Presents

Old English
Part 17

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 Strong Verbs
This lesson will focus on the second class of Strong
verb. Remember that once we learn the primary parts
of a Strong Verb, the other verbs in that class will
follow the pattern.
Strong verbs are categorized by 4 principle parts: The
Present/Infinitive, the Past singular, the Past plural and
the Past participle.
Strong Verbs Class 2
For Strong Verbs Class 2, The vowels follow the pattern
of: ēo-ēa-u-o. Sometimes the root has ū as the first
vowel.
Here is the verb clēofan to cleave, separate, split
conjugated:

Present

iċ clēofe I cleave

þū clȳfst, clēofest you cleave

hit clȳfþ, clēofeþ it cleave

wē clēofaþ we cleave

ġē clēofaþ you cleave

 hīe clēofaþ they cleave

Past

iċ clēaf I cleaved/clove1

þū clufe you cleaved/clove

hit clēaf it cleaved/clove

wē clufon we cleaved/clove

ġē clufon you cleaved/clove

hīe clufon they cleaved/clove

Past Participle

clofen cloven/cleaved

Similar Class 2 Strong verbs include:

bēodan to command
brēotan to break
cēowan to chew
clēofan to cleave
crēopan to creep
drēogan to endure
flēgan to fly
gēotan to pour

1
Cleave has a weak and strong past tense form in Modern English. Cleft is also used.
lēogan to lie
smēocan to smoke
brūcan to enjoy
dūfan to dive
lūcan to lock
scūfan to shove
lūtan to bow
cēosan to choose
frēosan to freeze
drēosan to fall
lēosan to lose
hrēosan to fall
sēoþan to boil
scēotan to shoot

Contracted Verbs
Some verbs have odd infinitive forms in comparison
with the other forms they present. Historically, these
verbs had a longer form in the Proto-Germanic days,
and those forms collapsed into a shortened version.
As a result, a ‘hidden’ consonant, usually g/h or w,
ends up as the root consonant. Remember that <g>
and <h> can be used interchangeably in some cases.
These verbs fall under various strong verb patterns.
Here is the Strong Verb 1 example, þēon to thrive,
prosper, flourish
Present

iċ þēo I thrive

þū þīhsts you thrive

hit þīhþ it thrives

wē þēoþ we thrive

ġē þēoþ you thrive

hīe þēoþ they thrive

Past

iċ þāh I thrived

þū þiġe you thrived

hit þāh it thrived

wē þiġon we thrived

ġē þiġon you thrived

hīe þiġon they thrived

Past Participle

þiġen thrived

Here is another example, but of a Strong Verb class 2,

flēon to flee, escape, avoid.
Present

iċ flēo I flee

þū flīhst, flȳhst you flee

hit flīhþ, flȳhþ it flees

wē flēoþ we flee

ġē flēoþ you flee

hīe flēoþ they flee

Past

iċ flēah I fled

þū fluge you fled

hit flēah it fled

wē flugon we fled
ġē flugon you fled

hīe flugon they fled

Past Participle

flogen fled
This concludes Part 17. New parts are made available
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