Verbs
At a glance
The key differences between Early Middle English (eME) and Modern English (ModE):
- eME has 4 different endings in the present tense: -e -est -eþ -en, e.g. ic aske, þú askest, hé/scé/it askeþ, hí asken;
- eME has 3 endings in the past tense of weak verbs: -e -est -en, e.g. ic/hé/scé/it askede, þú askedest, hí askeden;
- eME has more weak verbs which change their stem vowel in the past tense, than ModE;
- eME has more verbs in each of the 7 strong verb classes classes, than ModE;
- in eME, the first 3 eME strong verb classes have 2 different vowels in the stem of past tense forms, one shared by the 1st and 3rd person singular, e.g. ic/hé/scé/it sang, and another shared by the 2nd person singular and the plural, e.g. þú sunge, hí sungen;
- the eME present participle is -ende;
- in eME, the subjunctive mood affects 2nd and 3rd person singular forms in the present tense, 2nd person singular forms in the past tense of weak verbs, and 1st and 3rd person singular forms in the past tense of strong verbs;
- eME has a plural imperative form ending in -eþ;
- in eME, the future tense is indicated by context, not through willen or sculen;
- in eME, the perfect tense takes wesen rather than hafen with verbs of motion;
- in eME, some common irregular verbs (preterite-present) have meanings which differ from their ModE counterparts;
an introduction
The verb system in ModE is essentially the same as that in eME.
In ModE, most verbs can be divided into two groups - strong and weak. Strong verbs change their root vowel in the past tense, e.g. sing/sang/sung, while weak verbs add -(e)d or -t in the past tense, e.g. walk/walked and keep/kept. Note that within the weak group there are some verbs which change their root vowel in the past tense, e.g. teach/taught.
Outside the strong and weak groups, there is also a group of irregular verbs in which the past tense forms follow neither the strong nor weak pattern, e.g. am/was, go/went, can/could.
eME has all that. However eME has more strong verbs, and a few more weak verbs which change their stem vowel. eME also has and a few more verb endings within each of the groups.
Let's look first of all, at the three main groups of verbs - strong, weak and irregular, in eME, then move on to the few differences between eME and ModE verbs that are found in all groups.
weak verbs
The largest group of verbs, in both ModE and eME is the weak group. These add -(e)d or -t in the past tense, for example in ModE - walk/walked and keep/kept.
In the present tense, there are some differences between ModE and eME. In ModE, only the 3rd person singular of the present tense, has an ending: -s. Compare for example I ask with he asks. A similar contrast is found in eME: Ic aske vs hé askeþ. Note that the 3rd person singular ending in eME is -þ rather than -s. More importantly however, eME also has endings for the 2nd person singular, and for plurals: þú askest and wé asken.
Verb endings for the present tense are illustrated in the table below:
eME | ModE | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 sg | ic | hæl-e | I | heal |
2 sg | þú | hæl-est | thou | healest |
3 sg | hé/scé/it | hæl-eþ | he/she/it | heal-s |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | hæl-en | we/you/they | heal |
In the past tense of weak verbs, ed is added to the stem. This is true for both eME and ModE.
In eME, the endings which follow ed are similar to the present tense endings, except that the 3rd person singular form is identical to the 1st person. ModE of course, has no endings after ed, not even in the 3rd person.
eME | ModE | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 sg | ic | hæled-e | I | healed |
2 sg | þú | hæled-est | thou | healedest |
3 sg | hé/scé/it | hæled-e | he/she/it | healed |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | hæled-en | we/you/they | healed |
Weak verbs which change their stem vowel in the past tense
ModE has a small number of weak verbs in which the past tense isn't formed by simply adding -(e)d or -t. These have an internal vowel change as well.
There are two such groups in ModE. The first has an ending in -ght: teach - taught, seek - sought, think - thought, bring - brought, buy - bought 1. The second has an ending in in -old: sell - sold, tell - told.
eME had these same two groups of irregular weak verbs, but they were slightly larger.
Below you will find a series of tables containing all the eME weak verbs which belong to these two groups, together with their ModE equivalents.
