Class III Strong Verbs

Class III verbs fall into four sub-categories and can have a (vowel + l + consonant), a (vowel + r + consonant), a (vowel + h + consonant), or a (vowel + n + consonant). For example, 'helpan - to help', 'weorpan - to throw', 'feohtan - to fight', and 'findan - to find'.

When they conjugate, they follow the vowel change pattern i - a - u, eo - ea - u or e - ea - u. This means that the root vowel in the present is 'i', 'eo' or 'e', the root vowel in the past first and third person singular is 'a' or 'ea', and the root vowel in the second past and past pural is 'u'. So 'ic findan - I find', becomes 'ic fand - I found' or 'hie fundon - they found'. Examine the verbs 'melcan - to milk' and 'feohtan - to fight' in the sentences below.

When a verb has an 'ie' in the root, for example, 'gieldan - to repay' or 'giellan - to yell', treat them as if it were an 'e'. This is because the vowels 'æ' and 'e' are changed into the diphthongs 'ea' and 'ie' when preceded by an initial palatal (g, c, or sc). This is known as palatal diphthongization and it affects Class IV and Class V verbs also, so bear it in mind when you see an 'ie' in the root of a verb.

Class III verbs are complex with many variations, so take your time and practice them below until you feel comfortable with the vowel changes. The important thing is to understand the way that strong verbs work, rather than trying to remember all the different patterns. As with all strong verbs, the key takeaways are that there is a vowel change in the root of the verb to indicate the past tense; that these vowel changes follow certain patterns that link them to other verbs; and that within a strong verb's conjugation this vowel change is always the same for first and third person singular, and for second person singular and plural past.