Chapter XI · —THE IRREGULAR VERBS
Reading edition
The irregular verbs are:—
môs (earlier mones), to go.
dôs (earlier dones), to come.
dôn, to bear or carry.
drŷ, to bring.
rŷ, to give.
gǒdhvos, to know.
Of these, môs and dôn are each made up of two different verbs. The irregularities of dôs, drŷ, and rŷ are due to contractions, and those of gŏdhvas chiefly to its being compounded with bos, to be.
There are irregularities also in the auxiliary verbs gwîl, to do, and gally, to be able, but these have been already given in Chapter IX.
In earlier Cornish the inflected forms of the irregular verbs were freely used, but later these are comparatively rare, and the impersonal and auxiliary forms became so much commoner that the full inflected form can only be gathered from the early writings and from the rather imperfect paradigms given by Lhuyd.
It is not necessary to give anything more than the inflected verbs here, for the impersonal and auxiliary tenses can easily be worked out from these on the model of the regular verb. These are given without pronouns, though of course pronouns are used, as with other verbs.
In the latest Cornish the infinitives of môs, dôs, drŷ, rŷ, were often used colloquially to express the imperative, without much discrimination between singular and plural. These verbs, especially môs and dôs, are generally found in late Cornish in the auxiliary form with gwîl and menny, but rarely in the simple inflected.
§ 1. Môs, to go.
I. Present or Future.
Singular. Plural.
1. av or ăthov (older af). 1. en or ăthen.
2. eth or ătheth. 2. eugh or ătheugh.
3. a or ătha. 3. ans or ăthans.
II. Imperfect or Secondary Present.
Singular. Plural.
1. ellen. 1. ellen.
2. elles. 2. elleugh.
3. ella. 3. ellens.
III. Preterite.
Singular. Plural.
1. êthen. 1. êthen.
2. êthes. 2. êtheugh.
3. êth, ellas. 3. êthons.
IV. Pluperfect or Conditional (probable, but not found).
Singular. Plural.
1. elsen. 1. elsen.
2. elses. 2. elseugh.
3. elsa. 3. elsens.
V. Subjunctive.
Singular. Plural.
1. ellev. 1. ellen.
2. elly. 2. elleugh.
3. ello. 3. ellons.
VI. Imperative.
Singular. Plural.
1. — 1. en.
2. kê, kejy, kehejy. [144] 2. eugh.
3. ens. 3. ens.
Infinitive, môs.
Present Participle, ow môs.
Past Participle, gilles (supplied from gylly or gelly, to go).
In the impersonal form of the preterite, the verbal particle a often takes an s or j at the end of it, mî aj êth, I went, but generally in this form a is omitted, mî â, I go; mî eth, I went; mî ello, I may go, etc. In the Ordinalia and other Dramas the forms reseth and regeth (rejeth) are found for the perfect. This is the preterite êth with the particle re and s (j), for th, prefixed.
§ 2. Dôs (earlier devonos, donos, devos), to come.
I. Present.
Singular. Plural.
1. dov (older duf). 1. down (duen, dun).
2. dêth (dueth). 2. dough, deugh.
3. dê (due). 3. dons, desons.
II. Imperfect.
Singular. Plural.
1. deffen. 1. deffen.
2. deffes. 2. deffeugh.
3. deffa. 3. deffens.
III. Preterite.
Singular. Plural.
1. dêtha, dêth (older duth, dueyth). 1. dêthon (duthon).
2. dêthes, dês (older duthys, dues). 2. dêtheugh (dutheugh).
3. dêth (older dueth, duth). 3. dêthons, desons (duthens).
IV. Pluperfect not found, except third person singular, dothye or dethye, and third pl. dothyans.
Singular. Plural.
1. dothyen, dethyen. 1. dothyen, dethyen.
2. dothyes, dethyes. 2. dothy eugh, dethyeugh.
3. dothya, dethya. 3. dothyens, dethyens.
V. Subjunctive.
Singular. Plural.
1. deffev. 1. deffen.
2. deffy. 2. deffeugh.
3. deffo. 3. deffens.
Imperative.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. dewn (dun, duen).
2. dês (dues, dus). 2. deugh (dugh).
3. dêns. 3. dêns.
Infinitive, dôs.
Participles. Present, ow tôs; Past, devedhes.
“I am come” is devedhes ov.
The root vowels of this verb vary a good deal in the MSS. The ue is evidently a single syllable according to the rhythm, and so is the ye or ya.
§ 3. Dôn, to bear or carry (earlier also doen, doyn).
I. Present.
Singular. Plural.
1. degav. 1. degon.
2. deges. 2. degough.
3. deg, dog. 3. degons.
