This past week, I twice heard drug used as the past tense of drag by those who should know better – a TV host and a politician. (Yeah, I know, but we should have well-spoken politicians!) The exact words in one of these cases: “My mother drug me around the store.”
Drag is a verb, and the past tense is dragged. It is a regular old verb that adds -ed to make it a past tense — although some people in some regions still use drug.
Drug can be its own present tense verb. You can drug someone, in which case the past tense is drugged. Another regular verb that adds -ed on the end for the past tense. Oh, and of course drug is often a noun. 
You can dress in drag. I guess that usage would be a noun, so no past tense to worry about.
Drag can also be an adjective: drag race, drag queen.
Oh, and then something or someone can be a real drag: a noun again, so we don’t have to worry about verb forms.
Phrasal verbs: You can drag something out — or extend the time of. So in the past tense, you dragged it out.
You can drag someone down (figuratively). If you did it yesterday, you dragged them down.
Something can drag on – to last seemingly forever. Or dragged on if it already happened.
Hmmm. You can also take a drag on a cigarette. That is a noun.
I could probably drag this on and on, but I wouldn’t…..so you wouldn’t be able to say the blog post just drug on and on.
“….. no past tense to worry about.” does this violate “don’t end a sentence in a preposition”?
“Don’t end a sentence with a preposition” is no longer the case. No one wants to say or hear
“no past tense about which to worry.”
“…we should have well-spoken politicians!”
Hmmm…
As long as we the people continue to elect POLITICIANS rather than PUBLIC SERVANTS and fail to install TERM LIMITS,
I’d prefer politicians speak as little as possible and do more to earn our trust and their paychecks.
Oh, this is supposed to be about grammar. Whoops! Sorry…
I agree with you completely! But that is a discussion for another place because when I insert my political views, people complain and tell me to stick with grammar…..I am pigeonholed..;)
As one with a way with words, I would imagine you have a clever way to say “MYOB” and publish whatever you want.
Just sayin’.
I don’t remember if I tried that or what I said….or if it was clever!But I agree. It’s my blog, right! On the other hand, I want readers, right? 🙂