Singular Plural Participle

The Old English Verb

LECTURE5

1. General characteristics of the OE verb.

2. The OE strong verbs.

3. The conjugation.

4. Preterite-present verbs.

The OE has a great variety of form and two types of conjugation: strong and weak. Like in all Germanic languages OE verbs are divided into strong verbs and weak ones. Strong verbs form their principal forms by means of the ablaut. Weak verbs form their principal forms by adding a dental suffix to the root of the infinitive.

Strong verbs. Strong verbs are divided into seven classes, according to vowel gradation. In classes I-V the gradation system is based on the following principle: the first vowel is found in the infinitive and in the present forms, the second vowel in the 1^st and 3^rd person singular, past indicative, the 3^rd in the 2^nd person singular and in the plural past indicative and the past subjunctive, the 4^th in the second participle. The 6^th and 7^th classes have a different system.

Infinitive PastPast Second

ī ā i i (ClassI)

wrīran wrāt writon written (to write)

ēo ēa u o (ClassII)

bēodan bēad budon boden (to offer)

(a) before “nasal+consonant”

i a(o) u u (ClassIII)

drincan dranc druncon druncen (drink)

(b) before “1+consonant”

e ea u o

helpan healp hulpon holpen (help)

(c) before “r+consonant”, “h+consonant”

eo ea u o

steorfan stearf sturfon strofen (die)

feohtan feaht fuhton fohten (fight)

Class IV

Before 1, r

e æ ǣ o

stelan stæl stǣlon stolen (steal)

beran bær bǣron boren (bear)

Class V

(before a consonant other than a liquid or nasal)

tredan træd trǣdon treden ‘tread’

Class VI

a ō ō a

faran fōr fōron faren ‘go’

Class VII

feallan feoll feollon feallen ‘fall’

The infinitive had the an ending.

The Past Indefinite Singular - no ending.

The Past Indefinite Plural - on.

The Past Participle - en.

Class I verbs: belīfan ‘stay’, drīfan ‘drive’, bītan ‘bite’, bīdan ‘bide’, rīdan ‘ride’, slīdan ‘slide’.

Class II verbs: crēopan ‘creep’, nēotan ‘enjoy’, scēotan ‘shoot’, frēosan ‘freeze’.

Class III verbs: bindan ‘bind’, findan ‘find’, windan ‘wind’, winnan ‘work’, sinnan ‘reflect’, swimman ‘swim’, climban ‘climb’.

Class IV verbs: cwelan ‘die’, helan ‘conceal’, brecan ‘break’.

Class V verbs: metan ‘measure’, swefan ‘sleep’, sprecan ‘speak’.

Class VI verbs: hladan ‘lade’, wadan ‘walk’, bacan ‘bake’, wascan (waxan) ‘wash’.

Class VII verbs: blondan ‘blend’, slæpan ‘sleep’, fealdan ‘fold’, healdan ‘hold’, crāwan ‘crow’.

Indef. Past Indef. Sing. Past Indef. Plural Past Participle

1) wrītan wrãt writon written (to write)

2) cēosan cēas curon coren (to choose)

3) findan fand funden funden (to find)

helpan healp hulpon holpen (to help)

feohtan feaht fuhton fohten (to fight)

4) beran bær bǣron boren (to bear)

srelan stæl stǣlon stolen (to steal)

wesan wæs wǣron weren (to be)

5) biddan bæd bǣdon beden (beg)

6) faran fãr fõren feren (to travel)

7) hātan hēt hēton hãten (to call)

The Infinitive had the an ending.

The Past Indefinite Singular - no ending.

The Past Indefinite Plural - on.

The Past Participle - en.

Old English weak verbs. Weak verbs form their principal forms by means of adding a dental suffix to the root of the infinitive -ede - ode - d - t. Weak verbs have only 3 principal forms as there is no difference between the plural and the singular of the Past Indefinite. Weak verbs have three classes. The first class is subdivided into 2 subclasses. The first subclass consists of the so-called regular verbs or the verbs which retain the traces of the i-umlaut on all the three forms: deman-demde-demed (domiad) «судить», fremman - fremede - fremed (выполнять). The second subclass consists of irregular verbs as they had the i-umlaut only in the Infinitive form: tellan - tealde - teald; a+1d = ea.

Most of the verbs of the first class are the so-called causative verbs, it means verbs with the idea of making somebody or something fulfill the action of the corresponding strong verb: to sit - set.

Causative verbs were formed of the Past Indefinite forms of strong verbs by adding the suffix- ian:

sittan - sat - sitton - sitten

sat+ian - settan - weak;

sedate - sedet

The second class. The verbs of the second class formerly had the element oja in the Infinitive and the sound [o] in the Past Indefinite. But in OE only the sound [o] remained in the Past Indefinite. The characteristic features of the verbs of the second class are: i in the suffix of the Infinitive causing no i-umlaut and the suffix of the Past Indefinite being -ode: macian - mocode - macod; lufian (Inf.) -lufode (Past) -lufod (Second Participle) (love). The third class of the OE verbs: the suffix of the past and the second participle is joined on to the root. In two class III verbs, sec3(e)an (say) and hyc3(e)an (think) the infinitive has mutation which is seen by comparing it with the past and the second participle. Mutation could obviously be due only to an -i- in the suffix. This peculiarity brings these verbs close to class I verbs. In the verbs habban - hæfde - hæfd (have); libban - lifde - lifd (live) no mutation is found.

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