Accidence
Chapter III
Declension of Nouns
§ 41. MHG. nouns have two numbers: singular and plural; three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter, as in OHG. and NHG., from which the gender of nouns in MHG. does not materially differ; four cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, and dative. Traces of an old locative occur in what is called the uninflected dative singular of hūs, house, beside hūse, and in proper names like Engellant beside Engellande. The vocative is like the nominative.
In MHG., as in the older periods of the other Germanic languages, nouns are divided into two great classes, according as the stem originally ended in a vowel or a consonant, cp. the similar division of nouns in Latin and Greek. Nouns whose stems originally ended in a vowel belong to the vocalic or so-called strong declension. Those whose stems originally ended in -n belong to the so-called weak or n-declension. All other consonantal stems are generally put together under the general heading, ‘Minor Declensions’. In OHG. nouns whose stems originally ended in a vowel are subdivided into the a-declension including pure a-stems, ja-stems, and wa-stems; the ō-declension including pure ō-stems, jō-stems, and wō-stems; the ī̆-declension, and the u-declension. All the nouns belonging to the u-declension went over into other declensions in MHG. (cp. §§ 43, 44, 49). But as all final vowels either disappeared (some of them already in OHG.) or were weakened to e in MHG. (see §§ 7, 8), it is no longer practicable to retain the OHG. subdivision fully without entering into the oldest and in many cases into the prehistoric period of the language, which would be quite out of place in a MHG. grammar. The old ‘Minor Declensions’ had begun to pass over into the vocalic, especially into the i- and a-, declensions in the oldest OHG. The remnants of the old inflexions preserved in MHG. will be noted in the following paragraphs. The neuter nouns whose stems originally ended in -os, -es (cp. § 47) are in this Primer included in the strong declension.
A. The Vocalic or Strong Declension.
1. Masculine Nouns.
§ 42. First declension.—To this declension belong all masculine nouns which form their plural in -e only. It includes: (a) the old masculine a-stems; (b) the old masculine wa-stems which lost their final -w after long vowels in OHG., as sē, sea, gen. sēwes, pl. sēwe, and similarly bū, dwelling, rē (also neuter), corpse, snē, snow, see § 36; and (c) the old masculine i-stems which could not have umlaut in the plural (§ 44).
| Sing. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Acc. | tac, day | kil, quill | engel, angel |
| Gen. | tages | kil(e)s | engel(e)s |
| Dat. | tage | kil(e) | engel(e) |
| Plur. | |||
| Nom. Acc. Gen. | tage | kil(e) | engel(e) |
| Dat. | tagen | kil(e)n | engel(e)n |
On the interchange between fortis and lenis, as in tac, day, lop, praise, sant, sand, hof, court, gen. tages, lobes, sandes, hoves, see § 33.
Like tac are also declined the old consonantal stems vīent, enemy, and vriunt, friend, but pl. vriunde beside the old plural vriunt.
Like kil are declined all monosyllabic masculine nouns having a short stem-vowel and ending in -l or -r (§ 9, 1).
Like engel are declined masculine polysyllabic nouns ending in -el, -em, -en, -er, when their stem-syllable is long, as mantel, mantle, ātem, breath, morgen, morning, acker, field. Those in -em, -en generally retain the e in the dative plural. Polysyllabic nouns with short stem-syllables fluctuate between the retention or loss of the e, as gen. sing. vogeles or vogels, dat. sing, and nom. acc. pl. vogele or vogel, and similarly vadem, thread, rëgen, rain, sumer, summer, see § 9, 2.
§ 43. Second declension.—To this declension belong all masculine nouns whose nom. and acc. singular end in -e, which is the only difference between this and the first declension. It includes: (a) the old masculine ja-stems; (b) many old u-stems with short stem-syllable, as fride (OHG. fridu), peace, site (OHG. situ), custom, and similarly huge, thought, mëte, mead, sige beside sic, victory, wite, wood (see § 36); (c) the old short i-stem wine, friend; and (d) the old masculine wa-stem schate (gen. schat(e)wes beside schates), shadow.
| Sing. | Plur. | |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. Acc. | hirte, shepherd | hirte |
| Gen. | hirtes | hirte |
| Dat. | hirte | hirten |
§ 44. Third declension.—To this declension belong all masculine nouns which form their plural in -e and with umlaut of the stem-vowel. It includes: (a) the old masculine i-stems; (b) the old masculine u-stem sun (OHG. sunu, sun), son; and (c) the two old consonant stems fuoȥ, foot, zant (gen. zandes), zan, tooth.
| Sing. | Plur. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MHG. | OHG. | MHG. | OHG. | |
| Nom. Acc. | gast | gast, guest | geste | gesti |
| Gen. | gastes | gastes | geste | gesteo, -io |
| Dat. | gaste | gaste | gesten | gestim |
The singular of nouns of this declension was inflected like the a-stems (§ 42) already in OHG. And owing to the weakening of the case-endings of the plural in passing from OHG. to MHG. (§ 7), the only difference in the two declensions is the presence or absence of umlaut in the plural. The old masculine i-stems which could not have umlaut in the plural accordingly came to be inflected entirely like the old masculine a-stems, as schrit, step, snit, cut, biȥ, bite, pl. schrite, snite, biȥȥe. A further consequence of the singular being inflected alike in both declensions is that the old a-stems began to have umlaut in the plural after the analogy of the i-stems, as gedenke, thoughts, nägele, nails, wägene, wagons, beside gedanke, nagele, wagene.
Nouns ending in the fortis p, t, c, or f (= Germanic f) regularly change the fortis to lenis in the inflected forms, as korp, basket, walt, wood, slac, blow, brief, letter, gen. korbes, waldes, stages, brieves.
§ 45. The old consonant stems vater, father, bruoder, brother, often remain uninflected in the singular, as gen. vater, bruoder beside vaters, bruoders (cp. § 9, 2). In the plural they take umlaut, as veter, brüeder. The old consonant stem man, man, is either declined like tac (§ 42) or remains uninflected throughout, as
| Sing. | Plur. | |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. Acc. | man | manne, man |
| Gen. | mannes, man | manne, man |
| Dat. | manne, man | mannen, man |
The nom. plural man, now written mann, is still preserved in counting, as hundert mann, a hundred men.
2. Neuter Nouns.
§ 46. First Declension.—To this declension belong all neuter nouns which have their nominative case singular and plural alike. It includes three different types of nouns: (a) The old neuter a-stems like wort, word, venster, window. (b) The old neuter ja-stems like künne, race, generation, bette, bed, netze, net. The characteristic of this type of noun is that it has umlaut in all forms of the singular and plural when the stem-vowel is capable of it (cp. § 31, 3). And (c) the old neuter wa-stems (cp. § 36) like knie, knee, gen. kniewes.
| Sing. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Acc. | wort | venster | künne | knie |
| Gen. | wortes | vensters | künnes | kniewes (knies) |
| Dat. | worte | venster | künne | kniewe (knie) |
| Plur. | ||||
| Nom. Acc. | wort | venster | künne | knie |
| Gen. | worte | venster | künne | kniewe (knie) |
| Dat. | worten | venstern | künnen | kniewen (knien) |
(a) On the interchange between the fortes p, t, c and the lenes b, d, g, as in grap, grave, gëlt, money, dinc, thing, gen. grabes, gëldes, dinges, see § 33.
Like venster are declined the neuter polysyllabic nouns ending in -el, -em, -en, -er, as luoder, bait, wāfen, wāpen, weapon; schapel, garland, gadem, house, wëter, weather. On the endings, see §§ 9, 42.
(b) Like künne is also declined the old neuter u-stem vihe (OHG. fihu), cattle.
(c) Like knie are declined mël, meal, rē (also masc.), corpse, smër, fat, strō, straw, tou, dew, wē, woe, gen. mëlwes, rēwes, smërwes, strōwes, touwes, wēwes, see § 36.
§ 47. Second declension.—To this declension belong all neuter nouns which form their plural in -er and by umlaut of the stem-vowel when it is capable of it. This class of nouns corresponds to the Latin neuters in -us, as genus, gen. generis, pl. genera. The -er (OHG. -ir) was originally a stem-forming suffix which came to be regarded as a plural ending. In the oldest period of the language only about half-a-dozen nouns belonged to this class, but during the MHG. period nearly twenty neuter a-stems passed into this declension, and in NHG. the number has increased to about a hundred.
| Sing. | Plur. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MHG. | OHG. | MHG. | OHG. | |
| Nom. Acc. | lamp | lamb, lamb | lember | lembir |
| Gen. | lambes | lambes | lember | lembiro |
| Dat. | lambe | lambe | lembern | lembirum |
On the loss of the e in the gen. and dat. plural, see § 9, 2.
