Strong and Odd Verbs
Old English Grammar 1
Chapter 9 · Strong and Odd Verbs
💪 Strong and Odd Verbs
Chapter 8 covered the verbs that add an ending to make the past. This chapter covers the ones that change their vowel (strong verbs) and the small group of verbs that behave oddly, which includes "to be", "to do", "to go" and "to want". Many of them became the irregular verbs of Modern English. Facts come from the Verbs section of Wikipedia's Old English grammar article and, for one example, from the article Germanic strong verb.
Strong verbs
The article says strong verbs form the past by changing the stem vowel. They have two past stems: the "first past" is used for the first and third person singular, and the "second past" for the second person singular, all plurals, and the past subjunctive. They also show i-mutation in the second and third person singular present.
The seven classes
The article defines each class by the infinitive stem:
| Class | Infinitive stem (per the article) |
|---|---|
| 1 | ī + one consonant |
| 2 | ēo or ū + one consonant |
| 3 | originally e + two consonants; in Old English usually short e + l and a consonant, eo + r and a consonant, i + a nasal and a consonant, or ie + l and a consonant |
| 4 | e + one consonant, usually l or r (includes brecan "to break") |
| 5 | e + one consonant, usually a stop or fricative |
| 6 | a + one consonant |
| 7 | other; always a heavy root syllable, almost always without umlaut (for example ō, ā, ēa) |
A model conjugation: stelan "to steal"
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Present indicative | 1st stele · 2nd stilst · 3rd stilþ | stelaþ |
| Past indicative | 1st stæl · 2nd stǣle · 3rd stæl | stǣlon |
| Present subjunctive | stele | stelen |
| Past subjunctive | stǣle | stǣlen |
| Imperative | stel | stelaþ |
| Infinitive | stelan, (tō) stelanne | |
| Participles | present stelende · past (ġe)stolen | |
- Ablaut: the stem vowel is e in the present, æ in the first past, ǣ in the second past and o in the participle. That is what "strong" means: the change is in the stem, not in a suffix.
- i-mutation: the second and third person present stilst, stilþ have i where the rest of the present has e.
- Past singular without ending: the first and third person past (stæl) have no ending at all.
A second model: bēodan "to offer"
The Germanic strong verb article gives a Class 2 verb with its principal parts: bēodan (infinitive), bīett (present third person singular), bēad (past singular), budon (past plural) and (ġe)boden (past participle). It cites English "bid" as the cognate. The same article lists Modern English examples of vowel-changing verbs: sing, sang, sung and drive, drove, driven.
Preterite-present verbs
These verbs use what looks like a strong past tense as their present tense. The article lists twelve, grouped in four classes, with these glosses:
| Verb | Meaning | Participles (per the article) |
|---|---|---|
| āgan | to own | āgende; (ġe)āgen |
| durran | to dare | durrende; (ġe)dorren |
| mōtan | may, to be allowed to | mōtende; (ġe)mōten |
| witan | to know (a fact) | witende; (ġe)witen |
| cunnan | to know (how to) | cunnende; (ġe)cunnen, (ġe)cūþ |
| ġemunan | to remember | ġemunende; ġemunen |
| unnan | to grant | unnende; (ġe)unnen |
| dugan | to work with, avail | dugende; (ġe)dugen |
| ġenugan | to suffice, be enough | ġenugende; ġenugen |
| magan | can, be able to | mæġende; (ġe)mæġen |
| sċulan | should, must | sċuldende; (ġe)sċulen |
| þurfan | to need | þurfende; (ġe)þurfen |
- The article's table prints the present singular and plural, and the past, only as stems (for example wāt- against wit- for witan, and sċeal- against sċul- for sċulan). The cells were not reliably aligned, so I give only the stems the table shows for the present: singular stems āh-, dearr-, mōt-, wāt-, cann-, ann-, deah-, mæg-, sċeal-, þearf- and plural stems āg-, durr-, mōt-, wit-, cunn-, unn-, dug-, mag-, sċul-, þurf-. Which stem belongs to which person is as the article prints it.
- The pattern to notice: the singular stem differs from the plural stem, as in a strong verb's past tense, which is why these are called "preterite-presents".
- The Modern English modals can, may, must, shall descend from this group. That link is my own background knowledge, not a claim in the text I read.
The anomalous verbs
The article treats bēon and wesan as the two verbs for "to be", plus dōn "to do", gān "to go" and willan "to want".
Present indicative
| bēon | wesan | dōn | gān | willan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | bēo | eom | dō | gā | wille |
| 2nd sg. | bist | eart | dēst | gǣst | wilt |
| 3rd sg. | biþ | is | dēþ | gǣþ | wile |
| plural | bēoþ | sind | dōþ | gāþ | willaþ |
Past indicative
| wesan | dōn | gān | willan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | wæs | dyde | ēode | wolde |
| 2nd sg. | wǣre | dydest | ēodest | woldest |
| 3rd sg. | wæs | dyde | ēode | wolde |
| plural | wǣron | dydon | ēodon | woldon |
- Subjunctive: present bēo / bēon, sīe / sīen, dō / dōn, gā / gān, wille / willen (singular / plural); past wǣre / wǣren, dyde / dyden, ēode / ēoden, wolde / wolden.
- Imperative: bēo / bēoþ, wes / wesaþ, dō / dōþ, gā / gāþ, wille / willaþ.
- Participles: present bēonde, wesende, dōnde, gānde, willende; past (ġe)bēon, (ġe)dōn, (ġe)gān.
- Two verbs for "to be": the article's table gives bēo, bist, biþ, bēoþ and eom, eart, is, sind side by side, and no past tense for bēon; the past comes from wesan. That the past is borrowed in this way is my reading of the blank cells in the table, so treat it as a likely but unconfirmed point.
📋 Quick Reference
| Type | How the past is made | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Strong | Vowel change; first past (1st, 3rd sg.) and second past (2nd sg., plural) | stelan: stæl, stǣlon, (ġe)stolen |
| Preterite-present | Present singular looks like a strong past | magan, sċulan, witan |
| Anomalous | Its own forms | dōn: dyde · gān: ēode · willan: wolde |
✏️ Try It Yourself
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. What defines a strong verb, and how many classes are there?
Show answer
It forms its past by changing the stem vowel (ablaut). There are seven classes.
2. For stelan, which past stem is used for the first and third singular, and which for the second singular and the plural?
Show answer
First past stæl for first and third singular; second past stǣle (2nd sg.) and stǣlon (plural).
3. Give the present second and third person singular of stelan. What is unusual about the vowel?
Show answer
stilst and stilþ: i-mutation changes e to i in these two persons.
4. What is the past participle of stelan and of bēodan?
Show answer
(ġe)stolen and (ġe)boden.
5. What makes a verb "preterite-present"?
Show answer
Its present tense forms look like a strong-verb past: the singular and plural present stems differ (sċeal- against sċul-).
6. Give the meanings of witan and cunnan. What is the difference?
Show answer
witan "to know (a fact)" and cunnan "to know (how to)", as the article glosses them.
7. Give the present singular and plural of wesan "to be".
Show answer
eom, eart, is and sind.
8. Give the past 1st and 3rd singular of dōn, gān and willan.
Show answer
dyde, ēode and wolde.
9. Which verb supplies the past of "to be" in the article's tables, and what do you notice about bēon?
Show answer
wesan (wæs, wǣre, wǣron); the article's table gives no past for bēon.
10. The imperative of gān is gā (singular) and gāþ (plural). How do you say "Go!" to two people?
Show answer
Gāþ! (the plural imperative).