A Gothic Grammar

§ 166. Each of two is renderd by ƕaþaruh; it occurs only in the dat. ƕaþarammêh (Skeir. 46), for the evidently incorrect ƕaþaramma (cp. Bernhardt's comment on this passage); – also with ain- prefixt (cp. § 165, n. 1): ainƕaþaruh, each one of two (only ainƕaþarammêh occurs; Skeir. 41).

CHAP. V. CONJUGATION

GENERAL REMARKS

§ 167. The Gothic verb has the following forms:

1. Two voices, Activ and Midl. The Activ Voice alone has preservd a great variety of forms. The Midl Voice is retaind in but a few forms of the prs. indicativ and optativ, which occur, however, very often. The midl forms hav a passiv meaning. Therefore the Midl Voice is also calld Passiv or Medio-Passiv Voice.

Note 1. The lost passiv forms ar supplied by the pp. along with the corresponding forms of waírþan or wisan; e. g., daupjada, he is baptized, but daupiþs was or warþ, he was baptized. Cp. Zs. fdph., 5, 409 et seq.

Note 2. The originally inchoativ verbs in -nan (§ 194) frequently hav a medial meaning (§ 194).

2. Two tenses, Present and Preterit (Perfect). The Preterit is the general tense for the past. The future is wanting; its place is mostly supplied by the present, seldom by means of auxiliary verbs (skulan, shal; haban, hav; duginnan, to begin).

3. Two complete moods, Indicativ and Optativ (also calld Subjunctiv). An Imperativ occurs only in the present; it has the second persons of all three numbers and a 1st pers. pl. – There ar but few instances of a 3d pers. sg. and pl. imper. This is uzually exprest by the 3d pers. opt. But also the 2nd and 1st pers. imp. ar frequently exprest by the opt.

4. Three numbers: Singular, Dual, and Plural. The 3d pers. du. is wanting.

5. The Present Infinitiv, the Present Participl with an activ meaning, and the Preterit Partic. with a passiv meaning.

§ 168. The Gothic verbs ar, from a Germanic point of view, divided according to the formation of the preterit in relation to the present into two chief classes:

I. Strong Verbs

The strong verbs do not form the preterit with an additional suffix, but by change of the radical vowel or by reduplication. Thus, we hav two subdivisions:

1. Ablaut Verbs. The preterit of these verbs is formd without reduplication. It differs from the present only by a regular change of the radical vowel, the so-calld ablaut (cp. § 29); e. g., binda, I bind, band, I bound.

2. Reduplicating Verbs. The prt. has reduplication, but no ablaut; e. g., halda, I hold, haíhald, I held.

3. Reduplicating Ablaut Verbs. A smaller number of verbs hav the prt. both with ablaut and reduplication; e. g., lêta, I let; laílôt, I let (prt.).

II. Weak Verbs

The weak verbs form the preterit by the addition of a suffix beginning with a dental consonant; e. g., nasja, I save, nasida, I saved. This suffixal element, -da, was formerly regarded as a form of the verb 'do' (Germanic dôn), wherefore the weak prt. was also calld 'compound preterit'.

The weak verbs (except a few) ar derivativ verbs. According to their formativ suffixes, which ar best preservd in the preterit forms, they ar divided into four classes: (1) Suffix i (in the present j): nasja, nasi-da. (2) Suffix ô: salbô, salbô-da. (3) Suffix ai (in the present in part obscured): haba, habai-da. (4) Suffix nô (in the present n): fullna, fullnô-da.

Note. The small number of verbs which can not be referd to the two chief classes must, according to this classification, be considerd 'irregular'.

I. STRONG VERBS

A. INFLECTION OF THE STRONG VERBS

§ 169. The inflection of the strong verbs (by means of personal endings) is the same in all three classes (§ 168). Therefore we first giv the paradims of inflection and then discuss the formation of the tense-stems (which is different in each class). As paradims may serv a reduplicating verb, haitan, to be calld, and two ablaut verbs, niman, to take, and biudan, to offer.

§ 170.