Regarding all tables, note:
- the eME past tense forms provided in the tables below, are 1st and 3rd person singular
- eME past tense forms which differ from their ModE counterparts are highlighted in yellow
- eME verbs which didn't survive to ModE are also highlighted in yellow
-ht
In eME, past tense forms in this group can have one of three vowels preceding -ht: a, o or u. In ModE only the -aht and -oht forms have survived, as -aught and -ought:
eME infinitive | eME preterite | ModE infinitive | ModE preterite |
---|---|---|---|
past tense in -aht | |||
cweccen | cwahte | [quake] | [quaked] |
dreccen | drahte | - (irritate) | - |
reccen | rahte | - (narrate) | - |
streccen | strahte | stretch | stretched |
þeccen | þahte | thatch | thatched |
weccen | wahte | [wake] | [waked] |
haccen | hahte | hatch | hatched |
laccen | lahte | latch | latched |
bepæcen | bepahte | - (deceive) | - |
ræcen | rahte | reach | reached |
tæcen | tahte | teach | taught |
past tense in -oht | |||
recken | rohte | [reck-less] | - |
sécen | sohte | seek | sought |
þencen | þohte | think | thought |
bringen | brohte | bring | brought |
biᵹen | bohte | buy | bought |
wircen | wrohte | work | wrought/worked |
past tense in -uht | |||
þinken | þuhte | [me thinks] | - |
-ld
These behave similarly in eME and in ModE. In the present tense, the root vowel is short - e and the consonant - l, is doubled. In the past tense the root vowel is long and changes - á (in ModE - o). The e of the past tense suffix is elided and the double l, is reduced to a single.
The group is slightly larger in eME than in ModE.
eME infinitive | eME preterite | ModE infinitive | ModE preterite |
---|---|---|---|
cwellen | cwálde | quell | quelled |
dwellen | dwálde | dwell | dwelled |
sellen | sálde | sell | sold |
stellen | stálde | - (put, place) | - |
tellen | tálde | tell | told |
elision of -e in -ed
The e in the weak past tense marker -ed-, may be dropped. In eME sources, e is often dropped after stems ending in d, f, l, m, n and r.
Hence bræden, hafen, dælen, démen, wénen, héren > brædde, hafde, dælde, démde, wénde, hérde.
NB - dropping the e is optional. Thus both hælede and hælde are acceptable. For most verbs with stems ending in d, f, l, m, n, the MED has examples of past tense forms with and without e.
Note that in ModE, the e is often silent, even if it appears in the spelling, e.g. healed, deemed. Only rarely is it dropped in the spelling as well, e.g. heard.
-ed becomes -t
When e is dropped from the weak past tense marker, the remaining -d becomes -t after certain consonants: c, p, t, x. Examples are cwencen/cwencte, gréten/grétte.
eME infinitive | eME preterite | eME past participle | ModE infinitive | ModE preterite & past participle |
---|---|---|---|---|
gréten | grétte 5 | igréted | greet | greeted |
In this group, verbs which have an infinitive in -encen, and a past tense in -enct-, merit special attention.
Take for example - cwencen/cwencte. Note the different quality of the final c in the eME stem. In the infinitive and present tense forms it is palatalised, e.g. /kwentʃən/, while in the past tense, it is not, e.g. /kweŋktə/.
Here is a table of all the verbs which displayed a past tense form in -enct-, in eME sources. Many of these verbs no longer exist in ModE. Those that did survive, form their past tense with -ed.
eME infinitive | eME preterite | eME past participle | ModE infinitive | ModE preterite & past participle |
---|---|---|---|---|
cwencen | cwencte | icwenced | quench | quenched |
drencen | drencte | idrenced | drench | drenched |
scencen | scencte | iscenced | - (pour out) | - |
sencen | sencte | isenced | - (plunge) | - |
screncen | screncte | iscrenced | - (shrivel) | - |
swencen | swencte | iswenced | - (oppress) | - |
wrencen | wrencte | iwrenced | wrench | wrenched |
-ett
Note that if the stem ends in -ett, a third -t is not added. The past tense ending -t is effectively absorbed. The eME past participle has a single final <t>, as in ModE.
All verbs in -etten follow this pattern:
eME infinitive | eME preterite | eME past participle | ModE infinitive | ModE preterite & past participle |
---|---|---|---|---|
setten | sette | iset | set | set |
letten | lette | ilet | let | let |
like ModE - shortened stem vowel and elision of -(e)d
So far, in our dealings with weak verbs, we have seen examples of eME verbs which behave differently to their ModE counterparts. From this point on, there is no divergence. A shortened vowel and elision of the past tense ending is only reflected in eME verbs for which the ModE counterpart also has a shortened vowel or elided past tense ending.
