The English Language

by R. G. Latham

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE STRONG TENSES.

[§ 363]. The strong præterites are formed from the present by changing the vowel, as sing, sang, speak, spoke.

The first point in the history of these tenses that the reader is required to be aware of, is stated in the Chapter upon the Numbers, viz., that, in Anglo-Saxon, several præterites change, in their plural, the vowel of their singular; as

Ic sang, I sang.	We sungon, we sung.
Þu sunge, thou sungest.	Ge sungon, ye sung.
He sang, he sang.	Hi sungon, they sung.

As a general rule, the second singular has the same vowel with the plural persons, as burne, thou burntest, plural burnon, we burnt.

The bearing of this fact upon the præterites has been indicated in p. [300]. In a great number of words we have a double form, as ran and run, sang and sung, drank and drunk, &c. One of these forms is derived from the singular, and the other from the plural. I cannot say at what period the difference of form ceased to denote a difference of sense.

In cases where but one form is preserved, that form is not necessarily the singular one. For instance, Ic fand, I found, we fundon, we found, are the Anglo-Saxon forms. Now the present word found comes, not from the singular fand, but from the plural fund; although in the Lowland Scotch dialect and in the old writers, the singular form occurs.

Donald Caird finds orra things,

Where Allan Gregor fand the tings.—Scott.

Even in the present English it will be found convenient to

call the forms like sang and drank the singular, and those like sung and bound the plural forms.

Be it observed, that, though this fact accounts for most of our double forms, it will not account for all. In the Anglo-Saxon, Ic sprǽc, I spake, we sprǽcon, we spake. There is no change of number to account for the two forms spake and spoke.

First Class.

[§ 364]. Contains the two words fall and fell, hold and held, where the sound of o is changed into that of ĕ. Here must be noticed the natural tendency of a to become o; since the forms in Anglo-Saxon are, Ic fealle, I fall; Ic feoll, I fell; Ic healde, I hold; Ic heold, I held.

Second Class.

[§ 365]. Here the præterite ends in -ew. Words of this class are distinguished from those of the third Class by the different form of the present tense.

Present.	Præterite.
Draw	Drew.
Slay	Slew.
Fly	Flew.

In these words the w has grown out of a g, as may be seen from the Anglo-Saxon forms. The word see (saw) belongs to this class: since, in Anglo-Saxon, we find the forms geseáh and gesegen, and in the Swedish the præterite form is saag.

Third Class.

[§ 366]. Here an o before w, in the present, becomes e before w in the præterite; as

Present. Præterite. Blow. Blew. Crow. Crew. Throw. Threw.	Present. Præterite. Know. Knew. Grow. Grew.
Present.	Præterite.
Blow.	Blew.
Crow.	Crew.
Throw.	Threw.
Present.	Præterite.
Know.	Knew.
Grow.	Grew.

Fourth Class.

[§ 367]. Contains the single word let, where a short e in the

present remains unchanged in the præterite. In the Anglo-Saxon the present form was Ic læte, the præterite Ic lét.

Fifth Class.

[§ 368]. Contains the single word beat, where a long e remains unchanged. In Anglo-Saxon the forms were Ic beate, Ic beot.

Sixth Class.

[§ 369]. Present come, præterite came, participle come. In Anglo-Saxon, cume, com, cumen.

Seventh Class.

[§ 370]. In this class we have the sounds of the ee, in feet, and of the a in fate (spelt ea or a), changed into o or oo. As several words in this class have a second form in a, the præterite in o or oo will be called the primary, the præterite in a the secondary form.

Present.	Primary Præterite.	Secondary Præterite.
Heave	[[48]]Hove	—
Cleave	Clove	[[48]]Clave.
Weave	Wove	—
Freeze	Froze	—
Steal	Stole	[[48]]Stale.
Speak	Spoke	Spake.
Swear	Swore	Sware.
Bear	Bore	Bare.
Tear	Tore	[[48]]Tare.
Shear	[[48]]Shore	—
Wear	Wore	[[48]]Ware.
Break	Broke	Brake.
Shake	Shook	—
Take	Took	—
Forsake	Forsook	—
Stand	Stood	—
—	Quoth	—
Get	Got	[[48]]Gat.