Other examples are: ei (pl. eiger, eijer, eier, § 35), egg, huon, hen, kalp, calf, rat, wheel, rint, bullock, tal, dale.
3. Feminine Nouns.
§ 48. First declension.—To this declension belong all feminine nouns having their nominative case singular and plural alike. It includes: (a) the old feminine ō-stems, as gëbe, gift, sēle, soul, zal, number; (b) the old feminine jō-stems, as küneginne, künegin, künegīn, queen, and similarly vriundinne, friend, gütinne, goddess; (c) the old feminine wō-stems with and without w, as brāwe, brā, brow, pl. brā beside weak pl. brāwen; diuwe, diu, servant; (d) the old feminine abstract nouns in -ī, as vinster (OHG. finstrī), darkness, schœne (OHG. scōnī), beauty; and (e) the old consonant stem, swester, swëster, sister.
| Sing. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Acc. | gëbe | zal | vinster |
| Gen. | gëbe | zal | vinster |
| Dat. | gëbe | zal | vinster |
| Plur. | |||
| Nom. Acc. | gëbe | zal | vinster |
| Gen. | gëben | zaln | vinstern |
| Dat. | gëben | zaln | vinstern |
On the endings in nouns declined like zal, number, dol, pain, wal, choice, nar, food, schar, flock, and vinster, see § 9, 1, 2.
The gen. plural had the ending of the weak declension already in the oldest period of the language. Through the nom. singular and the gen. and dat. plural having the same endings as the feminine weak declension (§ 53), ō-stems began in OHG. to be inflected after the analogy of the weak declension, especially in the plural. This process spread considerably in MHG. with concrete nouns, but not often with abstract nouns.
§ 49. Second declension.—To this declension belong all feminine nouns which form their plural in -e and have umlaut in the stem-vowel. It includes: (a) the old feminine i-stems; (b) the old u-stem hant, hand; and (c) several old consonantal stems, see below.
| Sing. | Plur. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MHG. | OHG. | MHG. | OHG. | |
| Nom. Acc. | anst | anst, favour | enste | ensti |
| Gen. | enste or anst | ensti | enste | ensteo, -io |
| Dat. | enste or anst | ensti | ensten | enstim |
In jugent (OHG. jugund, pl. jugundi), youth, gen. dat. jugende beside jugent, pl. jugende, the original -i being in the third syllable did not cause umlaut in the stem-syllable; and similarly tugent, valour.
hant, hand, originally belonged to the u-declension, which explains forms like gen. sing, and plural hande beside hende, dat. pl. handen beside henden. The old gen. plural has been preserved in NHG. allerhand, and the dat. plural in abhanden, beihanden, vorhanden, zuhanden.
Several old consonant stems went over partly or entirely into this declension, viz. maget, meit (§ 37), maid, pl. mägede or meide; kuo, cow, pl. küeje or küewe (OHG. kuoi), sū, sow, pl. siuwe (OHG. sūi); both these nouns generally remained uninflected in the gen. and dat. singular. naht, night, has gen. and dat. singular naht beside nähte; pl. nom. acc. gen. naht beside nähte, dat. nahten beside nähten, cp. also NHG. weihnachten, MHG. zën wīhen nahten. The MHG. adverbial gen. nahts, dës nahtes was formed after the analogy of dës tages. Like naht were also inflected brust, breast, and burc, citadel.
muoter, mother, and tohter, daughter, remain uninflected in the singular. In the plural they have umlaut: müeter, töhter.
B. The Weak Declension (N-Stems).
§ 50. The weak declension contains a large number of masculine and feminine nouns, but only four neuter nouns, viz. hërze, heart, ōre, ear, ouge, eye, and wange, cheek; these nouns, especially hërze, sometimes form their nom. acc. plural after the analogy of nouns like künne (§ 46). The original case endings of the weak declension had disappeared in the oldest period of the language except in the nom. singular (masc. -o, fem., and neut. -a), the gen. pl. (ōno) and dat. pl. (-ōm). Owing to the weakening of the -o, -a to -e in MHG. the nom. singular became alike in all genders. And similarly the endings -ōno, -ōm and the endings of the other oblique forms were all weakened to -en in MHG. (§ 7), so that the element which originally formed part of the stem came to be regarded as a case ending.
On the loss of the final and medial e in nouns like ar, eagle, bir (fem.), pear, gevangen(e), prisoner, beside the inflected forms arn, birn, gevangen from *gevangen-en through the intermediate stage *gevangenn, see § 9, 1, 2.
§ 51.
1. Masculine Nouns.
| Sing. | ||
|---|---|---|
| MHG. | OHG. | |
| Nom. | bote | boto, messenger |
| Acc. | boten | boton, -un |
| Gen. | boten | boten, -in |
| Dat. | boten | boten, -in |
| Plur. | ||
| Nom. Acc. | boten | boton, -un |
| Gen. | boten | botōno |
| Dat. | boten | botōm |
§ 52.
2. Neuter Nouns.
| Sing. | ||
|---|---|---|
| MHG. | OHG. | |
| Nom. Acc. | hërze | hërza, heart |
| Gen. | hërzen | hërzen, -in |
| Dat. | hërzen | hërzen, -in |
| Plur. | ||
| Nom. Acc. | hërzen | hërzun, -on |
| Gen. | hërzen | hërzōno |
| Dat. | hërzen | hërzōm |
§ 53.
3. Feminine Nouns.
| Sing. | ||
|---|---|---|
| MHG. | OHG. | |
| Nom. | zunge | zunga, tongue |
| Acc. | zungen | zungūn |
| Gen. | zungen | zungūn |
| Dat. | zungen | zungūn |
| Plur. | ||
| Nom. Acc. | zungen | zungūn |
| Gen. | zungen | zungōno |
| Dat. | zunge | zungōm |
C. Declension of Proper Names.
§ 54. Names of persons ending in e in the nominative follow the weak declension. Masculine names of persons take -es in the genitive, -e in the dative, and -en in the accusative after the analogy of the strong adjectives. The accusative ending -en was sometimes extended to the dative, and the dative ending -e to the accusative. And sometimes both these cases were without endings. Names of countries ending in -lant often have no ending in the dative, as Engellant beside Engellande, see § 41. Feminine names of persons ending in a consonant take -e in the genitive, dative and accusative, but occasionally remain uninflected throughout.
| Masculine. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | Sīfrit | Hagene |
| Gen. | Sīfrides | Hagenen |
| Dat. Acc. | Sīfrit, Sīfride(n) | Hagenen |
| Feminine. | ||
| Nom. | Kriemhilt | Uote |
| Gen. Dat. Acc. | Kriemhilde, Kriemhilt | Uoten |
Chapter IV
Adjectives
A. The Declension of Adjectives.
1. The Strong Declension.
§ 55. The MHG. adjectives are declined as strong or weak. They have three genders, and the same cases as nouns. The endings of the strong declension are partly nominal and partly pronominal. The nominal endings are: the accusative feminine singular, as blinde like gëbe (§ 48); and the genitive singular masculine and neuter, as blindes like tages, wortes (§§ 43, 46). All the other endings are pronominal. The so-called uninflected form of adjectives in the nom. singular masculine and feminine and the nom. acc. neuter is a remnant of the time when adjectives and nouns were declined alike, see the Author’s Hist. Germ. Grammar, §§ 399-400. The strong declension includes three different types of adjectives, all of which are declined alike: (a) The old a-stems, as blint, infl. form blinter, blind; bar, bare, guot, good, heilec, holy, hol, hollow, michel, great, vinster, dark, and similarly with a very large number of adjectives, including the past participles of strong and weak verbs. (b) The old ja-stems, as lære (OHG. lāri), infl. lærer, empty; dünne, thin, enge, narrow, grüene, green, niuwe, new, reine, pure, schœne, beautiful, senfte, soft, wilde, wild, and many others, including the present participles of strong and weak verbs. The ja-stems only differ from the a-stems in having -e in the uninflected form and umlaut in the stem-syllable when it is capable of it. (c) The old wa-stems, as blā (OHG. blāo, blā), infl. form blāwer, blue; gar (OHG. garo), infl. form garwer (see §§ 9, 1, 36), ready; grā, grey, val, fallow, gël, yellow, kal, bald, &c., all of which have w in the inflected forms.
