Chapter 16: Weak Verbs
To prepare to learn the majority of Old English verbs, it is important to review the material we covered in Chapter 8, where we went over the different types of verbs and the grammatical roles they play. We strongly recommend that you go back and re-read that chapter now.
Remember that Old English verbs can be divided into four main categories: weak verbs (the subject of this chapter), strong verbs (the subject of chapter 17), preterite-present verbs (the subject of chapter 18), and irregular verbs (which we discussed in chapter 9).
Weak Verbs are verbs which add an ending to a verb stem to indicate person, number, tense, and mood.
Most verbs in Modern English behave like weak verbs.
Walk ==> Walked is an example of a weak verb.
Most verbs in Modern English behave like weak verbs.
To find the stem of an Old English verb, take the infinitive (which ends with -an) and subtract the ending.
For example, the stem of the verb deman = "to judge" is dem.
First Conjugation Weak Verbs: The stem generally ends in a consonant (these are the most common weak verbs).
Second Conjugation Weak Verbs: The stem generally ends in a vowel (these are less common than first conjugation weak verbs).
Third Conjugation Weak Verbs: These verbs don't fit into the first two conjugations. Luckily there are only three that you really need to worry about.
First Conjugation Weak Verbs
As with all conjugations, you begin with the infinitive, which ends in an.
Reminder: verbs are listed in dictionaries and glossaries under their infinitive forms.
Subtract an to find the stem of the verb.
Add the appropriate ending from the table below to the stem to form the conjugated verb.
First Conjugation Weak Verbs: Paradigms
First Conjugation Weak Verbs, Indicative Mood
Present Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st Person | e |
| 2nd Person | est |
| 3rd Person | eð |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | aþ |
Past Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st Person | de |
| 2nd Person | dest |
| 3rd Person | de |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | don |
First Conjugation Weak Verbs, Subjunctive Mood
Present Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | e |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | en |
Past Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | de |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | den |
Note: the only difference between the present and past tense is the addition of "d" to the ending.
First Conjugation Weak Verbs, Imperative Mood
(can only be in the 2nd person and only in present tense)
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Person | stem minus final letter |
| Plural | |
| 2nd Person | aþ |
Note: the Imperative Mood can only be in the 2nd person and only in present tense.
Inflected Infinitive: to (stem+anne)
Present Participle: stem + ende
Past Participle: stem + ed
Weak 1st Conjugation Verbs Examples
Infinitive: deman = "to judge"
First Conjugation Weak Verbs, Indicative Mood: Examples
Present Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st Person | deme |
| 2nd Person | demest |
| 3rd Person | demeð |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | demaþ |
Past Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st Person | demde |
| 2nd Person | demdest |
| 3rd Person | demde |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | demdon |
First Conjugation Weak Verbs, Subjunctive Mood: Examples
Present Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | deme |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | demen |
Past Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | demde |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | demden |
First Conjugation Weak Verbs, Imperative Mood: Examples
(can only be in the 2nd person and only in present tense)
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Person | dem |
| Plural | |
| 2nd Person | demaþ |
Inflected Infinitive: to demanne
Present Participle: demende
Past Participle: demed
Second Conjugation Weak Verbs
Second Conjugation verbs have ian in the infinitive rather than an.
As with all conjugations, you begin with the infinitive, which for second conjugation verbs ends in ian. The infinitive is the form of the verb listed in the dictionary.
Subtract ian to find the stem of the verb.
Add the endings in the table below to the stem to form the appropriate form of the verb.
Weak 2nd Conjugation Verbs paradigms
(All endings in the tables are added to the stem of the verb)
Second Conjugation Weak Verbs, Indicative Mood:
Present Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st Person | e |
| 2nd Person | ast |
| 3rd Person | aþ |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | aþ |
You'll notice that the only major difference from the First Conjugation paradigm is that "e" has been replaced with "a" in the second and third persons.
Past Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st Person | ode |
| 2nd Person | odest |
| 3rd Person | ode |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | odon |
The only difference from the first conjugation is that "o" is added before the ending. For a few verbs "a" is added instead of "o".
