Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book / with Inflections, Syntax, Selections for Reading, and Glossary

by C. Alphonso Smith

[128.]

There are about twenty verbs belonging to Class I that are irregular in having no umlaut in the preterit and past participle. The preterit ends in -de, the past participle in -d; but, through the influence of a preceding voiceless consonant ([§ 9, Note]), -ed is generally unvoiced to -te, and -d to -t. The most important of these verbs are as follows:

bring-an,	brōh-te,	gebrōh-t,	to bring.
byc-gan,	boh-te,	geboh-t,	to buy.
sēc-an,	sōh-te,	gesōh-t,	to seek.
sęll-an,	seal-de,	geseal-d,	to give, sell [hand-sel].
tǣc-an,	tǣh-te,	getǣh-t,	to teach.
tęll-an,	teal-de,	geteal-d,	to count [tell].
ðęnc-an,	ðōh-te,	geðōh-t,	to think.
ðync-an,	ðūh-te,	geðūh-t,	to seem [methinks].
wyrc-an,	worh-te,	geworh-t,	to work.

Note.—Such of these verbs as have stems in c or g are frequently written with an inserted e: bycgean, sēcean, tǣcean, etc. This e indicates that c and g have palatal value; that is, are to be followed with a vanishing y-sound. In such cases, O.E. c usually passes into Mn.E. ch: tǣc(e)an > to teach; rǣc(e)an > to reach; stręcc(e)an > to stretch. Sēc(e)an gives beseech as well as seek. See [§ 8].

Conjugation of Class I.

[129.]

Paradigms of nęrian, to save; fręmman, to perform; dǣlan, to divide:

Indicative.
Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic nęrie			fręmme	dǣle
2.	ðū nęrest			fręmest	dǣlst
3.	hē nęreð			fręmeð	dǣlð
Plur. 1.	wē		nęriað
2.	gē			fręmmað	dǣlað
3.	hīe
Preterit.
Sing. 1.	Ic nęrede			fręmede	dǣlde
2.	ðū nęredest			fręmedest	dǣldest
3.	hē nęrede			fręmede	dǣlde
Plur. 1.	wē		nęredon
2.	gē			fręmedon	dǣldon
3.	hīe
Subjunctive.
Present.
Sing. 1.	Ic		nęrie
2.	ðū			fręmme	dǣle
3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē
2.	gē		nęrien	fręmmen	dǣlen
3.	hīe
Preterit.
Sing. 1.	Ic		nęrede
2.	ðū			fręmede	dǣlde
3.	hē
Plur. 1.	wē		nęreden
2.	gē			fręmeden	dǣlden
3.	hīe
Imperative.
Sing. 2.	nęre			fręme	dǣl
Plur. 1.	nęrian			fręmman	dǣlan
2.	nęriað			fręmmað	dǣlað

Infinitive.
nęrian	fręmman	dǣlan
Gerund.
tō nęrianne (-enne)	tō fręmmanne (-enne)	tō dǣlanne (-enne)
Present Participle.
nęriende	fręmmende	dǣlende
Past Participle.
genęred	gefręmed	gedǣled

Note.—The endings of the preterit present no difficulties; in the 2d and 3d singular present, however, the student will observe (a) that double consonants in the stem are made single: fręmest, fręmeð (not *freęmmest, *freęmmeð); ðęnest, ðęneð; sętest (sętst), seęteð (sętt); fylst, fylð, from fyllan, to fill; (b) that syncope is the rule in stems long by nature: dǣlst (< dǣlest), dǣlð (< dǣleð); dēmst (< dēmest), dēmð (< dēmeð); hīerst (< hīerest), hīerð (< hīereð). Double consonants are also made single in the imperative 2d singular and in the past participle. Stems long by nature take no final -e in the imperative: dǣl, hīer, dēm.