simplification of verb paradigms in eME

core vs optional grammar

The changes to verb paradigms which were complete by 1150 are shared by the core grammar and the optional grammar of eME. Changes which were underway in early Middle English are found in the core grammar but not in the optional grammar. For a detailed discussion, see Normalisation 3: grammar.

The core grammar, which has fewer anomalies and exceptions, is aimed at the beginner. This is the grammar that appears in Audrey and the attercop, book 1 of Englisc buten taeres (the first 800 words). The optional grammar, which inherits more of OE's anomalies and exceptions, appears in normalised versions of OE and ME texts, and in the weblog of this site.

assimilation

The key factor in the simplification of verb paradigms in early Middle English is assimilation.

In OE, strong verbs (except class 1) had i-mutation (a changed vowel) in the 2nd and 3rd person forms of the present tense. OE strong contracted verbs had a further complication with certain forms dropping the stem-final consonant. A number of class 1 weak verbs had a dual stem with a doubled stem-final consonant in certain forms but a single consonant in others. In class II weak verbs, <i> or <g`> appeared before the ending in certain forms. Assimilation of the two different stems for all these paradigm types began in the OE period. A single stem emerges in ME.

The process of assimilation and levelling was complete by 1150 for some paradigm types. For the others, the process is underway in eME. All the changes dealt with below are grouped according to these two stages.

unstressed short vowels > /ə/ e

Before the end of the OE period, unstressed short vowels merged to /ə/ (schwa). This sound is spelled e in eME (and occasionally in late OE texts as well), which produces the following:

1. the OE infinitive ending ~an becomes ~en; e.g. singan > singen;
2. the OE preterite plural ending ~on becomes ~en; e.g. sungon > sungen;
3. in the OE weak class II preterite stem, ~od~ becomes ~ed~; e.g. lufode > lufede;

The third change above removes an anomaly in weak preterites in eME. Note that OE Class I preterites were formed with ~ed~ (unless syncopated to ~d~).

present plural ending ~en

The OE present tense plural ending ~at` becomes ~en in the East Midland dialect; e.g. singat` > singen.

Note that:

• in the South Western (formerly West Saxon) and West Midland dialects (at least in the southern part thereof), the OE present tense plural ending is retained as ~et`, e.g. singet`; while in the Northern dialect the ending is ~is, e.g. singis, caused by a retraction of the tongue from an interdental /t`/ to a postdental /s/; in these dialects the plural and 3rd person singular present tense forms, are identical in early Middle English;
• the East Midland ~en ending was probably taken from the subjunctive; it also aligns with the plural preterite endings - ~(e)den (weak) and ~en (strong).

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class II weak verbs lose <i> or <g`>

OE class II weak verbs lose the <i> or <g`> which had immediately followed the stem in the infinitive, the 1st person and plural present tense forms, and the present participle; e.g. wandrian, sme_ag`an > wandren, smaen. These changes were restricted to the East Midland and Northern dialects.

The infinitive and present participle as well as the 1st person and plural present tense forms of these weak verbs, are assimilated to the preterite and 2nd and 3rd person singular present tense forms, like so:

• OE class II ~ian ~ie ~iat` ~iende endings become ~en ~e ~en ~ende; e.g.
  lufian lufie lufest lufet` lufiat` lufiende lufode >
  lufen lufe lufest lufet` lufen lufende lufede¹;
• OE class II stems that end in a vowel have <g`> rather than <i>: ~g`an ~g`e ~g`at` ~g`ende; however the assimilation is identical e.g.
  sme_ag`an (ponder) sme_ag`e sme_ast sme_at` sme_ag`at` sme_ag`ende sme_ade >
  smaen smae smaest smaet` smaen smaende smaede
  (note that when the stem ends in a vowel, that vowel merges with the vowel of the inflectional ending);

East Midland sources are fairly conclusive on the loss of <i> in the stem of class II weak verbs. There are numerous examples in East Midland sources like Orm lufenn and Ch love(n), and none to the contrary. We see assimilation as far back as OE itself in class II weak verbs with <g`> dropped between the stem and inflectional ending, e.g. sme_an alongside standard sme_ag`an¹⁵. That trend continues in eME with PC1 freon (< fre_og`an).

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gemination in class I weak verbs part 1

This section deals briefly with class I weak verbs which have gemination in <tt>, <dd>, <ss>, <cc> or <gg> at the end of the stem. This topic is covered in more detail below at gemination in class I weak verbs part 2.

Verbs with stems ending in the gemination types listed above, displayed stem alternation in the present tense in OE, e.g.:

• cwec`c`an cwec`c`e cwec`est cwec`et` cwec`c`at` pr, cwec`c`e cwec`c`en sbj, cwec`e cwec`c`at` imp, cwec`c`ende pr ptc, cweahte cweahton pt g`ecwaht p ptc
• cnyssan cnysse cnysest cnyset` cnyssat` pr, cnysse cnyssen sbj, cnyse cnyssat` imp, cnyssende pr ptc, cnysede cnysedon pt g`ecnysed p ptc

Note that the 2nd and 3rd person singular, and the imperative singular, had a single consonant at the end of the stem, while all other present tense forms had a double consonant.

With two exceptions, all verbs concerned belonged to the OE sittan, cwec`c`an and cwellan groups. The exceptions are cnissen and waggen which belonged to the fremman group. Note that the fremman group had a single consonant at the end of the stem in the preterite and past participle as well, together with the regular weak preterite formation in <-ed>.

By 1150 levelling has taken place. In a nutshell, the 2nd and 3rd person singular present tense forms listed in the MED for these verbs, tend overwhelmingly to gemination. We also see gemination extended to the imperative singular and the preterite. The extension of gemination throughout the paradigm, begins in OE and is well represented in the familiar eME sources, including Orm, Lmn and AW.

