A Gothic Grammar

II. WEAK VERBS

§ 183. The formation and inflection of the prt. and pp. of the four classes of the weak verbs (§ 168) ar alike. The pp. is formd by means of the suffix -da- (nom. m. -þs) which is in all classes added to the verbal stem. The latter varies according to the formativ suffix and causes in the present forms a considerabl difference of inflection in the four classes. We first giv the inflection of the prt., which is the same in all classes.

§ 184. Paradims: nasida, salbôda, habaida, fullnôda. Only one exampl is necessary to show the inflection.

What has been said in § 170, n. 4 concerns also the 1st and 2nd pers. du. optativ.

§ 185. The verbs of this class hav the formativ suffix i which appears in the present as j (inf. -jan). This j and a following i ar either contracted into ei (according to § 44, c and n. 1) or remain ji. Thus we hav two subdivisions: (a) Verbs with short stem-syllabls; e. g., nasjan, to save, or verbs in a long vowel; as, stôjan, to judge. (b) Verbs with long stem-syllabls ending in a consonant; e. g., sôkjan, to seek, and polysyllabic verbs; e. g., mikiljan, to praise.

§ 186.

Note 1. The 3d pers. sg. imper. is preservd in lausjadau, ῥυσάσθω; Mt. XXVII, 43 (cp. § 170, n. 3). The 3d pers. pl. would be lausjandau according to § 192, n. 1.

Note 2. The 2nd pers. sg. imper. stauei (inf. stôjan) is suggested by the prt. stauida according to § 26.

§ 187. Further exampls of this very numerous class: (a) 1. verbs with short stem-syllabls: waljan, to choose; ga-tamjan, to tame; uf-þanjan, to strech; warjan, to forbid; lagjan, to lay; us-wakjan, to awake; satjan, to set; wasjan, to vest, clothe; hazjan, to praise; huljan, to cuver; 2. stems ending in a vowel: taujan (imper. sg. tawei, prt. tawida, pp. tawiþs), to do; *straujan, to strew (only the prt. strawida and pp. strawiþs ar extant); qiujan (qiwida), to quicken; ana-niujan (-niwida), to renew; siujan, to sew; – concerning *môjan (in afmôjan, to weary) and *dôjan (in afdôjan, to tire out), s. § 26, a.

(b) verbs with long stems and polysyllabic verbs: mêljan, to write; mêrjan, to preach; sipônjan, to be a disciple; hnaiwjan, to abase; hrainjan, to clean; hausjan, to hear; þiuþjan, to bless; —brannjan, to burn; sandjan, to send; namnjan, to name; andbahtjan, to serv; glitmunjan, to glitter; haúrnjan, to blow the horn.

Note 1. kaupatjan, to buffet, has the prt. kaupasta (without i; cp. § 75), but the pp. kaupatiþs (cp. § 209, n. 1). The verbs lauhatjan, to shine; swôgatjan, to sigh, occur in the prs. only.

Note 2. Sum primary verbs with j in the present stem inflect in the present like the weak verbs of the first class. In the prt. they ar either strong or weak without the formativ suffix i. Cp. § 206, a (§ 209).

Note 3. Only two verbs assume occasionally forms of the 2nd weak conjugation: hausjan, to hear, beside hausjôn (occurs several times); pp. un-beistjôþs, unlevend, but ga-beistjan, to leven.

Note 4. Like the 2nd pers. du. and pl. imper. of nasjan go the interjectional hirjats, hirjiþ. The sg. hiri is irregular. Cp. § 219.

§ 188. Verbs of this class ar derived from verbs, adjectivs and substantivs. Their meaning is predominantly causativ. Causativs from strong ablaut verbs hav the vowel of the prt. sg.; e. g., wandjan, to wend, turn (< windan); dragkjan, to giv to drink (< drigkan); ur-raisjan, to raiz (< ur-reisan, to arize); ga-drausjan, to cause to fall (< driusan). – Also verbs derived from adjectivs and substantivs show, with few exceptions, a causativ meaning; e. g., háuhjan, to make high (< háuhs); hailjan, to heal (< hails); warmjan, to warm (< warms); —dailjan, to deal (< dails); taiknjan, to make a sign, to show (< taikns, a token); etc. – Only a few hav an intransitiv meaning, e. g., sipônjan, to be a disciple; faúrhtjan, to fear.