The præterite of stand was originally long. This we collect

from the spelling, and from the Anglo-Saxon form stód. The process that ejects the nd is the same process that, in Greek, converts ὀδόντ-ος into ὀδούς.

All the words with secondary forms will appear again in the eighth class.

Eighth Class.

[§ 371]. In this class the sound of the ee in feet, and the a in fate (spelt ea), is changed into a. Several words of this class have secondary forms. Further details may be seen in the remarks that come after the following list of verbs.

Present.	Primary Præterite.	Secondary Præterite.
Speak	Spake	Spoke.
Break	Brake	Broke.
Cleave	[[49]]Clave	Clove.
Steal	[[49]]Stale	Stole.
Eat	Ate	—
Seethe	—	[[49]]Sod.
Tread	[[49]]Trad	Trod.
Bear	Bare	Bore.
Tear	Tare	Tore.
Swear	Sware	Swore.
Wear	[[49]]Ware	Wore.
Bid	Bade	Bid.
Sit	Sate	—
Give	Gave	—
Lie	Lay	—
Get	[[49]]Gat	Got.

Here observe,—1. That in speak, cleave, steal, the ea has the same power with the ee in freeze and seethe; so that it may be dealt with as the long (or independent) sound of the i in bid, sit, give.

2. That the same view may be taken of the ea in break, although the word by some persons is pronounced brake. Gabrika, gabrak, Mœso-Gothic; briku, brak, Old Saxon; brece, brac, Anglo-Saxon. Also of bear, tear, swear, wear. In the provincial dialects these words are even now pronounced beer, teer, sweer. The forms in the allied languages are, in

respect to these last-mentioned words, less confirmatory; Mœso-Gothic, svara, báira; Old High German, sverju, piru.

3. That the ea in tread was originally long; Anglo-Saxon, tredan, trede, trǽd, treden.

4. Lie.—Here the sound is diphthongal, having grown out of the Anglo-Saxon forms licgan, lǽg, legen.

5. Sat.—The original præterite was long. This we collect from the spelling sate, and from the Anglo-Saxon sǽt.

Ninth Class.

[§ 372]. A, as in fate, is changed either into the o in note, or the oo in book. Here it should be noticed that, unlike break and swear, &c., there is no tendency to sound the a of the present as ee, neither is there, as was the case with clove and spoke, any tendency to secondary forms in a. A partial reason for this lies in the original nature of the vowel. The original vowel in speak was e. If this was the é fermé of the French, it was a sound from which the a in fate and the ee in feet might equally have been evolved. The vowel sound of the verbs of the present class was that of a for the present and that of ó for the præterite forms; as wace, wóc, grafe, gróf. Now of these two sounds it may be said that the a has no tendency to become the ee in feet, and that the ó has no tendency to become the a in fate.

The sounds that are evolved from the accentuated ó, are the o in note and the oo in book.

Present.	Præterite.
Awake	Awoke.
Wake	Woke.
Lade	[[50]]Lode.
Grave	[[50]]Grove.
Take	Took.
Shake	Shook.
Forsake	Forsook.
Shape	[[50]]Shope.

Tenth Class.

[§ 373]. Containing the single word strike, struck, stricken. It is only in the Middle High German, the Middle Dutch, the New High German, the Modern Dutch, and the English, that

this word is found in its præterite forms. These are, in Middle High German, streich; New High German, strich; Middle Dutch, strêc; Modern Dutch, strîk. Originally it must have been referable to the ninth class.

Eleventh Class.

