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Old English Online

Lesson 1
Jonathan Slocum and Winfred P. Lehmann
Our selection is drawn from the major Old English poem Beowulf. It is the only
surviving heroic epic of its era, and the lone early manuscript dates from ca. 1000
A.D. The date of the poem's composition is uncertain, but probably lies in the 7th
or 8th century on the basis of its language. While the story in its legendary monster
aspects is not factual, it is considered quite reliable in its historical details, for
example concerning 6th century armor, weaponry, burial customs, and the names
of Germanic tribal leaders. Set in a factual background, it might almost be
considered historical fiction.
In the manuscript the work appears -- at first glance -- to be prose. However,
analysis quickly shows that it is composed in Germanic alliterative verse, where
[reconstructed] lines consist of two sections and have four major stresses, of which
the third is most important. They are marked by alliteration; the consonants must
be the same to alliterate, but the vowels may alliterate with one another as in lines

3, 6, and so on. The first half-line may have two alliterating syllables; the second
rarely does. The alliterating words are generally substantives. The final stress is
often filled by a verb, an indication that verbs were weakly stressed and that the
typical sentence intonation was like that of modern English.
Reading and Textual Analysis
Our selection consists of the first 25 lines. This section of the poem relates the
legendary arrival of Scyld as a baby on the Danish coast, where he grows up to
become king of the Danes. He had a son whose name is assumed on the basis of
metrical analysis to have been Beow, which was changed in the manuscript to
Beowulf in keeping with the name of the hero of the poem, who does not appear
until several hundred lines later; these lines deal with the Scyldings until the arrival
of the hero, who then frees them from the monster Grendel, thereafter from
Grendel's mother, and finally from a dragon who inflicts a mortal wound on
Beowulf. Much of the poem relates the situation at the court, with its celebration of
the death of monsters and Beowulf's recital of his adventures.
Our selection includes lines 1-25, found on pp. 1-2 in: Friedrich Klaeber, ed.
(1950), Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, 3rd edition, Boston: Heath. Our
translation, as generally in our lessons, is prose rather than poetry, and tends to be
literal.
HWT, W GR-DEna
odcyninga

in gardagum

rym gefrnon,

h elingas

ellen fremedon!

hwt -- interrogative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hw, hw,

hwt> who, what --Lo
w -- 1st person pronoun; nominative plural of <ic> I -- we
Gr-Dena -- proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of <g
r-Dene> spear-Danes -- of Spear-Danes
in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in

gardagum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <gar-dg> lit. year-day -- days

of yore
odcyninga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <od-cyning> lit.
people-king -- of folk-kings'
rym -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <rymm> glory,
renown -- prowness
gefrnon -- strong verb, class III; 1st person plural preterite of<gefrnan, gefrn,
gefrnon, gefrnen> learn, hear of -- have heard
h -- adverbial conjunction <h> how -- how
-- definite article; nominative plural of <se, so, t> the -- the
elingas -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <eling> nobleman,
prince --princes
ellen -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <ellen> valor, courage -- deed(s) of
valor
fremedon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <fremman,
fremede, fremed> do, perform -- wrought
Oft Scyld Scfing
monegum mgum
egsode eorlas,
fasceaft funden;

sceaena ratum,
meodosetla oftah,
syan rest wear

oft -- adverb <oft> often, frequently -- often

Scyld Scfing -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Scyld Sc
fing> Scyld Scefing-- Scyld Scefing
sceaena -- weak noun, masculine; genitive plural of <sceaa> enemy,
warrior -- of enemies
ratum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <rat> band, troop -- (from) bands
monegum -- adjective; dative plural feminine of <monig> many -- (from) many
mgum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <mg> tribe, nation -- tribes
meodosetla -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <medu-setl> lit.
mead-seat -- mead-benches
oftah -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of<ofton, oftah,
oftugon, oftogen> deny, deprive -- wrested
egsode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <egsian, egsode,
egsod> terrify-- terrified
eorlas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <eorl> earl, nobleman,
warrior -- earls
syan -- adverb <syan> afterwards -- since
rest -- adverb; superlative of <r> ere, before, formerly -- first

