Part 2 — CHAPTER X. Present Indicative Endings of Strong Verbs.
Reading edition
56.
The unchanged stem of the present indicative may always be found by dropping -an of the infinitive: feall-an, to fall; cēos-an, to choose; bīd-an, to abide.
57.
The personal endings are:
Sing. 1. -e Plur. 1. -að
2. -est 2.
3. -eð 3.
i-Umlaut.
58.
The 2d and 3d singular endings were originally not -est and -eð, but -is and -ið; and the i of these older endings has left its traces upon almost every page of Early West Saxon literature. This i, though unaccented and soon displaced, exerted a powerful back influence upon the vowel of the preceding accented syllable. This influence, a form of regressive assimilation, is known as i-umlaut (pronounced oóm-lowt). The vowel i or j (= y), being itself a palatal, succeeded in palatalizing every guttural vowel that preceded it, and in imposing still more of the i-quality upon diphthongs that were already palatal.1 The changes produced were these:
a became ę (æ): męnn (< *mann-iz), men.
ā “ ǣ ǣnig (< *ān-ig), any.
u “ y wyllen (< *wull-in), woollen.
ū “ ȳ mȳs (< *mūs-iz), mice.
o “ ę dęhter (< *dohtr-i), to or for the daughter.
ō “ ē fēt (< *fōt-iz), feet.
ea “ ie wiexð (< *weax-ið), he grows (weaxan = to grow).
ēa “ īe hīewð (< *hēaw-ið), he hews (hēawan = to hew).
eo “ ie wiercan (< *weorc-jan), to work.
ēo “ īe līehtan (< *lēoht-jan), to light.
The Unchanged Present Indicative.
59.
In the Northumbrian and Mercian dialects, as well as in the dialect of Late West Saxon, the 2d and 3d singular endings were usually joined to the present stem without modification either of the stem itself or of the personal endings. The complete absence of umlauted forms in the present indicative of Mn.E. is thus accounted for.
In Early West Saxon, however, such forms as the following are comparatively rare in the 2d and 3d singular:
Sing. 1. Ic feall-e (I fall) cēos-e (I choose) bīd-e (I abide)
2. ðū feall-est cēos-est bīd-est
3. hē feall-eð cēos-eð bīd-eð
Plur. 1. wē
2. gē feall-að cēos-að bīd-að
3. hīe
The Present Indicative with i-Umlaut and Contraction.
60.
The 2d and 3d persons singular are distinguished from the other forms of the present indicative in Early West Saxon by (1) i-umlaut of the vowel of the stem, (2) syncope of the vowel of the ending, giving -st and -ð for -est and -eð, and (3) contraction of -st and -ð with the final consonant or consonants of the stem.
Contraction.
61.
The changes produced by i-umlaut have been already discussed. By these changes, therefore, the stems of the 2d and 3d singular indicative of such verbs as (1) stǫndan (= standan), to stand, (2) cuman, to come, (3) grōwan, to grow, (4) brūcan, to enjoy, (5) blāwan, to blow, (6) feallan, to fall, (7) hēawan, to hew, (8) weorpan, to throw, and (9) cēosan, to choose, become respectively (1) stęnd-,2 (2) cym-, (3) grēw-, (4) brȳc-, (5) blǣw-, (6) fiell-, (7) hīew-, (8) wierp-, and (9) cīes-.
If the unchanged stem contains the vowel e, this is changed in the 2d and 3d singular to i (ie): cweðan to say, stem cwið-; beran to bear, stem bier-. But this mutation3 had taken place long before the period of O.E., and belongs to the Germanic languages in general. It is best, however, to class the change of e to i or ie with the changes due to umlaut, since it occurs consistently in the 2d and 3d singular stems of Early West Saxon, and outlasted almost all of the umlaut forms proper.
If, now, the syncopated endings -st and -ð are added directly to the umlauted stem, there will frequently result such a massing of consonants as almost to defy pronunciation: cwið-st, thou sayest; stęnd-st, thou standest, etc. Some sort of contraction, therefore, is demanded for the sake of euphony. The ear and eye will, by a little practice, become a sure guide in these contractions. The following rules, however, must be observed. They apply only to the 2d and 3d singular of the present indicative:
(1) If the stem ends in a double consonant, one of the consonants is dropped:
1. feall-e (I fall) 1. winn-e (I fight) 1. swimm-e (I swim)
2. fiel-st 2. win-st 2. swim-st
3. fiel-ð 3. win-ð 3. swim-ð
(2) If the stem ends in -ð, this is dropped:
1. cweð-e (I say) 1. weorð-e (I become)
2. cwi-st 2. wier-st
3. cwi-ð 3. wier-ð
(3) If the stem ends in -d, this is changed to -t. The -ð of the ending is then also changed to -t, and usually absorbed. Thus the stem of the 2d singular serves as stem and ending for the 3d singular:
1. stǫnd-e (= stand-e) (I stand) 1. bind-e (I bind) 1. bīd-e (I abide) 1. rīd-e (I ride)
2. stęnt-st 2. bint-st 2. bīt-st 2. rīt-st
3. stęnt 3. bint 3. bīt (-t) 3. rīt (-t)
(4) If the stem ends already in -t, the endings are added as in (3), -ð being again changed to -t and absorbed:
1. brēot-e (I break) 1. feoht-e (I fight) 1. bīt-e (I bite)
2. brīet-st 2. fieht-st 2. bīt-st
3. brīet (-t) 3. fieht 3. bīt (-t)
(5) If the stem ends in -s, this is dropped before -st (to avoid -sst), but is retained before -ð, the latter being changed to -t. Thus the 2d and 3d singulars are identical:4
1. cēos-e (I choose) 1. rīs-e (I rise)
2. cīe-st 2. rī-st
3. cīes-t 3. rīs-t
62.
Exercises.
I. 1. Sē cyning fielð. 2. Ðā wīf cēosað ðā giefa. 3. Ðū stęntst on ðǣm hūse. 4. Hē wierpð ðæt wǣpen. 5. Sē sęcg hīewð ðā līc. 6. Ðæt sǣd grēwð ǫnd wiexð (Mark iv. 27). 7. Ic stǫnde hēr, ǫnd ðū stęntst ðǣr. 8. “Ic hit eom,” cwið hē. 9. Hīe berað ðæs wulfes bān. 10. Hē hīe bint, ǫnd ic hine binde. 11. Ne rītst ðū?
II. 1. We shall bind him. 2. Who chooses the child’s gifts? 3. “He was not here,” says she. 4. Wilt thou remain in the hall? 5. The wolves are biting (= bite) the fishermen. 6. He enjoys5 the love of his children. 7. Do you enjoy (= Enjoyest thou) the consolation and friendship of the scribe? 8. Will he come? 9. I shall throw the spear, and thou wilt bear the weapons. 10. The king’s son will become king. 11. The army (werod) is breaking the doors and walls of the house.
