Verb Classes

Strong: Form their preterites and past participles using vowel gradation:

singan > sang > sungon > sungen

Weak: form their preterites and past participles by adding a dental suffix d/t:

lǣran > lǣrde > lǣrdon > lǣred

Anomalous: do not answer to these categories, or combine them.

All verb classes commonly prefix the past ptc. with ge-:

gesungen, gelǣred

Conjugation

ic fremme wē fremm
þū fremest gē fremm
hē fremeð hīe fremm

Cf. early Modern English ‘I do, thou dost, he doth’.

Conjugation

ic fremme wē fremm
þū fremest gē fremm
hē fremeð hīe fremm

Tense

ic fremme

ic fremede

ic hæbbe gefremed

ic hæfde gefremed

þæt wæs gefremed

hē sceal fremman

is fela tō fremmenne

Conjugation

ic fremme wē fremm
þū fremest gē fremm
hē fremeð hīe fremm
ic fremede fremedon
þū fremedest fremedon
fremede hīe fremedon
ic scīne wē scīn
þū scīnest gē scīn
hē scīneð hīe scīn
ic scān scinon
þū scine scinon
scān hīe scinon

Strong Verb Gradation Patterns

class first fronted second third fourth cf.
1 scīnan scān scinon scinen scheinen
2 crēopan crīepþ crēap crupon cropen frieren
3 bregdan britt brægd brugdon brogden bergen
4 beran birþ bær bǣron boren gebären
5 tredan tritt træd trǣdon treden treten
6 faran færst fōr fōron faren fahren
7 healdan healdeþ hēold hēoldon healden halten
7 hātan hǣt hēt hēton hāten heißen

Strong Verb Gradation Patterns

class first fronted second third fourth
1 ī ā i i
2 ēo īe ēa u o
3 eCC iCC æCC uCC oCC
4 e i æ ǣ o
5 e i æ ǣ e
6 a æ ō ō a
7 X X-fronted Y Y X

Conjugation

Hēo fremeþ þæt

Ic wille, þæt hēo fremme þæt (cf. ‘that she do that’)

Ic wille, þæt wē fremmen þæt

Ic wolde, þæt hēo fremede þæt

Ic wolde, þæt wē fremeden þæt

Freme þæt!

Fremmaþ þæt!

Voice

No inflectional passive. Passivity is expressed:

Only the verb hātan can be used as a true passive verb:

Saga hwæt ic hātte

(Cf. Sum consul Boetius wæs hāten, formed with bēon.)

Anomalous Verbs

bēon, wesan “to be”
present indicative present subjunctive
1sg ic eom/bēo 1pl wē sindon/bēoþ 1sg ic sīe/bēo 1pl wē sīen/bēon
2sg þū eart/bist 2pl gē sindon/bēoþ 2sg þū sīe/bēo 2pl gē sīen/bēon
3sg hē is/biþ 3pl hīe sindon/bēoþ 3sg hē sīe/bēo 3pl hīe sīen/bēon
preterite indicative preterite subjunctive
1sg ic wæs 1pl wē wǣron 1sg ic wǣre 1pl wē wǣren
2sg þū wǣre 2pl gē wǣron 2sg þū wǣre 2pl gē wǣren
3sg hē wæs 3pl hīe wǣron 3sg hē wǣre 3pl hīe wǣren
past participle (gebēon) imperative sg wes/bēo pl wesaþ/bēoþ