wear -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of<weoran, wear,
wurdon, worden> become, happen -- (he) was
fasceaft -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <fasceaft> poor,
destitute --abandoned # as a baby
funden -- strong verb, class III; past participle of <findan, fond, fundon,
funden> find -- found
h s frfre gebd,
wox under wolcnum

weormyndum h,

o t him ghwylc

ymbsittendra

ofer hronrde

hyran scolde,

gomban gyldan;
h -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <h, ho, hit> he, she,
it -- he
s -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <s, so,
t> that -- for that
frfre -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <frfor> relief, solace,
consolation -- consolation
gebd -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of<gebdan, gebd,
gebidon, gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain -- received

wox -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of<weaxan, wox, w
oxon, waxen> wax, grow -- (he) grew
under -- preposition <under> under -- under
wolcnum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <wolcen> sky, heaven -- the
heavens
weormyndum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <weormynd> glory, honor,
reverence --honors
h -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <on, h, igon,
igen> thrive, prosper -- won
o t -- adverbial conjunction <o t> until -- until
him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <h, ho, hit> he, she,
it -- him
ghwylc -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ghwilc> all,
every -- all
ymbsittendra -- strong verb, class V; present participle; genitive plural
of<ymbsittan, ymbst, ymbston, ymbseten> besiege, lit. sit round -- (of the)
peoples
ofer -- preposition <ofer> over, across -- across
hronrde -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hron-rd> sea, lit.
whale-road -- the sea

hyran -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <heran, herde, hered> hear, obey;
belong -- obey
scolde -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular preterite
indicative of<sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- had to
gomban -- weak noun, feminine; accusative singular
of <gombe> tribute -- tribute # "weak feminine" is speculative
gyldan -- strong verb, class III; infinitive of <gieldan, geald, guldon,
golden> yield, pay -- pay
t ws gd cyning!
t -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <s, so,
t> that -- that
ws -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be,
happen -- was
gd -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <gd> good, excellent -- (a)
good
cyning -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <cyning> king -- king
m eafera ws
geong in geardum,
folce t frfre;

fter cenned
one God sende

m -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine

of <s, so, t>he, she, it -- (to) him
eafera -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <eafora> son, heir -- a
child
ws -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be,
happen -- was
fter -- adverb <fter> after(wards), then -- then
cenned -- weak verb, class I; past participle of <cennan, cennede,
cenned> beget, conceive, bring forth -- born
geong -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <geong> young -- a young
(man)
in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in
geardum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <geard> yard, enclosure;
dwelling -- the court #singular in meaning
one -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine
of<s, so, t> he, she, it -- him
God -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <God> God, Deity -- God
sende -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <sendan, sende,
sened> send --sent

folce -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <folc> folk, people -- the people
t -- preposition <t> (in)to -- to
frfre -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <frfor> relief, solace,
consolation -- for solace
fyrenearfe ongeat,
he r drugon

aldorlase

lange hwle;
fyrenearfe -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <fyren-earf> dire
distress -- the dire distress
ongeat -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of<ongietan, ongeat,
ongaton, ongieten> grasp, understand -- (he) perceived
-- relative particle <e> that, which, who -- which # Klaeber reconstructs ""
where MS has only ""
he -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <h, ho, hit> he, she, it -- they
r -- adverb <r> ere, before, formerly -- before
drugon -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of <drogan, drag,
drugon, drogen>endure, suffer -- suffered
aldorlase -- noun, masculine <ealdor> elder, parent, prince + adjective;
nominative plural masculine <las> without, bereft of -- lordless

lange -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <lang> long -- (for a) long

hwle -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hwl> while, time -- time
him s Lffrea,
wuldres Wealdend

woroldre forgeaf,

him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <h, ho, hit> he, she,
it -- him
s -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <s, so,
t> that -- for that
Lffrea -- proper noun, weak masculine; nominative singular of <Lf-frea> lit.
Life-lord -- the Lord of Light
wuldres -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <wuldor> glory, praise -- of Glory
wealdend -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <wealdend> wielder, ruler,
lord -- the Wielder
woroldre -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <worold-r> worldly
honor -- world honor
forgeaf -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of<forgifan, forgeaf,
forgafon, forgiefen> give, grant -- gave
Bowulf ws brme
Scyldes eafera

bld wde sprang

Scedelandum in.

Bowulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Bo-wulf> bear, lit.

bee wolf --Beowulf # Danish king, son of Scyld Scefing: not the hero of this poem
ws -- anomalous verb; 1st person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be,
happen -- was
brme -- adjective; nominative singular of <brme> famous,
renowned -- renowned
bld -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <bld> blade, leaf -- the fame
wde -- adverb <wde> widely, far -- far
sprang -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of<springan, sprang,
sprungon, sprungen> spring, burst forth, spread -- spread
Scyldes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Scyld> Scyld -- (of)
Scyld's
eafera -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <eafora> son,
heir -- son # nominative (?) according to Klaeber
Scedelandum -- proper noun, neuter; dative plural of <Scedeland> Danish
land -- Danish lands
in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in
Sw sceal geong guma
fromum feohgiftum
t hine on ylde

gde gewyrcean,
on fder bearme,
eft gewunigen

wilgesas,

onne wg cume,

lode gelsten;
sw -- adverbial conjunction <sw> so, thus -- thus
sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present
indicative of<sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- should
geong -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <geong> young -- (a)
young
guma -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <guma> man, hero -- man
gde -- adjective; dative singular neuter of <gd> good, excellent -- good # (i.e.,
a good outcome)
gewyrcean -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <gewyrcan, geworhte,
geworht> perform, achieve, accomplish -- accomplish
fromum -- adjective; dative plural feminine of <from> bold, brave,
splendid -- (with) splendid
feohgiftum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <feoh-gift> money-, lit.
cattle-gift -- money-gifts
on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- (while) in
fder -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <fder> father -- (his) father's
bearme -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <bearm> bosom, lap -- bosom

t -- conjunction <t> so/in order that -- so that

hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <h, ho, hit> he,
she, it -- him
on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- ...
ylde -- indeclinable noun, masculine plural; nominative of <ylde> men -- men
eft -- adverb <eft> afterwards, thereupon -- afterwards
gewunigen -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present optative
of<gewunian, gewunode, gewunod> remain with, stand by -- stand by
wilgesas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <wilges> dear
companion -- dear companions
onne -- adverb <onne> then, when -- when
wg -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <wg> war, strife -- war
cume -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present optative of<cuman, cw
m, cwmon, cumen> come -- comes
lode -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <lod> person, member of
tribe -- the people #Klaeber, in error, reads 'np.' (nom.pl.)
gelsten -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural present optative of<gelstan,
gelste, gelset> serve, stand by -- to serve

lofddum sceal
in mga gehwre

man geeon.

lofddum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of <lof-dd> praiseworthy

deed -- (by) praiseworthy deeds
sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present
indicative of<sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- is sure to
in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in
mga -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <mg> tribe, nation -- (of the)
nations
gehwre -- pronoun; dative singular feminine of <gehw> each, everyone -- all
man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <monn> man, person -- (a)
man
geeon -- strong verb, class I; infinitive <geon, geh, geigon,
geigen> thrive, prosper --prosper
Lesson Text
HWT, W GR-DEna
odcyninga

in gardagum

rym gefrnon,

h elingas

ellen fremedon!

Oft Scyld Scfing

sceaena ratum,

monegum mgum
egsode eorlas,

meodosetla oftah,
syan rest wear

fasceaft funden;

h s frfre gebd,

wox under wolcnum

weormyndum h,

o t him ghwylc

ymbsittendra

ofer hronrde

hyran scolde,

gomban gyldan;

t ws gd cyning!

m eafera ws

fter cenned

geong in geardum,

one God sende

folce t frfre;

fyrenearfe ongeat,

he r drugon
lange hwle;

aldorlase
him s Lffrea,

wuldres Wealdend

woroldre forgeaf,

Bowulf ws brme
Scyldes eafera

bld wde sprang

Scedelandum in.