Note 1. biudan is subject to the rules for the final soft spirants (§ 79): imper. sg. biuþ, prt. bauþ (cp. § 374). Likewise giban, gif, gaf (cp. § 56).

Note 2. The termination of the 2nd pers. sg. prt. (-t) causes the change stated in the rule for consonants before dentals (§ 81). Final b of stems becums f: gaft (inf. giban); exampls for pt ar wanting: skôpt or skôft? (inf. skapjan); —g remains unchanged in magt (§ 66, n. 1), other exampls ar wanting; neither ar there any exampls for kt (wôkt or wôht? cp. § 58, n. 2); – dentals becum s: warst < waírþan, qast < qiþan (§ 71, n. 3), gastôst < standan, baust < biudan (§ 75, n. 1), bigast < gitan, haíhaist < haitan (§ 69, n. 2). – The extant 2nd pers. prt. of saísô (inf. saian) is saísôst. On account of the scarcity of exampls it is uncertain whether all stems ending in a vowel had -st. – The 2nd pers. prt. of rinnan is rant (§ 80).

Note 3. Only one strong verb is found (twice) in the 3d pers. sg. imper.: atsteigadan, καταβάτω; Mt. XXVII, 42. Mk. XV, 32 (cp. § 186, n. 1). The 3d pers. pl. may be givn with certainty according to the weak verb (§ 192, n. 1).

Note 4. The dual forms of the verb occur very seldom. The 1st pers. du. opt. prt., nêmeiwa, etc., which is only givn according to the corresponding form of the prs. nimaiwa, is not found at all. Also the 2nd pers. du. opt. prt. is but an inferd form according to the anomalous wileits (§ 205).

Note 5. Concerning the irregular formation of the present of sum strong verbs with j, s. § 206, n.

B. TENSE-FORMATION OF THE STRONG VERBS1. Ablaut Verbs

§ 171. The ablaut verbs form their tense-stems by a regular change of the radical vowel, the so-calld ablaut. The several ablaut-series and the conditions of their appearance wil be found givn in §§ 30-35. To each of these series belong ablaut verbs, and therefore six ablaut classes must be distinguisht. Each ablaut verb contains four ablaut vowels which appear in the formation of the verb in the following manner: (1) The first vowel belongs to the present and to what is connected with the present (prsp., inf., also medio-passiv). (2) The second vowel is that of the sg. prt. indic. (3) The third vowel appears in the du. and pl. prt. indic. and thruout the prt. opt. (4) The fourth vowel belongs to the pp.

In order to determin the inflection of a strong verb, it is customary to giv the following four forms (principal parts): (1) 1st pers. sg. prs. indic., or the prs. inf.; (2) 1st pers. sg. prt. indic.; (3) 1st pers. pl. prt. indic.; (4) the pp.

In the following we arrange the ablaut verbs according to their classes.

§ 172. Class I. Verbs of the first ablaut series: ei—ái—i (aí) (cp. § 30); e. g., greipa, graip, gripum, gripans, to gripe, seiz; i before h (ƕ) becums aí by breaking (§ 20): leiƕa, láiƕ, laíƕum, laíƕans, to lend.

Note 1. Like these inflect: deigan, to knead; steigan, to mount; gateihan, to show; þeihan, to thrive; þreihan, to throng; weihan, to fight; —beitan, to bite; dis-kreitan, to tear to pieces; ga-smeitan, to smear; -weitan (inweitan, to wurship; fraweitan, to punish); beidan, to wait; leiþan, to go; sneiþan, to cut; —weipan, to crown; dreiban, to drive; bi-leiban, to remain; sweiban, to cease; —reisan, to rize; skeinan, to shine; hneiwan, to decline, bow; speiwan, to spit.

Note 2. The n of keinan (OHG. kînan), to germinate, occurs only in the prs. stem (cp. § 206, b); the pp. is kijans (only in uskijanata; Lu. VIII, 6). The prt. *kai, *kijum, has been replaced by a weak prt. of the IV. weak conjugation (keinôda

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1

For the values of this sign according to 'Amended Spelling', s. 'Standard Dictionary', p. 568.