Weak Verbs I
Class I weak verbs have an infinitive ending in -an or -rian. For example, 'fremman - to do', 'nerian - to save', 'hieran - to hear', 'feran - to go', 'sendan - to send', 'læran - to teach'. When conjugated, the third-person present singular ends in '-þ' or '-eþ', and present plural ends in '-aþ'. Examine the form of the verb in the first sentence, 'the king goes to the mountain', vs the second, 'the kings go to the mountain'.
3rd Person Singular Subject
3rd Sg. Verb
Prep.
Indirect Object
3rd Person Plural Subject
3rd pl. Verb
Prep.
Indirect Object
All weak verbs form their preterite by adding '-de' in the singular and '-don' in the plural. Compare the below sentence: 'I go to the mountains' vs 'I went to the mountains'.
Subject
Present Verb
Prep.
Indirect Object
Subject
Past Verb
Prep.
Indirect Object
Since Modern English verbs do not conjugate as heavily, it can be difficult for speakers get used to the variety of suffixes in Old English. However, due to the flexibility of word order in Old English, often the conjugation of the verb is the only way to tell what subject the verb is linked to, as the subject may come after the verb, or may even not be present. For example, in the sample below, the subject only appears in the first part of the sentence: 'I heard the Lord and went to him'.
Subject
Past Verb
Direct Object
Conjunction
Prep.
Indirect Object
Verb
You will notice that while all Class I weak verbs are similar and have the same endings, there are some minor variations in the letter before the stem. How a word changes depends on whether there is a long vowel or a short vowel, and whether or not there is a double consonant. As a result, Class I verbs are traditionally divided into two subclasses.
Subclass A are verbs like 'fremman' and 'nerian':
- 'Fremman' has a short vowel followed by two consonants
- 'Nerian' has a short vowel followed by an 'ri'
Subclass B are verbs are like 'hieran':
- 'Hieran' has a long vowel followed by a single consonant.
Note the changes before the suffix in the examples below. 'Fremman' loses its second 'm' and 'nerian' loses its 'i' in the second and third person singular present, and every preterite form. You'll notice 'hieran' loses its inflectional 'e' in the same places.
Weak Verbs Class I | ||||
Present Tense | Past Tense | Present Suffix | Past Suffix | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st Person Singular | Ic fremme | Ic fremede | -e | -de |
2nd Person Singular | Þu fremest | Þu fremedest | -st | -dest |
3rd Person Singular | He/Hit/Heo fremeþ | He/Hit/Heo fremede | -þ | -de |
1st Person Plural | We fremmaþ | We fremedon | -aþ | -don |
2nd Person Plural | Ge fremmaþ | Ge fremedon | -aþ | -don |
3rd Person Plural | Hie fremmaþ | Hie fremedon | -aþ | -don |
Weak Verbs Class I | ||||
Present Tense | Past Tense | Present Suffix | Past Suffix | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st Person Singular | Ic nerie | Ic nerede | -e | -de |
2nd Person Singular | Þu nerest | Þu neredest | -st | -dest |
3rd Person Singular | He/Hit/Heo nereþ | He/Hit/Heo nerede | -þ | -de |
1st Person Plural | We neriaþ | We neredon | -aþ | -don |
2nd Person Plural | Ge neriaþ | Ge neredon | -aþ | -don |
3rd Person Plural | Hie neriaþ | Hie neredon | -aþ | -don |
Weak Verbs Class I | ||||
Present Tense | Past Tense | Present Suffix | Past Suffix | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st Person Singular | Ic hiere | Ic hierde | -e | -de |
2nd Person Singular | Þu hierst | Þu hierdest | -st | -dest |
3rd Person Singular | He/Hit/Heo hierþ | He/Hit/Heo hierde | -þ | -de |
1st Person Plural | We hieraþ | We hierdon | -aþ | -don |
2nd Person Plural | Ge hieraþ | Ge hierdon | -aþ | -don |
3rd Person Plural | Hie hieraþ | Hie hierdon | -aþ | -don |
Weak Verbs Class I | ||||
Present Tense | Past Tense | Present Suffix | Past Suffix | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st Person Singular | Ic sende | Ic sende | -e | -de |
2nd Person Singular | Þu sendest | Þu sendest | -st | -dest |
3rd Person Singular | He/Hit/Heo sendeþ | He/Hit/Heo sende | -þ | -de |
1st Person Plural | We sendaþ | We sendon | -aþ | -don |
2nd Person Plural | Ge sendaþ | Ge sendon | -aþ | -don |
3rd Person Plural | Hie sendaþ | Hie sendon | -aþ | -don |
Weak Verbs Class I | ||||
Present Tense | Past Tense | Present Suffix | Past Suffix | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st Person Singular | Ic fere | Ic ferde | -e | -de |
2nd Person Singular | Þu ferest | Þu ferdest | -st | -dest |
3rd Person Singular | He/Hit/Heo ferþ | He/Hit/Heo ferde | -þ | -de |
1st Person Plural | We feraþ | We ferdon | -aþ | -don |
2nd Person Plural | Ge feraþ | Ge ferdon | -aþ | -don |
3rd Person Plural | Hie feraþ | Hie ferdon | -aþ | -don |
Now that you know the basics of Class I Weak Verbs, the next thing to do is practice what you have learned. Feel free to use the table to help you with the first batch of questions. You can hide the table at any point by clicking the orange 'Hide Table' button. Otherwise you can continue on to the next topic.
Return to Personal Prounouns Continue to Class II Weak Verbs