Sw sceal geong guma

fromum feohgiftum

on fder bearme,

t hine on ylde
wilgesas,

gde gewyrcean,

eft gewunigen
onne wg cume,

lode gelsten;
in mga gehwre

lofddum sceal
man geeon.

Translation
Lo, we have heard of Spear-Danes in days of yore, of folk-kings' prowness, how the
princes wrought deeds of valor.
Often Scyld Scefing wrested mead-benches from bands of enemies from many tribes
-- terrified earls -- since first he was found abandoned. (He received consolation for
that.) He grew under the heavens, thrived with honors until all peoples across the sea
had to obey: pay him tribute. That was a good king!
Then a child was born to him, a young man in the court; God sent him to the people
for solace. He perceived the dire distress which they suffered before, lordless for a
long time. For that the Lord of Light, the Wielder of Glory, gave him worldly honor.
Beowulf was renowned; the fame of Scyld's son spread far in Danish lands. Thus
should a young man accomplish good with splendid money-gifts while in his father's
bosom, so that afterwards men stand by him, dear companions to serve the people
when war comes. In all nations, a man is sure to prosper by praiseworthy deeds.
Grammar
1. The Alphabet and Sound System
As noted in the Series Introduction, spelling in Old English (OE) was never fully
standardized, but instead the "continental" sounds of the Latin alphabet determined
how words were spelled -- and this varied from one dialect and time to another.
Several letters were added to the Latin alphabet for sounds that were not covered
by it, but one of them (wynn) is generally replaced by Latin 'w' to avoid confusing
it with the look-alike thorn; further, modern editors have typically added long
marks (macrons) over vowels to distinguish their pronunciation from short vowels.
Regarding pronunciation, there are no "silent" letters in Old English.
Consonant
b
c

Pronunciation
like
like

b in 'boy'
c in 'cold'

like ch
'chin'
d

like

Comment/Environment

in

before a consonant, or with

guttural vowels;
when word-final after

depending on etymology.

d in 'did'
initially, finally, in

like

i, otherwise

f in 'fin'

ff/fs/ft, and

in strictly medial positions

except...

between vowels/voiced consonants

v in 'have'
like g in Ger.
like

l
m
n
p
q

r
s

ofer,sealfian).

'sagen'

with guttural vowels;

like

y in 'you'
like ch in Ger.

with palatal vowels.

'ach'

with guttural vowels;

like ch
'ich'
k

fre,

(e.g.,

in Ger.
with palatal vowels.

like

k in 'kite'

like

l in 'land'

rarely used; see

rarely used; see

m in 'man'
like n in
like

'night'

p in 'pin'
like q in
like

'queen'
like
trilled
'rueda'

r in Sp.
[or perhaps merely flapped?]

like s in
'rising'
like

s in 'sing'

like

t in 'toy'

single letter between vowels;

otherwise.

rarely distinguished in writing

like th
'that'

in

like th
'thorn'

in

like v
'viper'

from

rarely distinguished in writing

like

in

w in 'work'

from

rarely used; see

x in 'box'
like z in
like

'zephyr'

rarely used (usually

ts)

Some pairs of consonants (digraphs) have special pronunciation:

Digraph
cg
gg
ng
qu
sc

Pronunciation
like

j in 'just'

like

g in 'go'

like

ng in 'finger'

like

qu in 'quick' (but rarely used)

like

sh in 'ship' (but originally like sk)

like

th in 'thorn' (never voiced)

The vowels have continental values:

Vowel
a

Pronunciation
like

a in 'father'

like

aa in 'baah'

like

a in 'bat'

like

uy in 'buy'

like

e in 'bet'

like

a in 'hate'

like

i in 'bit'

like

ee in 'beet'

like

o in 'pot'

like

oa in 'boat'

like

u in 'put'

oo in 'boot'
early, like in Ger. 'fllen'; later,
like

the

and

early, like
y

the

and

i sounds merged

in Ger. 'fhlen'; later,

sounds merged

Diphthongs are generally pronounced as the first vowel followed quickly by the
second; for long diphthongs, lengthen the first vowel sound only.
2. Verb Inflection
Verbs are classed in two conjugations, weak and strong, in accordance with their
means of producing the preterite (i.e. past) tense. This is produced by addition of a
suffix -de (or -te) in weak verbs, e.g. here, herde 'hear, heard', or by internal
vowel change called ablaut in strong verbs, e.g.binde, band 'bind, bound'. There
are three classes of weak verbs, and seven classes of strong verbs; in addition there
are six classes of preterite-present verbs, based on strong verb classes 1-6 in the
present tense but incorporating weak verb suffixes in the preterite. These verb
classes will be detailed in this and successive lessons.
As in modern English, there is only an active inflection; passives are formed with
the auxiliaries bon'be', wesan 'be', and also with weoran 'become' plus the
infinitive. There are two tenses: presentand preterite; three
moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative, each with two
numbers:singular and plural; the plural in each mood has one form throughout,
except in the preterite subjunctive which may have two. There are also three
"nominal" forms: the gerund, present participle, and past participle.
N.B. A fourth mood, the optative, is occasionally noted in our glosses and other
reference works; it is quite similar to the subjunctive mood, and indicates a wish or
hope. But as the optative was in the process of being lost from Germanic languages
in general, and is seldom if ever categorically distinguished from subjunctive in

OE -- older texts often use the term "optative" exclusively, while newer texts often
use the term "subjunctive" exclusively -- it will be ignored as such in our verb
conjugations and discussion.
The present indicative and subjunctive as well as the present participle are given
here for the strong verb bindan 'bind, fetter', and the weak verb heran 'hear, obey'
from our text.
Present
Infinitive

Strong
bindan

Weak
'bind'

heran

'hear'

Indicative
1 Sg.
2 Sg.
3 Sg.
Pl.

binde

here

bindest/bintst

herst

binde/bint

her

binda

hera

binde

here

binden

heren

bindende

herende

Subjunctive
Sg.
Pl.

Participle

3. The Preterite System of Verbs

Verbs have preterite (past tense) forms in the indicative and the subjunctive. As is
clear from the examples below (again using bindan 'bind, fetter' and heran 'hear,
obey'), the number of potentialforms has been greatly reduced, especially in the
subjunctive.
Preterite
Indicative

Strong

Weak

band

1 Sg.
2 Sg.
3 Sg.
Pl.

'bound'

herde

bunde

herdest

band

herde

bunden

herdon

bunde

herde

bunden

herden

bunden

hered

'heard'

Subjunctive
Sg.
Pl.

Participle

4. The Anomalous Verb wesan

So-called anomalous verbs have forms that are not always morphologically
predictable (e.g., by adding inflectional suffixes), but are instead "suppletive," and
hence must be learned ('supplied') by rote. They are, accordingly, neither weak nor
strong. Modern English was, were provides a contemporary example of suppletion,
which is commonly observed among Indo-European languages for the most basic
verbs, pronouns, and a few other parts of speech.
Old English inherited from Proto-Germanic, its ancestral tongue, three
different anomalous verbs for 'to be', none of them exhibiting [in surviving texts] a
complete repertoire of forms. OE wesan (the infinitive) survives as a verb only in
the two modern English forms was, were, although a relic is also observed in the
word wassail, originally a salutation meaning 'be healthy'.
wesan 'be'