The pre-1250 instances are: cnysset` cnyssed cnyssedan; waggid`, Waggestaf, Waggespere; settest, setted; cnytted, knittet`; hredde imp sg; lettet`t` letted`; sprutted`; quecched`; rec`c`est, recched`; recket`t` recchest recchet`; weccet`, wecched`; cwellet`t`; dwellest dwellet`t`; sellet`, sulled`, sylle imp sg; telle imp sg, tellet`t` tellet`

By contrast, examples of the retention of single consonant in the stem of the 2nd and 3rd person singular present tense forms, the imperative singular and the preterite forms, are rare.

As a result, all present tense stems end in a double consonant in the following verbs, in both the core and optional eME grammar. These are drawn from four distinct groups of class I weak verbs :

1. cnissen cnisse cnissest cnisset` cnissn pr, cnisse cnissen sbj, cnisse cnisset` imp, cnissende pr ptc, cnissede cnisseden pt icnissed p ptc
   • similarly: waggen
2. setten sette settest settet` setten pr, sette setten sbj, sette settet` imp, settende pr ptc, sette setten pt iset p ptc
   • similarly: atredden, cnitten, hwetten, letten, redden, setten, spritten
3. cweccen cwecce cweccest cweccet` cweccen pr, cwecce cweccen sbj, cwecce cweccet` imp, cweddende pr ptc, cwahte cwahten pt icwaht p ptc
   • similarly: dreccen, leccen, reccen, recken, streccen, t`eccen, weccen
4. cwellen cwelle cwellest cwellet` cwellen pr, cwelle cwellen sbj, cwelle cwellet` imp, cwellende pr ptc, cwa__lde cwa__lden pt icwa__ld p ptc
   • similarly: dwellen, sellen, tellen, stellen

class I weak verbs with stem ending in <rw>

OE sierwan and g`ierwan behaved similarly to class I weak verbs with gemination. According to Wright<sup>3</sup>, the 2nd and 3rd person singular present forms and all preterite forms, dropped the <w>, e.g.: gierest, gieret`, gierede.

That is true to an extent. However, in Bosworth's⁴ entry for sirwan, preterites with <w> outnumber those without 8 to 6. Bosworth lists a sample of preterites in the headline of the entry: sirwde, sirwede, sirede, sirewede, sirwode. The MED entry sirwen contains just two quotations. One has a preterite - VH 1150 syrewde, crucially with <w>. Given the outcome of the setten, cweccen and cwellen groups, the likelihood that <w> was present throughout the paradigm of serwen in the (east) Mercian dialect before the close of the OE period, is high. Accordingly, in eME the <w> is retained throughout the paradigm.

It's a different tale for g`ierwan. This form was eclipsed by the variant g`earwian in late OE. Bosworth has no preterites under g`ierwan but has g`earwode (2) ~odest ~odon under g`earwian. All the pre-1250 quotations under the related MED entry, reflect the latter form, e.g Lmn y`aerwen y`arewede y`arweden. (After 1300, forms influenced by the related adjective yare, appear. Hence the headword yaren.) The upshot is that y%arwen without stem alternation, replaces y%erwen in both the core and optional grammar of eME.

class I weak verbs which retain stem alternation

The eME reflexes of lec`g`an from the settan group, byc`g`an from the cwec`c`an group and most of the fremman group, retain stem alternation in the optional grammar. See gemination in class I weak verbs part 2 below, for more detail.

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i-mutation in the 2nd and 3rd person present forms of strong verbs

In OE, the stem vowel of the second- and third-person singular forms of the present tense of strong verbs often differed from the stem vowel in the infinitive. Most OE grammars list strong verb paradigms which show only forms with i-mutation: lu_can s2 ly_ct`, helpan s3 hilpt`, stelan s4 stilt`, sprecan s5 sprict`, flo_wan s7 fle_wt` etc. This is the early West Saxon standard.

We can see in the table above that in the standard West Saxon dialect, i-mutation affected all strong classes except 1, 3a and 4b. However, i-mutation of the second- and third-person singular of strong verbs was by no means universal. Bosworth-Toller ⁴ cites the following examples, (in addition to mutated forms): D`u__ monegum helpst...He__ helpet` t`earfan parcet...d`u__ bru__cest... he bru__cet`... Gif frigman fre__um stelt`... sprecet`... flo__west... flo__wet`. The extent of the variation is perhaps most starkly illustrated by sle__an: slehst slieht` sliht` slaeht` are all recorded in Bosworth-Toller ⁴.

C. Alphonso Smith ¹⁵, in his discussion of the present indicative endings of strong verbs in OE, explains the variation: "In the Northumbrian and Mercian dialects, as well as in the dialect of Late West Saxon, the 2d and 3d singular endings were usually joined to the present stem without modification either of the stem itself or of the personal endings. The complete absence of umlauted forms in the present indicative of Mn.E. is thus accounted for."

Accordingly, this complexity is altogether absent by the beginning of the ME period in the East Midlands, but can still be seen here and there in the early 13th century in the West Midland and Southern dialects. Thus, while AW still has kimet`, Orm has cumesst cumet`t`. The assimilation of 2nd and 3rd person present tense forms is widespread in pre-1250 texts: 1225 helpet`, 1250 helpest and Orm beresst, beret`t`, bruket`t`, dellfet`t`, fallet`t`, hatet`t`, speket`t` to cite just a few more examples.

The table below reveals a simpler present tense paradigm for all strong classes in eME. In contrast to the dual stem of the OE strong classes, there is a single stem (a single vowel) throughout the present tense paradigm of each verb.

Note that class 3c has effectively merged with 3b. Note also Orm biddet`t`, bitet`t`, ridet`t`, singet`t` where OE often had syncope, especially after a dental consonant: bitt, bi_tt, ri_tt, singt`.

