Gothic verbs

Gothic verbs have the most complex conjugation of any attested Germanic language, preserving the entire Proto-Germanic verb system more or less intact.

Strong verbs

The following is a table of all the different types and subtypes of strong verbs.

The following strong verbs are extant in Gothic:

• Class Ia: beidan "to await" (báiþ), beitan "to bite", deigan "to knead", dreiban "to drive" (dráif), greipan "to seize", hneiwan "to bow", bi-leiban "to remain" (bi-láif), ga-leiþan "to go", ur-reisan "to arise", skeinan "to shine", dis-skreitan "to rend", ga-smeitan "to smear", sneiþan "to cut", speiwan "to spit", steigan "to ascend", sweiban "to cease" (swáif), weipan "to crown", in-weitan "to worship";
• Class Ib: leiƕan "to lend", ga-teihan "to tell", þeihan "to thrive", þreihan "to press upon", weihan "to fight";
• Class IIa: ana-biudan "to bid" (ana-báuþ), biugan "to bend", driugan "to serve as a soldier", driusan "to fall", giutan "to pour", hiufan "to mourn", dis-hniupan "to break asunder", kiusan "to test", kriustan "to gnash"; liudan "to grow" (láuþ), liugan "to lie", fra-liusan "to lose", niutan "to enjoy", siukan "to be sick", af-skiuban "to push aside" (af-skáuf), sliupan "to slip", us-þriutan "to trouble";
• Class IIb: tiuhan "to lead", þliuhan "to flee";
• Class II, aorist-present: ga-lūkan "to shut";
• Class IIIa: bindan "to bind", bliggwan "to beat", brinnan "to burn", drigkan "to drink", filhan "to hide", finþan "to find", us-gildan "to repay", du-ginnan "to begin", hilpan "to help", fra-hinþan "to capture", af-linnan "to depart", rinnan "to run", siggwan "to sing", sigqan "to sink", fra-slindan "to swallow up", spinnan "to spin", stigqan "to thrust", swiltan "to die", ana-trimpan "to tread on", at-þinsan "to attract", þriskan "to thresh", wilwan "to rob", windan "to wind", winnan "to suffer", ga-wrisqan "to bear fruit";
• Class IIIb: baírgan "to keep", uf-gaírdan "to gird up", ƕaírban "to walk", af-swaírban "to wipe out", ga-þaírsan "to wither", waírpan "to throw", waírþan "to become";
• Class IVa: brikan "to break", niman "to take", qiman "to come", stilan "to steal", ga-timan "to suit";
• Class IVb: baíran "to bear", ga-taíran "to destroy";
• Class IV, aorist-present: trudan "to tread";
• Class Va: diwan "to die" (dáu), fitan "to travail in birth", giban "to give" (gaf), bi-gitan "to find", hlifan "to steal", ligan "to lie down", lisan "to gather", mitan "to measure", ga-nisan "to be saved", niþan "to help", qiþan "to say", rikan "to heap up", sitan "to sit", sniwan "to hasten" (snáu), ga-widan "to bind" (ga-waþ), ga-wigan "to shake down", wisan "to be, remain", wrikan "to persecute";
• Class Va, -j- present: bidjan "to pray";
• Class Va, irregular: itan "to eat";
• Class Vb: saíƕan "to see";
• Class Vb, -n- present: fraíhnan "to ask";
• Class VI: alan "to grow", us-anan "to expire", ga-daban "to beseem" (ga-dōf), ga-draban "to hew out" (ga-drōf), ga-dragan "to heap up", faran "to go", graban "to dig" (grōf), af-hlaþan "to lade", malan "to grind", sakan "to rebuke", skaban "to shave" (skōf), slahan "to smite", swaran "to swear", þwahan "to wash", wakan "to wake";
• Class VI, -j- present: fraþjan "to understand", hafjan "to raise", hlahjan "to laugh", ga-raþjan "to count", ga-skapjan "to create", skaþjan "to injure", wahsjan "to grow";
• Class VI, n-infix present: standan "to stand" (stōþ);
• Class VII(a), -a- present: us-alþan "to grow old", blandan "to mix", falþan "to fold", gaggan "to go" (past supplied by iddja), haldan "to hold", ana-praggan "to oppress", saltan "to salt", ga-staldan "to possess", waldan "to rule";
• Class VII(a), -ā- present: fāhan "to seize", hāhan "to hang";
• Class VII(a), -ái- present: af-áikan "to deny", fráisan "to tempt", háitan "to call", láikan "to leap", máitan "to cut", skáidan "to divide"(skaískáiþ), ga-þláihan "to cherish, comforẗ";
• Class VII(a), -ē- present: uf-blēsan "to blow up, puff up", slēpan "to sleep";
• Class VII(a), -ō- present: blōtan "to worship", *flōkan "to bewail", ƕōpan "to boast";
• Class VII(a), -au- present: *lauan "to revile" (*laílō); possibly also *bnauan "to rub", which may be a Class III weak verb (see below);
• Class VII(a), -áu- present: áukan "to add", hláupan "to leap", stáutan "to smite";
• Class VII(b), -ē- present: grētan "to weep", lētan "to let", ga-rēdan "to reflect upon" (ga-raírōþ), tēkan "to touch";
• Class VII(b), -ai- present: saian "to sow", *waian "to blow".