The adjectival i- and u-stems had come to be declined like the ja-stems in the prehistoric period of the language, but a few remnants of such adjectives have survived in MHG. in forms without the final -e beside those with it, as bereit, bereite, ready, dic, dicke, thick, gāch, gæhe, quick, grīs, grīse, old, grey, hēr, hēre, high, noble, rasch, resche, quick, rīch, rīche, noble, swā, swære, heavy, was, wasse, sharp.
| Sing. | |||
| Masc. | Neut. | Fem. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | blinder, blind | blindeȥ | blindiu |
| Acc. | blinden | blindeȥ | blinde |
| Gen. | blindes | blindes | blinder(e) |
| Dat. | blindem(e) | blindem(e) | blinder(e) |
| Plur. | |||
| Nom. | blinde | blindiu | blinde |
| Acc. | blinde | blindiu | blinde |
| Gen. | blinder(e) | blinder(e) | blinder(e) |
| Dat. | blinden | blinden | blinden |
On the loss of the -e in blindem(e), blinder(e), see § 9, 2. Umlaut caused by the -iu occurs in the nom. sing. feminine and nom. acc. pl. neuter of al, all, and ander, other, second, as älliu, ändriu. This rarely happens in other words.
| Sing. | |||
| Masc. | Neut. | Fem. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | micheler, great | michel(e)ȥ | micheliu |
| Acc. | michel(e)n | michel(e)ȥ | michel(e) |
| Gen. | michel(e)s | michel(e)s | michelre, micheler |
| Dat. | michelme, michel(e)m | michelme, michel(e)m | michelre, micheler |
| Plur. | |||
| Nom. | michel(e) | micheliu | michel(e) |
| Acc. | michel(e) | micheliu | michel(e) |
| Gen. | michelre, micheler | michelre, micheler | michelre, micheler |
| Dat. | michel(e)n | michel(e)n | michel(e)n |
Like michel are inflected monosyllabic adjectives ending in -l, -r with a short stem-vowel, and polysyllabic adjectives ending in -el, -en, -er, as bar, bare, hol, hollow; zwīvel, doubtful, eigen, own, tougen, secret, ander, other, second, bitter, bitter, vinster, dark; ëben, even, übel, evil, bad, &c. See § 9, 1, 2.
2. The Weak Declension.
§ 56. The weak declension of adjectives agrees exactly with that of the nouns.
| Sing. | |||
| Masc. | Neut. | Fem. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | blinde, blind | blinde | blinde |
| Acc. | blinden | blinde | blinden |
| Gen. | blinden | blinden | blinden |
| Dat. | blinden | blinden | blinden |
Plural blinden for all cases and genders.
B. The Comparison Of Adjectives.
§ 57. The comparative was formed by means of the suffix -er(e) = OHG. -iro, -ōro, and the superlative by means of the suffix -est(e) = OHG. -isto, -ōsto. On the loss of the medial or final e in such forms as tiurre, dearer, tiurste; minner, minre, less, minnest, min(ne)ste, see § 9, 3. Most monosyllables have umlaut in the comparative and superlative either exclusively or have mutated beside unmutated forms. The cause of these double forms is in a great measure due to the two OHG. double suffixes: comp. -iro, -ōro and superl. -isto, -ōsto having fallen together in -er(e) and -est(e) in MHG., as elter, older, ermer, poorer, jünger, younger, grœȥer, greater, hœher, higher, beside alter, armer, junger, grōȥer, hōher; superl. eltest, ermest, jüngest, grœȥest, hœhest, beside altest, armest, jungest, grōȥest, hōhest. Adjectives which have umlaut in the positive regularly preserve it in the comparative and superlative.
The comparative is declined weak, but the superlative is declined strong and weak.
§ 58. The following adjectives form their comparative and superlative from a different root than the positive:—
| guot, good, | beȥȥer, beȥȥest, beste (§ 23). |
| übel, bad, | wirser, wirsest, wir(se)ste. |
| lützel, little, | minner, minre (§ 9, 3), minnest, min(ne)ste. |
| michel, great, | mērer, mēr(r)e, meiste. |
§ 59. The following adjectives are defective:—
| ērer, ērre, ërre, former, | ērest, ērste, first. |
| hinder, hinder, | hinderste, hindmost. |
| ober, upper, | oberste, uppermost. |
| leȥȥeste, leste (§ 23), last. | |
| vorder, former, | vorderste, foremost. |
C. Formation of Adverbs from Adjectives.
§ 60. 1. By adding -e (= OHG. -o) to the adjective when this does not already end in -e, as ëben, even, hōch, high, lanc, long: adv. ëbene, hōhe, lange; edele (OHG. edili), noble, übel (OHG. ubil), evil: adv. edele (OHG. edilo), übele (OHG. ubilo).
2. Dissyllabic adjectives ending in -e and containing a mutated stem-vowel change it to the corresponding unmutated vowel, when used as adverbs, as schœne (OHG. scōni), beautiful, herte, hard, senfte, soft, süeȥe, sweet, swære, heavy: adv. schōne, harte, sanfte, suoȥe, swāre.
3. By adding -līche or -līchen to the adjective, as ganz, whole, vlīȥec, diligent: adv. ganzlīche(n), vlīȥeclīche(n).
4. The comparative and superlative degrees of adverbs are the same as the corresponding uninflected forms of the adjectives without umlaut:—
| Adjective | lanc, long | lenger | lengest. |
| Adverb | lange | langer (OHG. langōr) | langest (OHG. langōst). |
§ 61. The following are irregular:—
| wol, well | baȥ, better | best(e), best. |
| wirs, worse | wirsest, wirste, worst. | |
| min, minner, minre, less | minnest, minste, least. | |
| mē, mēr, mēre, more | meist, meiste, most. | |
| ē, formerly | ēr(e)st, ērste, first. |
§ 62.
D. Numerals.
| Cardinal. | Ordinal. | |
|---|---|---|
| ein, -er, -eȥ, -iu, one | ērste | |
| zwei, two | ander | |
| drī, three | dritte | |
| vier, four | vierde | |
| fünf (finf), five | fünfte, finfte | |
| sëhs, six | sëhste | |
| siben, seven | sibende, -te | |
| ahte, eight | ahtede, ahte | |
| niun, nine | niunde, -te | |
| zëhen, ten | zëhende, -te | |
| einlif (eilif), eleven | ei(n)lifte, eilfte | |
| zwelf, twelve | zwelfte | |
| drīzëhen, thirteen | drīzëhende | |
| vierzëhen, fourteen | vierzëhende | |
| fünfzëhen, fifteen | fünfzëhende | |
| sëh(s)zëhen, sixteen | së(h)szëhende | |
| sibenzëhen, seventeen | sibenzëhende | |
| ah(t)zëhen, eighteen | ah(t)zëhende | |
| niunzëhen, nineteen | niunzëhende | |
| zweinzic (or -zec), | twenty | zweinzigeste |
| drīȥic„ | thirty | drīȥigeste |
| vierzic„ | forty | vierzigeste |
| fünfzic„ | fifty | fünfzigeste |
| sëhszic„ | sixty | sëhszigeste |
| sibenzic„ | seventy | sibenzigeste |
| ah(t)zic„ | eighty | ah(t)zigeste |
| niunzic„ | ninety | niunzigeste |
| zëhenzic or hundert | hundred | zëhenzigeste or hundertste |
| zwei hunt or hundert | two hundred | zweihundertste |
| tūsent | thousand | tūsenste |
| zwei tūsent | two thousand | zweitūsentste |
§ 63. Ein follows the strong declension, when used as a numeral. The dat. einme is generally contracted to eime (§ 9, 3). When ein is used in the sense of alone, it follows the weak declension. On the inflexion of ander, second, see § 55. Zwei and drī are declined as follows:—
| Masc. | Neut. | Fem. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Acc. | zwēne | zwei | zwō, zwuo, zwā |
| Gen. | zwei(g)er (§ 35) | zwei(g)er | zwei(g)er |
| Dat. | zwein, zweien | zwein, zweien | zwein, zweien |
| Nom. Acc. | drī, dr[i]e | driu | drī, drīe |
| Gen. | drī(g)er (§ 35) | drī(g)er | drī(g)er |
| Dat. | drī̆n, drīen | drī̆n, drī̆en | drī̆n, drīen |
§ 64. The other cardinals up to twelve are sometimes inflected; when such is the case the endings are:—
| Masc. and Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. Acc. | -e | -iu |
| Gen. | -er | -er |
| Dat. | -en | -en |
hundert and tūsent are neuter nouns.
