36. Strong verbs in oe

The strong verbs are verbs which use vowel-interchange as the principal means of expressing different grammatical categories. They differ from weak ones not only in the manner of the building of their forms but also in the number of these principal forms. The strong verbs have four principal forms, the weak ones – three principal forms. This vowel interchange or ablaut which was the principal grammatical means in the conjugation of the OE strong verbs as of two kinds: qualitative and quantitative.

The 1^st 5 classes are mainly based on the qualitative ablaut, the 6^th – on the quantitative ablaut, verbs of the 7^th class originally formed their principal forms by means of the so-called reduplication of the root syllable, but in the course of the development of the language that means was obliterated.

Classes of the strong verbs

In the 1^st class of the strong verbs the vowel of gradation was followed by the vowel –i, in the 2^nd – by the vowel u, in the 3d, 4^th, 5^th – by a sonorous consonant + another consonant, by one sonorous consonant or by a noise consonant. The root of the verbs of the 6^th class consisted of consonants, and the purely quantitative vowel interchanged of prehistoric times developed into a quantitative and qualitative one. The verbs of 7^th class show traces of the original reduplication (addition of an extra syllable including the initial consonant of the infinitive and having the vowels –e or eo in the past singular and plural)

36. Development of vowels in unstressed syllable in OE, ME, early New English

36. Weak verbs in oe

The Old English weak verbs are relatively younger than the strong verbs. They reflect a later stage in the development of Germanic languages.

They were an open class in OE, as new verbs that entered the language generally formed their forms on analogy with the weak verbs. Whereas the strong verbs used vowel-interchanged as a means of differentiation among principal verbs stems, the weak verbs used for that purpose suffixation, namely, suffixes –t, or –d. For example: cepan – cepte – cept

The weak verbs had a stem-forming suffix that followed the root and preceded the grammatical ending. Classes of the weak verbs.

In accordance with the character of the stem-suffix the weak verbs are subdivided into three classes. If the English strong verbs had four principal forms, the English weak verbs had three principal forms.

Class I – the stem-suffix –i.

The class includes many verbs formed other nouns, adjectives or verbs. All of them have a front root vowel – the result of the palatal mutation due to the –I element of the stem-suffix.

In the course of time this palatal stem-suffix was as a rule lost. It was preserved only in some participles in the form of –e (after sonorous consonants)

Class II – the stem suffix –oi

The o-element of the suffix is preserved in the past tense and in the past Participle. If the 1^st class of the weak verbs reflected the palatal mutation of the root-vowel due to the I-element of the stem-suffix, the root vowel of the weak verbs belonging to the 2^nd class remained unchanged (because of the preceding o).