Note.—The Gerund is simply the When to lost the meaning of purpose and came to be considered as a merely formal prefix, for was used to supplement the purpose element: What went ye out for to see?9

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CHAPTER XIX.
Strong Verbs: Classes II and III.

109.

Class II: The “Choose” Conjugation.

Vowel Succession: ēo, ēa, u, o.

Infinitive. 1	Pret. Sing.	Pret. Plur. 2	Past Part. 2
cēos-an,	cēas,	cur-on	gecor-en, to choose.

Indicative.				Subjunctive.
Present.				Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic cēos-e			Sing. 1.	Ic	}	cēos-e
2.	ðū cīest (cēos-est)			2.	ðū
3.	hē cīest (cēos-eð)			3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}	cēos-að	Plur. 1.	wē	}	cēos-en
2.	gē			2.	gē
3.	hīe			3.	hīe
Preterit.				Preterit.
Sing. 1.	Ic cēas			Sing. 1.	Ic	}	cur-e
2.	ðū cur-e			2.	ðū
3.	hē cēas			3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}	cur-on	Plur. 1.	wē	}	cur-en
2.	gē			2.	gē
3.	hīe			3.	hīe

Imperative.		Infinitive.	Present Participle.
Sing. 2.	cēos	cēos-an	cēos-ende
Plur. 1.	cēos-an
2.	cēos-að	Gerund.	Past Participle.
		tō cēos-anne (-enne)	gecor-en

110.

Class III: The “Bind” Conjugation.

Vowel Succession:

i e

}

, a, u,

u o

}

.

The present stem ends in m, n, l, r, or h, + one or more consonants:

m:	belimp-an,	}	belǫmp belamp	}	, belump-on,	belump-en,	to belong.
n:	bind-an,	}	bǫnd band	}	, bund-on,	gebund-en,	to bind.
l:	help-an,		healp,		hulp-on,	geholp-en,	to help.
r:	weorð-an,		wearð,		wurd-on,	geword-en,	to become.
h:	gefeoht-an,		gefeaht,		gefuht-on,	gefoht-en,	to fight.

Note 1.—If the present stem ends in a nasal (m, n) + a consonant, the past participle retains the u of the pret. plur.; but if the present stem ends in a liquid (l, r) or h, + a consonant, the past participle has o instead of u.

Note 2.—Why do we not find *halp, *warð, and *faht in the pret. sing.? Because a before l, r, or h, + a consonant, underwent “breaking” to ea. Breaking also changes every e followed by r or h, + a consonant, to eo: weorðan (< *werðan), feohtan (< *fehtan).

111.

 

Indicative.				Subjunctive.
Present.				Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic bind-e			Sing. 1.	Ic	}
2.	ðū bintst (bind-est)			2.	ðū		bind-e
3.	hē bint (bind-eð)			3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}	bind-að	Plur. 1.	wē	}	bind-en
2.	gē			2.	gē
3.	hīe			3.	hīe
Preterit.				Preterit.
Sing. 1.	Ic bǫnd			Sing. 1.	Ic	}
2.	ðū bund-e			2.	ðū		bund-e
3.	hē bǫnd			3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}	bund-on	Plur. 1.	wē	}	bund-en
2.	gē			2.	gē
3.	hīe			3.	hīe

Imperative.		Infinitive.	Present Participle.
Sing. 2.	bind	bind-an	bind-ende
Plur. 1.	bind-an
2.	bind-að	Gerund.	Past Participle.
		tō bind-anne (-enne)	gebund-en

112.

Vocabulary.