Chapter V
Pronouns
§ 65.
1. Personal.
| Sing. | ||
| Nom. | ich, I | du, dū, thou |
| Acc. | mich | dich |
| Gen. | mīn | dīn |
| Dat. | mir | dir |
| Plur. | ||
| Nom. | wir | ir |
| Acc. | unsich, uns | iuch |
| Gen. | unser | iuwer |
| Dat. | uns | iu |
| Sing. | |||
| Masc. | Neut. | Fem. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | ër, he | ëȥ, it, there | si, sī, siu, sie, she |
| Acc. | in | ëȥ | sie, si, sī |
| Gen. | (ës) | ës | ir(e) |
| Dat. | im(e) | im(e) | ir(e) |
| Plur. | |||
| Nom. Acc. | si, sī, sie (Neut. also siu), they | ||
| Gen. | ir(e) | ||
| Dat. | in | ||
Note.—1. The gen. ir is often used as a possessive pronoun. For ëȥ the form iȥ sometimes appears.
2. For the acc. pl. unsich the dat. uns is mostly used. iu is often used for iuch, and vice versa. im, ir are more usual than ime, ire.
3. The unstressed forms of personal pronouns are often attached to other words, as ichȥ, iȥ = ich ëȥ; ichne, ine, ichn = ich ne (not); tuostu = tuost du; dune, dun = du ne (not); tuoȥ = tuo ëȥ; eist, ēst = ëȥ ist; deiȥ = daȥ ëȥ; mohter = mohte ër; baten = bat in; wirȥ = wir ëȥ, &c.
§ 66.
2. Reflexive.
| Sing. | Plur. | |
|---|---|---|
| Acc. | sich | sich |
| Gen. | sīn (fem. ir) | ir |
| Dat. | im, ir | in |
§ 67.
3. Possessive.
mīn, my; dīn, thy; sīn, his; ir, her; unser, our; iuwer, your; ir, their.
They are declined like the strong adjective michel, great (§ 55). The dat. sing. forms dīnme, sīnme are generally contracted to dīme, sīme, see § 9, 3.
§ 68.
4. Demonstrative.
| Sing. | |||
| Masc. | Neut. | Fem. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | dër, the | daȥ | diu |
| Acc. | dën | daȥ | die |
| Gen. | dës | dës | dër(e) |
| Dat. | dëm(e) | dëm(e) | dër(e) |
| Instr. | diu | ||
| Plur. | |||
| Masc. | Neut. | Fem. | |
| Nom. | die | diu | die |
| Acc. | die | diu | die |
| Gen. | dër(e) | dër(e) | dër(e) |
| Dat. | dën | dën | dën |
Like dër is also declined jener, that, except that the Nom., Acc. sg. neut. ends in -eȥ. dër, &c., is used both as definite article and relative pronoun.
Note.—1. For the fem. nom. sing. and the neut. nom. acc. pl. diu, the form die was sometimes used; and conversely diu for die in the fem. acc. singular. diu and die were sometimes weakened to de, and to d’ before words beginning with a vowel. daȥ was sometimes weakened to deȥ, and still further to ȥ which was then attached to a preceding word, as lātȥ kind = lāt daȥ kint; anȥ, inȥ = an, in daȥ. dēst, deis, dēs = daȥ ist.
2. The various cases were often fused into one word with prepositions, as anme, ame, am = an dëme; zëme, zëm = ze dëme; ūfme = ūf dëme; zër = ze dër (fem.); übern = über dën; ūfën = ūf dën; zën = ze dën.
| Sing. | |||
| Masc. | Neut. | Fem. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | dirre (diser, dise), this | ditze, diz, diȥ | disiu |
| Acc. | disen | ditze, diz, diȥ | dise |
| Gen. | dises | dises | dirre |
| Dat. | disem(e) | disem(e) | dirre |
| Plur. | |||
| Nom. | dise | disiu | dise |
| Acc. | dise | disiu | dise |
| Gen. | dirre | dirre | dirre |
| Dat. | disen | disen | disen |
5. Relative.
§ 69. A relative pronoun proper did not exist in the oldest periods of the Germanic languages, and accordingly the separate languages expressed it in various ways. In MHG. the following pronouns and adverbial particles were used to express it:—
1. dër, daȥ (also used as a conjunction), diu, also in combination with the particles dar der dā. 2. sō, alsō (alse, als), as; sam (alsam), as. 3. dā(r), where, dar, thither, whither, darinne, therein, dannen, wherefrom, darumbe, therefore, dō, when, as. 4. Indefinite relatives, as swër (from sō wër), whoever, swelch, each who, swëder, who of two; swā, swar, wherever, swannen, swanne (swenne), whenever, swie, however, howsoever. 5. The conjunction unde, and.
6. Interrogative.
§ 70. The MHG. simple interrogative pronoun has no independent form for the feminine, and is declined in the singular only.
| Masc. Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | wër, who | waȥ |
| Acc. | wën | waȥ |
| Gen. | wës | wës |
| Dat. | wëm(e) | wëm(e) |
| Instr. | wiu |
In the same manner are declined the compounds:
swër (from sō wër), whoever, etewër, eteswër, anyone, neiȥwër (= ne weiȥ wër, I do not know who), anyone.
wëder, who of two, is declined like a strong adjective; welīch (welch), which, is also declined like a strong adjective, but the nom. singular remains uninflected.
7. Indefinite.
§ 71. ander, other; dechein, dehein, dekein, no, none; dewëder, neither; ein, one, some one: when ein is used with the meaning alone it follows the weak declension; etelīch, etlīch, eteslīch, etslīch, anyone, many a, pl. = some; etewër, eteswër, anyone; etewaȥ, anything; iegelīch, ieslīch, iegeslīch, each; ieman, iemen, someone, somebody; iewëder, ietwëder, each; iewelīch, iewelich, each; iewiht, iht, anything; kein, no; man, one; manec, many a, declined maneger, manegeȥ, manegiu, &c.; nehein, no, none; niht, nothing; solch, such, declined like manec; sum, any one at all, pl. some; sumelīch, sumlīch, many a; swelch, each who; swër, whoever; wëder, which of two; welīch (welch), which, declined like manec.
Chapter VI
Verbs
§ 72. The MHG. verb has the following independent forms:—one voice (active), two numbers, three persons, two tenses (present and preterite), two complete moods (indicative and subjunctive, the latter originally the optative), besides an imperative which is only used in the present tense; two verbal nouns (the present infinitive, and the gerund, generally called the inflected infinitive), a present participle with active meaning, and one verbal adjective (the past participle).
The MHG. verbs are divided into two great classes:—Strong and Weak. The strong verbs form their preterite (originally the perfect) and past participle by means of ablaut (§ 12). The weak verbs form their preterite by the addition of the syllable -te, and their past participle by means of a t-suffix. The strong verbs were originally further sub-divided into reduplicated and non-reduplicated verbs. The reduplication had, however, entirely disappeared in the oldest period of the language. The non-reduplicated verbs are divided into six classes according to the six ablaut-series (§ 12). The originally reduplicated verbs are put together here and called Class VII. Besides these two great classes of strong and weak verbs, there are a few others which will be treated under the general heading Minor Groups.
A. Strong Verbs.
§ 73. We are able to conjugate a MHG. strong verb when we know the four stems, as seen in (1) the infinitive or first pers. sing. of the present indicative, (2) the first or third pers. sing. of the preterite indicative, (3) the first pers. plural of the preterite indicative, (4) the past participle. The pret. subjunctive and the second pers. pret. indicative have the same stem-vowel as the pret. plural indicative.