In fact the simpler paradigm in which the vowels of all present tense forms match their respective infinitives, is so firmly entrenched in early ME sources that there is no need to call on principle 4. Since i-mutation of 2nd and 3rd person forms is missing in all relevant strong verbs in both Orm and PC2, this grammatical feature doesn't pass to the optional grammar.

Note that the assimilation of the present tense forms works in different directions for strong and weak verbs. In strong verbs, the 2nd and 3rd person forms assimilate to the infinitive, while the reverse is true of weak verbs.

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strong contracted verbs part 1 - changes

OE contracted verbs are those strong verbs characterised by a stem-final <h> in Primitive OE, but which had lost <h>between vowels by the 8th century, e.g. *sehan > se_on. These sixteen "h-less" strong verbs belonged to five different strong classes.

When <h> was lost, the vowel of the stem coalesced with the vowel of the inflectional ending, and was lengthened (if short).

Let se_on s5 illustrate the evolution of the paradigm (conjugation) of a strong contracted verb:

These are the present tense forms for each of the five affected class in the early West Saxon dialect:

Similarly:

• class 1: le_on, si_gan/se_on, te_on, t`e_on
• class 2: fle_on
• class 5: g`efe_on, ple_on
• class 6: fle_an, le_an, t`we_an
• class 7: ho_n

By 1150, the corresponding forms in the East Midland dialect are:

Similarly:

• class 1: li__en, si__gen/si__en, ti__en, t`i__en
• class 2: fle__n
• class 5: ife__n, ple__n
• class 6: flaen, laen, t`waen
• class 7: ho__n

The following changes to strong contracted verbs have taken place by 1150 in the East Midland dialect (or its predecessor Mercian):

• in class 1, the stem vowel of the infinitive and 1st person and plural present forms is assimilated to the stem vowel of the 2nd and 3rd person forms, which is the standard stem vowel for that class:
  • OE s1 wre_on wre_o wri_hst wri_ht` wre_ot` > eME wri__en wri__e wri__hst wri__ht` wri__en;
    similarly: li__en, ti__en, t`i__en
• in class 7, in the 2nd and 3rd person present forms, the <h> is dropped:
  • OE s7 fo_n fo_ fe_hst fe_ht` fo_t` > eME fo__n fo__ fo__st fo__t` fo__n
    similarly: ho__n

Additional eME forms

• <h>-less: fle__t`, se__t`, slaet`
• vowel change: sla__n, sla__t`

Class 1 forms are based on the expected Anglian form arising from primitive OE <i_h>. OE WS <e_o> appeared as A <i_>. See Wright ¹⁴ § 127: "i_ was broken to i_o before h and ht in WS. But already at an early period the i_o mostly became e_o (= Anglian i_)". Examples cited by Wright include: WS we_oh = A wi_h (idol), le_oh (lend) imp sg = A li_h and with loss of medial h after breaking had taken place: WS fe_ol = A fi_l (file), WS le_on = A li_on (to lend), WS se_on = A si_on (to strain), WS t`e_on = A t`i_on (to thrive), WS wre_on = A wri_on (to cover). Note that wri__en would qualify as an additional eME form via ModE obs. wry and 1250 wrien. Compare also Ch wryen wrien.

Orm, Lmn, AW & Owl all support the dropping of <h> in the 3rd person forms of class 7 - Orm fot`, hot`, AW underued`, Owl ifot`. Thus these h-less variants qualify as additional eME forms via principle 2a. Given the complete lack of counter examples with <h> in the MED, it also seems reasonable to assume the dropping of <h> in the 2nd person forms of these two verbs in the optional grammar.

Orm, Lmn and AW also support the dropping of <h> in the 2nd and 3rd person forms of class 6 slaen - Orm slaet`, Lmn slaest slaed`, AW slead`. On the other hand we see <h> (or its variant spelling) as late as 1340 in South-Eastern Ayenbite slay`t`. With both MED's pre-1350 examples from the other class 6 contracted verbs exhibiting retention of <h> - 1175 d`weahd` pr sg3, 1333 flagy`st pr sg2, the best approach for the optional grammar seems to be an acceptance of the h-less variant slaet` as an additional eME form via principle 2a, but to retain the forms slahst slaht`, flahst flaht`, lahst laht`, t`wast t`waht` for the standard paradigm of class 6 verbs in the optional grammar of eME.

The evidence for the dropping of <h> is not as conclusive in other classes. Orm has sest set` and PC1 sed` but Lmn has sehste and Owl sichst. Similarly <h> is dropped in Orm flet`, Lmn tid`, flet` but retained in Owl tiht`, flyhst fliy`ste fliy`t, Lmn flict`, for te__n, fle__n s2. Nevertheless, fle__t`, se__t` emerge as additional eME forms.

Note that alternation of the stem vowel wasn't a feature of strong verbs in the OE Anglian dialects and thus isn't found in either the core or optional grammar of eME, for strong verbs, contracted or otherwise. See the related discussion above on i-mutation in the 2nd and 3rd person present forms of strong verbs.

Orm slan slat`, AW slad` and SO slo support additional eME forms sla__n sla__t`. Orm also has sla slast, but neither of these forms is supported by any of the other eME sources. The sla__n forms appear to be derived from ON sla__.

