The history of Old English and its development

for all four main forms:

[pic]

Now let us see what Old English strong verbs of all those seven

classes looked like and what were their main four forms. I should mention

that besides the vowel changes in the stem, verbal forms also changed stem

consonants very often. The rule of such changes is not mentioned

practically in any books on the Old English language, though there is some.

See for yourselves this little chart where the samples of strong verb

classes are given with their four forms:

Infinitive, Past singular, Past plural, Participle II (or Past Participle)

Class I

wrнtan (to write), wrбt, writon, writen

snнpan (to cut), snбю, snidon, sniden

Other examples: belнfan (stay), clнfan (cling), ygrнpan (clutch), bнtan

(bite), slнtan (slit), besmнtan (dirty), gewнtan (go), blнcan (glitter),

sнcan (sigh), stнgan (mount), scнnan (shine), бrнsan (arise), lнюan (go).

Class II

bйodan (to offer), bйad, budon, boden

cйosan (to choose), cйas, curon, coren

Other examples: crйopan (creep), clйofan (cleave), flйotan (fleet),

gйotan (pour), grйotan (weep), nйotan (enjoy), scйotan (shoot), lйogan

(lie), brйowan (brew), drйosan (fall), frйosan (freeze), forlйosan (lose).

Class III

III a) a nasal consonant

drincan (to drink), dranc, druncon, druncen

Other: swindan (vanish), onginnan (begin), sinnan (reflect), winnan

(work), gelimpan (happen), swimman (swim).

III b) l + a consonant

helpan (to help), healp, hulpon, holpen

Other: delfan (delve), swelgan (swallow), sweltan (die), bellan (bark),

melcan (milk).

III c) r, h + a consonant

steorfan (to die), stearf, sturfon, storfen

weorюan (to become), wearю, wurdon, worden

feohtan (to fight), feaht, fuhton, fohten

More: ceorfan (carve), hweorfan (turn), weorpan (throw), beorgan

(conceal), beorcan (bark).

Class IV

stelan (to steal), stж'l, stж'lon, stolen

beran (to bear), bж'r, bж'ron, boren

More: cwelan (die), helan (conceal), teran (tear), brecan (break).

Class V

tredan (to tread), trж'd, trж'don, treden

cweюan (to say), cwж'ю, cwж'don, cweden

More: metan (measure), swefan (sleep), wefan (weave), sprecan (to

speak), wrecan (persecute), lesan (gather), etan (eat), wesan (be).

Class VI

faran (to go), fуr, fуron, faren

More: galan (sing), grafan (dig), hladan (lade), wadan (walk), dragan

(drag), gnagan (gnaw), bacan (bake), scacan (shake), wascan (wash).

Class VII

hбtan (to call), hйt, hйton, hбten

feallan (to fall), feoll, feollon, feallen

cnйawan (to know), cnйow, cnйowon, cnбwen

More: blondan (blend), ondrж'dan (fear), lбcan (jump), scadan (divide),

fealdan (fold), healdan (hold), sponnan (span), bйatan (beat), blуwan

(flourish), hlуwan (low), spуwan (flourish), mбwan (mow), sбwan (sow),

rбwan (turn).

So the rule from the table above is observed carefully. The VII class was

made especially for those verbs which did not fit into any of the six

classes. In fact the verbs of the VII class are irregular and cannot be

explained by a certain exact rule, though they are quite numerous in the

language.

Examining verbs of Old English comparing to those of Modern English it

is easy to catch the point of transformation. Not only the ending -an in

the infinitive has dropped, but the stems were subject to many changes some

of which are not hard to find. For example, the long н in the stem gives i

with an open syllable in the modern language (wrнtan > write, scнnan >

shine). The same can be said about a, which nowadays is a in open syllables

pronounced [ж] (hladan > lade). The initial combination sc turns to sh; the

open e was transformed into ea practically everywhere (sprecan > speak,

tredan > tread, etc.). Such laws of transformation which you can gather

into a small table help to recreate the Old word from a Modern English one

in case you do not have a dictionary in hand, and therefore are important

for reconstruction of the languages.