§ 74. The conjugation of nëmen, OHG. nëman, to take, will serve as a model for all strong verbs.
| Present. | ||||
| Indic. | Subj. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MHG. | OHG. | MHG. | OHG. | |
| Sing. | 1. nime | nimu | nëme | nëme |
| 2. nimes(t) | nimis(t) | nëmes(t) | nëmēs(t) | |
| 3. nimet | nimit | nëme | nëme | |
| Plur. | 1. nëmen | nëmemēs, -ēm | nëmen | nëmēm |
| 2. nëmet | nëmet | nëmet | nëmēt | |
| 3. nëment | nëmant | nëmen | nëmēn | |
| Imper. | Infin. | |||
| MHG. | OHG. | MHG. | OHG. | |
| Sing. | 2. nim | nim | nëmen | nëman |
| Plur. | 1. nëmen | nëmemēs, -ēm | ||
| 2. nëmet, (-ent) | nëmet | |||
| Gerund. | ||||
| MHG. | OHG. | |||
| Gen. | nëmen(n)es | nëmannes | ||
| Dat. | nëmen(n)e | nëmanne | ||
| Present Participle. | ||||
| nëmende | nëmanti | |||
| Preterite. | ||||
| Indic. | Subj. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MHG. | OHG. | MHG. | OHG. | |
| Sing. | 1. nam | nam | næme | nāmi |
| 2. næme | nāmi | næmes(t) | nāmīst | |
| 3. nam | nam | næme | nāmi | |
| Plur. | 1. nāmen | nāmum | næmen | nāmīm |
| 2. nāmet | nāmut | næmet | nāmīt | |
| 3. nāmen | nāmun | næmen | nāmīn | |
| Past Participle. | ||||
| MHG. | OHG. | |||
| genomen | ginoman | |||
Note.— The e in the endings is regularly lost according to the rule given in § 9, 1, as sing. stil, stilst, stilt, inf. stëln, to steal; sing. var, verst, vert, inf. varn, to go. It was also frequently lost in the third pers. sing. pres. indicative of other verbs, as vint = vindet, siht = sihet, see § 9, 4 note. The n in the first pers. plural was sometimes dropped when the pronoun came after the verb, as nëme wir = nëmen wir.
The imperative singular sometimes has -e after the analogy of weak verbs (§ 90).
The OHG. forms given above show in what forms umlaut regularly took place, viz. in the second and third pers. singular of the pres. indicative, when possible, in the second pers. singular of the pret. indicative, and in the pret. subjunctive. The second pers. singular of the pret. indicative always has the same stem-vowel as the pret. subjunctive. On the absence of umlaut in the pret. subjunctive of certain types of verbs, see § 10, note. Forms without and with umlaut are found in the second and third pers. singular of the present in verbs belonging to Class VII, as slāfes(t), slāfet beside slæfes(t), slæfet.
Concerning the changes between i, ë; u, o; iu, ie; ei, ē; ou, ō in the various classes of strong verbs, see §§ 14-17.
The Classification of the Strong Verbs.
§ 75. We shall only give in each class a few verbs to illustrate the gradation of vowels and consonant changes. All other verbs occurring in the texts will be found in the Glossary referred to their proper class.
Class I.
§ 76. The verbs of this class belong to the first ablaut-series (§ 12) and therefore have ī in all forms of the present; ei in the first and third pers. sing. of the preterite, but ē before ch (= Germanic h, § 23), and finally (§ 17); and i in the preterite plural and past participle, thus:—
| bīten, to wait | beit | biten | gebiten |
| swīgen, to be silent | sweic | swigen | geswigen |
| trīben, to drive | treip | triben | getriben |
And similarly belīben, to remain, bīȥen, to bite, rīben, to rub, rīten, to ride, schīnen, to shine, schrīben, to write, sīgen, to sink, strīten, to quarrel.
| snīden, to cut | sneit | sniten | gesniten |
| dīhen, to thrive | dēch | digen | gedigen |
| rīsen, to fall | reis | rirn (risen) | gerirn (gerisen) |
And similarly līden, to suffer, mīden, to avoid, nīden, to envy, līhen, to lend, zīhen, to accuse. See § 30.
§ 77. The following two verbs which are also used as weak verbs have mixed forms in the preterite and past participle:—
| schrīen, to scream | schrē | schriuwen | geschriuwen |
| schrei | schrūwen | geschrūwen | |
| schrirn | geschrirn | ||
| spīwen, to vomit | spē | spiwen | gespiwen |
| spei | spiuwen | gespiuwen | |
| spūwen | gespūwen | ||
| spirn | gespirn |
Class II.
§ 78. The verbs of this class belong to the second ablaut-series (§ 12) and therefore have ie in the present, but iu in the present singular (§ 16); ou in the first and third pers. sing. of the preterite, but ō before t, ȥ, s and ch (= Germanic h), § 18; u in the pret. plural; and o in the past participle, thus:—
| biegen, to bend | biuge | bouc | bugen | gebogen |
| triefen, to drop | triufe | trouf | truffen | getroffen |
| bieten, to offer | biute | bōt | buten | geboten |
| schieȥen, to shoot | schiuȥe | schōȥ | schuȥȥen | geschoȥȥen |
And similarly klieben, to cleave, kriechen, to creep, liegen, to lie, riechen, to smell, schieben, to shove, vliegen, to fly; dieȥen, to roar, gieȥen, to pour, vlieȥen, to flow.
| sieden, to seethe | siude | sōt | suten gesoten | |
| ziehen, to draw | ziuhe | zōch | zugen gezogen | |
| kiesen, to choose | kius | kōs | kurn | gekorn |
And similarly vliehen, to flee, niesen, to sneeze, verliesen, to lose, vriesen, to freeze. See § 30.
§ 79. On the stem-vowels in the following verbs, see § 16, note and § 36:—
| bliuwen, to strike | bliuwe | blou | blūwen | |
| bliuwen | gebliuwen | |||
| blouwen | geblouwen |
And similarly briuwen, to brew, kiuwen, to chew, riuwen, to pain.
§ 80. To this class also belong the three aorist presents:—
| lūchen, to shut | liuche (lūche) | louch | luchen | gelochen |
| sūfen, to gulp down | sūfe | souf | suffen | gesoffen |
| sūgen, to suck | sūge | souc | sugen | gesogen |
Class III.
§ 81. The verbs of this class belong to the third ablaut-series (§ 12), and include the strong verbs having a medial nasal or a liquid + consonant. Those with nasal + consonant have i throughout the present tense and u in the past participle; the others have i in the present singular, ë in the plural, and o in the past participle (see §§ 14, 15), thus:—
| binden, to bind | binde | bant | bunden | gebunden |
| rinnen, to run | rinne | ran | runnen | gerunnen |
| singen, to sing | singe | sanc | sungen | gesungen |
And similarly brinnen, to burn, dringen, to press, entrinnen, to escape, gelingen, to succeed, gewinnen, to gain, schrinden, to split, sinken, to sink, sinnen, to reflect, spinnen, to spin, swimmen, to swim, trinken, to drink, vinden (p.p. vunden), to find, winden, to wind. beginnen, to begin, pret. sing. began beside begunde, begonde, pl. begunden, p.p. begunnen.
| bërgen, to hide | birge | bare | burgen | geborgen |
| hëlfen, to help | hilfe | half | hulfen | geholfen |
| stërben, to die | stirbe | starp | sturben | gestorben |
And similarly bevëlhen, to order, emphëlhen, enphëlhen, to recommend, gëlten, to pay, mëlken, to milk, schëlten, to revile, swëllen, to swell, verdërben, to destroy, wërfen, to throw, wërren, to confuse, wërden, to become, pret. pl. wurten, wurden, p.p. worten, (ge)worden, see § 30.
Class IV.
§ 82. The verbs of this class belong to the fourth ablaut-series (§ 12). They include those strong verbs which have a liquid or a nasal before or after the stem-vowel, and a few others, thus:—
| ë | i | a | ā | o |
| nëmen, to take | nime | nam | nāmen | genomen |
| bërn, to bear | bir (§ 9, 1) | bar | bāren | geborn |
| stëln, to steal | stil (§ 9, 1) | stal | stālen | gestoln |
| brëchen, to break | briche | brach | brāchen | gebrochen |
| vëhten, to fight | vihte | vaht | vāhten | gevohten |
And similarly schërn, to shear, schrëcken, to frighten, sprëchen, to speak, vlëhten, to plait, zëmen (p.p. also gezëmen), to be befitting, stëchen, to prick, trëffen (p.p. troffen), to hit; dreschen, to thrash, leschen, to be extinguished, see § 11, 1. komen (OHG. quëman), to come, kume, quam, quāmen, komen; on other forms of this verb, see § 36.
Class V.