§ 189. The formativ suffix (ô) occurs in this class not only in the prt., but also in the hole prs., and absorbs the initial vowels appearing in the endings of the strong verb. Paradim: salbôn, to anoint.

Note. No exampls of the 3. pers. sg. and pl. imper. ar extant, but they may be safely inferd like other forms; e. g., the dual forms, or the 2nd pers. sg. midl: salbôza, salbôzau, which hav been merely inferd according to the other conjugations.

§ 190. The number of verbs of the 2nd class is greater than that of the 3d, but much smaller than that of the verbs in -jan. Exampls: mitôn, to think; ƕarbôn, to wander; fiskôn, to fish; sidôn, to practis; idreigôn, to repent; awiliudôn, to thank; þiudanôn, to be king; faginôn, to rejoice; fraujinôn, to rule; reikinôn, to rule; frijôn, to luv; sunjôn, to justify; hausjôn (§ 187, n. 3).

§ 191. Verbs of this class hav the formativ suffix -ai. This, however, appears in all forms of the prt. (and in the pp.), while it occurs in but few forms of the present and what belongs to the prs., the greater number following entirely the present forms of the strong verb. The ai is found in the present only where the terminations of the strong verb begin with i which it absorbs (thus, in the 2nd and 3d pers. sg. indic., in the 2nd pers. pl. indic., and in 2nd pers. pl. imper.), and in 2nd pers. sg. imper. (which has no termination). – But the ai is entirely wanting before the endings beginning with a (ô).

§ 192. Paradim haban, to hav.

Note. An exampl of the 3d pers. pl. imper. is extant in this conjugation only: liugandau, γαμησάτωσαν; I. Cor. VII, 9.

§ 193. Verbs of this class ar mostly intransitiv. Their number is comparativly small. Exampls: þahan, to be silent; þulan, to suffer; liban, to liv; ana-silan, to be silent; fijan, to hate; trauan, to trust (cp. § 26); saúrgan, to sorrow; liugan, to marry.

Note. hatan, to hate, fluctuates between this and the 1st weak conj. (hatjan); —bauan, to dwel, has the 3d pers. sg. prs. indic. strong: bauiþ; cp. § 179, n. 2.

§ 194. By means of the suff. -no- in the prt., n (-na-) in the present, verbs ar formd in Gothic which denote an entering into a state; therefore they hav an 'inchoativ' meaning. When they hav a medial meaning, they often also render Greek medio-passiv verbs. These verbs ar always intransitiv and never hav a purely passiv meaning. Hense, for exampl, andbindada means it is loost (by sum one), but andbundniþ, it becums loose, it loosens. Nearly all of these verbs ar derived from adjectivs or from the stem of the pp. passiv. Exampls: (a) from strong verbs: and-bundnan (bindan), to loosen (intr.); us-bruknan (brikan), to break off (intr.); dis-kritnan, to rend (intr.); fra-lusnan (fra-liusan), to perish; ga-waknan (wakan), to awaken; ga-skaidnan (skaidan), to becum parted, to depart; – (b) from adjectivs: gahailnan (hails), to becum hole; mikilnan (mikils), to becum great; weihnan (weihs), to becum holy; gadauþnan, to becum ded, to die.

Note 1. To substantivs belong gafrisahtnan (frisahts, image), to be formd; ga-gawaírþnan (ga-waírþi), to reconcile one's self to; the stem-vowel is irregular in: us-geisnan, to becum amazed; in-feinan, to be moved with compassion.

Note 2. That the fundamental meaning of these verbs is inchoativ has been shown by Egge, 'Inchoativ or n-verbs in Gothic' (American Journal of Phil., 7, p. 38 et seq.). The corresponding Norse verbs in -na ar inchoativ only.

§ 195. The inflection of these verbs is in the present identical with that of the strong verbs. No medio-passiv nor a pp. can be formd. Paradim: fullnan (fulls, ful; fulljan, to fil), to becum ful, fil (intr.).