ārīsan,	ārās,	ārison,	ārisen,	to arise.
bīdan,	bād,	bidon,	gebiden,	to remain, expect (with gen.)
drēogan,3	drēag,	drugon,	gedrogen,	to endure, suffer.
drincan,	drǫnc,	druncon,	gedruncen,	to drink.
findan,	fǫnd,	fundon,	gefunden,	to find.
geswīcan	geswāc,	geswicon,	geswicen,	to cease, cease from (with gen.)
iernan (yrnan),	ǫrn,	urnon,	geurnen,	to run.
onginnan,	ongǫnn,	ongunnon,	ongunnen,	to begin.
rīdan,	rād,	ridon,	geriden,	to ride.
singan,	sǫng,	sungon,	gesungen,	to sing.
wrītan,	wrāt,	writon,	gewriten,	to write.

113.

Exercises.

I. 1. Æfter ðissum wordum, sē munuc wrāt ealle ðā geręcednesse on ānre bēc. 2. Ðā eorlas ridon ūp ǣr ðǣm ðe ðā Dęne ðæs gefeohtes geswicen. 3. Cædmon sǫng ǣrest be middangeardes gesceape. 4. Sē cyning ǫnd ðā rīcostan męn drincað mȳran meolc, ǫnd ðā unspēdigan drincað medu. 5. Ǫnd hē ārās ǫnd sē wind geswāc. 6. Hīe sǣdon ðæt hīe ðǣr westwindes biden. 7. Hwæt is nū mā ymbe ðās ðing tō sprecanne? 8. Ðā sęcgas ongunnon geswīcan ðǣre hęrgunga. 9. Ðā bēag ðæt lǫnd ðǣr ēastryhte, oððe sēo sǣ in on ðæt lǫnd. 10. Ðās lǫnd belimpað tō, ðǣm Ęnglum. 11. Ðēah ðā Dęne ealne dæg gefuhten, gīet hæfde Ælfred cyning sige. 12. Ǫnd ðæs (afterwards) ymbe ānne mōnað gefeaht Ælfred cyning wið ealne ðone hęre æt Wiltūne.

II. 1. The most prosperous men drank mare’s milk and wine, but the poor men drank mead. 2. I suffered many things before you began to help me (dat.). 3. About two days afterwards (Ðæs ymbe twēgen dagas), the plundering ceased. 4. The king said that he fought against all the army (hęre). 5. Although the Danes remained one month (§ 98, (1)), they did not begin to fight. 6. These gifts belonged to my brother. 7. The earls were glad because their lord was (indicative) with them. 8. What did you find? 9. Then wrote he about (be) the wise man’s deeds. 10. What more is there to endure?

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CHAPTER XX.
Strong Verbs: Classes IV, V, VI, and VII.
Contract Verbs.

[The student can now complete the conjugation for himself (§ 103). Only the principal parts will be given.]

114.

Class IV: The “Bear” Conjugation.

Vowel Succession: e, æ, ǣ, o.

The present stem ends in l, r, or m, no consonant following:

l:	hel-an,	hæl,	hǣl-on,	gehol-en,	to conceal.
r:	ber-an,	bær,	bǣr-on,	gebor-en,	to bear.

The two following verbs are slightly irregular:

m:

{

nim-an, cum-an,

nōm (nam), c(w)ōm,

nōm-on (nām-on), c(w)ōm-on,

genum-en, gecum-en,

to take. to come.

115.

Class V: The “Give” Conjugation.

Succession of Vowels: e (ie), æ, ǣ, e.

The present stem ends in a single consonant, never a liquid or nasal:

met-an,	mæt,	mǣton,	gemet-en,	to measure,	mete.
gief-an,	geaf,	gēaf-on,	gegief-en,	to give.

Note 1.—The palatal consonants, g, c, and sc, convert a following e into ie, æ into ea, and ǣ into ēa. Hence giefan (< *gefan), geaf (< *gæf), gēafon (< *gǣfon), gegiefen (< *gegefen). This change is known as Palatalization. See § 8.

Note 2.—The infinitives of the following important verbs are only apparently exceptional:

biddan,	bæd,	bǣd-on,	gebed-en,	to ask for [bid].
licgan,	læg,	lǣg-on,	geleg-en,	to lie, extend.
sittan,	sæt,	sǣt-on,	geset-en,	to sit.