§ 83. The verbs of this class belong to the fifth ablaut-series (§ 12). They include the strong verbs containing a medial consonant other than a nasal or liquid, thus:—
| ë | i | a | ā | ë |
| gëben, to give | gibe | gap | gāben | gegëben |
| jëhen, to say | gihe (§ 35) | jach | jāhen | gejëhen |
| sëhen, to see | sihe | sach | sāhen | gesëhen |
| wëgen, to move | wige | wac | wāgen | gewëgen |
And similarly geschëhen, to happen, knëten, to knead, mëȥȥen, to measure, pflëgen, to be accustomed, trëten, to tread, vergëȥȥen, to forget, wëben, to weave.
wësen, to be
wise
was
wāren
gewësen
And similarly genësen (pret. pl. also genāsen), to recover, jësen, to ferment, lësen (pret. pl. also lāsen), to gather, read. See § 30.
| ëȥȥen, to eat | iȥȥe | āȥ(aȥ) | āȥen | gëȥȥen (§ 9, 7) |
| vrëȥȥen, to devour | vriȥȥe | vrāȥ | vrāȥen | vrëȥȥen |
These verbs had a long vowel in the pret. singular in the oldest period of all the Germanic languages, cp. also Lat. ēdī.
§ 84. To this class also belong the three verbs:—
| bit(t)en, to beg | bite | bat | bāten | gebëten |
| ligen, to lie down | lige | lac | lāgen | gelëgen |
| sitzen, to sit | sitze | saȥ | sāȥen | gesëȥȥen |
bit(t)en, OHG. bitten from *bidjan; ligen, OHG. liggen from *ligjan; sitzen, OHG. sitzen from *sitjan, see §§ 14, 31, 3. The inf. ligen is sometimes contracted to līn, see § 37.
Class VI.
§ 85. The verbs of this class belong to the sixth ablaut-series (§ 12), and accordingly have a in the present; uo in the pret. singular and plural; and a in the past participle. They have umlaut in the second and third pers. singular, as grebes(t), grebet; verst, vert. See § 10.
| graben, to dig | gruop | gruoben | gegraben |
| tragen, to carry | truoc | truogen | getragen |
| maln, to grind | muol | muolen | gemaln |
| varn, to go | vuor | vuoren | gevarn |
And similarly laden, to load, nagen, to gnaw, schaffen, to create, spanen, to entice, waschen, to wash, wahsen, to grow, waten, to wade.
| slahen, to strike | sluoc | sluogen | geslagen |
| twahen, to wash | twuoc | twuogen | getwagen |
See § 30. The pret. sing. sluoc, twuoc for *sluoch, *twuoch were formed after the analogy of the pret. plural.
§ 86. To this class also belong:—
| stān, stēn (§ 96), to stand | stuont | stuonden | gestanden |
| entseben (older entseven), to perceive | entsuop | entsuoben | entsaben |
| gewähenen, to mention | gewuoc | gewuogen | gewagen |
| heben (older heven), to raise | huop | huoben | gehaben |
| swern (see § 35), to swear | swuor | swuoren | geswarn gesworn |
The pret. singular stuont, entsuop, gewuoc, huop for *stuot (cp. Engl. stood), *entsuof, *gewuoch, *huof were formed after the analogy of the pret. plural. On the b, g in the pret. plural, see § 30. The last four verbs in the list originally had a j in the present, which accounts for the umlaut, cp. OHG. heffen, Goth. hafjan, to raise. heben had its b from forms where it was regular.
Class VII.
§ 87. To this class belong the verbs which originally had reduplicated preterites. The present and past participle have the same stem-vowel; and the preterite singular and plural have ie. In OHG. the verbs which had a, ā or ei in the present had ia (older ea, ē) in the preterite; and those which had ou (ō), uo in the present had io (older eo) in the preterite. But in MHG. the ia and io regularly fell together in ie (§ 11, 3), so that all the preterites had ie.
| bannen, to banish | bien | bienen | gebannen |
| halten, to hold | hielt | hielten | gehalten |
| slāfen, to sleep | slief | sliefen | geslāfen |
| heiȥen, to call | hieȥ | hieȥen | geheiȥn |
| loufen, to run | lief | liefen | geloufen |
| ruofen, to call | rief | riefen | geruofen |
And similarly halsen, to embrace, salzen, to salt, spalten, to split, spannen, to span, vallen, to fall, valten, to fold, wallen, to bubble; bāgen, to quarrel, blāsen, to blow, brāten, to roast, lāȥen (see also § 99), to let, leave, rāten, to advise; meiȥen, to cut, scheiden, to separate, sweifen, to rove; bōȥen, to strike, stōȥen, to push, houwen (pret. hiu and hie, pl. hiuwen, hiewen), to hew, wuofen, to bewail.
| gān, gēn, to go | gienc (gie) | giengen | (ge)gangen | |
| hāhen (§ 29) hān (§ 38) | , to hang | hienc (hie) | hiengen | gehangen |
| vāhen (§ 29) vān (§ 38) | , to catch | vienc (vie) | viengen | gevangen |
| erren, ern, to plough | ier | ieren | gearn | |
On the interchange between h and ng, see § 30; erren, ern from older *arjan.
B. Weak Verbs.
§ 88. The OHG. weak verbs were divided into three great classes according as the infinitive ended in -en from older *-jan, -on, or -ēn.
Inflectional tables in this section have been reformatted for greater readability. A representative screen shot of the original format is shown at the end of the text.
The characteristic endings of the three OHG. classes were:—
| Present. | |||
| Class I. | Class II. | Class III. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indic. sing. | -u | -ōn | -ēn |
| -is(t) | -ōs(t) | -ēs(t) | |
| -it | -ōt | -ēt | |
| „plur. | -ēn | -ōn | -ēn |
| -et | -ōt | -ēt | |
| -ent | -ōnt | -ēnt | |
| Subj. sing. | -e | -o | -e |
| -ēs(t) | -ōs(t) | -ēs(t) | |
| -e | -o | -e | |
| „plur. | -ēn | -ōn | -ēn |
| -ēt | -ōt | -ēt | |
| -ēn | -ōn | -ēn | |
| Imper. sing. | -i | -o | -e |
| „plur. | -ēn | -ōn | -ēn |
| -et | -ōt | -ēt | |
| Preterite. | |||
| Class I. | Class II. | Class III. | |
| Indic. sing. | -ta, -ita | -ōta | -ēta |
| -tōs(t), -itōs(t) | -ōtōs(t) | -ētōs(t) | |
| -ta, -ita | -ōta | -ēta | |
| „plur. | -tun, -itun | -ōtun | -ētun |
| -tut, -itut | -ōtut | -ētut | |
| -tun, -itun | -ōtun | -ētun | |
| Subj. sing. | -ti, -iti | -ōti | -ēti |
| -tīs(t), -itīs(t) | -ōtīs(t) | -ētīs(t) | |
| -ti, -iti | -ōti | -ēti | |
| „plur. | -tīn, -itīn | -ōtīn | -ētīn |
| -tīt, -itīt | -ōtīt | -ētīt | |
| -tīn, -itīn | -ōtīn | -ētīn | |
| Past Participle. | |||
| Uninfl. form | -it | -ōt | -ēt |
| Infl.„ | -tēr, -itēr | -ōtēr | -ētēr |
| Infinitive. | |||
| -en | -ōn | -ēn | |
In OHG. the verbs of Class I were divided into two sub-divisions: (a) polysyllabic verbs and those containing an old long stem-syllable; (b) those which originally had a short stem-syllable (cp. § 31, 3). The former formed their preterite in -ta, and the latter in -ita; and similarly in the inflected form of the past participle. In MHG. all the unaccented vowels i, e, a, o, u, ī, ē, ō regularly fell together in e (§ 7), so that the old distinction between the endings of the three classes of verbs was to a great extent obliterated. The OHG. verbs with a short stem-syllable belonging to Classes II and III came in MHG. to be inflected entirely like sub-division (b) of Class I; and those with a long stem-syllable mostly came to be inflected like sub-division (a) of Class I, see §§ 9, 2, 92.