Note 1. Of the imper. of verbs of this class only the 2nd pers. sg. is extant.

Note 2. The prt. keinôda, germinated, aroze thru the influence of the strong present keinan (§ 172, n. 2) which could not belong here merely because of its meaning.

III. IRREGULAR VERBS

§ 196. Preterit-Presents ar strong verbs whose preterit has assumed a present meaning. In consequence thereof the real presents hav been lost. These verbs form the preterit like weak verbs by adding -da (-ta, -þa, -sa; cp. §§ 75. 81). Their inflection is the same as that of nasida (§ 184). According to the form of their presents, the preterit-presents may be distributed among the different classes of the strong verbs. The prs. inflects like a strong preterit. In the following the 13 Gothic verbs of this kind ar clast according to the corresponding ablaut-series:

§ 197. First Ablaut-Series.

1. Prs. wait, I know, 2nd pers. waist, pl. witum, opt. witjau; prt. wissa, prt. opt. wissêdjau, prs. ptc. witands, inf. [witan].

2. lais, I know (the only form extant; causativ laisjan, to teach).

Note. The complete strong verb of wait is *weitan, wait, witum, witans, retaind in fraweitan, to avenge, and in inweitan, to wurship (§ 172, n. 1). – To wait belongs also a weak verb of the III. weak conj., witan, witaida, to look at, observ.

§ 198. Second Ablaut-Series.

3. daug (impers., the only form extant), it is of use, it profits.

§ 199. Third Ablaut-Series.

4. kann, I know, 2nd pers. kant (also kannt; cp. § 80), pl. kunnum; prt. indic. kunþa, prt. opt. kunþêdjau, pp. kunþs, known; inf. kunnan; prsp. kunnands.

5. þarf, I need, be in want of, 2nd pers. þarft, pl. þaúrbum, opt. þaúrbjau; prt. þaúrfta, pp. þaúrfts, necessary, prsp. þaúrbands, needing, inf. [þaúrban]. – Cp. § 56, n. 3.

6. ga-dars, I dare, pl. ga-daúrsum, opt. gadaúrsjau; prt. gadaúrsta; inf. gadaúrsan.

Note. Like kann inflect its cpds.: frakann, I despise; gakann, I subject myself. – With this must not be confounded the derivativ weak verb -kunnan of the III. weak conjug., -kunnan, -kunnaida, to recognize, in the cpds.: anakunnan (ἀναγιγνώσκειν), to read; atkunnan, to grant, award; gakunnan, to know, consider, read (Mk. XII, 26). —uf-kunnan, to recognize, know, belongs in the prs. and pp. (ufkunnaiþs) to the III. weak conjug., but its prt. is ufkunþa, onse (I. Cor. I, 21) ufkunnaida.

§ 200. Fourth Ablaut-Series.

7. skal, I shal, 2nd pers. skalt, pl. skulum, opt. skuljau; prt. skulda, opt. skuldêdjau, pp. skulds, owing; inf. [skulan], prsp. skulands.

8. man, I think, suppose, 2nd pers. [mant], pl. munum, opt. munjau; prt. munda, pp. munds (Lu. III, 23); inf. munan, prsp. munands.

Note. Like man goes gaman, I remember. – To this belongs also munan, prt. munaida, a derivativ wv. of the III. conjug.

§ 201. Fifth Ablaut-Series.

9. mag, I may, can, 2nd pers. magt, 3d mag; dual magu, maguts, pl. magum, maguþ, magun, opt. magjau; prt. mahta, opt. mahtêdjau, pp. mahts; inf. [magan], prsp. magands.

10. ga-nah, it suffices; binah, it is permitted, it is lawful. These impersonal forms and the pp. binaúhts ar the only forms extant. There may be inferd the pl. -naúhum; prt. -naúhta; inf. -naúhan.

§ 202. Sixth Ablaut-Series.

11. ga-môt, I hav or find room or place, 2nd pers. [môst], pl. [môtum], opt. gamôtjau, prt. gamôsta; inf. [gamôtan].

12. ôg, I fear, 2nd pers. [ôht], pl. [ôgum], opt. ôgjau; prt. ôhta; inf. [ôgan]. Causativ ôgjan, to frighten.