Weak verbs in Old English (today's English regular verbs) were conjugated

in a simpler way than the strong ones, and did not use the ablaut

interchanges of the vowel stems. Weak verbs are divided into three classes

which had only slight differences though. They did have the three forms -

the infinitive, the past tense, the participle II. Here is the table.

Class I

Regular verbs

Inf. Past PP

dйman (to judge), dйmde, dйmed

hнeran (to hear), hнerde, hнered

nerian (to save), nerede, nered

styrian (to stir), styrede, styred

fremman (to commit), fremede, fremed

cnyssan (to push), cnysede, cnysed

When the suffix is preceded by a voiceless consonant the ending changes a

little bit:

cйpan (to keep), cйpte, cйpt / cйped

grйtan (to greet), grйtte, grйt / grйted

If the verb stem ends in consonant plus d or t:

sendan (to send), sende, send / sended

restan (to rest), reste, rest / rested

Irregular

sellan (to give), sealde, seald

tellan (to tell), tealde, teald

cwellan (to kill), cwealde, cweald

tж'can (to teach), tбhte, tбht

rж'can (to reach), rбhte, rбht

bycgan (to buy), bohte, boht

sйcan (to seek), sуhte, sуht

wyrcan (to work), worhte, worht

юencan (to think), юуhte, юуht

bringan (to bring), brуhte, brуht

Other examples of the I class weak verbs just for your interest: berian

(beat), derian (harm), erian (plough), ferian (go), herian (praise),

gremman (be angry), wennan (accustom), clynnan (sound), dynnan (resound),

hlynnan (roar), hrissan (tremble), sceююan (harm), wecgean (move), fйran

(go), lж'ran (teach), drжfan (drive), fэsan (hurry), drэgean (dry), hнepan

(heap), mйtan (to meet), wэscean (wish), byldan (build), wendan (turn),

efstan (hurry). All these are regular.

Class II

macian (to make), macode, macod

lufian (to love), lufode, lufod

hopian (to hope), hopode, hopod

Tis class makes quite a small group of verbs, all of them having -o- before

the past endings. Other samples: lofian (praise), stician (pierce), eardian

(dwell), scйawian (look), weorюian (honour), wundrian (wonder), fжstnian

(fasten), mжrsian (glorify).

Class III

habban (to have), hжfde, hжfd

libban (to live), lifde, lifd

secgan (to say), sжgde, sжgd

hycgan (to think), hogde, hogod

юrйagan (to threaten), юrйade, юrйad

smйagan (to think), smйade, smйad

frйogan (to free), frйode, frйod

fйogan (to hate), fйode, fйod

Old English verbs are conjugated having two tenses - the Present tense

and the Past tense, and three moods - indicative, subjunctive, and

imperative. Of these, only the subjunctive mood has disappeared in the

English language, acquiring an analytic construction instead of

inflections; and the imperative mood has coincided with the infinitive form

(to write - write!). In the Old English period they all looked different.

The common table of the verb conjugation is given below. Here you

should notice that the Present tense has the conjugation for all three

moods, while the Past tense - for only two moods (no imperative in the Past

tense, naturally). Some more explanation should be given about the stem

types.

In fact all verbal forms were generated in Old English from three verb

stems, and each verb had its own three ones: the Infinitive stem, the Past

Singular stem, the Past Plural stem. For the verb wrнtan, for example,

those three stems are: wrнt- (infinitive without the ending -an), wrбt-

(the Past singular), writ- (the Past plural without the ending -on). The

table below explains where to use this or that stem.

[pic]

Additionally, the participles (Participle I and Participle II) are

formed by the suffix -ende to the Infinitive stem (participle I), or the

prefix ge- + the Past Plural stem + the ending -en (Participle II).

Tired of the theory? Here is the preactice. We give several examples of the

typical verbs - first strong, then weak, then irregular.

