Spin, span, spun, wring, wrang, wrung

[HareBrain]

Until today, I had it firmly in my head that in British English, "span" was the past participle of "spin", with "spun" being the pluperfect (he had spun round). "He spun round" just sounded wrong to me, although I knew that was the US usage.

Today, though, I tried to apply the same i/a/u progression to "wring", with "he wrang the chicken's neck", and though that sounds fine to me, it turns out that "wrang" isn't even a word. So I checked "span" and learned that its use as the past particple of "spin" is only archaic or dialect even in British English. But Googling "he span round" reveals the use is quite common.

Has anyone else made the same "mistake"? Can anyone think of a verb with a genuine i/a/u progression like this?

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Sing/sang/sung, maybe?

 

[farntfar]

I would suggest that you're confusing the past simple and the past participle.

He span round round seems ok to me, and I have spun the wheel.
She spun on one leg? Yes actually it's acceptable after all, but not I have span.

As for wrang, are you sure you don't think it sounds all right in ring rang rung rather the wring wrang wrung?
He rang the bell, but not he wrang the laundry.

 

[HareBrain]

Sing/sang/sung

Ah yes, of course. And ring/rang/rung, as @farntfar pointed out. Those both end in "ing" rather than "in". All the other "in" verbs I can think of end "nned" in past, apart from "win" which is another one-off. Since spin doesn't take the past "spinned" I guess I (and maybe others) applied the "ing" progression to it.

He span round round seems ok to me

But in formal English, it isn't, which surprised me. "Span" shouldn't be used as a derivative of "spin" in any tense.

 

[Abernovo]

"wrang" isn't even a word.

I grew up hearing my grandmother use it as a term - 'I wrang out the clothes, and put them on the line to dry.' I was pulled up for using it in uni by a professor who said it was not a word, but 'damn well should be', because he'd known it from his upbringing. Using "have wrung" might be correct, but seems too formal for everyday speech*.

Basically, it's incorrect usage/pronunciation of a word. Perhaps caused, as farntfar points out, the close-sounding "rang". Wonder if dialect has any bearing on it?

*Proof, if you ever needed it, that I'm not a posh 'un.

 

[farntfar]

All the other "in" verbs I can think of end "nned" in past,

Yes.
Pin, pan, pun would be rather nice, and grin, gran, grun.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Interesting thread HB. I often struggle with some of these. I end up googling (or doing what TJ, you et al tell me).

pH

 

[The Big Peat]

I think it was only a couple of years ago in a critique thread that I discovered that some people didn't recognise span as a past participle of spin.

 

[Ursa major]

Span just isn't cricket...


...i.e. you never hear anyone on Test Match Special saying, "He really span the ball better in that over."

 

[The Big Peat]

Quick glance at google says that "span the ball" has been used occasionally in major newspapers in the last couple of years.

 

[HareBrain]

*Proof, if you ever needed it, that I'm not a posh 'un.

Then why, pray tell, do I read all your posts in the voice of the Dowager Countess of Grantham?

 

[Venusian Broon]

Wrang is definitely a word for me as in: I think you're wrang about that.

But as a Scot we do have all these archaic words still with us - I'd swear I have heard it used in that context recently.

You'll disallow it I'm sure ;-)

As for i/a/u...
Begin, began, begun?

 

[Abernovo]

Then why, pray tell, do I read all your posts in the voice of the Dowager Countess of Grantham?

Really, sir, I am not in control of the voices in your head, so that I could not tell you.

On a point of note, I did once live near Grantham, but any family titles (although several were attainted) would be from much further north, so more the Dowager Countess of Strathyre?

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Then why, pray tell, do I read all your posts in the voice of the Dowager Countess of Grantham?

Why on earth would you read Aber's posts in TJ's voice? Are you feeling quite all right?

I do frequently have to make corrections to that "span" thing when editing. You lot nearly had me convinced it was just a Britishism, though.

 

[Ned Marcus]

Spin, span, spun is correct. It's not standard in the UK, but it's commonly used. I've seen it used in newspapers. And it just sounds right. I had one reviewer on Goodreads say it took her out of my story, but it just sounds natural to me. I like wrang, too, but the spellchecker here doesn't.

Happy to meet other spanners!

 

[J Riff]

sling slang slung?

 

[tinkerdan]

I don't see mistake in this.
However I do think that you might consider the audience--reader--and decide how many times you want them running to the dictionary and leaving your story.

I'm right now in the middle of Brian Aldiss' Hellconia trilogy. Thank goodness it's on kindle and I can just poke the word and find the answer. Except more often than not it's not there and I have to either run to a real dictionary or assume it might be an archaic form and check it later. The problem with all of that though is that he also does create a number of words for this work(words that don't exist anywhere else). Words that can only be figured out within context and the other suspicious words can usually be figured out through context and I haven't had to run off and leave my reading for those.

To be honest: wring and wrang and spin and span are probably not going to be as troublesome as many of the things found in Hellconia.

Oh and I can't even account for anything that might be an error while getting the whole thing into kindle format.