The -ed ending usually signifies past tense for regular verbs: walked, watched, waited. Likewise, the -ed ending in proved lets us know that it is a verb.
Ex: She proves that she can recite the lyrics to every Weird Al song.
She proved that she could recite the lyrics.
So we know that proved is a verb. What is proven? This is where it gets tricky. Proven is accepted as a past participle (like proved) in certain situations but is also typically used as an adjective.
Ex: That is the proven truth. (adjective)
She was proven wrong. (verb)
As stated above, proven is not always considered a past participle. It seems that many professional writers only use proven as an adjective. I'm flipping through my Strunk and White to see what they have to say on the topic, but I'm having trouble. I'll also look through my AMA Manual of Style tomorrow too.
What's your preference? Do you use proven as a past participle or only as an adjective?
Labels: vs.