Class I strong - wrнtan (to write)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imper. ¦ Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 wrнte - ¦ wrбt

2 wrнtest wrнte wrнt ¦ write } wrнte

3 wrнteю - ¦ wrбt

Pl. wrнtaю wrнten 2 wrнtaю ¦ writon writen

Infinitive Participle

wrнtan I wrнtende II gewriten

Class II weak - lufian (to love)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 lufie - lufode

2 lufast }lufie lufa lufodest } lufode

3 lufaю - lufode

Pl. lufiaю lufien 2 lufiaю lufodon lufoden

Part.

I lufiende II gelufod

Class III strong - bindan (to bind)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 binde - ¦ band, bond

2 bindest } binde bind ¦ bunde } bunde

3 bindeю - ¦ band, bond

Pl. bindaю binden bindaю ¦ bundon bunden

Inf. Part.

bindan I bindende II gebunden

Class V strong - sйon (to see)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg.1 sйo - seah

2 sнehst } sйo seoh sбwe } sбwe,

3 sнehю - seah sжge

Pl. sйoю sйon 2 sйoю sawon sбwen

Participle

I sйonde II gesewen, gesegen

Class VII strong - fуn (to catch)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 fу - feng

2 fйhst } fу fуh fenge } fenge

3 fйhю - feng

Pl. fую fуn 2 fую fengon fengen

Participle

I fуnde II gefangen, gefongen

Class III weak - secgan (to say)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg.1 secge - sжgde

2 sжgst }secge sжge sжgdest }sжgde

3 sжgю - sжgde

Pl. secgaю secgen 2 secgaю sжgdon sжgden

Part.

I secgende II gesжgd

Class III weak - libban (to live)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg.1 libbe - lifde

2 liofast }libbe liofa lifdest } lifde

3 liofaю - lifde

Pl. libbaю libben 2 libbaю lifdon lifden

Part.

I libbende II gelifd

A special group is made by the so-called Present-Preterite verbs, which

are conjugated combining two varieties of the usual verb conjugation:

strong and weak. These verbs, at all not more than seven, are nowadays

called modal verbs in English.

Present-Preterite verbs have their Present tense forms generated from the

Strong Past, and the Past tense, instead, looks like the Present Tense of

the Weak verbs. The verbs we present here are the following: witan (to

know), cunnan (can), юurfan (to need), dearan (to dare), munan (to

remember), sculan (shall), magan (may).

Present of witan (= strong Past)

Ind. Subj. Imp.

Sg. 1 wбt -

2 wast } wite wite

3 wбt -

Pl. witon 2 witen witaю

Past (= Weak)

Ind. Subj.

Sg.1 wisse, wiste

2 wissest, wistest } wisse, wiste

3 wisse, wiste

Pl. wisson, wiston wissen, wisten

Participles: I witende, II witen, gewiten

cunnan (can)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 cann cъюe

2 canst } cunne cъюest } cъюe

3 cann cъюe

Pl. cunnon cunnen cъюon cъюen

юurfan (need)

Sg. 1 юearf юorfte

2 юearft } юurfe юorftest } юorfte

3 юearf юorfte

Pl. юurfon юurfen юorfton юorften

magan (may)

Sg. 1 mжg meahte mihte, mihten

2 meaht } mжge meahtest

3 mжg meahte

Pl. magon mжgen meahton

The main difference of verbs of this type in modern English is their

expressing modality, i.e. possibility, obligation, necessity. They do not

require the particle to before the infinitive which follows them. In Old

English in general no verb requires this particle before the infinitive. In

fact, this to before the infinitive form meant the preposition of

direction.

And now finally a few irregular verbs, which used several different stems

for their tenses. These verbs are very important in Old English and are met

very often in the texts: wesan (to be), bйon (to be), gбn (to go), dуn (to

do), willan (will). Mind that there was no Future tense in the Old English

language, and the future action was expressed by the Present forms, just

sometimes using verbs of modality, willan (lit. "to wish to do") or sculan

(lit. "to have to do").

wesan (to be) - has got only the Present tense forms, uses the verb bйon in

the Past

Present

Ind. Subj. Imp.