1 Sg.
2 Sg.

Preterite Indicative

Preterite Subjunctive

ws

wre

wre

'was'
'were'

wre

Imperative

wes

3 Sg.
Pl.

ws

wre

wron

wren

wesa

There are no present forms other than the participle wesende 'being'. As is often
true in OE, forms of wesan were subject to alternative spelling, which includes in
lesson 3 the 3rd person plural preterite indicative forms wran and wrun 'were'.
As in modern English, forms of the auxiliary wesan are used with the past
participle to produce passives. An example in our lesson text is ws cenned 'was
born' (Beowulf 12), where the past participle lacks the prefix ge-; examples in the
lesson 3 text are ws geseted 'was appointed' andws gedmed 'was deemed'.
N.B. Passives can also be made with the auxiliary weoran'become', cf. the use in
German of werden for the passive, as in Beowulf 6-7 wear ... funden 'was
found'.
The auxiliary wesan is also used as in modern English with the present participle
to indicate ongoing action, as in ws gongende 'was going' and sprecende
ws 'was speaking' (lesson 2).
5. Weak Verbs in Class I
As noted earlier, the weak preterite forms are produced by addition of the
suffix -de (or -te) -- akin to modern English 'lived' formed from the infinitive 'live'.
Here we begin to lay out full verb conjugations starting with Class I of the weak
verbs. We use the same verb heran 'hear' that was introduced above, and other
verbs with minor conjugational differences:

mtan 'meet' (see text in lesson 3) because, in a

devoiced context, t appears in place of d in the
preterite suffix;

werian 'wear' (also in lesson 3) because, for some

verbs, the stem includes a residual -i- in certain
forms;

fremman 'perform' (this lesson) because, in

certain forms like the infinitive, the final stem
consonant is geminated.

Barring certain verbs that are exceptional owing to their derivational history, the
same stem (e.g.,her-) is employed in every form of a weak verb, though possibly
with residual -i- or gemination. The suffixes are all standard for their person,
number, tense, mood, etc., with possible devoicing.

Class I

Normal

Devoice
d

eran

'he

tan

'mee

Residual -i-

werian

'we

Geminated

fremman

'perf

Infinitive

ar'

t'

ar'

orm'

Inflected Infi
n.

heranne

mtanne

werianne

fremmanne

Imperative
Sg.

here

mte

were

freme

Imperative
Pl.

hera

mta

weria

fremma

Pres. Partici
ple

herende

mtende

weriende

fremmende

Past Partici
ple

hered

mted

wered

fremed

herenne

mtenne

werenne

fremmenne

Gerund

Present Indicative
1 Sg.
2 Sg.
3 Sg.
Plural

Residual -i-

Normal

Devoiced

Geminated

here

mte

werie

fremme

herst

mtst

werest

fremest

her

mt

were

freme

hera

mta

weria

fremma

Residual -i
Present Subjunctiv
e
Singular
Plural
Preterite Indicative
1 Sg.
2 Sg.
3 Sg.
Plural
Preterite Subjunctive
Singular
Plural

Norma
l

Devoice
d

Geminate
d

here

mte

werie

fremme

heren

mten

werien

fremmen

Normal

Devoiced

Residual

Geminated

herde

mtte

werede

fremede

herdest

mttest

weredest

fremedest

herde

mtte

werede

fremede

herdon

mtton

weredon

fremedon

Normal

Devoiced

Residual

Geminated

herde

mtte

werede

fremede

herden

mtten

wereden

fremeden

The three "principal parts" of a weak verb are always its infinitive, its 1st/3rd
person preterite singular, and its past participle. From these three forms, one may
construct the complete conjugation.

A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Weak I verbs

found in our lesson texts
includes deem, greet, leave, name, seek, send, set, think, wend, and work.
N.B. While conjugation tables like the above often attempt to list "all possible"
forms of a verb, it is seldom the case that all such forms are attested in surviving
OE texts. Rather, the forms arereconstructed using rules that have been deduced
by [others] studying the verbs that are attested. Often, therefore, ignorance is being
obscured. It is also true that attested verb forms may demonstrate exceptions to the
rules: real languages are never so simple as linguists would have them be!

Last Updated: Tuesday, 13 May 2014, 11:07

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