This affects a small group of weak verbs with stems which end in one of the following: éd, æd, ép, ét, end.
Note that this doesn't affect all eME verbs with the stem endings listed above. The rule is simple - ModE is the guide. Where a ModE reflex of an OE past tense form has a shortened vowel, the eME reflex also has a shortened vowel. The same applies to the elision of -(e)d in the past tense form or the past participle. All the affected verbs are listed below. There are minor differences between eME and ModE forms.
shortened vowel
-éd and -æd > -ed
ModE has a small number of weak verbs in which the past tense forms (preterite and past participle) have a shortened vowel. The past tense ending -(e)d is also elided: bleed - bled, breed - bred, feed - fed, speed - sped and lead - lead 4.
In eME, this shortened vowel occurs in the same verbs 4. However, while (e)d is dropped in the past participle, the preterite forms add -de (or -dest or -den):
eME infinitive | eME preterite | eME past participle | ModE infinitive | ModE preterite & past participle |
---|---|---|---|---|
bléden | bledde | ibled | bleed | bled |
bréden | bredde | ibred | breed | bred |
féden | fedde | ifed | feed | fed |
spéden | spedde | isped | speed | sped |
læden | ledde | iled | lead | led 4 |
-ép > -ep
Again, these behave the same way in eME as in ModE. In the present tense, the root vowel is long. In the past tense the root vowel is short. The e of the past tense suffix is elided and the d, in contact with p, becomes t (see above).
eME infinitive | eME preterite | eME past participle | ModE infinitive | ModE preterite & past participle |
---|---|---|---|---|
képen | kepte | ikept | keep | kept |
slépen | slepte 2 | islept | sleep | slept |
-ét > -et
As above, In the present tense, the root vowel is long, but in the past tense the root vowel is short. The e of the past tense suffix is elided and the d, in contact with t, becomes t. In the past participle the final tt is reduced to single consonant. (See also setten above.)
eME infinitive | eME preterite | eME past participle | ModE infinitive | ModE preterite & past participle |
---|---|---|---|---|
méten | mette | imet | meet | met |
elision of -(e)d
-end
In contrast to ModE, final <d> does not become <t>.
eME infinitive | eME preterite | eME past participle | ModE infinitive | ModE preterite & past participle |
---|---|---|---|---|
senden | sende | isend | send | sent |
benden | bende | ibend | bend | bent |
wenden | wende | iwend | wend | went |
a <dd> exception
The following verb has similar past forms to its ModE counterpart. However it is unusual in that the <dd> in the preterite suggests a dental at the end of the present tense stem, which isn't the case:
s2 eME flén inf, flé flést fléþ pr, fledde ifled6 (> ModE flee fled)
- ModE also has catch - caught, but this is not found in OE, Orm or PC2; it was borrowed from AN cachier early in the 13th century; the MED entry cacchen (cahte), has quotations from i.a. Lmn, AW and Ch;
- eME slépen also has the strong preterite form slép, which is more usual;
- græden héden néden wéden bræden dræden also have stems ending in æd or éd, but in ModE, either there is no reflex of the verb, or -ed is added without a change in vowel in the preterite; Orm has examples of short vowels for some of these, e.g. - dredde, but corroboration in PC2 and secondary eME sources is either lacking or inconclusive; in any case, when the Principle 4 is applied to a group, the ModE form becomes a decisive factor; if ModE doesn't support a particular variation, then the OE form is retained; for these reasons, the vowel remains unchanged - and long, as it is in OE, in the eME preterite forms;
- /li:d/ vs /lɛd/, together with simple 'e' in the spelling; note - ræden and spræden are similar to læden in that the ModE preterite and past participle are pronounced with a short vowel; however there is a difference: the ModE preterite and past participle do not have a simple <e> in their spelling; the user can choose between forms with long vowels, i.e. - rædde iræd and sprædde ispræd or forms with short vowels (presented in optional grammar); note also the apparent long vowels in Lmn rædde rædden and AW readde readden;
- or grette to match mette from méten; Lmn and Ch i.a. have grette;
- reflex of OE flēon which was a strong contracted class 5 verb with past forms identical to those of OE flēogan;
strong verbs
The key difference between strong and weak verbs is that in the past tense, neither d nor t is added. And the root vowel of a strong verb always changes. Sometimes there is a separate vowel change in the past participle. So, you sing today but you sang yesterday and you have sung often. And I grow vs I grew and I have grown.
