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CONJUGATION III.

Examples-bind-an to bind, G. bind-en; dríf-an to

drive, G. treib-en; clúfan to cleave, G. klieb-en.

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III.-Simple Order, or Conjugation I.

CLASS I. CLASS II.

INDICATIVE MODE.

CLASS III.

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(1) Comp. love, lov-est, lov-eth; G. lieb-e, lieb-est, lieb-et, &c. L. am-o,

-as, -at, &c.

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The first form of the present indicative, and of the imperative plural, is used when the pronoun comes first, or is left out; as, we lufiad we love, hýrad hear; the second when the pronoun follows close; as, telle ge tell ye? The subjunctive plural sometimes ends in an or -en; as, lufian, hýrden, and the like. The gerund, which is always preceded by tó, and seems to be a kind of dative of the infinitive, answers to our infinitive present, active and passive, and to the Latin supines, infinitive future, active and passive, &c.; as, Come þú ús tó for-spill anne? camest thou to destroy us? L. nos perditum. Hwæder is édre tó cwe danne? whether is easier to say? L. facilius dictu. Eart þú se-pe tó cumenne eart? art thou he that is (art) to come?

L. qui venturus est. Heó býð tó lufigenne (') she is (must be, or ought) to be loved, L. amanda est. The. infinitive of the first Class is often formed in -igan, sometimes in -igean, for -ian, and g is put in or left out in some other forms with little or no change of pronunciation. The Gerund of the third Class sometimes makes -enne for -anne. Ge- may be prefixed to any part of verbs in general, but is oftenest used with the imperfect, and especially with the participle past, though not, as in German, to be considered the sign of the latter.(2)

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(') Hence the phrases "house to let," "he is to blame," &c.

(2) Ge- is seldom used before another prefix.

(3) Neut. L. vigilare; act. weccan.

(4) Neut. L. pendĕre; act. hangan, hón.

E 2

Some verbs of this Class, especially those having e for their vowel, form their imperfect and part. past in -ede and ed, as well as -ode and od; as, herian to praise, seglian to sail, ge-fremian to profit, which make herede, (ge-)hered, or herode, herod; seglede, and the like: -ode and -od are sometimes changed into -ade and -ad. Swerian to swear, borrows some tenses from a complex form, making imperf. swerede or swór swore; imp. subj. swóre; imper. swera or swere; part. past (ge-) sworen sworn. Folgian, fyligan, or fylian to follow, has imperf. folgode, fyligde, or fylide; imper. folga or fylig.

V.-Class II.

The second Class forms its imperfect and participle past in -de and -ed, or in -te and -t, according to its characteristic letter; the hard consonants, viz. t, p, c, x, requiring -te and -t; the soft, viz. d, đ, f, g, w, l, m, n, r, s, taking -de and -ed; as,

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Some verbs in -gan are contracted; as, preagan, prean to vex, reproach, tweógan, tweón to doubt: pres. preage or preá, þreást, preáđ; pl. preagad, þreád, &c.; tweóge or tweó, tweóst, tweóđ, &c.; imperf. preáde, tweóde; part. past þreád, tweód.

The second and third persons singular sometimes make -est, -ed, especially when many consonants might otherwise meet; as, nemne (I) name, nemnest, nemned; imperf. nemde: some have both forms; as, læde, lætst, læt, or lædest, læded; part. past læded or læd. Verbs with s, d, and t form the third person in -t; as, ræse, ræst; sende, sent; méte, mét: those with d in đ, as cýđe, cýd; imperf. cýđde or cýdde; p. past cýded or cýd. Verbs in this and the following classes with a double characteristic, drop one letter and take e in the imperative; as, dyppe, dype, and the like. To this class belong several transitives, derived from intransitives of the Complex Order; as, bærnan to burn (act.), from byrnan to burn (neut.); drencan (') to drench, from drincan to drink; fyllan to fell, from

(1) Comp. G. tränken, fällen, senken, setzen, from trinken, fallen, sinken, sitzen.

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