Dragged vs. drug

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Grammarist

In all main varieties of English, dragged is the standard past tense and past participle of the verb drag. Drug is a dialectal variant that appears in many areas of the U.S. Though drug is common in these areas and cannot be considered wrong, it might be seen as out of place in more formal writing, where the traditional dragged is always the safer choice.

Examples

These writers don’t mind breaking the rules:

 As the trailer was drug along the tracks, it damaged a chain link fence. [Post-Searchlight]

The delegates cast their ballots and time drug on and on. [Colorado Statesman]

Wakulla County deputies say at least two suspects tied a cable from their truck to the ATM, drug it out of the store and more than a mile away into Leon County. [WCTV.tv]

But most American writers (as well as English speakers from outside the U.S.) use the standard dragged:

Leftist feminist groups are aghast that Social Security has been dragged into the debt-ceiling discussion. [National Review Online]

Guilt from leaving work early tugged on me like the air conditioner dragged on the car engine. [CNN]

Negotiations, which have dragged on for months, are being supervised by a federal mediator. [Los Angeles Times]

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