That vowel change doesn't follow a single pattern. eME has seven strong verb classes classes. In ModE, four of these are well represented. Scores of common ModE verbs belong to these classes and display the same root vowel change in the past tense, as their eME counterparts.
Three of the eME strong verb classes are only partially represented in ModE. Most of their verbs (if not all) have either become 'weak', i.e. in ModE they form their past tense by adding -ed, or have not survived.
Beyond the reduced number of strong classes and verbs, there are three main points of difference between ModE and eME:
- In the first three classes, the singular and plural have different past-tense stems - ic rád, wé riden, ic sang, wé sungen; in ModE, singular and plural have the same past-tense stem I rode, we rode, I sang, we sang;
- The second person past tense form is the same as the plural form, but without the final n; - e.g. þú ride - you rode, þú sunge1 - you sang
- The ModE past tense form is generally based on the eME singular past tense form, e.g. I sang, we sang where eME has ic sang, wé sungen; however there are exceptions, such as I found, we found, where eME has ic fánd, wé fúnden;
- the distinction between 1st (and 3rd) person and 2nd person singular forms, lasts at least until Ch which has pt sg2 songe;
Present-tense endings in strong verbs are identical to those in weak verbs. These verb endings are illustrated in the table below:
eME | ModE | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 sg | ic | sing-e | I | sing |
2 sg | þú | sing-est | thou | singest |
3 sg | hé/scé/it | sing-eþ | he/she/it | sing-s |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | sing-en | we/you/they | sing |
Past-tense endings in strong verbs differ somewhat from those in weak verbs. The 1st and 3rd person forms are identical to ModE, while the 2nd person and plural forms display a vowel change. These verb endings are illustrated in the table below:
eME | ModE | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 sg | ic | sang | I | sang |
2 sg | þú | sunge | thou | sangest |
3 sg | hé/scé/it | sang | he/she/it | sang |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | sungen | we/you/they | sang |
the 7 strong verb classes
Where strong and weak verbs differ, is in the past tense. That is as true for ModE as it is for eME.
ModE and eME have seven classes of strong verbs, each with a different set of past-tense endings. Some of these strong verbs have shifted over to the weak group in ModE, with past endings in <-ed> or <t>. Note that in classes 2 and 4, the vowel of the past participle has bled into the preterite in ModE.
Below is a table which gives an example from each of eME's 7 strong verb classes as well as the corresponding ModE forms. Those ModE preterites in which the vowel has merged with the past participle, have been highlighted.
eME | ModE | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
class | infinitive | past sg1/3 | past pl | past part. | inf. | past | past part. |
1 | ríden | rád | riden | iriden | ride | rode | ridden |
2 | cléfen | clæf | clufen | iclofen | cleave1 | clove2 | cloven3 |
3 | singen | sang | sungen | isungen | sing | sang | sung |
4 | stelen | stal | stalen | istolen | steal | stole1 | stolen |
5 | ᵹefen | ᵹaf | ᵹafen | iᵹefen | give1 | gave | given1 |
6 | scaken | scók | scóken | iscaken | shake | shook | shaken |
7 | fallen | féll4 | féllen | ifallen | fall | fell | fallen |
- vowel spelling or sound doesn't follow expected eME to ModE development;
- also cleft, cleaved w and clave arch.;
- now usually an adjective; also cleft w pt/p ptc; cp cloven hoof but cleft palate;
- also fell fellen - additional eME forms via Orm felle sbj pr (pre-1250) and ModE fell;
contracted strong verbs
Three strong verbs depart slightly from the expected pattern in eME. These are without a consonant at the end of the stem in the present tense. These verbs, in the primitive OE stage, had an <h> at the end of the stem which has since dropped out, lengthening the preceding vowel1. These three verbs, which have survived to ModE, appear in the core eME grammar like so:
- s5 eME sén inf, sé sést séþ sén pr, sah sagen isegen (> ModE see saw seen)
- s6 eME slæn inf, slæ slæst slæþ slæn pr, slóh slógen islagen (> ModE slay slew slain)
- similarly: flæn (> ModE flay flayed)
- a further dozen or so strong contracted verbs appear in the optional eME grammar.
irregular verbs
In eME, it's useful to distinguish between preterite-present and anomalous verbs. In ModE, both these categories are usually lumped together as "irregular" verbs.
preterite-present verbs
The preterite-present verbs are so called, because the present tense forms resemble the past tense forms of strong verbs. This is still the case in the ModE counterparts of these verbs. Think of I can and he can, as opposed to I ask and he asks. The 1st and 3rd person forms are identical. The same is true for he may, he shall and he must.
