If, now, the syncopated endings -st and -ð are added directly to the umlauted stem, there will frequently result such a massing of consonants as almost to defy pronunciation: cwið-st, thou sayest; stęnd-st, thou standest, etc. Some sort of contraction, therefore, is demanded for the sake of euphony. The ear and eye will, by a little practice, become a sure guide in these contractions. The following rules, however, must be observed. They apply only to the 2d and 3d singular of the present indicative:
(1) If the stem ends in a double consonant, one of the consonants is dropped:
| 1. | feall-e (I fall) | 1. | winn-e (I fight) | 1. | swimm-e (I swim) |
| 2. | fiel-st | 2. | win-st | 2. | swim-st |
| 3. | fiel-ð | 3. | win-ð | 3. | swim-ð |
(2) If the stem ends in -ð, this is dropped:
| 1. | cweð-e (I say) | 1. | weorð-e (I become) |
| 2. | cwi-st | 2. | wier-st |
| 3. | cwi-ð | 3. | wier-ð |
(3) If the stem ends in -d, this is changed to -t. The -ð of the ending is then also changed to -t, and usually absorbed. Thus the stem of the 2d singular serves as stem and ending for the 3d singular:
| 1. | stǫnd-e (= stand-e) (I stand) | 1. | bind-e (I bind) | 1. | bīd-e (I abide) | 1. | rīd-e (I ride) |
| 2. | stęnt-st | 2. | bint-st | 2. | bīt-st | 2. | rīt-st |
| 3. | stęnt | 3. | bint | 3. | bīt (-t) | 3. | rīt (-t) |
(4) If the stem ends already in -t, the endings are added as in (3), -ð being again changed to -t and absorbed:
| 1. | brēot-e (I break) | 1. | feoht-e (I fight) | 1. | bīt-e (I bite) |
| 2. | brīet-st | 2. | fieht-st | 2. | bīt-st |
| 3. | brīet (-t) | 3. | fieht | 3. | bīt (-t) |
(5) If the stem ends in -s, this is dropped before -st (to avoid -sst), but is retained before -ð, the latter being changed to -t. Thus the 2d and 3d singulars are identical:[4]