Present Tense

Just about every verb will follow this pattern.

Notice the plural is the same ending for all persons. The first person ends in 'e', second in 'est', and third in 'eþ'. This can sometimes shorten to just 'st' or 'þ' when the stem doesn't end in d or a consonant cluster.

Note the plural doesn't shorten, only the 2nd and 3rd person singular do.

With strong verbs, the 2nd and 3rd person will often umlaut, or change to a front vowel.

This was the indicative mood, the form of the verb used for facts or things that are happening now. For counter-factual or hypothetical or reported events, you use the subjunctive present. After the conjunction if you always use subjunctive form.

Past Tense

There are two ways to form the past tense in Niw English, either the weak verb form, or the strong verb form. Weak verbs add a dental (de or te) before the personal suffixes, while strong verbs change vowels in a fairly regular pattern.

For both, the personal endings are going to be the same:

Weak Past Tense

Strong Past Tense

Future Tense

There is no conjugation for the future tense, rather, you use a helping verb, werðen to become and the infinitive of the verb. This is translated "I will find" and so on.

The Future Perfect is formed with werðen and the present perfect infinitive (past participle, plus haben/wesen): I will have found it becomes ic werðe it gefunden haben, or ic will have become a doctor becomes ic werðe an Læcce geworden wesen.

There are three types of verbs in Niw Englisc: strong, weak, and preterite present. Strong verbs change vowel to show tense, weak verbs add te or de, and preterite present change vowels in the singular, and have a suffix in the past tense.

Type 1

Vowel change: ei-a-i

reiden: to ride Principle Parts: reiden (reideþ), rad, geridden

Type 2

Vowel change: ie-o-o; u-o-o

flieten: to float Principle Parts: flieten (flieteþ), flot, is gefloten

Others:

• dufen: to dive (dyfþ, dof, gedofen)
• flieȝen: to fly, flee (flieȝþ, flog, is geflogen)
• flien: to flee (flieþ, floh, is geflohen); transitive aux. haben
• kruden: to crowd, press forward, drive (krydþ, krod, gekroden)
• lieden: to grow, spring up (liedeþ, lod, geloden); used of plants, animals, a people
• tieȝen: to pull, drag, draw (tieȝþ, tog, is getogen); to bring, lead, put; to teach, educate, bring up; to draw near, go, proceed

Type 3

Vowel change: e/i-a-u/o

finden: to find Principle Parts: finden (findeþ), fand, gefunden

helpen: to help Principle Parts: helpen (hilpþ), halp, geholpen

Type 4

Vowel alternation: e-a-o

beren: to bear Principle Parts: beren (birþ), bar, geboren

Examples:

• beran: to bear; (birþ, bar, geboren)

Type 5

Vowel alteration: e-a-e

kweðen: to say, speak Principle Parts: kweðen (kwiþþ), kwaþ, gekwedden

Type 6

Vowel alternation: a-o-a

baken: to bake Principle Parts: baken (bækþ), bok, gebaken

standen: to stand Principle Parts: standen (stændþ), stod, is gestanden

Examples:

• dragen: to drag, draw; (drægþ, drog, gedragen)
• faren: to travel, go, drive, journey; (færþ, for, is gefaren)
• scafen: to shave; (scæfþ, scof, gescafen)

Type 7

Vowel alterations: a-e-a; o-e-o

halden: to hold Principle Parts: halden (hældþ), held, is gehalden

Examples:

• ƕopen: to threaten (ƕœpþ, ƕepp, geƕopen)

Type 7 Irregular

These type 7 verbs are the remnants of the reduplication verbs.

spaten: to spit Principle Parts: spaten (spætþ), speft, is gespaten

Examples:

• beaten: to beat; (beaten, beft, gebeaten)
• dræden: to dread; (drædþ, drerd, gedræden); with reflexive dative, accusative of thing; hje drædeþ hjem þen Kraken they're afraid of the octopus; without dative, uses genitive; scie drædeþ þes Kraken.
• haaten: to be named, call; (hætþ, heht, gehaaten)
  • to be called: (hatte); he hatte Michael: he is called Michael
  • to name, call: þu hætþ hin Nick: you call him Nick. (with double accusative)
  • to order, command; (hætþ, heht, gehaaten); he heht mic kommen: he ordered me to come (w.a. pronoun and infinitive)
• laken: to play, jump around; (lækþ, lelk, gelaken)
• læten: to let, allow; (lætþ, lert, gelæten)
• ondræden: to dread; (ondrædþ, ondrerd, ondræden)
• ræden: to advise; (rædþ, rerd, geræden)
  • this verb has several meanings:
  • to read (rædþ, redd, geræden)
  • to advise (rædþ, rerd, geræden)
  • to interpret, explain (rædþ, redd, geræden)
  • weak: to prepare (rædþ, rædde, geræded)
  • geræden: to consult, give counsel; to arrange, direct, set in order, ordain (gerædþ, geredd, geræden)
• spaten: to spit; (spætþ, spert, gespaten)

Type 1

Historically a large class of verbs, today these are those with vowel alteration in the past tense (formerly class 1b in Old English). Vowel alterations: e-o-o

þenken: to think Principle Parts: þenken (þenkþ), þohte, geþoht

Others:

• bringen: to bring (brohte, gebroht)
• bycgen: to buy (bohte, geboht)
• dreccen: to afflict (drahte, gedraht)
• dwellen: to hinder (dwallde, gedwalld)
• kweccen: to shake (kwahte, gekwaht)
• kwellen: to kill (kwalde, gekwald)
• leccen: to moisten (lahte, gelaht)
• ræcen: to reach (rahte, geraht)
• reccen: to narrate (rahte, geraht)
• seken: to seek, search, look for (sohte, gesoht)
  • ~ to: to try to get from (to): ic seke feif Bœke to þem Bokscoppen I'm trying to get five books from the bookstore
• sellen: to sell (sallde, gesalld)
  • to sell for a price (~ wiþ): þu sellst þie Bok wiþ feif Pund? you're selling the book for five pounds?
  • to sell at a price (~ to): wiȝ selleþ Kaffee to þrim Pund. we sell coffee at three pounds.
  • to give something (w.a.) to somebody (w.d.); he sallde him þat Auto: he gave him the car
• stellen: to place, put (stallde, gestalld)
• streccen: to stretch (strahte, gestraht)
• tæcen: to teach (demonstrate, show) (tahte, getaht)
  • to teach from books would be læren
  • to show the way: he tahte þem Werr þen Pæþ. he showed the man the path
• tellen: to count (tallde, getalld)
• þeccen: to cover (þahte, geþaht)
• þenken: to think (þohte, geþoht)
• þynken: to seem (þuhte, geþuht) impersonal w.d. pronoun; miȝ þynkþ, þat he is ȝong it seems to me that he's young.
• weccen: to awake, wake, rouse from sleep (wahte, gewaht); transitive verb
  • to rouse from sleep
  • to enliven, stimulate, refresh
  • to excite, stir up
  • to raise what is depressed
  • to kindle, give life to; he wahte þat Fyr he kindled the fire
• wyrken: to work (worhte, geworht); also seen as werken and worken
  • with accusative: to make, form, construct
  • to work, do, perform

Type 2

Historically, verbs ending in -ian in Old English belonged to this class. Today these are all regular weak verbs.

Irregular Weak Verbs

There are 4 weak verbs which are irregular, historically speaking.

• haben: to have (hæfþ, hafde, gehafd)
• hycgen: to think (hyjþ, hogde, gehogd)
  • this verb is used to mean: to think, consider, meditate; to determine, intend, strive; unlike þenken, which is used in all other cases of modern 'think'
• libben: to life (lifþ, lifde, gelifd)
• secgen: to say (sæjþ, sæjde, gesæjd)

Present Tense

Indicative:

Subjunctive:

Present Perfect: wesen + gewesen: ic em gewesen Present Perfect Subjunctive: ic sei gewesen

Past Tense

Indicative:

Subjunctive:

Past Perfect: ic was gewesen Past Perfect Subjunctive: ic wære gewesen

Future Tense

Alone amongst all verbs, wesen has a future tense, supplied by the future infinitive been. Indicative:

Subjunctive (pronounced in two syllables bay-eh, bay-est, etc):

Referring to the present or near present: Future Perfect: ic bim gewesen I will have been Future Perfect Subjunctive: ic bee gewesen I may want to have been

Referring to the past from a future time frame: Future Perfect: ic bim gebeen I will have been Future Perfect Subjunctive: ic bee gebeen I may want to have been