In eME there is a further difference - the vowel of the 1st and 3rd person singular present tense forms, differs from the root vowel of the infinitive and plural present tense form. This is another feature of the past tense in strong verbs. Take for example - ic can vs wé cunnen.
A few very common eME irregular verbs have somewhat different meanings to their counterparts (reflexes) in ModE. In fact, a rather neat shift in meaning has taken place between the first 4 verbs listed below: cunnen means 'know how to' rather than 'can', mugen means 'can' rather than 'may', moten means 'may' rather than 'must', and sculen means 'must', rather than 'will (in future)'.
12 | know how1 | can2 | may3 | must4 | know6 | dare | need | avail11 | own |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
inf | cunnen | mugen | móten | sculen | witen | durren | þurfen | dugen | agen |
pr ptc | cunnende | mug~ ende | mót~ ende | scul~ ende | wit~ ende | - | þarf~ ende | dug~ ende | - |
p ptc | - | - | - | - | iwiten | - | - | - | agen |
present | |||||||||
sg1 | can | maᵹ | mót | scal | wát | dar | þarf | dæh | áh |
sg2 | canst | miht | most | scalt5 | wást | darst | þarft | - | áhst |
sg3 | can | maᵹ | mót | scal | wát7 | dar | þarf | dæh | áh |
pl | cunnen | mugen | móten | sculen | witen | durren | þurfen | dugen | agen |
past | |||||||||
sg1 | cúþe9 | mihte | moste10 | sculde | wiste | durste | þurfte | dohte | áhte |
sg2 | cúþest | mihtest | mostest | sculdest | wistest | durstest | þurftest | dohtest | áhtest |
sg3 | cúþe | mihte | moste | sculde | wiste | durste | þurfte | dohte | áhte |
pl | cúþen | mihten | mosten | sculden | wisten | dursten | þurften | dohten | áhten |
- the sense of 'know how' is preserved in ModE canny, cunning, and the related ken, as in beyond my ken;
- or to be able to; eME Ic maᵹ = ModE I am able to;
- or to be allowed to; eME Ic mót = ModE I am allowed to;
- or to be obliged to; eME Ic scal = ModE I am obliged to;
- the sense of 'must' (obligation) is preserved in the 10 Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount in the King James version of the Bible: Thou shalt not kill etc
- the sense of 'know' survives in ModE to wit (namely, to know), wits (mental faculties, as in keep your wits about you), witless and nitwit i.a.;
- wát > wot (knows), which can be found in the King James version of the Bible: Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias?
- OE ġemunen (to remember) was preterite-present; its eME counterpart - (i)munen, appears to have become a weak verb; the only surviving example of a 3rd person singular present form in eME, is imynæð where OE had ġeman;
- eME cuþe became ModE could, first by the replacement of þ with d and then the insertion of l, under the influence of would;
- note that as well as the shift in meaning (see paragraph above), the preterite form (and 2nd person singular present) - most, has been generalised throughout the present tense en ModE; must now has no distinct past tense and we resort instead to had to or was obliged to;
- or to be useful (worthy); eME þat þing dæh = ModE that thing is useful;
- 1st - ic, 2nd - þú, 3rd - hé/scé/it, pl - wé/ᵹé/hí
anomalous verbs
It's interesting that willen is usually branded as 'anomalous' when it closely resembles sculen (see table above). It has that characteristic feature of the preterite-present verbs, - identical forms for 1st and 3rd person singular. Note also that willen means 'want'. It is not used to indicate a future action. So, Ic wille gán means I want to go, not I will go.