The eME form derived from the standard OE form slieht` pr sg3 is not sleht`, but rather - slaht`. Wright <sup>16</sup>: "§ 69. ea became ie (later i, y) by i-umlaut, as hliehhan (Goth, hlahjan), to laugh; mieht (Goth, mahts, stem-form mahti-), power, might; miehtig, mighty; nieht, night; sliehst (Goth, slahis), thou slayest; slieht` (Goth, slahit), he slays; slieht, stem-form slahti-, slaughter; wiext` (OHG. wahsit), it grows. Note. - The corresponding vowel in Anglian is ae, as hlaehha(n), maeht, maehtig, &c." By extension then, Mercian had slaeht` pr sg3, which is recorded in Bosworth-Toller ⁴. Note that ae here is a short vowel which retracted to a in lOE, giving *slaht`. The long eME vowel ae (derived from OE e_a) in slaen slae was caused by the lengthening of the stem vowel after the loss of <h> between vowels in OE (*slahan > sle_an).

Present tense forms with stem hang- are recommended for ho__n. See the discussion at optional grammar

For more detail, see levelling of strong contracted verbs.

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unstressed <e> in verbs

Elision of the unstressed <e> in the 3rd person singular present and both 3rd person preterite forms, is optional:

• wrey%en wrey%e wrey%est wrey%et` wrey%ede wrey%d (or wrey%st, wrey%de etc)
• say%en say%e say%est say%et` say%ede say%ed (or say%st, say%de etc)

strong contracted verbs part 2 - levelling

OE contracted verbs are those strong verbs characterised by a stem-final <h> in Primitive OE, but which had lost <h>between vowels by the 8th century, the era of our earliest surviving records of the written language. That <h> survived in the 1st and 3rd person singular preterite form, right up to Chaucer's time. These "h-less" infinitives can be found in 5 different strong classes:

• s1 - pOE *wri_han, wra_h > OE wre_on (wri_ga), wra_h (cover/wrap)
• s2 - pOE *te_han, tae_h > OE te_on, te_ah (draw)
• s5 - pOE *sehan, saeh > OE se_on, seah (see)
• s6 - pOE *slahan, slo_h > OE sle_an, slo_h (strike/slay)
• s7 - pOE *fa_han, fe_ng > OE fo_n, fe_ng (seize/grasp)

OE strong verbs - standard vs contracted

OE contracted verbs present a couple of anomalies or complexities which are not found in the standard paradigms of their respective classes, as the following comparisons attest. Note that the i-mutation of the 2nd and 3rd person present tense forms in both standard and contracted types, is dealt with above:

class 1

In the class 1 strong contracted verbs, we see two anomalies:

1. <h> is missing from the end of the stem in the infinitive, present 1st person singular and present plural forms;
2. the stem vowel in the infinitive, present 1st person singular and present plural forms, is <e_o> rather than <i_>;

classes 2 & 5

The class 2 and class 5 strong contracted verbs can be treated together:

In the class 2 and class 5 strong contracted verbs, we see a single shared anomaly:

1. <h> is missing from the end of the stem in the infinitive, present 1st person singular and present plural forms;

class 6

In the class 6 strong contracted verbs, we see two anomalies:

1. <h> is missing from the end of the stem in the infinitive, present 1st person singular and present plural forms;
2. the stem vowel in the infinitive, present 1st person singular and present plural forms, is <e_a> rather than <a>;

class 7

In the class 7 strong contracted verbs, we see three anomalies:

1. <h> is missing from the end of the stem in the infinitive, present 1st person singular and present plural forms;
2. the stem vowel in the infinitive, present 1st person singular and present plural forms, is <o_> rather than <a>;
3. the <n> of the preterite and past participles stems, is missing in the infinitive and present tense stems;

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levelling begins in OE

As we have just seen, there are anomalies in the paradigms of contracted strong verbs, which involve both the stem vowel and the absence of a stem-final consonant.

The question is - to what extent is levelling of these anomalies in the paradigms of contracted verbs, supported in ME?

As it turns out, there is considerable evidence of levelling of contracted verbs in pre-1250 sources. Already in OE (probably more so in the Anglian dialects), <h> is dropped at times from 2nd and 3rd person present tense forms. That is increasingly evident in ME. On the other hand, <g> is occasionally inserted at the end of the stem in infinitives and in 1st person and plural present tense forms. This begins in OE and continues in ME where <y`> (or <h>) often replaces the <g> spelling. We'll examine this in more detail below.

<h>, <g> and <y`>

Bear in mind that <h> doesn't occur between vowels in OE or ME ⁵ (unless doubled). When <h> existed between vowels in verbs like *ti_han in Primitive OE, it was probably pronounced /h/, the same value it had in later OE at the begining of words like hi_eran (and in ModE hear). However <h> before a consonant (ti_ht`) or at the end of a word (ne_ah) in OE was /x/, an unvoiced velar fricative like the <ch> in Scottish loch. <h> in those positions survived in OE, but intervocalic <h> didn't. So when I talk below about extending <h> throughout the present tense paradigm of an eME reflex of an OE contracted verb, that extension can only be via a related sound. As we'll see in the examples below, <h> is generally restored with a <g> or <y`> spelling ⁶ which probably represents /G``/, a voiced velar fricative. The voiced velar fricative, unlike its unvoiced counterpart, did survive between vowels in OE and ME, e.g. boga, boge.

restoration of <h> or extension of <g>?

The levelling of the paradigms of formerly contracted verbs in eME could also be seen as an extension of <g> (or <ng>) from the preterite and past participle forms to the present tense. This may be a more accurate portrayal of the process than an extension and adaption of the <h> from the 2nd and 3rd person present tense forms to their 1st person and plural companions. Perhaps the two acted in concert.

selection of MED entries for each OE contracted strong verb

In the following selection of entries drawn from the MED, you'll see a range of verb forms for each of the sixteen strong contracted verbs, with a focus on pre-1250 sources. Among them is a fair smattering of <g> (or <h>), in both infinitive and present tense stems.

