Is there a difference betweem SWAM and SWUM?

In standard English, "swam" is the preterit, or simple past tense form. "Swum" is the past participle form. I would write, for example, "I swam in the Mediterranean once, but I've never swum in the English Channel."

The form "swam" can occur all by itself in an English sentence, but "swum," as a verb, can occur only with support from the auxiliary verb "have" (in various possible tenses).

If I ever had swum across the English Channel, say, I might say, "That's all, folks, I'm all swum out now." Here, the past participle is appearing as a kind of adjective, so it doesn't need the helping verb. Wouldn't "I'm all swam out" sound peculiar to you?

[This message was edited by maiku on 07-22-02 at 05:19 PM.]

Thanks maiku You are very knowledgable in this category.