Weak Verbs II

Class II weak verbs have an infinitive ending in -ian, for example, 'lufian - to love', and 'bodian - to announce/preach'. They are similar in form to Class I verbs as they have exactly the same inflectional endings, but class II weak verbs have a vowel before the ending (-ian in the infinitive becomes –iaþ in plural, and –ode in past tense). Examine the sentence below in the present tense: 'He hears that she loves you'

The preterite of Class II verbs is identical to the preterite conjugation of Class I verbs, except for the fact an 'o' is added before the suffix. Examine the sentence below in the past tense:'He heard that she loved you'.

It should be noted that most verbs ending in -rian belong not to Class II but to Class I. The exceptions to this are 'andswarian - to answer', 'gadrian - to gather', and 'timbrian - to build', which conjugate the same as other Class II verbs. Examine 'Ic timbrie hus - I build houses' and 'ic timbrode þæt hus - I built the house'

In the conjugation table below, you will find the verbs 'lufian - to love', 'andswarian - to answer', 'timbrian - to build', 'ricsian - to rule' and 'bodian - to preach'. Note where the 'i' disappears and where an 'o' is added. Aside from these changes, the Class I and Class II weak verbs conjugated the same. For example, you will also notice that 'lufian - to love' loses its 'i' in the same conjugations where 'hieran' loses its second 'e'.