The OE strong verbs affected are:

• class 1: le_on, si_gan/se_on, te_on, t`e_on, wre_on (wri_ga)
• class 2: fle_on, te_on
• class 5: g`efe_on, ple_on, se_on
• class 6: fle_an, le_an, sle_an, t`we_an
• class 7: fo_n, ho_n

le_on s1 ligen p ptc

to lend, grant

li_h imp sg la_h pt sg3 ligen p ptc;

The MED has lenen v w inf from lae_nan v w inf, but not *le_n/*li_en/*li_gen v s1 inf.

OS far-li_han, OHG li_han, Goth leihwan

si_gan (se_on/si_on) s1 sigen p ptc

I to sink, descend; II to strain, filter, ooze, trickle

sa_h sigon pt sigen p ptc

MED si_en inf; 1200 syht`, 1381 seth pr sg3; AW siy`et`, 1225 seiy`eð pr pl; 1225 seh pt

Note - both Clark Hall ¹ and Bosworth & Toller ⁴ list si_gan with the two definitions above, and se_on with the latter definition only, while Wright ³ identifies se_on (strain) as one of the contracted class 1 strong verbs, separately from si_gan (sink).

te_on (ti_on) s1 tygen/togen p ptc

to accuse

ty_hst ti_ht` te_ot` pr te_o sbj pr sg te_ah tugon pt tuge sbj pt sg tygen/togen p ptc;

MED te_n (1250 tegen) inf; 1450 tyxste pr sg2, 1300 tiy`th pr sg3, 1150 teo sbj pr sg;

Note - in OE this verb seems to have largely shifted to the conjugation of te_on s2 (from pOE *te_ohan)

OS af-ti_han, OHG zi_han, Goth teihan

t`e_on s1 t`igen/t`ogen p ptc

to thrive, flourish, prosper

t`i_hd` pr sg3 t`e_ot`/t`i_gat` pr pl t`e_o sbj pr sg t`e_onde pr ptc t`a_h/t`e_ah t`igon/t`ugon pt t`igen/t`ogen p ptc;

MED the_n (1250 d`en) inf; 1175 d`ihd` pr sg3; Ch then inf theech (thee ich) pr sg1; TH 1200 t`ied` pr sg3; 1150 t`eah pt s3, 1250 d`ogen pt pl/p ptc

OLG/OS thi_han.

Note - this verb has a foot in at least two camps. Forms consistent with classes 1, 2 and class 3 are recorded. For more detail, see footnote below. The normalised eME in this site uses only class 1 forms with this verb.

wre_on (wri_ga) s1 wrigen p ptc

to wrap, cover

wre_o wri_hst wri_gd` pr sg wre_od` pr pl wre_ah (a_) wrigon pt;

MED wri_en (Lmn wriy`en, AW wrihen, 1250 wrihe) inf; AW wrihe pr sg1; AW wrihd` pr sg3, SO 1330 writ`, Ayb 1340 wriy`t`; AW wrihed`, Ayb 1340 wret` pr pl; 1175 wriy`en pt pl; Lmn iwriy`en, 1300 wriy`e p ptc

OHG int-ri_han

Note - the MED cites an alt OE infinitive form wri_gan, which Clark Hall ⁶ doesn't list; however Bosworth & Toller ⁷ has an entry for wri_ga verb (to cover).

fle_on (fli_on) s2 flogen p ptc

to flee

fli_onde pr ptc fle_o fli_hst/fly_hst fli_ht`/fly_ht` pr sg fle_ot`/fli_ot`/fly_t` pr pl fle_ah fluge flugon pt

MED fle_n (Orm fle(o)n, Lmn fleon, AW fleo, 1325 fle, 1400 fleiy`en) inf; Owl flyhst/fliy`ste pr sg2; Orm fle(o)t`, Lmn flet`/flict`, Owl fliy`t, 1250 flet` pr sg3; Lmn fle(o)nde, 1175/1200 fleonde pr ptc; Lmn fliy`/fle(o), AW flih imp sg; 1250 fledde, 1300 fle(d)de, 1325 fled, Ch 1375 fledde pt sg3; Lmn floy`en pt pl; Lmn 1300 ifloy`e, 1325 fled, Ch 1395 fled p ptc

OS fliohan, OHG fliuhan, Goth t`liuhan

te_on s2 togen p ptc

to draw, tow, tug; draw near, approach

te_o ty_hst ti_eht` (ti_ht`/te_ht`) te_ot` pr te_oh imp sg te_onde pr ptc te_ah tugon pt

MED te_n (Lmn teon, AW teon, 1400 tegh) inf; Lmn tid`, Owl tiht`, 1200 ted`, 1300 ted` pr sg3; AW teod`, 1250 tgen, SO 1330 tet` pr pl; Owl teo pr sbj sg; Lmn taeh pt sg3; 1150 tugen, Lmn tuy`en, AW tuhen pt pl; 1250 togen p ptc

OS tiohan, OHG ziohan, Goth tiuhan

(g`e)fe_on s5 fegen (faegen) p ptc

to rejoice

feogad` pr pl feah fae_gon pt

not found in MED

ple_on s5 *plegen p ptc

to risk, expose to danger

pleah pt

not found in MED

se_on s5 sewen/segen p ptc

to see

se_o siehst sieht` (si_t`) se_od` (si_ot`) pr seh (i/io) imp sg seah sa_won/sae_gon pt

MED se_n (Orm sen/seon, Owl ison) inf; Orm seo, Owl iso, 1335 se pr sg1; Orm sest (eo), Lmn sehste, Owl sichst, 1275 sixst, 1300 sext/sixt/sicst pr sg2; PC1 sed` (eo), Orm set` (eo), 1175 sihd`, 1225 sicd`, Owl sut`, 1250 sikt`, Ch seth, 1396 sey`t pr sg3; Orm seo, Lmn sey`e, Owl so sbj pr sg; Orm sen, 1250 sen, 1300 seth, Ayb 1340 zyet` pr pl; Lmn isaeh pt sg3; 1200 segen, 1250 sey`en, 1275 seghen, 1300 seiy`en pt pl; 1335 seiy`en p ptc

Note - the MED lists seiy`en and sey`e as infinitive forms, seghe as pr sg1, and say`e, saghe, sauy`en as pt pl, at the top of its article on se_n.

