Chapter 14

PRESENT INDICATIVE ENDINGS OF STRONG VERBS.

56. The unchanged stem of the present indicative may always be found by dropping -an of the infinitive: #feall-an#, _to fall_; #cēos-an#, _to choose_; #bīd-an#, _to abide_.

57. The personal endings are:

_Sing._ 1. -e _Plur._ 1. } 2. -est 2. } -að 3. -eð 3. }

#_i-_Umlaut.#

58. The 2d and 3d singular endings were originally not -est and -eð, but -is and -ið; and the i of these older endings has left its traces upon almost every page of Early West Saxon literature. This i, though unaccented and soon displaced, exerted a powerful back influence upon the vowel of the preceding accented syllable. This influence, a form of regressive assimilation, is known as i-umlaut (pronounced _oóm-lowt_). The vowel i or j (= _y_), being itself a palatal, succeeded in palatalizing every guttural vowel that preceded it, and in imposing still more of the i-quality upon diphthongs that were already palatal.[1] The changes produced were these:

a became ę (æ): męnn (< *mann-iz), _men_. ā “ ǣ ǣnig (< *ān-ig), _any_. u “ y wyllen (< *wull-in), _woollen_. ū “ ȳ mȳs (< *mūs-iz), _mice_. o “ ę dęhter (< *dohtr-i), _to_ or _for the daughter_. ō “ ē fēt (< *fōt-iz), _feet_. ea “ ie wiexð (< *weax-ið), _he grows_ (weaxan = _to grow_). ēa “ īe hīewð (< *hēaw-ið), _he hews_ (hēawan = to _hew_). eo “ ie wiercan (< *weorc-jan), _to work_. ēo “ īe līehtan (< *lēoht-jan), _to light_.

[Footnote 1: The _palatal_ vowels and diphthongs were long or short æ, e, i, (ie), y, ea, eo; the _guttural_ vowels were long or short a, o, u.]

#The Unchanged Present Indicative.#

59. In the Northumbrian and Mercian dialects, as well as in the dialect of Late West Saxon, the 2d and 3d singular endings were usually joined to the present stem without modification either of the stem itself or of the personal endings. The complete absence of umlauted forms in the present indicative of Mn.E. is thus accounted for.

In Early West Saxon, however, such forms as the following are comparatively rare in the 2d and 3d singular:

_Sing._ 1. Ic feall-e cēos-e bīd-e (_I fall_) (_I choose_) (_I abide_) 2. ðū feall-est cēos-est bīd-est 3. hē feall-eð cēos-eð bīd-eð

_Plur._ 1. wē } 2. gē } feall-að cēos-að bīd-að 3. hīe }

#The Present Indicative with i-Umlaut and Contraction.#

60. The 2d and 3d persons singular are distinguished from the other forms of the present indicative in Early West Saxon by (1) i-umlaut of the vowel of the stem, (2) syncope of the vowel of the ending, giving -st and -ð for -est and -eð, and (3) contraction of -st and -ð with the final consonant or consonants of the stem.

#Contraction.#

61. The changes produced by i-umlaut have been already discussed. By these changes, therefore, the stems of the 2d and 3d singular indicative of such verbs as (1) #stǫndan# (= #standan#), _to stand_, (2) #cuman#, _to come_, (3) #grōwan#, _to grow_, (4) #brūcan#, _to enjoy_, (5) #blāwan#, _to blow_, (6) #feallan#, _to fall_, (7) #hēawan#, _to hew_, (8) #weorpan#, _to throw_, and (9) #cēosan#, _to choose_, become respectively (1) #stęnd-#,[2] (2) #cym-#, (3) #grēw-#, (4) #brȳc-#, (5) #blǣw-#, (6) #fiell-#, (7) #hīew-#, (8) #wierp-#, and (9) #cīes-#.

If the unchanged stem contains the vowel e, this is changed in the 2d and 3d singular to i (ie): #cweðan# _to say_, stem #cwið-#; #beran# _to bear_, stem #bier-#. But this mutation[3] had taken place long before the period of O.E., and belongs to the Germanic languages in general. It is best, however, to class the change of e to i or ie with the changes due to umlaut, since it occurs consistently in the 2d and 3d singular stems of Early West Saxon, and outlasted almost all of the umlaut forms proper.