[§ 374]. In this class we first find the secondary forms accounted for by the difference of form between the singular and plural numbers. The change is from the i in bite to the o in note, and the i in pit. Sometimes it is from the i in bit to the a in bat. The Anglo-Saxon conjugation (A) may be compared with the present English (B).

A.

Present.	Præterite sing.	Præterite plur.
Scine (shine)	Sceán (I shone)	Scinon (we shone).
Arise (arise)	Arás (I arose)	Arison (we arose).
Smite (smite)	Smát (I smote)	Smiton (we smite).

B.

Present.	Præt.—Sing. form.	Præt.—Pl. form.
Rise	Rose	[[51]]Ris.
Abide	Abode	—
Shine	Shone	—
Smite	Smote	Smit.
Ride	Rode	[[51]]Rid.
Stride	Strode	Strid.
Slide	[[51]]Slode	Slid.
Glide	[[51]]Glode	—
Chide	[[51]]Chode	—
Drive	Drove	[[51]]Driv.
Thrive	Throve	[[51]]Thriv.
Strive	Strove	—
Write	Wrote	Writ.
Climb	Clomb	—
Slit	[[51]]Slat	Slit.
Bite	[[51]]Bat	Bit.

On this list we may make the following observations and statements.

1. That, with the exception of the word slit, the i is sounded as a diphthong.

2. That, with the exception of bat and slat, it is changed into o in the singular and into ĭ in the plural forms.

3. That, with the exception of shone, the o is always long (or independent).

4. That, even with the word shone, the o was originally long. This is known from the final -e mute, and from the Anglo-Saxon form scéan; Mœso-Gothic, skáin; Old Norse, skein.

5. That the o, in English, represents an á in Anglo-Saxon.

6. That the statement last made shows that even bat and slat were once in the same condition with arose and smote, the Anglo-Saxon forms being arás, smát, bát, slát.

Twelfth Class.

[§ 375]. In this class i is generally short; originally it was always so. In the singular form it becomes ă, in the plural, ŭ.

Present.	Præt.—Sing. form.	Præt.—Pl. form.
Swim	Swam	Swum.
Begin	Began	Begun.
Spin	[[52]]Span	Spun.
Win	[[52]]Wan	[[53]]Won.
Sing	Sang	Sung.
Swing	[[52]]Swang	Swung.
Spring	Sprang	Sprung.
Sting	[[52]]Stang	Stung.
Ring	Rang	Rung.
Wring	[[52]]Wrang	Wrung.
Fling	Flang	Flung.
Cling	—	Clung.
[[52]]Hing	Hang	Hung.
String	[[52]]Strang	Strung.
Sling	—	Slung.
Sink	Sank	Sunk.
Drink	Drank	Drunk.
Shrink	Shrank	Shrunk.
Stink	[[52]]Stank	Stunk.
Swink	—	—
Slink	—	Slunk.
Swell	Swoll	—
Melt	[[54]]Molt	—
Help	[[54]]Holp	—
Delve	[[54]]Dolv	—
Dig	—	Dug.
Stick	[[54]]Stack	Stuck.
Run	Ran	Run.
Burst	—	Burst.
Bind	Band	Bound.
Find	[[54]]Fand	Found.
Grind	—	Ground.
Wind	—	Wound.

Upon this list we make the following observations and statements:—

1. That, with the exceptions of bind, find, grind, and wind, the vowels are short (or dependent) throughout.

2. That, with the exception of run and burst, the vowel of the present tense is either the i or e.

3. That i short changes into a for the singular, and into u for the plural forms.

4. That e changes into o in the singular forms; these being the only ones preserved.

5. That the i in bind, &c., changes into ou in the plural forms; the only ones current.

6. That the vowel before m or n is, with the single exception of run, always i.

7. That the vowel before l and r is, with the single exception of burst, always e.

8. That, where the i is sounded as in bind, the combination following is -nd.

9. That ng being considered as a modification of k (the Norse and Mœso-Gothic forms being drecka and drikjan), it may be stated that i short, in the twelfth class, precedes either a liquid or a mute of series k.