OS sehan, OHG sehan, Goth saihwan

fle_an s6 flagen p ptc

to flay

*flo_h *flo_gon pt

MED flen (Lmn flan/flean, 1275 flo, 1300 flon, 1300 fleye) inf; AW flea sbj pr sg, 1333 flagy`st pr sg2; 1390 fleth pr sg3; 1300 Hav flowe, 1350 flogh pt sg3; Lmn iulay`ene, 1300 yflawe, 1340 Ayb vlay`e, Ch flayn p ptc

ON fla_, MDu vla`en vla`eghen, ProtoG *flahana

le_an s6 *lagen p ptc

to blame, reproach

lyht` le_at` pr lo_h lo_gon pt

not found in MED, but Wikt. cites lough pt sg3

ON la_, OS/OHG lahan, Goth laian

sle_an s6 slaeg`en/slagen p ptc

to slay, strike

slehst (sle_s) pr sg2 slieht`/sliht`/slaeht`/sle_t` (i/y) pr sg3 sleah imp sg sle_ande pr ptc slo_h slo_gon pt

Orm slaen/slan inf slast slaet`/slat` pr sloh sloy%h`enn pt slay%enn p ptc, Lmn slaen inf slaest slaed` pr sloh sloy`en pt, AW to sleanne inf dat slead`/slad` pr sg3 sloh slohen pt slein/slayn p ptc, SO slo inf slouy` pt sg3, Ch sleen inf sleest sleeth sleen pr slough/slow slowen pt slayn/slawen p ptc, MED sle_n (1300 sla, 1325 slan, 1340 Ayb slay`e, 1390 slawe) inf; 1325 slecst, 1325 slas, 1340 Ayb slast, 1372 slest pr sg2; 1225 sleihd`, 1303 slekt`, 1340 Ayb slay`t`/sslay`t, 1325/1340 slas, 1380 slet` pr sg3; 1225 LH slage, 1300 slext`, 1357 sla pr pl; 1350 slay` sbj sg pr?; 1340 Ayb slay`et` imp pl; PC2 sloghen pt pl; 1200 TH slaine, 1250 slagen, 1307 slaye, 1300 slan, 1325 slain, 1340 slayne, 1350 sleyn/slaw, 1393 Gower slawe p ptc

Notes - the spelling <y`> in Ayenbite of Inwyt (1340 Ayb) represents /G``/, e.g. foly`en, while <y> represents /j/, e.g. yeve, daye; the MED lists A sla_ inf, lOE slagen p ptc and slay`en inf at the top of its article on sle_n, the latter perhaps based on Ayb slay`e.

ON sla_, OS/OHG/Goth slahan

t`we_an s6 g`et`wegen ⁷ p ptc

to wash, cleanse

t`we_a d`wehst/t`wyhst d`weht` pr t`weh/d`uah t`we_ad` imp t`we_a t`we_an sbj pr t`wo_h t`wo_gon/d`wo_gan pt

MED thwe_n inf; 1175 d`weahd` pr sg3; 1200 t`weh imp sg; 1175 it`wey`en p ptc

ON t`va_, OS thwahan, OHG dwahan, Goth t`wahan

fo_n s7 fangen/fongen p ptc

to seize, grasp

fo_ fe_hst fe_(h)th/fo_hth fo_th pr fe_ng fe_nge fe_ngon pt fo_h fo_t` imp fo_ fo_n sbj pr fe_nge fe_ngen sbj pt

MED fongen/fo_n (Orm fon, fanngenn, Lmn fon, AW underuongen, Owl/1225/1250/1300/1303/Ch fonge, 1275 fong, PH3 foangen, 1300 fange) inf; Orm fot`, 1150 fot`, 1200 TH fod` fohd`, AW underued`, Owl ifot`, 1333 fanget`, 1393 Gower fonget` pr sg3; Owl fo pr pl sbj; Orm unnderrfanngenn, 1390 fongen, 1393 Gower fonge pr pl; PC2/AW underfeng, PC1/1175/Lmn feng pt sg3; Orm onnfengenn, Lmn on-fengen pt pl; PC1 gefangen p ptc

ON fa__/fanga, OS fa_han/fangan, OHG fa_han, Goth fa_han

ho_n s7 hangen p ptc

to hang

ho_t` pr pl ho_h imp sg he_ng he_ngon pt

MED hongen (Lmn hon, AW hon/hongin, Owl hongi, Ch hangen/honge) inf; Ch hange pr sg1; Lmn hangest pr sg2, AW hongi sbj pr sg2; Owl hot`, AW honged`, 1250/1307/1325/SO 1330/Ayb 1340 honget`, 1303/Ch hanget` pr sg3; Ch hangen pr pl; Orm/Lmn/Ch heng pt sg3; PC2 hengen pt pl; Ch hangen p ptc

Note - there is no record in the OE corpus of present tense singular forms for ho_n. OE also had hangian w intr (to hang, be hanged).

ON hanga, OHG hahan, Goth hahan

See also changes to strong contracted verbs complete by 1150.

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class III weak verbs

OE class III consisted of four verbs: habban to have, libban to live, sec`g`an to say, hyc`g`an to think about, consider. These four verbs characterised by stem alternation in the present tense - either <bb/f> or <c`g`/g`>.

