Gothic/2/Conjugation
Introduction to Gothic Verbs
[edit | edit source]Gothic has the most complex verbal system of all attested Germanic languages. There exist two voices: active and passive; three numbers: singular, dual, and plural; two tenses: present and past; and finally two moods: indicative and subjunctive (also called optative). In Gothic, as in other Germanic languages, there is a distinction between strong and weak verbs. The difference between the two depends on the formation of the preterite, or past tense. The section will deal with weak verbs.
How to Conjugate Gothic Verbs
[edit | edit source]In the present tense all verbs follow a similar conjugation. All infinitives end in a combination similar to -an. To conjugate a verb, one must isolate the verb stem by removing the -an ending of the infinitive, then add the desired endings. Using the verb siggwan "to sing" as an example, we can see its -an ending. If we remove the -an ending, we are left with siggw-; this is the verb stem. To this we add the endings: -a, -is, -iþ, etc. We use this formula to conjugate all Gothic verbs in the present tense. Some verbs take a different conjugation in the 3rd person singular and 2nd person plural, namely the class I and class III of weak verbs. The average Gothic verb is conjugated thus:
Gothic | English |
---|---|
ik siggwa | I sing |
þu siggwis | you (thou) sing |
is siggwiþ | he sings |
wit siggwōs | we two sing |
jut siggwats | you two sing |
weis siggwam | we sing |
jus siggwiþ | you all sing |
eis siggwand | they sing |
Weak verbs form their past tense by means of a dental suffix. Weak verbs are divided into four classes according to the ending of the infinitive. The following table shows the possible infinitive endings of a weak verb, each representing a class. On the right is their preterite ending.
Class | Infinitive Ending | Preterite |
---|---|---|
Class I | -jan | -ida |
Class II | -on | -oda |
Class III | -an | -aida |
Class IV | -nan | -noda |
Class I Weak Verbs
[edit | edit source]Class I weak verbs end in -jan. Verbs within this class are subdivided into two subgroups: (1) verbs with a short stem-syllable, such as nasjan "to save", or verbs with a long open syllable, such as stōjan "to judge"; (2) verbs with a long closed syllable, such as sōkjan "to seek". Verbs with a polysyllabic root behave like sōkjan regardless of the nature of the last syllable of the root; hence, glitmunjan "to shine" behaves like sōkjan. These two subgroups only differ slightly in their conjugation; namely in the 2nd person and 3rd person singular, in the 2nd person plural of the present indicative, and in the second person plural imperative.
Present Tense
[edit | edit source]Notice sōkeis instead of *sōkjis
Indicative | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Active | ||||
Present | 1st sing | nasja | stōja | sōkja |
2nd sing | nasjis | stōjis | sōkeis | |
3rd sing | nasjiþ | stōjiþ | sōkeiþ | |
1st dual | nasjōs | stōjōs | sōkjōs | |
2nd dual | nasjats | stōjats | sōkjats | |
1st plur | nasjam | stōjam | sōkjam | |
2nd plur | nasjiþ | stōjiþ | sōkeiþ | |
3rd plur | nasjand | stōjand | sōkjand |
Past Tense
[edit | edit source]All class I weak verbs follow the same conjugation in the past tense regardless of which subgroup they belong to.
Indicative | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Preterite | ||||
Past | 1st sing | nasida | stauida | sōkida |
2nd sing | nasidēs | stauidēs | sōkidēs | |
3rd sing | nasida | stauida | sōkida | |
1st dual | nasidēdu | stauidēdu | sōkidēdu | |
2nd dual | nasidēduts | stauidēduts | sōkidēduts | |
1st plur | nasidēdum | stauidēdum | sōkidēdum | |
2nd plur | nasidēduþ | stauidēduþ | sōkidēduþ | |
3rd plur | nasidēdun | stauidēdun | sōkidēdun |
Some class I verbs have an irregular past.
Class II Weak Verbs
[edit | edit source]Class II weak verbs end in -ōn. The verb salbōn (to anoint) will serve as a model for class II weak verbs.
Present Tense
[edit | edit source]Indicative | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Active | ||||
salbōn | 1st sing | salbō | ||
2nd sing | salbōs | |||
3rd sing | salbōþ | |||
1st dual | salbōs | |||
2nd dual | salbōts | |||
1st plur | salbōm | |||
2nd plur | salbōþ | |||
3rd plur | salbōnd |
Past Tense
[edit | edit source]Their past tense ends similarly to class I weak verbs, but with /ō instead of /i.
Indicative | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Preterite | ||||
salbōn | 1st sing | salbōda | ||
2nd sing | salbōdēs | |||
3rd sing | salbōda | |||
1st dual | salbōdēdu | |||
2nd dual | salbōdēduts | |||
1st plur | salbōdēdum | |||
2nd plur | salbōdēduþ | |||
3rd plur | salbōdēdun |
Class III Weak Verbs
[edit | edit source]Verbs in this class have infinitives that end in -an. Verbs in this class have /ai/ in the 2nd person singular, 3rd person singular, and 2nd person singular. All persons have /ai/ in the past tense. The verb haban will serve as a model for class III weak verbs.
Present Tense
[edit | edit source]Indicative | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Active | ||||
Haban | 1st sing | haba | ||
2nd sing | habais | |||
3rd sing | habaiþ | |||
1st dual | habōs | |||
2nd dual | habāts | |||
1st plur | habām | |||
2nd plur | habaiþ | |||
3rd plur | haband |
Past Tense
[edit | edit source]Indicative | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Preterite | ||||
Haban | 1st sing | habaida | ||
2nd sing | habaidēs | |||
3rd sing | habaida | |||
1st dual | habaidēdu | |||
2nd dual | habaidēduts | |||
1st plur | habaidēdum | |||
2nd plur | habaidēduþ | |||
3rd plur | habaidēdun |
Class IV Weak Verbs
[edit | edit source]Verbs in this class have infinitives that end in -nan, which becomes -noda in the past tense. Verbs of this class denote entering into a state. Example: fullnan "to become full"; andbundnan "to become unbound", compare with fulls "full" and andbindan "to unbind". The verb fullnan will serve as a model for class IV weak verbs.
Present Tense
[edit | edit source]Indicative | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Active | ||||
Present | 1st sing | fullna | ||
2nd sing | fullnis | |||
3rd sing | fullniþ | |||
1st dual | fullnōs | |||
2nd dual | fullnats | |||
1st plur | fullnam | |||
2nd plur | fullniþ | |||
3rd plur | fullnand |
Past Tense
[edit | edit source]Indicative | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Preterite | ||||
Past | 1st sing | fullnōda | ||
2nd sing | fullnōdēs | |||
3rd sing | fullnōda | |||
1st dual | fullnōdēdu | |||
2nd dual | fullnōdēduts | |||
1st plur | fullnōdēdum | |||
2nd plur | fullnōdēduþ | |||
3rd plur | fullnōdēdun |