is kneeled a word?

It's one of those words that appears in the dictionary, but looks wrong most of the time. I'd say go with "knelt".

jbal said:

well, I guess that says it all. As in "Bob kneeled down", or should it be knelt?

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Regardless of 'kneeled' or 'knelt' do you really need the 'down'?

jbal said:

well, I guess that says it all. As in "Bob kneeled down", or should it be knelt?

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It is a perfectly ordinary word. "Down," however, is surplusage. "Bob kneeled" suffices. HOWEVER, "knelt" is far more common, according to Bryan Garner's Dictionary of Modern American Usage. He labels "kneeled" a "variant." The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language apparently has no preference, although it lists "knelt" first.

Do a Google search of kneeled and then of knelt. FWIW, the latter is far more common (4 million pages compared to 1.2 million).

House style guides might have a preference for one or the other, which would be decisive where applicable.

--Ken

You can't kneel up, can you?

You know, the dictionary lists both words and I wonder if this is just a personal preference?

The congregation kneeled at the urging of the pastor.

The congregation knelt several times during the service.

Both are OK words; kneeled is a dialect marker, and knelt is far more standard.

Generally, unless an editor tells you otherwise, go with knelt.

knelt would be my choice.

knelt

You're into irregular verbs here, and it's more a matter fowhat has bcome accepted than anything else. The "ed" has replaced some "p" endings, but not others. In this case, the "p" form is still the most widely used, so it should be "knelt."

I say when in doubt, use another verb.

They assumed a kneeled postion to worship.

They knelt at the altar.

I dunno, I guess they can both work. But kudos to the person who said leave "down" out.

Could you imagine this one: "They knelt down upon their knees."

As opposed to the edited version "They knelt."

Doh!

Tri

They knelt, heads hovering over the ground.

They kneeled etc etc....

Hmmm...

In our neck of the woods we would say kneeled, which as previously mentioned is a matter of dialect, we ain't called Owentuckians for no reason

LA

I don't know. To kneel down to me implies the act of getting down on their knees - there's movement in it. Whereas kneeling is static. They are on their knees. Where's Reph when you need her?
In any case though I would say knelt.

I would use "knelt". Or you could say they assumed a kneeling position.

Shadow_Ferret said:

You can't kneel up, can you?

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What if you are laying down, and then move into a kneeling position? Kneeling up, no?

JimmyB27 said:

What if you are laying down, and then move into a kneeling position? Kneeling up, no?

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Nah, you're still merely kneeling.

Knelt

"Knelt" is an irregular verb. In some cases, the "ed" form has become teh proper choice, but it this case the "t" form is still the right one, so it's "knelt" instead of "kneeled."

I think it is amusing that I say kneeled probably as often as knelt, but when I look at in print I can't help thinking it is wrong. I would probably use knelt.

(But honestly, when I look at either word long enough I start pronouncing the K in my head and it makes me giggle...I am so easily amused.)

Jamesaritchie said:

You're into irregular verbs here, and it's more a matter fowhat has bcome accepted than anything else. The "ed" has replaced some "p" endings, but not others. In this case, the "p" form is still the most widely used, so it should be "knelt."

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I must not have had enough coffee. What is the 'p' form of this word? Forgive me if it's something very simple that I'm just missing right now.

Better than 'dove'

Kneeled is not a proper word, the correct word is knelt. But it depends on which side of the pond you reside for instance, in the U.S. they say "He dove into the water" when in fact it should be "He dived into the water". A Dove is a friggin bird, so you would expect the phrase to be "he flew into the water" how about if the Dove got cross, he could fly into a rage!

{;0)

If you want the gory details, kneel is a Class 2 irregular verb; there are about fifteen or so verbs that have an -ed past ending that is differerent from the participle form of the past.

Burned burnt, or spoiled spoilt, send sent, smelled smelt.

In Old English there's already a pattern that associates a preference for t or d with a dialect. In modern English, British English generally goes for the t.

In American, well, it depends on the speaker. Most publishers have a list of preferred forms in the House style sheet, and editors will follow it. Authors who don't like the preferred form use a stet and everyone ends up, well, if not happy, at least not morally outraged.

I know knelt is.

He knelt down in front of the old king who tried to heft his heavy broadsword to knight him, and instead neutered his nads.