What is the term for applying a regular rule to an irregular word, such as go becoming goed?

What is the term for applying a regular rule to an irregular word, such as go becoming goed?

• A. Overgeneralization
• B. Acceleration
• C. Assimilation
• D. Coalescence

Answer: (A)

Taking a regular rule and applying it to irregular forms is overgeneralization. In English, the usual way to form the past tense is by adding -ed (walk → walked). When a learner says go becomes goed, they’re trying to apply that same -ed rule to a verb that doesn’t take -ed in the past tense. This shows the learner has picked up the pattern and is extending it to all verbs, which is a natural step in language development, even though the result is not correct. The other terms describe different processes: assimilation and coalescence refer to how sounds influence each other in speech, not to applying a grammatical rule to irregular verbs. Acceleration isn’t a term used for this aspect of language learning.

Taking a regular rule and applying it to irregular forms is overgeneralization. In English, the usual way to form the past tense is by adding -ed (walk → walked). When a learner says go becomes goed, they’re trying to apply that same -ed rule to a verb that doesn’t take -ed in the past tense. This shows the learner has picked up the pattern and is extending it to all verbs, which is a natural step in language development, even though the result is not correct. The other terms describe different processes: assimilation and coalescence refer to how sounds influence each other in speech, not to applying a grammatical rule to irregular verbs. Acceleration isn’t a term used for this aspect of language learning.