ModE | do | go | want | be | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
inf | dón | gán | willen | wesen | |
pr ptc | dónde | gángende | willende | wesende | |
p ptc | - | - | - | - | |
present | |||||
sg1 | ic | dó | gá | wille | am |
sg2 | þú | dóst | gást | wilt | art |
sg3 | hé/scé/it | dóþ | gáþ | wille | is |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | dón | gán | willen | aren / sind(en) |
past | |||||
sg1 | ic | dide | ᵹéde | wolde | was |
sg2 | þú | didest | ᵹédest | woldest | wære |
sg3 | hé/scé/it | dide | ᵹéde | wolde | was |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | diden | ᵹéden | wolden | wæren |
all verbs - beyond present and past
infinitive - present participle - imperative and subjunctive moods - future tense
This section looks at differences between eME and ModE across all three verb groups - weak, strong and irregular.
Infinitive
In ModE the infinitive is simply the combination of to and the verb in question, e.g. - to sing, to heal, to be. The equivalent in eME is -en added to the end of the verb, e.g. - singen, hælen, bén.
So, ModE I like to sing and you want to be become mé líketh singen and þú wilt bén in eME.
Present participle
The eME present participle, corresponding to ModE -ing, is -ende.
Examples are askende hælende singende.
Note that in eME, participles can be used as adjectives or adverbs, but not as nouns. So note the eME equivalents of these ModE phrases:
- the singing nun = þe singende minecen (adjective);
- singing softly, she approached us = singende softe, scé géng onᵹæn us (adverb);
- his singing is terrible = his singing is atel (noun);
Subjunctive forms
Unfamiliar with the term? Get a brief description »
In Modern English, the subjunctive generally only affects the form of the 3rd person singular. But in Early Middle English it affects the 2nd person singular form as well. So we get:
- Þe king bédeþ þat þú singe for him - The king commands that you sing for him or The king commands you to sing for him
- Ic wille þat þú wite - I want you to know
Note the form of the 2nd person singular verb - singe, not singest. All three singular subjunctive forms end in -e. The plural subjunctive forms end in -en, which is the same as the indicative. In irregular verbs, the stem for the present subjunctive, both singular and plural, is generally the plural stem, e.g. cunn~e ~en, scul~e ~en, mug~e ~en and bé ~n.
Note also that the ModE construction I command/want/need person X to do something is rendered as I béde/wille/þarf þat man X dó oht, where the verb represented here by dó, is in the subjunctive.
The other difference is that eME has a past subjunctive. There are only two different past subjunctive forms in any given verb - one for singular and one for plural. In weak verbs, the past subjunctive singular form is identical to the past indicative 1st and 3rd person form. In strong verbs, on the other hand, the past subjunctive singular form is identical to the past indicative 2nd person form.
Perhaps a simpler way to think of it is this: the stem for the subjunctive, both past and present, in all verbs, is the plural stem, e.g. cuþ~e ~en, sculd~e ~en, miht~e ~en, wær~e ~en, hæled~e ~en and sung~e ~en.
In The following table, hælen is a weak verb, while singen is a strong verb.
eME | ModE | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
weak | strong | weak | strong | |||
present tense | ||||||
sg | ic/þú/hé/scé/it | hæle | singe | I/thou/he/she/it | heal | sing |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | hælen | singen | we/you/they | heal | sing |
past tense | ||||||
sg | ic/þú/hé/scé/it | hælede | sunge | I/thou/he/she/it | heal | sing |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | hæleden | sungen | we/you/they | heal | sing |
subjunctive forms are based on the plural stem
That principle is clearly illustrated in the following table. The only exception - síe and síen from wesen (to be), is highlighted.
Note - subjunctive forms are in bold type:
present tense | past tense | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
indicative | subjunctive | indicative | subjunctive | |||
pr sg1/3 | pr pl | pr sg | pr pl | pt pl | pt sg | pt pl |
pr sg1/3 | pr pl | sbj pr sg | sbj pr pl | pt pl | sbj pt sg | sbj pt pl |
preterite-present verbs | ||||||
can | cunnen | cunne | cunnen | cúþen | cúþe | cúþen |
maᵹ | mugen | muge | mugen | mihten | mihte | mihten |
mót | móten | móte | móten | mosten | moste | mosten |
scal | sculen | scule | sculen | sculden | sculde | sculden |
wát | witen | wite | witen | wisten | wiste | wisten |
dar | durren | durre | durren | dursten | durste | dursten |
þarf | þurfen | þurfe | þurfen | þurften | þurfte | þurften |
dæh | dugen | duge | dugen | dohten | dohte | dohten |
áh | agen | age | agen | áhten | áhte | áhten |
anomalous verbs | ||||||
dó | dón | dó | dón | diden | dide | diden |
gá | gán | gá | gán | ᵹéden | ᵹéde | ᵹéden |
wille | willen | wille | willen | wolden | wolde | wolden |
am | aren | síe | síen | wæren | wære | wæren |
Note also that the subjunctive is used more often in eME than in ModE. That's because an infinitive construction has replaced some previous uses of the subjunctive. For example, we would say "I order you to stand down", where eME has only the equivalent of "I order that you stand down".
