Infinitive Present.
Wesanne; Beonne.
Participle Active.
Wesende; Beonde.
Participle Past.
Gewesen.
But though the present tense of the Verb “Beo” or “Beonne” does not exist in modern English, it has been preserved in a remarkable manner in the Shropshire and other dialects, in which it runs thus:
| Provincial English. | German. |
| I Be, or I Bin, | Ich Bin, |
| Thou Bist, | Du Bist, |
| He Is. | Er Ist. |
| We Bin, | |
| Yō Bin, | |
| They Bin. |
The word “Bin” or “Ben” is used by Chaucer for the 1st, 2d, and 3d Persons Plural,[40] as in the passage previously quoted: “These two sinnes bin so nigh cosins.” (Person's Tales.)
These are singular but highly instructive examples of the caprices of “the great Innovator!”