Owing to all the OHG. unaccented vowels being weakened to e the MHG. endings are:—
| Sing. | Plur. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pres. Indic.: | -e | -en | |
| -es(t) | -et | ||
| -et | -ent | ||
| „Subj.: | -e | -en | |
| -es(t) | -et | ||
| -e | -en | ||
| Pret. Indic. and Subj.: | -te, -ete | -ten, -eten | |
| -tes(t), -etes(t) | -tet, -etet | ||
| -te, -ete | -ten, -eten | ||
| Imper. | -en | ||
| -e | -et | ||
| P.P. Uninfl. form | -et | ||
| P.P. Infl.„ | -ter, -eter | ||
| Infin. | -en. |
Final -n in the first pers. sing. of the pres. indicative of the old Classes II and III remained in early MHG., but during the MHG. period the first person was remodelled after the analogy of Class I.
Note.— Old forms with ō̆ (u) for later e occasionally occur in verbs originally belonging to the OHG. Class II; and in like manner ī̆ for e in the pret. subjunctive.
§ 89. The MHG. weak verbs are divided into two classes, according as the preterite is formed in -te or -ete (see however § 40). The inflexion of the present is the same in both classes.
Class I.
§ 90. To this class belong (1) verbs which have old long stem-syllables. Those having a mutated vowel in the present have the corresponding unmutated vowel in the preterite. The i which would have caused umlaut in the preterite disappeared in the prehistoric period of the language. The past participle generally has two forms: one with a mutated vowel, and the other without it, properly from the old inflected form which did not have umlaut. (2) Verbs having a short stem-vowel followed by a single consonant (l, r), and trisyllabic verbs containing an l, n, or r in the second syllable, as zeln, older zellen (§ 31, 3), to count, pret. zelte beside zalte, p.p. gezelt beside gezalt; nern, to rescue, pret. nerte (OHG. nerita), p.p. genert; and similarly doln (OHG. dolōn), to tolerate, seln, to hand over, spiln, to play, weln, to choose; wern, to defend; wandeln (OHG. wantalōn), to change, pret. wandelte; vordern (OHG. fordarōn), to further, pret. vorderte; sëgenen (OHG. sëganōn), to bless, pret. sëgente. See §§ 9, 1, 2, 92.
| Present. | |||
| Indic. | Subj. | Imper. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | 1. kenne | kenne | |
| 2. kennes(t) | kennes(t) | kenne | |
| 3. kennet | kenne | ||
| Plur. | 1. kennen | kennen | kennen |
| 2. kennet | kennet | kennet, (-ent) | |
| 3. kennent | kennen | ||
| Preterite. | |||
| Sing. | 1. kante | kante | |
| 2. kantes(t) | kantes(t) | ||
| 3. kante | kante | ||
| Plur. | 1. kanten | kanten | |
| 2. kantet | kantet | ||
| 3. kanten | kanten | ||
Infin. kennen, to know; Pres. Part. kennende; Past Part. gekennet, gekant.
And similarly with a large number of verbs, as blüemen, to bloom, brennen, to burn, füllen, to fill, grüeȥen, to greet, hœren, to hear, küssen, to kiss, lœsen, to loose, nennen, to name, rennen, to run, senden (pret. sante), to send, senken, to sink, setzen (pret. satte, sazte, p.p. gesat, gesazt, gesetzt), to set, stellen, to place, süeȥen, to sweeten, vellen, to fell, wǣnen, to fancy, wünschen, to wish; gelouben, to believe, kēren, to turn, koufen, to buy, leiten (pret. leite), to lead, ougen, to show, suochen, to seek. The verba pura have double forms in the present and preterite, as dræjen, dræn (§ 35), to turn, pret. drāte beside the new formation dræjete, dræte, and similarly blüejen, to bloom, müejen, to trouble, rüejen, to row, sæjen, to sow, wæjen, to blow. Verbs with medial ck have double preterites, as decken, to cover, pret. dacte beside dahte, and similarly drücken, drucken, to press, smecken, to taste, wecken, to awake. See also § 92.
§ 91. The following are irregular:—
| Infin. | Pret. | P.P. |
|---|---|---|
| denken, to think | dāhte | gedāht (§§ 28, 29) |
| dunken, dünken, to seem | dūhte | gedūh (§§ 28, 29) |
| furhten, fürhten, to fear | vorhte | gevorht |
| wurken, würken, to work | worhte | geworht |
| bringen, to bring | brāhte | gebrāht (§§ 28, 29) |
Note.— The second pers. sing. of brāhte is bræhte or brāhtes(t), pret. subj. bræhte; and similarly with dāhte; the subj. of dūhte is dūhte or diuhte.
Class II.
§ 92. The verbs belonging to this class form their preterite in -ete and their past participle in -et. In other respects Class II has the same endings as Class I.
It includes: (a) The dissyllabic verbs, having a short stem-vowel followed by a single consonant other than l, r, which in OHG. belonged to Classes II and III, as loben (OHG. lobōn), to praise, pret. lobete, p.p. gelobet; lëben (OHG. lëbēn), to live, pret. lëbete, p.p. gelëbet (see § 88). (b) The dissyllabic verbs of OHG. Class I with a short stem-vowel followed by double consonants other than ll (see § 31, 3), as legen, older leggen (OHG. leggen), to lay, pret. legete or leite (§ 37), p.p. geleget or geleit; denen, older dennen (OHG. dennen), to stretch, pret. denete, p.p. gedenet.
Other examples belonging to Class II are: bëten, to pray, dagen, to be silent, klagen, to complain, klëben, to stick, laden, to invite, namen, to name, sagen, to say, pret. sagete and seite (§ 37).
The verbs with a long stem-syllable, which belonged to OHG. Classes II and III, went over in MHG. either into Class I (1), see § 90, or had preterites in -te beside -ete, as danken, to thank, pret. dancte beside dankete, p.p. gedanct beside gedanket; vrāgen, to ask, pret. vrāgte beside vrāgete, p.p. gevrāgt beside gevrāget, and similarly ahten, to observe, minnen, to love, trahten, to strive, &c., see §§ 9, 2, 90; dienen, to serve, pret. diende (§ 40), &c.
C. Minor Groups.
1. Preterite-Presents.
§ 93. These have strong preterites with a present meaning, from which new weak preterites have been formed. The 2nd pers. sg. ends in -t, and has the same stem-vowel as the 1st and 3rd pers. sg. The following verbs belong to this class:—
weiȥ, I know, 2nd pers. sg. weist; pl. wiȥȥen; inf. wiȥȥen; pres. p. wiȥȥende; pret. wisse, wesse, wiste or weste; p.p. gewist or gewest.
touc, I am of use, inf. and pl. tugen or tügen; pret. tohte; subj. töhte.
gan, I grant, 2nd pers. sg. ganst; inf. and pl. gunnen or günnen; pret. gunde; subj. gunde or günde; p.p. gegunnen, gegunnet, or gegunst.
kan, I know, 2nd pers. sg. kanst; inf. and pl. kunnen or künnen; pret. kunde (konde); subj. kunde or künde.
darf, I need, 2nd pers. sg. darft; pl. durfen or dürfen; pret. dorfte; subj. dörfte; infin. and p.p. only in bedürfen, bedorft.
tar, I dare, venture, 2nd pers. sg. tarst; inf. and pl. turren or türren; pret. torste; subj. törste.
sol, I shall, 2nd pers. sg. solt; inf. and pl. suln or süln; pret. solde or solte.
mac, I can, 2nd pers. sg. maht; pl. magen, megen, mugen, or mügen; pret. mahte or mohte; subj. mehte (mahte) or möhte.
muoȥ, I must, 2nd pers. sg. muost; pl. müeȥen; pret. muoste or muose; subj. müeste or müese.
2. Anomalous Verbs.
§ 94.
(1) tuon, to do.
| Present. | |||
| Indic. | Subj. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | tuon (tuo) | tuo | |
| tuos(t) | tuos(t) | ||
| tuot | tuo | ||
| Plur. | tuon | tuon | |
| tuot (tuont) | tuot | ||
| tuont | tuon | ||
| Infin. | tuon | ||
| Imper. | tuo | ||
| Pres. P. | tuonde | ||
| Preterite. | |||
| Sing. | tëte (tët) | tæte (tëte) | |
| tæte | tætes(t) | ||
| tëte (tët) | tæte | ||
| Plur. | tāten, (tæten, tëten) | tæten | |
| P.P. getān | |||
§ 95.