The following is a sample paradigm of a strong verb, niman "to take".

Weak verbs

Class I verbs

The following is a sample paradigm of three class I weak verbs, nasjan "to save" (short stem-syllable), stōjan "to judge" (long open stem-syllable), and sōkjan "to seek" (long closed stem-syllable).

Note that verbs with a polysyllabic root behave like sōkjan regardless of the nature of the last syllable of the root; hence, glitmunjan "to shine" behaves like sōkjan and is conjugated in the present indicative glitmunja, glitmuneis, glitmuneiþ, ....

Note stōjan changes to stauida in the past in accordance with general phonetic rules. Other verbs with similar changes are

• ana-niujan "to renew", ga-qiujan "to give life to", siujan "to sew", which change to e.g. ana-niwida in the past.
• *stráujan and *táujan, which change to e.g. strawida in the past.

Some class I verbs have an irregular past due to the fact that the -i- in the past was lost in Proto-Germanic:

Note:

• gaggan is properly a Class VII strong verb. iddja is declined like a weak verb. A weak past gaggida also occurs once.
• briggan is properly a Class III strong verb, with other parts taken from a lost verb *braggjan (cf. Old English breng(e)an, Old Saxon brengian).

Class II verbs

The following is a sample paradigm of a class II weak verb, salbōn "to anoint".

Class III verbs

The following is a sample paradigm of a class III weak verb, haban "to have".

Class III is apparently a closed class, containing only the following verbs: áistan "to reverence", ana-silan "to be silent", and-staúrran "to murmur against", arman "to pity", bauan "to dwell", fastan "to fast, hold firm", fijan "to hate", ga-geigan "to gain", ga-kunnan "to recognize", haban "to have", hatan "to hate", jiukan "to contend", leikan "to please", liban "to live", liugan "to marry", maúrnan "to mourn", munan "to consider", reiran "to tremble", saúrgan "to sorrow", sifan "to rejoice", skaman (sik) "to be ashamed", slawan "to be silent", trauan "to trust", swēran "to honour", þahan "to be silent", witan "to watch, observe". Possibly also *bnauan "to rub" belongs here—only the present participle occurs, which is not enough to tell whether this is a Class III weak verb or Class VII strong verb.

Notes:

• bauan "to dwell" was originally a Class VII strong verb (cf. Old Icelandic būa "to dwell", past singular bjō, past participle būenn), and the third singular present indicative is still normally bauiþ, a strong form (vs. *bauáiþ, the expected weak form).
• hatan also occurs as a Class I weak verb hatjan.

Class IV Verbs

The following is a sample paradigm of a class IV weak verb, fullnan "to become full".

Preterite-present verbs

So-called "preterite-present verbs" are a feature of Germanic languages that have a present tense formed like the past tense (or "preterite") of strong verbs. The verbs often have the semantics of modal verbs, and in fact the present-day English modal verbs "can, could, may, might, shall, should, must" are descended from Old English preterite-present verbs. The past tense of these verbs is a new formation and has the endings of weak verbs. Arguably, all seven classes of strong verbs are represented in Gothic by at least one preterite-present verb.

The following table presents substantially all extant forms of each of the existing preterite-present verbs in Gothic. In some cases, extant forms are not given when another closely related extant form appears. For example, third plural present indicative skulun is doubtless extant, but is not given because it is easily derivable from the extant first plural form skulum. Note that many of the missing forms can be derived from existing forms as the number of principal parts is small—in fact, three is usually enough: First/third person singular present indicative, first (or third) person plural present indicative, first/third person singular past indicative. However, occasional small irregularities may occur, and the table below errs on the side of under-generalization.

The forms given are:

• Infinitive.
• Present indicative first/third singular (the two forms are always the same),
• Present indicative second singular.
• Present indicative dual. Whichever forms are extant are given.
• Present indicative first plural. Other extant plural forms are subsumed under this category. When starred (i.e. indicated as hypothetical), this generally indicates that only the third plural form is extant.
• Present subjunctive first singular. Other extant forms are subsumed under this category.
• Past indicative first/third sunglar. Other extant forms are subsumed under this category.
• Past subjunctive first singular. Other extant forms are subsumed under this category.
• Imperative. Whichever forms are extant are given.
• Present Participle. Note that it is easily derivable from the infinitive.
• Past Participle. Note that it is easily derivable from the past tense stem. Note also that a gloss is given since the participle often has an unpredictable meaning, especially when the verb in question is inherently intransitive. In some cases a past participle is given without a gloss; this omission goes back to the source (Joseph Wright's Grammar of the Gothic Language) used to compile the table.

Irregular verbs

wisan, "to be"

This highly irregular verb derives from two different Proto-Indo-European roots by suppletion; see Indo-European copula for more.

wiljan, "to want/will"

This irregular verb derives from the fossilized optative mood of a Proto-Indo-European verb (not to be confused with the Gothic mood known as optative, which corresponds to the subjunctive mood of PIE and other Germanic languages).

References

• Bennett, William Holmes (1980). An Introduction to the Gothic Language. New York: Modern Language Association of America. 
• Wright, Joseph (1910). Grammar of the Gothic Language. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 

See also

• Gothic language
• Grammar of the Gothic Language
• Proto-Indo-European verb:
  • Ancient Greek grammar
  • Latin conjugation
  • Sanskrit verbs