Note 1. To ôg belongs an anomalous 2nd pers. sg. imper.: ôgs, fear thou! The opt. ôgeiþ does duty for the corresponding 2nd pers. pl.

Note 2. The only extant form of the primary strong verb is the negativ prsp. unagands, fearless.

§ 203. The verb áih, I hav, belongs to none of the ablaut-series. Disregarding the want of reduplication, we may, according to its formation, refer it to a reduplicated prt. like haíhait (§ 179, 3). The extant forms ar: 1st and 3d pers. sg. áih (onse aig), pl. 1st aigum and áihum, 2nd áihuþ (onse), 3d aigun, opt. sg. 3d aigi, pl. 2nd aigeiþ, 3d aigeina; prt. áihta; prsp. aigands (5 times) and áihands (onse), inf. áihan (only onse, in faíráihan, to partake).

Note. In most forms there is a peculiar fluctuation between g and h in such a manner that the h is predominant in the sg. (áih), the g in the other forms. Cp. § 66, n. 1; § 79, n. 2.

§ 204. The old root es-, which is preservd in all Indo-Germanic languages, occurs in the Gothic substantiv verb only in the present indic. and opt. The remaining forms ar supplied by the strong verb wisan (§ 176, n. 1). The pp. is wanting (cp. Anz. fda., 14, 286).

Note 1. For ij (in the opt. and du. pl. indic. prs.) also simpl i (§ 10, n. 4) is occasionally found; e. g., pl. indic. 1st pers. sium, 2nd siuþ, opt. siau, etc. But the ful forms occur far more frequently. The comparativly small number of the forms with i is confined to the epistls (especially in Cod. B) and to the gospel of Lu. which also in other respects shows many irregular forms (V, 10. VIII, 25. IX, 12. 41. XIV, 31). Of two extant codices (II. Cor. VII, 13. Phil. IV, 5. Col. IV, 6. I. Tim. V, 22) one (in three cases A) always has the correct form with j.

Note 2. Insted of the imper. the opt. forms, sg. sijais, sijai, pl. sijaiþ, ar employd. The form sai (= Gr. ἔστω), which occurs onse in the manuscript, either stands erroneously for sijai, siai, or must, according to Osthoff (Beitr., 8, 311), be regarded as interj. sai, 'ecce'!

Note 3. nist = ni ist, is not (§ 10, n. 2), þatist = þata ist, that is, karist = kara ist, there is care, it concerns; Jo. X, 12 (§ 4, n. 1).

§ 205. The verb 'wil' has in the present only an opt. which discharges, however, the function of the indicativ. This present optativ has the uzual terminations of the prt. opt. Its preterit is weak. The extant forms ar: —

§ 206. The distinction between the present stem and the preterit stem of the strong ablaut verbs consists only in the change of the vowel. The consonantal skeleton of the word remains the same. This was not always so, for in proethnic Germanic, as in other Indo-Germanic languages, there existed present formations with additional consonantal elements. Of these a few remnants stil survive in Gothic, which from a Gothic point of view must be regarded as irregularities.

(a) Present formations with j. The j of these formations which in the present inflect entirely like weak verbs of the I. conjug. (as, nasjan, sôkjan), is no formativ suffix and is dropt in the prt. and pp. The existing exampls ar: —bidjan (§ 176, n. 5), hafjan, fraþjan, hlahjan, skapjan, skaþjan, wahsjan (§ 177, n. 2), arjan (§ 179, n. 5). Cp. also § 209.

(b) Present stems with a final nasal: keinan (§ 172, n. 2) and fraíhnan (§ 176, n. 4); – a medial nasal is seen in standan (§ 177, n. 3).

§ 207. The verb gaggan belongs, according to its present and pp. and according to the testimony of the other Germanic languages, to the reduplicated verbs (§ 179, n. 3). Its prt. is uzually represented by the defectiv iddja which is conjugated like a weak prt.: iddja, I went, iddjês, iddja, etc.; opt. iddjêdjau. Onse, however (Lu. XIX, 12), a weak prt. gaggida occurs.