The original e reappears in the participial stems. It was changed to i in the present stems on account of a former -jan in the infinitive (bid-jan, etc.). See § 61. To the same cause is due the doubling of consonants in the infinitive. All simple consonants in O.E., with the exception of r, were doubled after a short vowel, when an original j followed.

116.

Class VI: The “Shake” Conjugation.

Succession of Vowels: a, ō, ō, a.

scac-an,	scōc,	scōc-on,	gescac-en,	to shake.
far-an,	fōr,	fōr-on,	gefar-en,	to go [fare].

117.

Class VII: The “Fall” Conjugation.

Vowel Succession:

ā ǣ

}

, ē, ē,

ā ǣ

}

; or

ea ēa ō

}

, ēo, ēo,

ea ēa ō

}

.

(1)	hāt-an,	hēt,	hēt-on,	gehāt-en,	{	to call, name, command.
	lǣt-an,	lēt,	lēt-on,	gelǣt-en,		to let.
(2)	feall-an,	fēoll,	fēoll-on,	gefeall-en,		to fall.
	heald-an,	hēold,	hēold-on,	geheald-en,		to hold.
	hēaw-an,	hēow,	hēow-on,	gehēaw-en,		to hew.
	grōw-an,	grēow,	grēow-on,	gegrōw-en,		to grow.

Note 1.—This class consists of the Reduplicating Verbs; that is, those verbs that originally formed their preterits not by internal vowel change (ablaut), but by prefixing to the present stem the initial consonant + e (cf. Gk. λέ-λοιπα and Lat. dĕ-di). Contraction then took place between the syllabic prefix and the root, the fusion resulting in ē or ēo: *he-hat > heht > hēt.

Note 2.—A peculiar interest attaches to hātan: the forms hātte and hātton are the sole remains in O.E. of the original Germanic passive. They are used both as presents and as preterits: hātte = I am or was called, he is or was called. No other verb in O.E. could have a passive sense without calling in the aid of the verb to be (§ 141).

Contract Verbs.

118.

The few Contract Verbs found in O.E. do not constitute a new class; they fall under Classes I, II, V, VI, and VII, already treated. The present stem ended originally in h. This was lost before -an of the infinitive, contraction and compensatory lengthening being the result. The following are the most important of these verbs:

Classes.

I.	ðēon	(< *ðīhan),	ðāh,	ðig-on,	}	geðig-en geðung-en	}	, to thrive.
II.	tēon	(< *tēohan),	tēah,	tug-on,	getog-en,			to draw, go [tug].
V.	sēon	(< *sehwan),	seah,	sāw-on,	gesew-en,			to see.
VI.	slēan	(< *slahan),	slōh,	slōg-on,	geslæg-en,			to slay.
VII.	fōn	(< *fōhan),	fēng,	fēng-on,	gefǫng-en,			to seize [fang].

119.

The Present Indicative of these verbs runs as follows (see rules of i-umlaut, § 58):

Sing. 1.	Ic ðēo		tēo	sēo	slēa	fō
2.	ðū ðīhst		tīehst	siehst	sliehst	fēhst
3.	hē ðīhð		tīehð	siehð	sliehð	fēhð
Plur. 1.	wē	}
2.	gē		ðēoð	tēoð	sēoð	slēað	fōð
3.	hīe

The other tenses and moods are regularly formed from the given stems.

120.

Vocabulary.

ðæt wæl [Val-halla] sē wælsliht,

}

slaughter, carnage.

ābrecan,2	ābræc,	ābrǣcon,	ābrocen,	to break down.
cweðan,	cwæð,	cwǣdon,	gecweden,	to say [quoth].
gesēon,	geseah,	gesāwon,	gesewen,	to see.
grōwan,	grēow,	grēowon,	gegrōwen,	to grow.
ofslēan,	ofslōh,	ofslōgon,	ofslægen,	to slay.
sprecan,	spræc,	sprǣcon,	gesprecen,	to speak.
stelan,	stæl,	stǣlon,	gestolen,	to steal.
stǫndan,	stōd,	stōdon,	gestǫnden,	to stand.
weaxan,	wēox,	wēoxon,	geweaxen,	to grow, increase [wax].