From these observations, even on the English forms only, we find thus much regularity; and from these observations, even on the English forms only, we may lay down a rule like the following: viz. that i or u, short, before the consonants m, n,

or ck, is changed into a for the singular, and into u for the plural forms; that i long, or diphthongal, becomes ou; that e before l becomes o; and that u before r remains unchanged.

This statement, however, is nothing like so general as the one that, after a comparison of the older forms and the allied languages, we are enabled to make. Here we are taught,

1. That, in the words bind, &c., the i was once pronounced as in till, fill; in other words, that it was the simple short vowel, and not the diphthong ey; or at least that it was treated as such.

Mœso-Gothic.
Binda	Band	Bundum	Bundans.
Bivinda	Bivand	Bivundum	Bivundums.
Finþa	Fanþ	Funþum	Funþans.
Anglo-Saxon.
Bind	Band	Bundon	Bunden.
Finde	Fand	Fundon	Funden.
Grinde	Grand	Grundon	Grunden.
Winde	Wand	Wundon	Wunden.
Old Norse.
Finn	Fann	Funðum	Funninn.
Bind	Batt	Bundum	Bundinn.
Vind	Vatt	Undum	Undinn.

When the vowel ĭ of the present took the sound of the i in bite, the ŭ in the præterite became the ou in mouse. From this we see that the words bind, &c., are naturally subject to the same changes with spin, &c., and that, mutatis mutandis, they are so still.

2. That the e in swell, &c., was once ĭ. This we collect from the following forms:—hilpa, Mœso-Gothic; hilfu, Old High German; hilpu, Old Saxon; hilpe, Middle High German; hilpe, Old Frisian. Suillu=swell, Old High German. Tilfu=delve, Old High German; dilbu, Old Saxon. Smilzu, Old High German=smelt or melt. This shows that originally the vowel i ran throughout, but that before l and r it was changed into e. This change took place at different periods in different dialects. The Old Saxon preserved the

i longer than the Anglo-Saxon. It is found even in the middle High German; in the new it has become e; as schwelle, schmelze. In one word milk, the original i is still preserved; although in Anglo-Saxon it was e; as melce, mealc=milked, mulcon. In the Norse the change from i to e took place full soon, as svëll=swells. The Norse language is in this respect important.

3. That the o in swoll, holp, was originally a; as

Hilpa	Halp	Hulpum	Mœso-Gothic.
Suillu	Sual	Suullumês	Old High German.
Hilfu	Half	Hulfumês	Ditto.
Tilfu	Talf	Tulfumês	Ditto.
Hilpe	Halp	Hulpun	Middle High German.
Dilbe	Dalp	Dulbun	Ditto.
Hilpe	Halp	Hulpon	Ditto.
Svëll	Svall	Sullum	Old Norse.
Melte	Mealt	Multon	Anglo-Saxon.
Helpe	Haelp	Hulpon	Ditto.
Delfe	Dealf	Dulfon	Ditto.

4. That a change between a and o took place by times. The Anglo-Saxon præterite of swelle is sweoll; whilst ongon, bond, song, gelomp, are found in the same language for ongan, band, sang, gelamp.—Rask's Anglo-Saxon Grammar, p. 90.

5. That run is only an apparent exception, the older form being rinn.

The rain rinns down through Merriland town;

So doth it down the Pa.—Old Ballad.

The Anglo-Saxon form is yrnan; in the præterite arn, urnon. A transposition has since taken place. The word run seems to have been originally no present, but a præterite form.

6. That burst is only an apparent exception. Before r, ĕ, ĭ, ŭ, are pronounced alike. We draw no distinction between the vowels in pert, flirt, hurt. The Anglo-Saxon forms are, berste, byrst, bærse, burston, borsten.

Thirteenth Class.

[§ 376]. Contains the single word choose, in the præterite chose; in Anglo-Saxon, ceóse, ceás.

---