imperative plural
ModE has only one form for the imperative mood in each verb. It's identical to the 1st person (and most common) form. Examples are: Move! Look! Go! eME has this ending-less form for the singular as well as an -eþ ending for the plural.
- Stir! Beháld! Gá! (þú)
- Stireþ! Beháldeþ! Gáþ! (ᵹé)
no future tense
There is no future tense in eME. The forms of the verb do not change to indicate a future action or state. That's true for ModE as well. However, neither are willen and sculen used to indicate a future action or state, as will and shall are in ModE.
Instead, it is context which indicates that an action takes place in the future, in eME. Often, this will involve a temporal adverb or adverbial phrase like 'tomorrow' or 'soon' or 'in the coming days'. But sometimes, the present tense alone is enough.
- Ic gá tó Wintencester (sóne) = I'll go to Winchester
- Ic gá tómorgen = I'll go tomorrow
perfect tense with verbs of motion
The perfect tense, bringing past completed action up to the present, e.g. ModE I have done it, is regularly used in eME, as it is in ModE. For example, we have several examples from AW:
- þe feader hwen he haveð inoh ibeaten his child,.. warpeþ the gerde i þe fur (has beaten)
- Ase ofte a ȝe habbeð ired eawiht her on, greteð þe leafdi wið an Ave (have read)
However there is a difference in eME: verbs of motion like cumen and gán use the auxiliary wesen am, is etc rather than hafen hafe, hafeþ etc. The same applies to changes of state. Hence:
- sumer is icumen in (summer has arrived)
- To Winchester he is ycome SO; (he has arrived at Winchester)
- he is nu suþe acoled Owl; (he has now cooled off)
- hé is hunte iworþen (he has become a hunter)
putting it all together
an overview of verb endings in eME and ModE
Points of difference are indicated in italics.
hælen is a weak verb. singen is strong.
eME | ModE | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
weak | strong | weak | strong | |||
inf | hælen | singen | to heal | to sing | ||
pr ptc | hælende | singende | healing | singing | ||
p ptc | ihæled | isungen | healed | sung | ||
indicative present | ||||||
sg1 | ic | hæle | singe | I | heal | sing |
sg2 | þú | hælest | singest | thou | healest1 | singest1 |
sg3 | hé/scé/it | hæleþ | singeþ | he/she/it | heals | sings |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | hælen | singen | we/you/they | heal | sing |
indicative past | ||||||
sg1 | ic | hælede | sang | I | healed | sang |
sg2 | þú | hæledest | sunge | thou | healedest1 | sangest1 |
sg3 | hé/scé/it | hælede | sang | he/she/it | healed | sang |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | hæleden | sungen | we/you/they | healed | sang |
subjunctive present | ||||||
sg1 | ic | hæle | singe | I | heal | sing |
sg2 | þú | hæle | singe | thou | heal | sing |
sg3 | hé/scé/it | hæle | singe | he/she/it | heal | sing |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | hælen | singen | we/you/they | heal | sing |
subjunctive past | ||||||
sg1 | ic | hælede | sunge | I | heal | sing |
sg2 | þú | hælede | sunge | thou | heal | sing |
sg3 | hé/scé/it | hælede | sunge | he/she/it | heal | sing |
pl | wé/ᵹé/hí | hæleden | sungen | we/you/they | heal | sing |
imperative | ||||||
sg | Hæl! | Sing! | Heal! | Sing! | ||
pl | Hæleþ! | Singeþ! | Heal! | Sing! |
- The second and third person forms in -est and -eth can be found in Shakespeare and in the King James Bible;
plural | -en | ||
---|---|---|---|
1st | 2nd | 3rd | |
singular present | -e | -est | -eþ |
singular past, weak | -e | -est | -e |
singular past, strong | - | -e | - |
See also optional grammatical variations.