REGULAR

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REGULAR. A term in general use and in LINGUISTICS for items and aspects of language that conform to general RULES. A regular verb in English has four forms, and the construction of three of those forms is predictable from the first (uninflected) form: play, plays, playing, played. On the other hand speak is an IRREGULAR verb. It has five forms, the last two of which are unpredictable: speak, speaks, speaking, spoke, spoken. See ANALOGY.

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