Second Conjugation Weak Verbs, Subjunctive Mood:
Present Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | ie |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | ien |
The only difference from the first conjugation is that "i" that is added before the ending.
Past Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st, 2nd, 3rd Person | ode |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd, 3rd Person | oden |
The only difference from the first conjugation is that "o" that is added before the ending.
Second Conjugation Weak Verbs, Imperative Mood:
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Person | a |
| Plural | |
| 2nd Person | iaþ |
Note: the Imperative Mood can only be in the 2nd person and only in present tense.
Inflected Infinitive: to stem + ianne (a few words use "eanne")
Present Participle: stem + iende (a few words use "ende")
Past Participle: stem + od (a few words use "d")
Weak 2nd Conjugation Verbs: Examples
Infinitive is "bodian" = to proclaim.
Stem is therefore "bod"
Second Conjugation Weak Verbs, Indicative Mood: Examples
Present Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st Person | bodie |
| 2nd Person | bodast |
| 3rd Person | bodaþ |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | bodiaþ |
You'll notice that the only major difference from the First Conjugation paradigm is that "e" has been replaced with "a" in the second and third persons.
Past Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st Person | bodode |
| 2nd Person | bododest |
| 3rd Person | bodode |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | bododon |
The only difference from the first conjugation is that "o" is added before the ending. For a few verbs "a" is added instead of "o".
Second Conjugation Weak Verbs, Subjunctive Mood: Examples
Present Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | bodie |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | bodien |
The only difference from the first conjugation is that "i" that is added before the ending.
Past Tense
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 1st, 2nd, 3rd Person | bodode |
| Plural | |
| 1st, 2nd, 3rd Person | bododen |
The only difference from the first conjugation is that "o" that is added before the ending.
Second Conjugation Weak Verbs, Imperative Mood: Examples
(can only be in the 2nd person and only in present tense)
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Person | boda |
| Plural | |
| 2nd Person | bodiaþ |
Inflected Infinitive: to bodianne
Present Participle: bodiende
Past Participle:bodod
Third Conjugation Weak Verbs
There are very few Third Conjugation Weak Verbs, and they all have various quirks in their conjugations. Therefore instead of presenting a set of endings, this page will simply show the full conjugations for the three most common and important Third Conjugation Verbs.
Infinitives:
habban = to have
libban (or lifian) = to live
secgan (or secgean) = to say
Weak 3rd Conjugation Verbs Paradigms
Weak 3rd Conjugation Verbs: Indicative Mood
Present Tense
| Singular | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | hæbbe | libbe or lifge | secge |
| 2nd Person | hafast or hæfast | lifast | sægst or segst |
| 3rd Person | hafað or hæfð | lifaþ | sægeþ or segþ |
| Plural | |||
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | habbaþ | libbaþ | secgaþ |
Past Tense
| Singular | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | hæfde | lifde | sægde or sæde |
| 2nd Person | hæfdest | lifdest | sægdest or sædest |
| 3rd Person | hæfde | lifde | sægde or sæde |
| Plural | |||
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | hæfdon | lifdon | sægdon or sædon |
Weak 3rd Conjugation Verbs: Subjunctive Mood
Present Tense
| Singular | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | hæbbe | libbe | secge |
| Plural | |||
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | hæbben | libben | secgen |
Past Tense
| Singular | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | hæfde | lifde | sægde or sæde |
| Plural | |||
| 1st, 2nd and 3rd Persons | hæfden | lifden | sægden or sæden |
Weak 3rd Conjugation Verbs: Imperative Mood
| Singular | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd Person | hafa | liofa | sage or sege |
| Plural | |||
| 2nd Person | habbaþ | libbaþ or lifiaþ | secgaþ or secgeaþ |
Note: The Imperative Mood can only be in the second person and the present tense.
Inflected Infinitives |
to habbanne | to libbanne or to lifienne |
to secganne or to secgeanne |
Present Participles |
hæbbende | libbende or lifigende | secgende |
Past Participles |
hæfd | lifd | sægd or sæd |