121.

Exercises.

I. 1. Æfter ðǣm sōðlīce (indeed) ealle męn sprǣcon āne (one) sprǣce. 2. Ǫnd hē cwæð: “Ðis is ān folc, ǫnd ealle hīe sprecað āne sprǣce.” 3. On sumum stōwum wīngeardas grōwað. 4. Hē hēt ðā nǣdran ofslēan. 5. Ðā Ęngle ābrǣcon ðone lǫngan weall, ǫnd sige nōmon. 6. Ǫnd ðæt sǣd grēow ǫnd wēox. 7. Ic ne geseah ðone mǫn sē ðe ðæs cnapan adesan stæl. 8. Hē wæs swȳðe spēdig man on ðǣm ǣhtum ðe hiera spēda on3 bēoð, ðæt is, on wildrum. 9. Ǫnd ðǣr wearð (was) micel wælsliht on gehwæðre hǫnd. 10. Ǫnd æfter ðissum gefeohte cōm Ælfred cyning mid his fierde, ǫnd gefeaht wið ealne ðone hęre, ǫnd sige nōm. 11. Ðēos burg hātte4 Æscesdūn (Ashdown). 12. Ðǣre cwēne līc læg on ðǣm hūse. 13. Ǫnd sē dǣl ðe ðǣr aweg cōm wæs swȳðe lȳtel. 14. Ǫnd ðæs ðrēotīene dagas Æðered tō rīce fēng.

II. 1. The men stood in the ships and fought against the Danes. 2. Before the thanes came, the king rode away. 3. They said (sǣdon) that all the men spoke one language. 4. They bore the queen’s body to Wilton. 5. Alfred gave many gifts to his army (dat. without tō) before he went away. 6. These men are called earls. 7. God sees all things. 8. The boy held the reindeer with (mid) his hands. 9. About six months afterwards, Alfred gained the victory, and came to the throne. 10. He said that there was very great slaughter on both sides.

----

CHAPTER XXI.
Weak Verbs (§ 18).

122.

The verbs belonging to the Weak Conjugation are generally of more recent origin than the strong verbs, being frequently formed from the roots of strong verbs. The Weak Conjugation was the growing conjugation in O.E. as it is in Mn.E. We instinctively put our newly coined or borrowed words into this conjugation (telegraphed, boycotted); and children, by the analogy of weak verbs, say runned for ran, seed for saw, teared for tore, drawed for drew, and growed for grew. So, for example, when Latin dictāre and breviāre came into O.E., they came as weak verbs, dihtian and brēfian.

The Three Classes of Weak Verbs.

123.

There is no difficulty in telling, from the infinitive alone, to which of the three classes a weak verb belongs. Class III has been so invaded by Class II that but three important verbs remain to it: habban, to have; libban, to live; and sęcgan, to say. Distinction is to be made, therefore, only between Classes II and I. Class II contains the verbs with infinitive in -ian not preceded by r. Class I contains the remaining weak verbs; that is, those with infinitive in -r-ian and those with infinitive in -an (not -ian).

Class I.

124.

The preterit singular and past participle of Class I end in -ede and -ed, or -de and -ed respectively.

Note.—The infinitives of this class ended originally in -jan (= -ian). This accounts for the prevalence of i-umlaut in these verbs, and also for the large number of short-voweled stems ending in a double consonant (§ 115, Note 2). The weak verb is frequently the causative of the corresponding strong verb. In such cases, the root of the weak verb corresponds in form to the preterit singular of the strong verb: Mn.E. drench (= to make drink), lay (= to make lie), rear (= to make rise), and set (= to make sit), are the umlauted forms of drǫnc (preterit singular of drincan), læg (preterit singular of licgan), rās (preterit singular of rīsan), and sæt (preterit singular of sittan).

