Gothic/2/Conjugation

Introduction to Gothic Verbs 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 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 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 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 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 Class II weak verbs end in -ōn. The verb salbōn (to anoint) will serve as a model for class II weak verbs. Present Tense 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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