While the infinitive, 1st person singular and plural indicative present, singular and plural subjunctive present, plural imperative and present participle all contained either <bb> or <c`g`>, the 2nd and 3rd person singular indicative present, singular imperative, all preterites and past participle, had either <f> or <g`> in their place:

1. bb/f: habban haebbe haefst haeft` habbat` pr, haebbe haebben sbj, hafa habbat` imp, haebbende pr ptc, haefde haefdon pt g`ehaefd p ptc
2. bb/f: libban libbe leofast leofat` libbat` pr, libbe libben sbj, leofa libbat` imp, libbende pr ptc, lifde lifdon pt g`elifd p ptc
3. c`g`/g`: sec`g`an sec`g`e saeg`st saeg`t` sec`g`at` pr, sec`g`e sec`g`en sbj, saeg`e sec`g`at` imp, sec`g`ende pr ptc, saeg`de saeg`don pt g`esaeg`d p ptc
4. c`g`/g`: hyc`g`an hyc`g`e hyg`st/hogast hyg`t`/hogat` hyc`g`at` pr, hyc`g`e hyc`g`en sbj, hoga/hyg`e hyc`g`at` imp, hyc`g`ende pr ptc, hogde hogdon pt g`ehogod p ptc

Levelling of these paradigms began in OE and was well underway in eME. OE Anglian had a variant class II form lifian beside libban. hyc`g`an also had a class II relation - hogian¹⁹ with the same meaning and a shared preterite stem. The latter appears to have displaced hyc`g`an in late OE, given that only reflexes of hogian are found in the MED (under houen).

PC2 emerges as more progressive than its fellow East Midland source Orm, in reflexes of these class III OE verbs. More importantly, levelling to a single stem is found for each of the four verbs in a pre-1250 MED source:

1. PC2 hauen, Orm hafenn/habbenn hafe, AW habben habbe, SO have inf, Ch ha(ve)n
2. PC2 liuen, Orm libbenn, Lmn libben/liuien libbe/liuie, AW liuien/libben liuie/libbe, SO live inf, Ch live(n)
3. PC2 saein, Orm seggenn/sey%y%enn
4. Lmn hoy`ede pt sg3, Owl hoy`et` pr sg3, VH 1150 hoged` pr sg3

In the core grammar of eME, the paradigms of these four verbs become:

1. f: hafen hafe hafest hafet` hafen pr, hafe hafen sbj, hafe hafet` imp, hafende pr ptc, hafde hafden pt ihafed p ptc
2. f: lifen life lifest lifet` lifen pr, life lifen sbj, life lifet` imp, lifende pr ptc, lifde lifden pt ilifed p ptc
3. y%: say%en say%e say%est say%et` say%en pr, say%e say%en sbj, say%e say%et` imp, say%ende pr ptc, say%de say%den pt isay%d p ptc
4. g: hogen hoge hogest hoget` hogen pr, hoge hogen sbj, hoge hoget` imp, hogende pr ptc, hogede hogeden pt ihoged p ptc

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a single class of weak verbs

Syncope (or dropping) of the unstressed vowel in the preterite suffix was common in OE weak verbs, particularly in certain environments. The exception was the class II group of weak verbs.

This distinction falls away in eME when syncope appears in the preterite of class II weak verbs. For example, OE lufode becomes lufde in Lmn.

With the loss of gemination in class I weak verbs, the levelling of the dual present stem in class III weak verbs, and the appearance of syncope in class II weak verbs, the three OE weak classes effectively collapse into a single class.

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gemination in strong verbs

Two OE class 5 strong verbs had gemination in <c`g`> - lic`g`an, fric`g`an. Like sec`g`an w1 (see above), the infinitive, first person and plural present tense forms, had a stem ending in <c`g`> while the second and third person present tense forms had a stem ending in <g`>, i.e. without gemination:

lic`g`an lic`g`e lig`st lig`t` lic`g`at` pr, lic`g`e lic`g`en sbj, lig`e lic`g`at` imp, lic`g`ende pr ptc, laeg` lae_g`on pt g`eleg`en p ptc

Forms with <c`g`> were also found in the present participle, the subjunctive and the plural imperative.

Levelling of the stems ending in /dZ`/ to /j/ is evident in PC2 lien, but /dZ`/ (usually written <gg>) persists in the East Midland dialect until Chaucer's time - SO ligge inf ligget` pr pl liggeand pr ptc, Ch lye(n)/ligge(n). Both Lmn and AW have liggen /dZ`/ and Owl has ligge subj pr sg.

Orm has no inf or pr sg1 forms, but does have list pr sg2 & lit` pr sg3, forms echoed by Lmn and AW, which indicate that the reflex of OE <g`> /j/ was absorbed by and lengthened the preceding vowel in the pr sg2 & sg3 forms in eME. The alt eME spelling reflects that sound change, e.g. li_et`. In the default spelling I have retained the /j/ glide as <y%>, e.g. liy%et`.

We can be reasonably confident that if liy%en was spoken by East Midlanders around the year 1150, then the same applies to its class 5 companion friy%en ¹². In fact the MED sources, under the entry fri_en, reflect that: Orm friy%y%enn, Hav frie inf. Note the likely influence of ON fry_ja on these forms. See also ley%en, say%en in the sections on gemination in class I and class III verbs, above.

Thus, alongside the forms derived from OE - licy%en fricy%en which enter the optional eME grammar, we have the levelled forms - liy%en friy%en, in the core eME grammar. These give us simpler verb paradigms without stem alternation in the core grammar, while the optional grammar retains the stem alternation of OE:

• core: liy%en liy%e liy%est liy%et` liy%en pr, liy%e liy%en sbj, liy%e liy%et` imp, liy%ende pr ptc, lay% lay%en pt iley%en p ptc
  • similarly: friy%en friy%et`
• optional: licy%en licy%e liy%est liy%et` licy%en pr, licy%e licy%en sbj, liy%e licy%et` imp, licy%ende pr ptc, lay% laey%en pt iley%en p ptc
  • similarly: fricy%en friy%et`

Note that gemination of other consonants did not lead to stem alternation in eME. Whereas the <dd> of OE biddan was often reduced to a single consonant in the 2nd and 3rd person present tense forms in the early West Saxon dialect: bit, this was not the case in the Anglian dialects, which tended to biddet`. Hence Bosworth-Toller <sup>17</sup>: He_ ne bidded` u_s na_nes t`inges and Orm biddet`t`.