Preterit and Past Participle in -ede and -ed.

125.

Verbs with infinitive in -an preceded by ri- or the double consonants mm, nn, ss, bb, cg (= gg), add -ede for the preterit, and -ed for the past participle, the double consonant being always made single:

ri:	nęri-an,	nęr-ede,	genęr-ed,	to save.
mm:	fręmm-an,	fręm-ede,	gefręm-ed,	to perform [frame].
nn:	ðęnn-an,	ðęn-ede,	geðęn-ed,	to extend.
ss:	cnyss-an,	cnys-ede,	gecnys-ed,	to beat.
bb:	swębb-an,	swęf-ede,	geswęf-ed,	to put to sleep.
cg:	węcg-an,	węg-ede,	gewęg-ed,	to agitate.

Note.—Lęcgan, to lay, is the only one of these verbs that syncopates the e: lęcgan, lęgde (lēde), gelęgd (gelēd), instead of lęgede, gelęged.

Preterit and Past Participle in -de and -ed.

126.

All the other verbs belonging to Class I. add -de for the preterit and -ed for the past participle. This division includes, therefore, all stems long by nature (§ 10, (3), (a)):

dǣl-an,	dǣl-de,	gedǣl-ed,	to deal out, divide [dǣl].
dēm-an,	dēm-de,	gedēm-ed,	to judge [dōm].
grēt-an,	grēt-te,	gegrēt-ed,	to greet.
hīer-an,	hīer-de,	gehīer-ed,	to hear.
lǣd-an,	lǣd-de,	gelǣd-ed,	to lead.

Note 1.—A preceding voiceless consonant (§ 9, Note) changes -de into -te: *grēt-de > grēt-te; *mēt-de > mēt-te; *īec-de > īec-te. Syncope and contraction are also frequent in the participles: gegrēt-ed > *gegrēt-d > gegrēt(t); gelǣd-ed > gelǣd(d).

Note 2.—Būan, to dwell, cultivate, has an admixture of strong forms in the past participle: būan, būde, gebūd (bȳn, gebūn). The present participle survives in Mn.E. husband = house-dweller.

127.

It includes, also, all stems long by position (§ 10, (3), (b)) except those in mm, nn, ss, bb, and cg (§ 125):

sęnd-an,	sęnd-e,	gesęnd-ed,	to send.
sętt-an,	sęt-te,	gesęt-ed,	to set [sittan].
sigl-an,	sigl-de,	gesigl-ed,	to sail.
spęnd-an,	spęnd-e,	gespęnd-ed,	to spend.
trędd-an,	tręd-de,	getręd-ed,	to tread.

Note.—The participles frequently undergo syncope and contraction: gesęnded > gesęnd; gesęted > gesęt(t); gespęnded > gespęnd; getręded > getręd(d).

Irregular Verbs of Class I.

128.

There are about twenty verbs belonging to Class I that are irregular in having no umlaut in the preterit and past participle. The preterit ends in -de, the past participle in -d; but, through the influence of a preceding voiceless consonant (§ 9, Note), -ed is generally unvoiced to -te, and -d to -t. The most important of these verbs are as follows:

bring-an,	brōh-te,	gebrōh-t,	to bring.
byc-gan,	boh-te,	geboh-t,	to buy.
sēc-an,	sōh-te,	gesōh-t,	to seek.
sęll-an,	seal-de,	geseal-d,	to give, sell [hand-sel].
tǣc-an,	tǣh-te,	getǣh-t,	to teach.
tęll-an,	teal-de,	geteal-d,	to count [tell].
ðęnc-an,	ðōh-te,	geðōh-t,	to think.
ðync-an,	ðūh-te,	geðūh-t,	to seem [methinks].
wyrc-an,	worh-te,	geworh-t,	to work.

