# Native speakers: ever catch yourself using non-standard word forms? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-speakers-ever-catch-yourself-using-non-standard-word-forms/499625 "2009-06-13T01:07:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-speakers-ever-catch-yourself-using-non-standard-word-forms/499625/1 "2009-06-13T01:07:40Z")
I’m not talking about a typo or mispronouncing a word you’ve only seen in print, but when you absentmindedly take an existing word and modify it in a non-standard manner. I’m asking this of _native speakers_ of any language, because I want to hear from people who can be assumed to be as fluent in that language as humanly possible. As for me, a native English speaker, I frequently hear myself say “felled” instead of “fell” or “fallen”, ie. “Whoa, I almost felled over!” Of course it comes out sounding more like “felt”, but obviously from context you can tell which word I mean. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-speakers-ever-catch-yourself-using-non-standard-word-forms/499625/2 "2009-06-13T01:40:04Z")
Once in a while, I catch myself saying “boughten” instead of “bought” (as in, “I wouldn’t have boughten it if I knew it would break that easily”). I’m so sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-speakers-ever-catch-yourself-using-non-standard-word-forms/499625/3 "2009-06-13T04:48:10Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > Once in a while, I catch myself saying “boughten” instead of “bought” (as in, “I wouldn’t have boughten it if I knew it would break that easily”). I’m so sorry. Gosh, I sometimes catch myself doing the same thing, with the same word! I’ve not investigated this, but in books, I often see written things such as, “then he lighted the candle,” whereas I would say “he lit the candle.” I don’t mean “hung” vs. “hanged,” but simple past tenses for irregular verbs that seem artificially regularized in even low-brow, common literature. Also, I almost always confuse the past tenses of “lie” and “lay,” even though intellectually I know the difference. Of course, there’s “gotten” and “got.” They’re both acceptable, although “gotten” is more common in US speech, and “got” in UK speech. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-speakers-ever-catch-yourself-using-non-standard-word-forms/499625/4 "2009-06-13T05:52:18Z")
Yeh, the past tense of verbs can be awkward for me too. Just a bit ago, I wanted to say “_drug_ through the mud.” It took every fiber in my being to say “_dragged_ through the mud.” Why does that sound wrong to me?! I want to say drug, but I feel that’s wrong too. I’m so confused. Also, I’ve been pronouncing Uranus as _Yer-Ah-Niss,_ when I’ve said it _Your-Anus_ all my life. I have no idea what triggered the switch. I also perfer not pronouncing the “t” in _often._ But I’ve been listening to most of the people around me, and I’d say 90% pronounce the “t”. So now I feel pretentious, but I’m not. It just feels more natural that way. Rolls off the tongue better. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-speakers-ever-catch-yourself-using-non-standard-word-forms/499625/5 "2009-06-13T07:39:38Z")
I was pretty buzzed the other day and describing how I was trying to get a skunk out of my kitchen. I had set up a trail of cherries in hopes of enticing him outdoors. I mentioned that I looked up skunks and found out that they eat grubs. The word I was trying to figure out was what a predator does. The word I came up with was predated. The next day when I was not buzzed I remembered that the term was preyed.