(2) gān, to go.
| Present. | |||
| Indic. | Subj. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | gān, gēn | gē (gā, gange) | |
| gās(t), gēs(t) | gēs(t) (gās(t), ganges(t)) | ||
| gāt, gēt | gē (gā, gange) | ||
| Plur. | gān, gēn | gēn (gān, gangen) | |
| Infin. | gān, gēn | ||
| Imper. | ganc, genc, ginc (gā, gē) | ||
| Pres. P. | gānde, gēnde | ||
| Preterite. | |||
| Sing. | gienc or gie | ||
| Plur. | giengen | ||
| P.P. | (ge)gangen or gegān | ||
§ 96.
(3) stān, to stand.
| Present. | |||
| Indic. | Subj. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | stān, stēn, stā, stē | stā, stē (stande), &c. | |
| stās(t), stēs(t) | |||
| stāt, stēt | |||
| Plur. | stān, stēn | ||
| Infin. | stān, stēn | ||
| Imper. | stā, stē, stant | ||
| Preterite. | |||
| stuont | |||
| P.P. | gestanden or gestān | ||
§ 97.
(4) sīn, wësen, to be.
| Present. | |||
| Indic. | Subj. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | bin | sī (sīge, sīe) | |
| bis(t) | sīs(t) (sīges(t), sīes(t)) | ||
| ist | sī (sīge, sīe) | ||
| Plur. | birn, sīn | sīn (sīgen, sīen) | |
| birt, sīt | sīt (sīget, sīet) | ||
| sint | sīn (sīgen, sīen) | ||
| Infin. | sīn, wësen. | ||
| Indic. Pret. Sing. | was; | pl. wāren (§ 30) | |
| Subj.„„ | wære; | pl. wæren | |
| P.P. | gewësen (gewëset) | ||
§ 98.
(5) wellen, to will.
| Present. | ||
| Indic. | Subj. | |
|---|---|---|
| Sing. | 1. wil | welle |
| 2. wil, wilt | welles(t) | |
| 3. wil | welle | |
| Plur. | 1. wellen, weln | wellen |
| 2. wellet, welt | wellet | |
| 3. wellen, weln | wellen | |
| Pret. | wolte or wolde (§ 40) | wolte or wölte |
| Infin. | wellen. | |
3. Contracted Verbs.
§ 99.
(1) lān = lāȥen, to let, leave.
| Sing. | Plur. | |
|---|---|---|
| Pres. | lān | lān |
| lās(t), læs(t) | lāt | |
| lāt (læt) | lān | |
| Pret. | lie or lieȥ (§ 87). | |
| Imper. | lā | lāt |
| Infin. | lān. | |
| P.P. | (ge)lān | |
(2) hān = haben, to have.
| Sing. | Plur. | |
|---|---|---|
| Pres. | hān | hān |
| hās(t) | hāt | |
| hāt | hān | |
| Pret. | hāte (hëte, hēt(e), hiet(e), hæte) | |
| hātes(t) | ||
| &c. | ||
| Subj. pres. | habe | |
| habes(t) | ||
| &c. | ||
| „pret. | hæte, hete, hēte, hiete, hatte, &c. | |
| Infin. | hān. | |
| P.P. | gehabet, gehapt, gehāt. | |
The contracted form hān, &c., is mostly used as an auxiliary.
Chapter VII
Syntax
Cases.
§ 100. Accusative. The accusative has much the same function as in NHG. It is sometimes used, however, where the dat. or a preposition would be required in NHG.:—ër vuor waȥȥer unde wëge, he went by water and land. The acc. is used after wol, well, when used as an interjection, as wol mich. A double accusative is required not only after lēren, to teach, but also after hëln, verhëln, to conceal, verdagen, verswīgen, to keep secret.
§ 101. Dative. ruofen, to call, and schirmen, to protect, take the dative. The dative is often used adverbially: allenthalben, on all sides, wīlen(t), formerly, &c.
§ 102. Genitive. The genitives hande, slahte, leie = manner are used adverbially: maneger hande, slahte, or leie, in many ways, manifoldly.
The gen. is used in combination with the comparative of adjectives, as dicker eines dūmes, thicker by the breadth of a thumb. Indefinite and interrogative pronouns, used substantively, take the genitive: iemen armer liute, any poor people; niht schœneres, nothing more beautiful; dës enmac niht sīn, that cannot be; waȥ mannes ër wære, what kind of man he was. In the same manner the rel. swaȥ may take the genitive: swaȥ man vant dër armen, whatever poor people one found.
The genitive may be used predicatively:—sīt sī dës goteshūses sint, since they belong to the house of God; diu sorge ist mīn eines niht, I am not the only one who has sorrow.
Impersonal verbs often take the genitive: mich genüeget dës, that is enough for me; mich gezimt dës, that pleases me.
The genitives dës and wës may be used adverbially in the sense of therefore, wherefore; and likewise many nouns: tages, by day; dës sëlben tages, the same day; nahtes, by night.
Interjections usually take the genitive: owē mir mīnes leides! alas! for my grief. vil, much, many; mē(re), more; wēnic, lützel, little; minner, minre, less; and genuoc, enough, used as indeclinable substantives, are followed by the genitive. Cardinal numerals, used substantively, are also followed by the genitive: zweinzec starker man, twenty strong men.
Adjectives.
§ 103. The weak and strong forms are used in the same manner as in Mod. HG. dirre, this, is followed by the weak or strong form; aller, all, usually by the strong. The strong or weak form can be used after pronouns, as ich armer or ich arme, I poor... In the vocative the weak form without the article is used, as guoten liute, (ye) good people. When the same adjective refers to nouns of different gender, it is put in the neuter plural.
ein and the possessive pronouns are followed by the strong form in the Nom. and Acc. singular; by the strong or weak form in the pl. and Gen. and Dative singular.
The possessive pronouns are declined strong.
The uninflected form of the adjective is used side by side with the inflected in the Nom. singular, all genders, and Acc. singular neuter, when the adjective comes before the noun: ein guot man, a good man. When the adjective stands after the noun the uninflected form may be used without reference to number, gender, or case, ein, dehein, and the possessive pronouns have the uninflected form in the Nom. for all genders, and Acc. neuter. The uninflected form of al, all, can be used before all forms of the definite article: in al dër wërlte, in all the world. See § 55.
Pronouns.
§ 104. im, ir, pl. in, are used to express the dative of the reflexive pronoun. dër is sometimes used pleonastically, as dër brunne, dër was küele, the spring was cool. man used as an indefinite pronoun can take the definite article along with it.
Verbs.
§ 105. Number. The verb can be used in the singular after a compound subject, as Volkēr und Hagene sō sēre wüeten began, ... began to rage so furiously.
§ 106. Tenses. The fut. simple is expressed by sol, muoȥ, wil and the infin., or simply by the pres., as in OE.: ich sol gān, I shall go; bin ich gnislīch, sō genise ich, if I am curable, I shall recover. For the fut. pf. the pf. is used: daȥ ist schiere getān, that will soon have been done. The pf. is expressed either by the simple pret. or the p.p. and the verbs hān, sīn; in subordinate sentences the pret. often has the meaning of the pluperfect: dō du von ir schiede, zehant sie starp, she died immediately after thou hadst taken leave of her.
The preterite acquires a pluperfect, and the present a future perfect meaning when the prefix ge is added to them: swenne iuwer sun gewahset, when your son (shall have) has grown up; dō ich in gesach, when I had seen him. The present participle with sīn is sometimes used as in English, see ‘Arme Heinrich,’ l. 24.
§ 107. Voice. The present and preterite passive are expressed by wërden and the p.p., and the corresponding perfect tenses by sīn and the p.p.
| Pres. | ich wirde gelobet. |
| Pret. | ich wart„ |
| Perf. | ich bin„ |
| Plupf. | ich was„ |
| Inf. | gelobet sīn. |
§ 108. Negation. Negation in sentences is expressed by ne (en, n) before the verb, and niht after it: ër enist guot, he is not good. niht is frequently omitted, especially after the preterite presents, the verbs wellen, lān, sentences containing negative pronouns or adverbs, and in subordinate sentences.
en without niht is used with the subjunctive in subordinate sentences in the sense of unless, if not, except that, when that, that not, &c.: dën līp wil ich verliesen, si enwërde mīn wīp, I will die if she will not become my wife; ich wæne nieman in dër wërlte lëbe, ërn habe ein leit, I believe no one lives in the world who has not his trouble.
en is further also used in the sense of Latin ‘quin’: ich mac daȥ niht bevarn, mirn wërde mīn ritterschaft benomen, I cannot prevent my knighthood being taken away from me.