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double consonant becomes single in preterite

This affects ll, mm, nn, pp, rr.

Example: OE fyllan fylde g`efylled

Similarly: OE cennan, c`ierran, clyppan, cyssan, fiellan, mierran, spyllan, stillan, wemman

With one exception - the variant preterite spilt (alongside spilled), this change to the root in the preterite is not reflected in ModE.

This degemination is evident in PC2 fylden, Lmn fulde, AW fulde and persists to Ch fild p ptc. Ch also has kiste together with the less common variant kissed.

On the other hand, retention of the double consonant begins early. BT provides fyllde. HA 1200 has y%efullede pt sg3. And alongside custe we find cussede in Lmn and cussed in AW.

Given that the retention of the double cononsant in preterite forms is evident in pre-1250 texts, this rule - double consonant + <ed> = single consonant + <t> in preterite forms, can be considered moribund in eME and for that reason has been shifted to the optional grammar.

Note that syncope of <e> in the <ed> ending of the preterite, is less frequest in ME than it had been in OE, especially in the East Midland dialect.

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ferien, herien

We saw above that in ME, the infinitive and 1st person and plural present tense forms of class II weak verbs, are assimilated to the preterite and 2nd and 3rd person singular present tense forms. OE verbs with infinitives ending in ~ian/~g`an, lose the <i/g`> in ME. Their ME reflex has an infinitive ending in ~en, and all forms in the paradigm follow suit.

The same levelling applies to a handful of class I verbs ending in ~ian, e.g. swerian > sweren. The two exceptions to this rule are ferien (to transport, carry) and herien (to praise). In their case, assimilation takes place in the reverse direction: the preterite and 2nd and 3rd person singular present tense forms are assimilated to the infinitive form, which ends in ~ien. All forms - preterite included, have the <i> in their stem.

In other words, where OE has herian herie herest heret` heriat` pr, herie herien sbj, here heriat` imp, heriende pr ptc, herede heredon pt g`ehered p ptc, eME has herien herie heriest heriet` herien pr, herie herien sbj, herie heriet` imp, heriende pr ptc, heriede herieden pt iheried p ptc.

ferien and herien sit outside the criteria on which the eME normalisation principles rest. Principle 3 requires a text dated before 1250. Lmn has herey`ede pt sg3 but this is from a text dated around 1300 rather than the earlier Lmn source dated 1200 approx. The MED has a quotation from St.Kath. (?c1200), one of the Katherine group of texts, which I generally place under the 'AW' umbrella: He..hereð [vr. herieð] & hersumeð.. seheliche shaftes... The date is right but the bracketing makes it unclear whether or not this constitutes evidence of the extension of <i> to the pr sg3 stem. The second issue lies with Principle 4 which can be invoked for a group of verbs with similar features. A pair doesn't normally constitute a group.

There is a reason for the exceptional treatment of ferien and herien in the core grammar of eME. These two verbs have <i> in all their stems because <i> appears throughout the paradigm in Ch and ModE. Ch has herie inf heriest pr sg2 heryed pt sg3 iheryed p ptc, while ModE has herry (obs.) and ferry ferries ferried ¹³. Two East Midland sources from 1380 approx. - Pearl and Cleanness, also show the extension of <i>: feryed p ptc. In fact a plethora of MED quotations show a similar extension of <i>: Doomsday 1275 [h]iheriet, SLeg.Prol.CV 1280 yheried, Spec.Guy 1300 heriede, I-hereþ nv one 1300 heryeden iheried, 1335 heriy`eden, Ichot 1350 yheryed, MPPsalter 1350 herieden, Nou skrynkeþ 1350 heried. Moreover, the MED lists the two verbs under the headwords ferien and herien. All this does suggest that the levelling process we see in these two verbs in Ch and ModE, was underway in eME.

Note that the optional grammar retains stem alternation for both verbs, like so: herien herie herest heret` herien pr, herie herien sbj, here heriet` imp, heriende pr ptc, herede hereden pt ihered p ptc.

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assimilation of preterite forms in class 4 and class 5 strong verbs

The vowel of the preterite plural in OE class 4 and class 5 strong verb was a long version of its preterite sg1/3 counterpart. The vowel pairs were either <ae_> vs <ae> or <e_a> vs <ea>. (See the OE table below.) Where this distinction survives in eME, the difference becomes qualitative - <ae> /E`:/ vs <a> /a/. At the same time, these distinct vowel sounds are being merged.

This process is already evident in PC2: OE g`ae_fon, bae_ron, drae_pon, stae_lon > PC2 iafen/iauen, baren, drapen, stalen. However, there are counter-examples in PC2 - eten, undergaeton, braecon (note - the last is most likely subjunctive), in Orm - saey%h`enn (saw), and in Lmn - y`efven. Since support for this assimilation pattern isn't attested in Orm and is mixed even in Ch - beden/bade, beren/baren, ete(n), gatt, sete(n)/sate, speeke(n)/spake(n), yeve/yave(n), broke, the preterite forms of class 4 and class 5 strong verbs merge in the core eME grammar but diverge in the optional grammar.

In other words, the 2nd person singular and plural forms have a different stem vowel from that of the 1st and 3rd person singular forms - ae vs a in the optional grammar. In the core grammar, both preterite forms have the stem vowel a.

The process of assimilation can be followed in this series of tables:

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