12. Categories of verb in Old Germ.L.

Verbhad such categories:

• voice (active, passive)

• mood: indicative (denotes a statement), imperative (commands, was used only in present of active voice), subjunctive (2 functions – grammatical & semantic)

• tense (present, preterite)

• number (singular, plural, dual)

• person (1, 2, 3)

There are two voices in Germanic, active and passive. When the verbs is in the active voice, the subject of the sentence is in some sense the agent of the action, or the doer of the action. On the other hand, when the verb is inflected for passive, the subject of the verb is seen as the patient, or undergoer of the action. For example, the Gothic verb bairan “to carry”. When it is inflected actively, as in bairiþ “(he) carries”, the subject is seen as carrying something. When it is inflected passively, as in bairada “(he) is carried”. Note that in Present-day English the passive is build up according to the formula ‘be (auxiliary verb)+ past participle. In GL it is periphrastic.

The category of mood is represented by the indicative denoting a statement; the imperative – command, and the subjunctive – a wish or an unreal statement.

The older Germanic languages really have only two tenses, namely present and preterite (or past). The present is commonly used to render a future meaning, and the preterite is also used to express past participle, as in Modern English “I had run”.

Numberin the Germanic verb is governed by the subject. Thus, when the subject is singular, the verb is inflected for the singular; when the subject is in the plural, the verb is also. In the first and second persons, there is also a dual inflection of the verb, which is used when the subject is understood to consist of two people.

Person, too, is a verbal category governed by the subject. Thus we find in the Germanic verb the categories of first, second, and third persons, equivalent to Present-day English forms appearing with ‘I’, ‘you’, and ‘he’, ‘she’, or ‘it’.

13. Strong verbs n Gothic.

Strong verbsform their preterite by ablaut (nima ‘I take’, nam ‘I took’) or simply by reduplication (háita, ‘I call’, haíháit ‘I called’), or else by ablaut and reduplication combined (tēka ‘I touch, taítōk ‘I touched’). The strong verbs are subdivided into two classes: non-reduplicated and reduplicated verbs. The non-reduplicated verbs are divided into six classes according to the first six ablaut classes given in the previous lecture. The reduplicated verbs, which form their preterite by ablaut and reduplication combined belong to the seventh class.

A. Non-reduplicated strong verbs in Gothic.

Class 1. Ablaut grades i: - ai – i – i
	Infinitive	Pret. Single	Pret. Plural	Past Participle
Gothic	beidan “await”	báiþ	bidum	bidans
OE	Bīdan	Bād	bidon	biden
OHG	Bītan	beit	bitun	gibitan

To this class belong: beitan “to bite”, dreiban “to drive’, greipan “to seize”, weihan “to fight”, bi-leiban “to remain”; ga-smeitan “ to smear”, steigan “to ascend’ etc.

Class II. Ablaut grades iu – au – u – u
	Infinitive	Pret. Single	Pret. Plural	Past Participle
Gothic	-biudan “to bid”	-báuþ	-budum	-budans
OE	Bēodan	Bead	budon	boden
OHG	Biotan	Bōt	butun	gibotan

Here belong: biugan “to bend”; driugan “to serve as a soldier”; giutan “to pour”; kiusan “to test’, liusan “to lose” etc.

Class III. Ablaut grades i – a – u – u
	Infinitive	Pret. Single	Pret. Plural	Past Participle
Gothic	hilpan “to help”	Halp	hulpum	hulpans
OE	Helpan	healp	hulpon	Holpen
OHG	Helfan	Half	hulfun	giholfan

To this class belong all strong verbs having a medial nasal or liquid + a consonant, and a few others in which the vowel is followed by two consonants other than nasal or liquid + consonant. For example, baírgan “to keep”, bliggwan “to beat”, brinnan “to butrn”; hwaírban “to walk”, swiltan “to die” etc.

Class IV. Ablaut grades i – a – ē – u
	Infinitive	Pret. Single	Pret. Plural	Past Participle
Gothic	niman “to take”	nam	nēmum	Numans
OE	beran to “bear”	bær	bæron	boren
OHG	Beran	bar	bārun	giboran

To this class belong strong verbs whose stems end in a single nasal or liquid, and a few others. For example, brikan “to break”, qiman “to come” stilan “to steal”, ga-timan “to suit” etc.

Class V. Ablaut grades i– a – ē – i
	Infinitive	Pret. Single	Pret. Plural	Past Participle
Gothic	mitan “to measure”	mat	mētum	mitans
OE	Metan	mæt	mæton	Meten
OHG	Mezzan	maz	māzzun	gimezzan

To this class belong strong verbs having i (aí) in the infinitive, and whose stems end in a single consonant other than a liquid or a nasal: bidjan “to pray”, itan “to eat”, ligan “to lie down” etc.

Class VI. Ablaut grades a – ō – ō – a
	Infinitive	Pret. Single	Pret. Plural	Past Participle
Gothic	faran “to go”	fōr	fōrum	farans
OE	Faran	fōr	fōron	færen
OHG	Faran	fuor	fuorun	gifaran

To this class belong: alan “to grow”, ga-daban “to beseem”, skaban “to shave”, standan “to stand”, malan “to grind”.

1. Reduplicated Strong verbs in Gothic.

The perfect was formed in the parent language partly with and partly without reduplication. The reason for this is unknown. Compare Sanskrit va-várta “I have turned”, Gothic warþ, warst, warþ; pl. va-vrtimá + Gothic waúrþum; Gothic wáit “I know’, lit. “I have seen”. The reduplicated syllable originally contained the vowel e. In Gothic the vowel in the reduplicated syllable would regularly be i, except in verbs beginning with r, h, hw, where the aí is quite regular.

In the singular the accent was on the stem and in the dual and plural originally on the ending with corresponding change of ablaut.

The reduplicated verbs in Gothic are divided into two classes: a) verbs that retain the same vowel stem through all tenses, and form their preterite simply by reduplication, as haítan “to call”; haíháit, haíháitum, háitans; (b) verbs which form their preterite by reduplication and ablaut combined. These verbs have the same stem-vowel in the preterite singular and plural, and the stem-vowel of the past poarticiple is the same as that of the present tense.

Division (a) Class VII.
	Infinitive	Pret. Singular	Past Participle
Gothic	falþan “to fold”	faífalþ	falþans
	haldan “to hold”	haíhald	haldans

Division (b) Class VII
	Infinitive	Pret. Singular	Past Participle
Gothic	grētan “to weep”	gaígrōt	grētans
	lētan “to let”	lailōt	lētans