II. Imperfect, not found.
III. Preterite.
Singular. Plural.
1. dîges (older duges). 1. dîgon.
2. dîges (duges). 2. dîgough.
3. dîg (dug, duk). 3. dîgons.
IV. Pluperfect, not found.
V. Subjunctive.
Singular. Plural.
1. dogev. 1. dogen.
2. dogy. 2. dogeugh.
3. dogo, doga. 3. dogens.
Imperative.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. dogen.
2. dog, doga. 2. degeugh.
3. degens. 3. degens.
Infinitive, dôn, doga, or degy.
Participle. Present, ow tôn or ow tegy; Past, deges.
§ 4. Rŷ, to give.
I. Present.
Singular. Plural.
1. rov. 1. ren.
2. reth. 2. reugh.
3. re. 3. rens.
II. Imperfect.
Singular. Plural.
1. ren. 1. ren.
2. res. 2. reugh.
3. re. 3. rens.
III. Preterite.
Singular. Plural.
1. rês. 1. resen.
2. resses. 2. rosough.
3. ros. 3. rosons.
IV. Pluperfect.
Singular. Plural.
1. rosen. 1. rosen.
2. roses. 2. roseugh.
3. rosa. 3. rosens.
V. Subjunctive.
Singular. Plural.
1. rollen. 1. rollen.
2. rolly. 2. rolleugh.
3. rollo. 3. dollens, rollons.
Imperative.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. ren.
2. ro. 2. reugh.
3. roy. 3. rens.
Infinitive, rŷ.
Present Participle, ow rŷ.
Past Participle, reys.
§ 5. Dry, to bring.
Except that the present is:—
Singular. Plural.
1. dorov or drov. 1. doren or dren.
2. doreth or dreth. 2. dorough or dreugh.
3. dore or dre. 3. dorens or drens.
the second person singular of the imperative is doro or dro, and the preterite third person singular is dres or dros, this verb is rŷ with a d prefixed. The present participle is ow trŷ.
§ 6. Gŏdhvos, or gŏdhvas, to know, compounded of godh or gŭdh=knowledge, and bos, to be.
I. Present.
Singular. Plural.
1. gôn or goram. 1. gŏdhon.
2. gŏdhas. 2. gŏdhough.
3. gôr (second state wôr or ’ôr). 3. gŏdhons.
II. Imperfect, used also as Perfect.
Singular. Plural.
1. gŏdhen, gŏdhyen. 1. gŏdhen, gŏdhyen.
2. gŏdhes, gŏdhyes. 2. gŏdheugh, gŏdhyeugh.
3. gŏdha, gŏdhya. 3. gŏdhens, gŏdhyens.
III. Preterite. The second form, given by Lhuyd, is a rather improbable tense, and is not found elsewhere.
Singular. Plural.
1. gŏdhvên, gwedhun. 1. gŏdhvên, gwedhyn.
2. gŏdhvês, gwedhys. 2. gŏdhveugh, gwedheugh.
3. gŏdhvê, gwedhewys. 3. gŏdhvons, gwedhans, gweians.
IV. Pluperfect or Conditional.
Singular. Plural.
1. gŏdhvîen. 1. gŏdhvîen.
2. gŏdhvîes. 2. gŏdhvîeugh.
3. gŏdhvîa. 3. gŏdhvîens.
V. Subjunctive.
Singular. Plural.
1. gŏdhevav, gŏdhav. 1. gŏdhven.
2. gŏdhvy, gŏdhy. 2. gŏdhveugh.
3. gŏdhvo. 3. gŏdhvens or gŏdhans.
VI. Future.
Singular. Plural.
1. gŏdhvedhav, gŏffedhav. 1. gŏdhvedhen, gŏffedhen.
2. gŏdhvedhes, gŏffedhes. 2. gŏdhvedheugh, goffedheugh.
3. gŏdhvedh, gŏffedh. 3. gŏdhvedhens, gŏffedhens.
VII. Optative.
Singular. Plural.
1. re wŏffen. 1. re wŏffen.
2. re wŏffas. 2. re wŏffeugh.
3. re wŏffa. 3. re wŏffens.
Imperative.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. gŏdhvedhen.
2. gŏdhvedh. 2. gŏdhvedheugh.
3. gŏdhvedhens. 3. gŏdhvedhens.
Infinitive, gŏdhvos, gŏdhvas, gŏvos.
Present Participle, ow cŏdhvos.
Past Participle, gŏdhvedhes.
Inflected Passive, gŏdher.
In the impersonal form and elsewhere, when this verb has its initial in the second state, w is substituted for g.
The Optative re wŏffen, etc. seems to be formed on the imperfect mixed up with the subjunctive.