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In Germanic languages, weak verbs are those
verbs that have a regular inflection, in which the stem of a word is not changed by
ablaut. They contrast with the strong verbs, that exhibit these changes.
In most Germanic languages, the preterites and past participles of weak verbs
are distinguished by a dental suffix, an inflection that contains a /t/ or /d/ sound.
Not all weak verbs are regular verbs in English; some have been made irregular by eclipsis or contraction, such as hear ~ heard; while
others are merely irregular due to the eccentricities of English
spelling, such as lay ~ laid.
Examples
to love - loved
to say - said
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