Sg.1 eom -

2 eart } sнe, sэ wes

3 is -

Pl. sind sнen, sэn 2 wesaю

bйon (to be)

Present

Ind. Subj. Imp.

Sg. 1 bйo -

2 bist }bйo bйo

3 biю -

Pl. bйoю bйon 2 bйoю

Past

Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 wжs

2 wжre } wжre

3 wжs

Pl. wжron wжren

Participle I is bйonde (being).

gбn (to go)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg.1 gб - йode

2 gж'st } gб gб йodest } йode

3 gж'ю - йode

Pl. gбю 2 gбn gбю йodon йoden

Participles:

I gбnde, gangende II gegбn

So there were in fact two verbs meaning 'to be', and both were

colloquial. In Middle English, however, the verb wesan replaced fully the

forms of bйon, and the words bйo (I am), bist (thou art) fell out of use.

The Past tense forms was and were are also derivatives from wesan.

Syntactically, the language had only two main tenses - the Present and

the Past. No progressive (or Continuous) tenses were used, they were

invented only in the Early Middle English period. Such complex tenses as

modern Future in the Past, Future Perfect Continuous did not exist either.

However, some analytic construction were in use, and first of all the

perfective constructions. The example Hie geweorc geworhten hжfdon 'they

have build a fortress' shows the exact Perfect tense, but at that time it

was not the tense really, just a participle construction showing that the

action has been done. Seldom you can also find such Past constructions,

which later became the Past Perfect Tense.

Verb syntax includes a number of suffices and prefixes which can be

met in Old English texts and especially in poetry:

Suffices:

1. -s- (from substantive or adjective stems) - mж'rsian (to announce;

from mж're - famous)

2. -lжc- - nйбlжcan (to approach)

3. -ett- - bliccettan (to sparkle)

Prefixes

1. б- = out of, from - бrнsan (arise), бwakan (awake), бberan (sustain)

2. be- = over, around, by - begбn (go around), beюencan (think over),

behйafdian (behead)

3. for- = destruction or loss - fordуn (destroy), forweorюan (perish)

4. mis- = negation or bad quality - mislнcian (displease)

5. of- = reinfors - ofslйan (kill), oftйon (take away)

6. on- = change or separation - onbindan (unbind), onlъcan (unlock)

7. tу- = destruction - tуbrecan (break)

The Old English Auxiliary Words.

These traditionally include prepositions, conjunctions, different

particles and

interjections. All Indo-European languages have this system of auxiliary

parts of speech, though there are languages which lack some of them.

Japanese, for example, has no prepositions, and the service function in the

sentence belongs to postpositive words which have cases, the same as nouns.

Korean does not use any conjunctions, replacing them by about 50 different

kinds of verbal adverbs. As for Chinese, it simply does not make any

distinction in the sentence between basic and auxiliary words.

Most of Old English prepositions are easily recognizable:

Primary: of (of, out of), жt (to), fram (from), tу (to), wiю (against), in,

of, mid (with), on (on, at), be (by, near, to, because of, about), юurh

(through), under, ofer (over), жfter (after), bufan (above), ъt (out).

Secondary: beforan (before), bъtan (without), benorюan (north of), etc.

жt means 'to' and wiю means 'against'. In Germanic all prepositions divided

into those who used nouns in dative, accusative or genitive. But in the Old

English period this distinction begins to disappear, and only some of the

prepositions use dative (mid, bъtan, sometimes on, in) or genitive (fram,

ъt, жfter).

Conjunctions included the following:

Primary: and / ond (and) , ac (but), gif (if), or.

Secondary: жgюer ge... ge (both... and..., either ... or...), hwonne

(when), юa (when), юonne (when), юйбh (though), южtte (that), жr (before),

swб... swб... (so... as...).

And a few interjections: iб (yes), wб (woe!, wow!), hwжt (there! what!).

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