To think that the past tense of the verb to text is texted, not text!

[Marmitelover55]

Assuming it is actually a verb and not a noun...

Of course it's texted. A simple grammatical rule applies.

I bet all the "I text him yesterday" people happily say "haitch" as well.

They probably eat grapes in the supermarket as well.

Whore please tell me the simple grammatical rule to which you refer. I put stuff like that in my notebook, the way I put something in there yesterday .

Or is it putted, according to the grammatical rules.

We are trying to explain that while it's not "impossible" to say, it is awkward enough that it will eventually be obsolete - that is how language works.

I don't say "haitch" but that has absolutely nothing to do with it - that is a choice of pronunciation of a letter.

Judgejudy there are some irregular verb forms that don't change - I put is a good example. For all "new" verbs, the standard suffix is "ed".

So the "standard" form should indeed be "texted" but what a few people are finding it hard to understand is that despite that being "correct", the clutch of sounds is awkward enough to form that many don't bother and so, with usage, it is likely to drop. Just like everyone used to say "it's five of the clock" but it became a hassle to say it and so that dropped to "o'clock". And "fourteen-night" is now "fortnight" and a "sheep herd" is now a "shepherd".

Language is very malleable and does not stick to the rule book at all costs.

Clutch = cluster (autocorrect)

So is this a thinly veiled class row? With the implicit presumption being that non mc people say 'I text him yesterday' and mc people insisting on 'texted.' I'd be interested in whether people who identify as mc also use 'text' in the past tense. And the other way round.

Not in the slightest. I'm about as low class as you can get (do we still call it the underclass these days?) but I can still take pride in talking properly at least.
Like manners, good language costs nothing!

I take the point about the fluidity of language, but I really, really can't see how 'texted' is any more awkward than say 'corrected' or 'protected'. 'Text' as a past participle sounds truly horrible to my antiquated ears.

(and I'm definitely not mc)

Well I've tried to explain why it's harder to say than other words. I can't bring myself to repeat it.

"Talking properly" and "good language" ...
But you do say "a fortnight" and you do say a "shepherd" and once upon a time those would have been probably regarded as incorrect. Could it not be that there is a transitional phase of language with that word orally being "proper" and "good" within its context?

I know text is wrong but I use it anyway. Texted is like nails on a chalk board to me.

I have also explained why it is awkward to say. And I don't have a speech defect. I did receive elocution lessons as a child.
Those who just don't get it the awkwardness, no worry, just accept that it is possible that others do find it awkward. As it appears several posters on this thread have said they do. Me included. Like I said, I think past tense but in pronunciation the ed is squished up and will probably naturally become an irregular verb.
We are just ahead of our time. :)

I rarely hear people say texted. It might be the correct way to say it but I prefer to just say text'd rather than text-ed.

I prefer text for past and think texted sounds more like the 'Jeremy Kyle' version. As a pp said, time will tell- it's still a new word (use of word). Comparisons with mistakes in the use of me, myself, and I are not relevant as there are long accepted rules for those words, as well as various dialects that deviate from the norm.

Do people still text? I hate being messaged only via watsapp nowadays!! I miss texting!!

text

verb [with object]

Send (someone) a text message:
'if she was going to go she would have texted us'

That's from oxforddictionaries.com. I guess the Oxford Dictionaries have decided it is 'texted' and they're not still waiting to see how language evolves. They've called it. Texted. They wouldn't have called it if they thought nobody says it that way and it's soon going to disappear.

I still say 'sent a text'. I'm a dinosaur and think of 'text' as a noun. It's just short for 'text message' and no, I don't enjoy hearing 'I messaged you'. Ghastly. We never stopped saying 'send a letter' and started saying 'I will letter you' or 'I lettered you yesterday'.

I'd never come across "text" used as a past tense before MN - everyone I know IRL says "texted" and has no trouble with the pronunciation. I assumed it was a British thing as I'm in Australia, but maybe it's the way things are headed and we're just behind the times out here! I hope not though - it still sounds wrong to me.

I NEVER say haitch, but I have been known to write in a text 'I txt her yesterday.'

I think "I text him yesterday" sounds Jeremy Kyle. It grates on my ear in the same way as "I done it" and "I seen her"

So that's the same with cut and burst. I cut it regularly. Is that in the past or present? I put out the bins. Is that yesterday or regularly? You just have to judge by context.

But, given that it is a new verb, why on earth would you create an irregular past tense which mean people have to judge by context, when the regular past tense would make it perfectly clear? What is wrong with having clarity of language?

Veritas if someone said to me I text him yesterday, I would be clear on what they meant.