The past tense of "shine"

[davidlevine]

[Poll #986281]

Comments

[joshenglish.livejournal.com]

I hate having to jump into a dictionary to check my answer, but MW.com lists the distinction as transitive/intransitive, so both the third and forth choices point to the same thing, don't they?

[davidlevine]

The third ("Shined" if the object reflects light, "shone" if it glows with its own light) and fourth ("Shined" if it's transitive, "shone" if it's intransitive) choices are distinct because objects that glow with their own light can be used transitively or intransitively. The third choice means that "he shone the flashlight on the wall" is correct because it glows with its own light, while the fourth choice means that "he shined the flashlight on the wall" is correct because it's transitive.

[joshenglish.livejournal.com]

I hate this language somedays. I really do. It can be beautiful, but sometimes the internal conflicts are frustrating. How did I ever learn this stuff?