To text, I texted, I have texted

[Yulephemia]

Texted texted texted dammit!

"I text my friend to see if she wanted to come over."

No you didn't!!!! If you can manage "wanted" you can manage "texted".

As you were.

Yeah, but: if you shed a few pounds today what will you have done tomorrow? If you accept "text" as a verb at all you'll have to embrace the new grammar that comes with it...

I don't believe anyone who started that sentence that way finished it with "to see if she wanted to come over".

"I text my friend if she wants to come over"

innit

Perhaps the past tense of "to text" could be "tex'd" ?

Prism, in my experience people who use this form wouldn't know grammar from the hole in their bum, far less make the decision that "to text" is an irregular verb. It will take me a long time not to flinch every time I hear or see it, and even longer to use it.

Well, obviously I agree, Yulephemia, and may I make the personally shocking revelation that I actually use "text" as a verb myself from time to time, though only with my fingers crossed behind my back. But I do wonder if irregular verbs come about because of conscious decisions by people who can distinguish easily between grammar and a hole in their bum, or just by dint of popular usage. My guess is that it's the latter.

I rather like GrimmaTheNome's suggestion, especially as it would open the way for further infuriating apostrophe abuse ( "win'd down the window", "sen'd me a letter") that we could rip to shreds in this forum.

Irregular verbs are mostly common ones - the product of real people mangling the language over the years with no regard for the rules of grammar.

So it is only to be expected that 'text' should suffer this fate (though it has become irregular with indecent haste)

I think irregular verbs (the ones where the vowels change) are nearly all from Old English roots, and have always changed like that, whereas new verbs tend to form past tenses using the usual pattern ('ed').

I think the 'text' mangling is because the word ends with a 't' which makes it sound like the past tense dental suffix (like 'slept' for example).

All of which means I agree with the OP.

My mum's is the best. Her plural for text is textes (as in testes!)

Sorry, not a high IQ contribution, but makes me smile!

My mum says "She sent me a message on the text" she also says "she sent me a message on the email" drives me crazy.

Of course it should be "I sent a text to my friend and asked if she wanted to come to my house."

But I suspect I'm fighting a losing battle on this. Damn it.