Note.—Such of these verbs as have stems in c or g are frequently written with an inserted e: bycgean, sēcean, tǣcean, etc. This e indicates that c and g have palatal value; that is, are to be followed with a vanishing y-sound. In such cases, O.E. c usually passes into Mn.E. ch: tǣc(e)an > to teach; rǣc(e)an > to reach; stręcc(e)an > to stretch. Sēc(e)an gives beseech as well as seek. See § 8.

Conjugation of Class I.

129.

Paradigms of nęrian, to save; fręmman, to perform; dǣlan, to divide:

Indicative.
Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic nęrie			fręmme	dǣle
2.	ðū nęrest			fręmest	dǣlst
3.	hē nęreð			fręmeð	dǣlð
Plur. 1.	wē	}	nęriað
2.	gē			fręmmað	dǣlað
3.	hīe
Preterit.
Sing. 1.	Ic nęrede			fręmede	dǣlde
2.	ðū nęredest			fręmedest	dǣldest
3.	hē nęrede			fręmede	dǣlde
Plur. 1.	wē	}	nęredon
2.	gē			fręmedon	dǣldon
3.	hīe
Subjunctive.
Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic	}	nęrie
2.	ðū			fręmme	dǣle
3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}
2.	gē		nęrien	fręmmen	dǣlen
3.	hīe
Preterit.
Sing. 1.	Ic	}	nęrede
2.	ðū			fręmede	dǣlde
3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}	nęreden
2.	gē			fręmeden	dǣlden
3.	hīe
Imperative.
Sing. 2.	nęre			fręme	dǣl
Plur. 1.	nęrian			fręmman	dǣlan
2.	nęriað			fręmmað	dǣlað

Infinitive.
nęrian	fręmman	dǣlan
Gerund.
tō nęrianne (-enne)	tō fręmmanne (-enne)	tō dǣlanne (-enne)
Present Participle.
nęriende	fręmmende	dǣlende
Past Participle.
genęred	gefręmed	gedǣled

Note.—The endings of the preterit present no difficulties; in the 2d and 3d singular present, however, the student will observe (a) that double consonants in the stem are made single: fręmest, fręmeð (not *freęmmest, *freęmmeð); ðęnest, ðęneð; sętest (sętst), seęteð (sętt); fylst, fylð, from fyllan, to fill; (b) that syncope is the rule in stems long by nature: dǣlst (< dǣlest), dǣlð (< dǣleð); dēmst (< dēmest), dēmð (< dēmeð); hīerst (< hīerest), hīerð (< hīereð). Double consonants are also made single in the imperative 2d singular and in the past participle. Stems long by nature take no final -e in the imperative: dǣl, hīer, dēm.

Class II.

130.

The infinitive of verbs belonging to this class ends in -ian (not -r-ian), the preterit singular in -ode, the past participle in -od. The preterit plural usually has -edon, however, instead of -odon:

eard-ian,	eard-ode,	geeard-od,	to dwell [eorðe].
luf-ian,	luf-ode,	geluf-od,	to love [lufu].
rīcs-ian,	rīcs-ode,	gerīcs-od,	to rule [rīce].
sealf-ian,	sealf-ode,	gesealf-od,	to anoint [salve].
segl-ian,	segl-ode,	gesegl-od,	to sail [segel].

Note.—These verbs have no trace of original umlaut, since their -ian was once -ōjan. Hence, the vowel of the stem was shielded from the influence of the j (= i) by the interposition of ō.

Conjugation of Class II.

131.

