 3300, 7534, vii. 3574. Among Weak Verbs those which have the short or syncopated form keep the _-e_ termination almost regularly. Such preterites are, for example, _aspide_, _cride_, _deide_, _leide_, _obeide_, _payde_, _preide_, _seide_, _teide_, _hadde_, _made_, _brende_, _sende_, _answerde_, _ferde_, _herde_, _solde_, _spilde_, _tolde_, _wende_, _betidde_, _dradde_, _fedde_, _fledde_, _hedde_, _gradde_, _ladde_, _radde_, _spedde_, _spradde_, _crepte_, _duelte_, _felte_, _hente_, _kepte_, _kiste_, _lefte_, _lepte_, _loste_, _mente_, _slepte_, _wente_, _wepte_, _alihte_, _caste_, _dihte_, _grette_, _knette_, _kutte_, _laste_, _liste_, _mette_, _plyhte_, _putte_, _schette_, _sette_, _sterte_, _triste_, _arawhte_, _broghte_, _cawhte_, _oghte_, _roghte_, _schryhte_, _soghte_, _strawhte_, _tawhte_, _thoghte_, _wroghte_, _cowthe_, _dorste_, _mihte_, _moste_, _scholde_, _wiste_, _wolde_.