If, now, the syncopated endings -st and -ð are added directly to the umlauted stem, there will frequently result such a massing of consonants as almost to defy pronunciation: #cwið-st#, _thou sayest_; #stęnd-st#, _thou standest_, etc. Some sort of contraction, therefore, is demanded for the sake of euphony. The ear and eye will, by a little practice, become a sure guide in these contractions. The following rules, however, must be observed. They apply only to the 2d and 3d singular of the present indicative:

(1) If the stem ends in a double consonant, one of the consonants is dropped:

1. feall-e (_I fall_) 1. winn-e (_I fight_) 1. swimm-e (_I swim_) 2. fiel-st 2. win-st 2. swim-st 3. fiel-ð 3. win-ð 3. swim-ð

(2) If the stem ends in -ð, this is dropped:

1. cweð-e (_I say_) 1. weorð-e (_I become_) 2. cwi-st 2. wier-st 3. cwi-ð 3. wier-ð

(3) If the stem ends in -d, this is changed to -t. The -ð of the ending is then also changed to -t, and usually absorbed. Thus the stem of the 2d singular serves as stem and ending for the 3d singular:

1. stǫnd-e (= stand-e) (_I stand_) 1. bind-e (_I bind_) 2. stęnt-st 2. bint-st 3. stęnt 3. bint

1. bīd-e (_I abide_) 1. rīd-e (_I ride_) 2. bīt-st 2. rīt-st 3. bīt (-t) 3. rīt (-t)

(4) If the stem ends already in -t, the endings are added as in (3), -ð being again changed to -t and absorbed:

1. brēot-e (_I break_) 1. feoht-e (_I fight_) 1. bīt-e (_I bite_) 2. brīet-st 2. fieht-st 2. bīt-st 3. brīet (-t) 3. fieht 3. bīt (-t)

(5) If the stem ends in -s, this is dropped before -st (to avoid -sst), but is retained before -ð, the latter being changed to -t. Thus the 2d and 3d singulars are identical:[4]

1. cēos-e (_I choose_) 1. rīs-e (_I rise_) 2. cīe-st 2. rī-st 3. cīes-t 3. rīs-t

[Footnote 2: The more common form for stems with a is æ rather than ę: #faran#, _to go_, 2d and 3d singular stem #fær-#; #sacan#, _to contend_, stem #sæc-#. Indeed, a changes to ę _via_ æ (Cosijn, _Altwestsächsische Grammatik_, I, § 32).]

[Footnote 3: Umlaut is frequently called Mutation. Metaphony is still another name for the same phenomenon. The term Metaphony has the advantage of easy adjectival formation (metaphonic). It was proposed by Professor Victor Henry (_Comparative Grammar of English and German_, Paris, 1894), but has not been naturalized.]

[Footnote 4: This happens also when the infinitive stem ends in #st#:

1. berst-e (_I burst_) 2. bier-st 3. bierst.]

62. EXERCISES.

I. 1. Sē cyning fielð. 2. Ðā wīf cēosað ðā giefa. 3. Ðū stęntst on ðǣm hūse. 4. Hē wierpð ðæt wǣpen. 5. Sē sęcg hīewð ðā līc. 6. Ðæt sǣd grēwð ǫnd wiexð (_Mark_ iv. 27). 7. Ic stǫnde hēr, ǫnd ðū stęntst ðǣr. 8. “Ic hit eom,” cwið hē. 9. Hīe berað ðæs wulfes bān. 10. Hē hīe bint, ǫnd ic hine binde. 11. Ne rītst ðū?

II. 1. We shall bind him. 2. Who chooses the child’s gifts? 3. “He was not here,” says she. 4. Wilt thou remain in the hall? 5. The wolves are biting (= bite) the fishermen. 6. He enjoys[5] the love of his children. 7. Do you enjoy (= Enjoyest thou) the consolation and friendship of the scribe? 8. Will he come? 9. I shall throw the spear, and thou wilt bear the weapons. 10. The king’s son will become king. 11. The army (#werod#) is breaking the doors and walls of the house.

[Footnote 5: #Brūcan#, _to enjoy_, usually takes the genitive case, not the accusative. It means “to have joy of any thing.”]