Download Old Norse Strong Verbs

Old Norse Strong Verbs
Strong verbs in the early Germanic languages have four principle parts: the infinitive,
the 3rd p. sg. past, the 3rd p. pl. past, and the past participle. From these principle
parts we can derive the entire system of a verb: from the infinitive we can derive the
present system (add front mutation where possible); from the 3rd p. sg. past we can
derive the other past singular forms; from the 3rd p. pl. past we can derive the other
past plural forms.
Infinitive
3rd p. sg. past
3rd p. pl. past
Past Participle
Class One: gradation í, ei, i, i, followed by a single consonant. Almost completely regular.
í
ei
i
i
bíta
beit
bitu
bitinn
Class Two: gradation jú/jó/ú, au, u, o, followed by a single consonant. Regular within
these variations.
jú/jó/ú
au
u
o
strjúka
bjóða
lúka
strauk
bauð
lauk
struku
buðu
luku
strokinn
boðinn
lokinn
Class Three: gradation e/i/ja, a/á/ǫ, u, o/u, followed by two consonants. There are also
further exceptions.
e/i/ja
a/á
u
o/u
bresta
finna
gjalda
bregða
brast
fann
galt
brá
brustu
fundu
guldu
brugðu
brostinn
fundinn
goldinn
brugðinn
Class Four: gradation e/o, a, á, o, followed by a nasal or liquid. Some exceptions.
e/o
a
á
o
bera
koma
bar
kom
báru
kvámu, kómu
borinn
kominn
Class Five: gradation e/i, a/á, á, e, followed by a single consonant (not a nasal or liquid).
Some exceptions.
e/i
a/á
á
e
gefa
eta
biðja
gaf
át
bað
gáfu
átu
báðu
gefinn
etinn
beðinn
Class Six: gradation a, ó, ó, a/e, followed by a single consonant. Fairly regular.
a
ó
ó
a/e
fara
taka
vaxa
fór
tók
óx
fóru
tóku
óxu
farinn
tekinn
vaxinn
Class Seven: Verbs in this class originally formed their past tense through
reduplication, so it is difficult to identify a consistent gradation. Reduplication prefixed
a new syllable beginning with the initial consonant of the stem followed by e. So, for
example the original past singular of heita was *hehait, which contracted to hét.