An example would be scīnan – scāh – scinon – scinen (‘shine’). This class has the following gradations series ī – ā – i – i and is followed by one consonant. The seventh class consists of formerly reduplicating verbs (Fichte & Kemmler 81).Įach class has a recognition symbol on its own. Bindan (‘bind’) for example has three different vowels: bindan – band – bundon – bunden whereas faran (‘go, travel’) has only two: faran –for- foron –faren.Īccording to their gradation series, OE strong verbs form six different classes. The stems are distinguished by different vowels: crēopan, (‘creep’) crēap – crupon – cropen. Old English strong verbs have four different stems in the gradation series: the infinitive stem (from which all present forms including the present participle and the infinitive derive), two preterite stems (one, from which the indicative forms of the first and third person derive and another one from which all other finite preterite forms derive) and a past participle stem (Fichte & Kemmler 81). This section will deal with the Old English strong verbs exclusively and disregard the other types.

The full paradigm for beon for example even shows two different roots. These verbs show irregular forms for their present and preterite (Fichte & Kemmler 79). The last group consists of only four verbs ( dōn, gān, beon, willan). Preterite present verbs show both in their preterite: a change of the stem vowel and a dental suffix. Weak verbs show a dental suffix in their preterite and past participle, strong verbs forms their preterite by changing the stem vowel in quality and/or quantity. The differences between these types are mainly marked in the category of tense. In Old English there are four types of verbs: strong verbs, weak verbs, preterite present verbs and irregular verbs. Old English 2.1 The Old English Classification System of Strong Verbs The last section provides a summary of the developments which took place in the evolution of strong verbs and which have already been touched in the descriptions of the different classification systems. In addition the conjugational system of Modern English verbs will be described.įollowing this mainly descriptive first part of the essay, the second part will compare the systems and point out the main differences or similarities. In that section changes will already have to be mentioned.Īfterwards, an entirely different classification of Modern English irregular verbs as suggested by Quirk & Greenbaum will be introduced. In the next section the same will be done for Middle English strong verbs. In order to do this, it will be necessary to describe the classification system of Old English strong verbs in detail as well as pointing out the conjugational patterns that apply for these verbs. In the course of the essay, the Old English system of strong verbs will be compared to the Middle English system and finally the Modern English system. The main task of the essay will be to find out similarities differences and parts which have remained the same in these systems. The different classification systems and conjugational patterns that apply for the periods will be compared. In the following essay the development of strong verbs in English will be examined, starting in the Old English period and reaching up to Modern English times. Development of Strong Verbs from Old English to Modern English A Comparison of the Different Classification SystemsĦ. 2.1 The Old English Classification System of Strong Verbsģ.1 The Middle English System of Strong VerbsĤ.1 Modern English Classification of Irregular VerbsĤ.2 Conjugation of Irregular Verbs in Modern Englishĥ.

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