Paradigm of lufian, to love:

Indicative.				Subjunctive.
Present.				Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic lufie			Sing. 1.	Ic	}	lufie
2.	ðu lufast			2.	ðū
3.	hē lufað			3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}	lufiað	Plur. 1.	wē	}	lufien
2.	gē			2.	gē
3.	hīe			3.	hīe
Preterit.				Preterit.
Sing. 1.	Ic lufode			Sing. 1.	Ic	}	lufode
2.	ðū lufodest			2.	ðū
3.	hē lufode			3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}	lufedon (-odon)	Plur. 1.	wē	}	lufeden (-oden)
2.	gē			2.	gē
3.	hīe			3.	hīe

Imperative.		Infinitive.	Present Participle.
Sing. 2.	lufa	lufian	lufiende
Plur. 1.	lufian
2.	lufiað	Gerund.	Past Participle.
		tō lufianne (-enne)	gelufod

Note 1.—The -ie (-ien) occurring in the present must be pronounced as a dissyllable. The y-sound thus interposed between the i and e is frequently indicated by the letter g: lufie, or lufige; lufien, or lufigen. So also for ia: lufiað, or lufigað; lufian, or lufig(e)an.

Note 2.—In the preterit singular, -ade, -ude, and -ede are not infrequent for -ode.

Class III.

132.

The few verbs belonging here show a blending of Classes I and II. Like certain verbs of Class I (§ 128), the preterit and past participle are formed by adding -de and -d; like Class II, the 2d and 3d present indicative singular end in -ast and -að, the imperative 2d singular in -a:

habb-an,	hæf-de,	gehæf-d,	to have.
libb-an,	lif-de,	gelif-d,	to live.
sęcg-an,	sǣd-e (sæg-de),	gesǣd (gesæg-d),	to say.

Conjugation of Class III.

133.

Paradigms of habban, to have; libban, to live; sęcgan, to say.

Indicative.
Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic hæbbe			libbe	sęcge
2.	ðū hæfst (hafast)			lifast	sægst (sagast)
3.	hē hæfð (hafað)			lifað	sægð (sagað)
Plur. 1.	wē	}	habbað
2.	gē			libbað	sęcgað
3.	hīe
Preterit.
Sing. 1.	Ic hæfde			lifde	sǣde
2.	ðū hæfdest			lifdest	sǣdest
3.	hē hæfde			lifde	sǣde
Plur. 1.	wē	}	hæfdon
2.	gē			lifdon	sǣdon
3.	hīe
Subjunctive.
Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic	}	hæbbe
2.	ðū			libbe	sęcge
3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}	hæbben
2.	gē			libben	sęcgen
3.	hīe
Preterit.
Sing. 1.	Ic	}	hæfde
2.	ðū			lifde	sǣde
3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}	hæfden
2.	gē			lifden	sǣden
3.	hīe
Imperative.
Sing. 2.	hafa			lifa	saga
Plur. 1.	habban			libban	sęcgan
2.	habbað			libbað	sęcgað
Infinitive.
habban				libban	sęcgan
Gerund.
tō habbanne (-enne)				tō libbanne (-enne)	tō sęcganne (-enne)
Present Participle.
hæbbende				libbende	sęcgende
Past Participle.
gehæfd				gelifd	gesǣd

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CHAPTER XXII.

Remaining Verbs; Verb-Phrases with habban, bēon, and weorðan.

Anomalous Verbs. (See § 19.)

134.

These are:

bēon (wesan),	wæs,	wǣron,	——,	to be.
willan,	wolde,	woldon,	——,	to will, intend.
dōn,	dyde,	dydon,	gedōn,	to do, cause.
gān,	ēode,	ēodon,	gegān,	to go.

Note.—In the original Indo-Germanic language, the first person of the present indicative singular ended in (1) ō or (2) mi. Cf. Gk. λύ-ω, εἰ-μί, Lat. am-ō, su-m. The Strong and Weak Conjugations of O.E. are survivals of the ō-class. The four Anomalous Verbs mentioned above are the sole remains in O.E. of the mi-class. Note the surviving m in eom I am, and dōm I do (Northumbrian form). These mi-verbs are sometimes called non-Thematic to distinguish them from the Thematic or ō-verbs.

