Verbs.
[§ 105.] Number. The verb can be used in the singular after a compound subject, as Volkēr und Hagene sō sēre wüeten began, ... began to rage so furiously.
[§ 106.] Tenses. The fut. simple is expressed by sol, muoȥ, wil and the infin., or simply by the pres., as in OE.: ich sol gān, I shall go; bin ich gnislīch, sō genise ich, if I am curable, I shall recover. For the fut. pf. the pf. is used: daȥ ist schiere getān, that will soon have been done. The pf. is expressed either by the simple pret. or the p.p. and the verbs hān, sīn; in subordinate sentences the pret. often has the meaning of the pluperfect: dō du von ir schiede, zehant sie starp, she died immediately after thou hadst taken leave of her.
The preterite acquires a pluperfect, and the present a future perfect meaning when the prefix ge is added to them: swenne iuwer sun gewahset, when your son (shall have) has grown up; dō ich in gesach, when I had seen him. The present participle with sīn is sometimes used as in English, see ‘Arme Heinrich,’ l. 24.
[§ 107.] Voice. The present and preterite passive are expressed by wërden and the p.p., and the corresponding perfect tenses by sīn and the p.p.
| Pres. | ich wirde gelobet. |
| Pret. | ich wart„ |
| Perf. | ich bin„ |
| Plupf. | ich was„ |
| Inf. | gelobet sīn. |
[§ 108.] Negation. Negation in sentences is expressed by ne (en, n) before the verb, and niht after it: ër enist guot, he is not good. niht is frequently omitted, especially after the preterite presents, the verbs wellen, lān, sentences containing negative pronouns or adverbs, and in subordinate sentences.
en without niht is used with the subjunctive in subordinate sentences in the sense of unless, if not, except that, when that, that not, &c.: dën līp wil ich verliesen, si enwërde mīn wīp, I will die if she will not become my wife; ich wæne nieman in dër wërlte lëbe, ërn habe ein leit, I believe no one lives in the world who has not his trouble.
en is further also used in the sense of Latin ‘quin’: ich mac daȥ niht bevarn, mirn wërde mīn ritterschaft benomen, I cannot prevent my knighthood being taken away from me.