Chapter 24

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, nōm (nam), nōm-on (nām-on), genum-en, _to take_. { cum-an, c(w)ōm, c(w)ōm-on, gecum-en, _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 }, _to thrive_. { geðung-en } 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.

sēo ǣht, _property, possession_ [#āgan#]. aweg, _away_ [#on weg#]. sēo fierd, _English army_ [#faran#]. sē hęre, _Danish army_ [#hęrgian#]. on gehwæðre hǫnd, _on both sides_. sige niman (= sige habban), _to win (the) victory_. sēo sprǣc, _speech, language_. tō rīce fōn, _to come to the throne_.[1] ðæt wæl [Val-halla] } _slaughter, carnage_. sē wælsliht, } sē weall, _wall, rampart_. ðæt wildor, _wild beast, reindeer_. sē wīngeard, _vineyard_.

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].

[Footnote 1: Literally, _to take to (the) kingdom_. _Cf._ “Have you anything to take to?” (_Two Gentlemen of Verona_, IV, i, 42).]

[Footnote 2: #Brecan# belongs properly in Class V, but it has been drawn into Class IV possibly through the influence of the r in the root.]

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 on[3] 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 hātte[4] 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.

[Footnote 3: See § 94, (5).]

[Footnote 4: See § 117, Note 2.]