Conjugation of Anomalous Verbs.

135.

Only the present indicative and subjunctive are at all irregular:

Indicative.
Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic eom (bēom)			wille	dō	gā
2.	ðū eart (bist)			wilt	dēst	gǣst
3.	hē is (bið)			wille	dēð	gǣð
Plur. 1.	wē	}	sind(on)
2.	gē			willað	dōð	gāð
3.	hīe
Subjunctive.
Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic	}	sīe
2.	ðū			wille	dō	gā
3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}	sīen
2.	gē			willen	dōn	gān
3.	hīe

Note.—The preterit subjunctive of bēon is formed, of course, not from wæs, but from wǣron. See § 103, (3).

Preterit-Present Verbs. (See § 19.)

136.

These verbs are called Preterit-Present because the present tense (indicative and subjunctive) of each of them is, in form, a strong preterit, the old present having been displaced by the new. They all have weak preterits. Most of the Mn.E. Auxiliary Verbs belong to this class.

witan,	{	wiste, wisse,	}	wiston,		gewiten,			to know [to wit, wot].
āgan,	āhte,			āhton,		āgen (adj.),			to possess [owe].
cunnan,	cūðe,			cūðon,		{	gecunnen, cūð (adj.),	}	to know, can [uncouth, cunning].
durran,	dorste,			dorston,		——			to dare.
sculan,	sceolde,			sceoldon,		——			shall.
magan,	{	meahte, mihte,		meahton, mihton,	}	——			to be able, may.
mōtan,	mōste,			mōston,		——			may, must.

Note.—The change in meaning from preterit to present, with retention of the preterit form, is not uncommon in other languages. Several examples are found in Latin and Greek (cf. nōvi and οἶδα, I know). Mn.E. has gone further still: āhte and mōste, which had already suffered the loss of their old preterits (āh, mōt), have been forced back again into the present (ought, must). Having exhausted, therefore, the only means of preterit formation known to Germanic, the strong and the weak, it is not likely that either ought or must will ever develop distinct preterit forms.

Conjugation of Preterit-Present Verbs.

137.

The irregularities occur in the present indicative and subjunctive:

Indicative.
Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic wāt			āh	cǫn (can)	dear	sceal	mæg	mōt
2.	ðū wāst			āhst	cǫnst (canst)	dearst	scealt	meaht	mōst
3.	hē wāt			āh	cǫn (can)	dear	sceal	mæg	mōt
Plur. 1.	wē	}	witon
2.	gē			āgon	cunnon	durron	sculon	magon	mōton
3.	hīe

Subjunctive.
Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic	}	wite
2.	ðū			āge	cunne	durre	scule (scyle)	mæge	mōte
3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē	}	witen
2.	gē			āgen	cunnen	durren	sculen (scylen)	mægen	mōten
3.	hīe

Note 1.—Willan and sculan do not often connote simple futurity in Early West Saxon, yet they were fast drifting that way. The Mn.E. use of shall only with the 1st person and will only with the 2d and 3d, to express simple futurity, was wholly unknown even in Shakespeare’s day. The elaborate distinctions drawn between these words by modern grammarians are not only cumbersome and foreign to the genius of English, but equally lacking in psychological basis.

Note 2.—Sculan originally implied the idea of (1) duty, or compulsion (= ought to, or must), and this conception lurks with more or less prominence in almost every function of sculan in O.E.: Dryhten bebēad Moyse hū hē sceolde beran ðā earce, The Lord instructed Moses how he ought to bear the ark; Ǣlc mann sceal be his andgietes mǣðe ... sprecan ðæt he spricð, and dōn ðæt ðæt hē dēð, Every man must, according to the measure of his intelligence, speak what he speaks, and do what he does. Its next most frequent use is to express (2) custom, the transition from the obligatory to the customary being an easy one: Sē byrdesta sceall gyldan fīftȳne mearðes fell, The man of highest rank pays fifteen marten skins.