Past-Present Verbs

As I point out elsewhere in this website, verb tenses in cryptic clues can be tricky. For example:

Say we want to clue the word LILT as an anagram of “I’ll” and a “T.” When we try it, though, we either get a valid clue and a horrible surface sense:

Cheerful tune I’ll composed on time (4)

… or a great surface sense and an invalid clue:

Cheerful tune I’ll compose on time (4)

or

Cheerful tune compose I’ll on time (4)

The issue is that the verb “to mix” has to be in present tense to match the surface sense, but in the past tense to serve as an anagram indicator.

Fortunately, in the English language, there are a collection of verbs that are the same in present and past tense. For example:

Cheerful tune I’ll put out on time (4)

“Put” can serve as a present tense verb for the surface sense (cheerful tune that I will put out) while at the same time serving as a past tense verb for the anagram instruction (“I’ll put out” = the word I’ll has been put out).

{TLDR: There’s an additional example of how these verbs are useful below, after the list.}


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to beat – today I beat / yesterday I beat

to bet: today, I bet  / yesterday, I bet

to broadcast:  today, I broadcast / yesterday, I broadcast (Note: most dictionaries also list “broadcasted” as a past-tense form; “broadcast” is more common.)

to burst: today, I burst / yesterday, I burst

to cut: today, I cut / yesterday, I cut

to cost – today, I cost / yesterday, I cost

to cast: today, I cast / yesterday, I cast

to fit – today, I fit / yesterday, I fit/ted (Note: in the US, the past tense is usually “fit,” while in the UK it is usually “fitted.”)

to forecast: today, I forecast / yesterday, I forecast

to hit: today, I hit / yesterday, I hit

to hurt – today, I hurt / yesterday, I hurt 

to let: today, I let / yesterday, I let 

to miscast: today, I miscast / yesterday, I miscast 

to offset – today, I offset / yesterday, I offset 

to put: today, I put / yesterday, I put 

to quit: today, I quit / yesterday, I quit 

to recast: today, I recast / yesterday, I recast 

to reset: today, I reset / yesterday, I reset 

to retrofit: today, I retrofit / yesterday, I retrofit/ted (Note: in the US, the past tense is usually “retrofit,” while in the UK it is usually “retrofitted.”)

to set: today, I set / yesterday, I set 

to shed – today, I shed / yesterday, I shed 

to shut: today, I shut / yesterday, I shut 

to slit: today, I slit / yesterday, I slit 

to spit: today, I spit / yesterday, I spit/spat  (Note: in the US, the past-tense form is “spit,” while in the UK the past tense is “spat.”)

to split: today, I split / yesterday, I split 

to sublet: today, I sublet / yesterday, I sublet 

to spread: today, I spread / yesterday, I spread 

to typecast: today, I typecast / yesterday, I typecast 

to typeset: today, I typeset / yesterday, I typeset 

to undercut: today, I undercut / yesterday, I undercut 

to upset: today, I upset / yesterday, I upset 

to wed: today, I wed / yesterday, I wed/ded  (Note: both “wed” and “wedded” are in use.)

to wet: today, I wet / yesterday, I wet/ted (Note: both “wet” and “wetted” are in use.)

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Honorable Mention: In addition to the verbs above, don’t forget the verb “to read,” which changes its pronunciation, but not its spelling, when you shift from present to past tense:

to wet: today, I read (“reed”) / yesterday I read (“red”)

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A second example of when these past/present tense verbs are useful:

Another issue these verbs can fix is when there’s a subject-verb agreement between the definition and wordplay parts of the clue. The clue:

Cooler man suffers (4)

… gives us AC + HE, or “ache,” but the definition says we’re looking for “aches” (“suffers”), which is not what we get.

If we correct this issue:

Cooler man suffer (4)

… now the wordplay solution (AC + HE) matches the definition (“suffer”) but the sentence is no longer proper English.

But here’s a verb that can pull double duty: as a verb in past tense for the surface sense (“man suffered) but also as a present-tense verb to match the solution “ache.”

Cooler man hurt (4) = AC + HE

The clue now works both ways.

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