# Gothic/2/Conjugation
## Introduction to Gothic Verbs

Gothic has the most complex verbal system of all attested Germanic languages. There exist two voices: active and passive; three numbers: singular, dual, and plural; two tenses: present and past; and finally two moods: indicative and subjunctive (also called optative). In Gothic, as in other Germanic languages, there is a distinction between strong and weak verbs. The difference between the two depends on the formation of the preterite, or past tense. The section will deal with weak verbs.

## How to Conjugate Gothic Verbs

In the present tense all verbs follow a similar conjugation. All infinitives end in a combination similar to -an. To conjugate a verb, one must isolate the verb stem by removing the -an ending of the infinitive, then add the desired endings. Using the verb siggwan "to sing" as an example, we can see its -an ending. If we remove the -an ending, we are left with siggw-; this is the verb stem. To this we add the endings: -a, -is, -iþ, etc. We use this formula to conjugate all Gothic verbs in the present tense. Some verbs take a different conjugation in the 3rd person singular and 2nd person plural, namely the class I and class III of weak verbs. The average Gothic verb is conjugated thus:
| Gothic | English |
| ik siggwa | I sing |
| þu siggwis | you (thou) sing |
| is siggwiþ | he sings |
| wit siggwōs | we two sing |
| jut siggwats | you two sing |
| weis siggwam | we sing |
| jus siggwiþ | you all sing |
| eis siggwand | they sing |
Weak verbs form their past tense by means of a dental suffix. Weak verbs are divided into four classes according to the ending of the infinitive. The following table shows the possible infinitive endings of a weak verb, each representing a class. On the right is their preterite ending.
| Class | Infinitive Ending | Preterite |
| Class I | -jan | -ida |
| Class II | -on | -oda |
| Class III | -an | -aida |
| Class IV | -nan | -noda |

## Class I Weak Verbs

Class I weak verbs end in -jan. Verbs within this class are subdivided into two subgroups: (1) verbs with a short stem-syllable, such as nasjan "to save", or verbs with a long open syllable, such as stōjan "to judge"; (2) verbs with a long closed syllable, such as sōkjan "to seek". 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. These two subgroups only differ slightly in their conjugation; namely in the 2nd person and 3rd person singular, in the 2nd person plural of the present indicative, and in the second person plural imperative.

### Present Tense

Notice sōkeis instead of *sōkjis
| | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative |
| | Active | Active | Active | Active |
| Present | 1st sing | nasja | stōja | sōkja |
| Present | 2nd sing | nasjis | stōjis | sōkeis |
| Present | 3rd sing | nasjiþ | stōjiþ | sōkeiþ |
| Present | 1st dual | nasjōs | stōjōs | sōkjōs |
| Present | 2nd dual | nasjats | stōjats | sōkjats |
| Present | 1st plur | nasjam | stōjam | sōkjam |
| Present | 2nd plur | nasjiþ | stōjiþ | sōkeiþ |
| Present | 3rd plur | nasjand | stōjand | sōkjand |

### Past Tense

All class I weak verbs follow the same conjugation in the past tense regardless of which subgroup they belong to.
| | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative |
| | Preterite | Preterite | Preterite | Preterite |
| Past | 1st sing | nasida | stauida | sōkida |
| Past | 2nd sing | nasidēs | stauidēs | sōkidēs |
| Past | 3rd sing | nasida | stauida | sōkida |
| Past | 1st dual | nasidēdu | stauidēdu | sōkidēdu |
| Past | 2nd dual | nasidēduts | stauidēduts | sōkidēduts |
| Past | 1st plur | nasidēdum | stauidēdum | sōkidēdum |
| Past | 2nd plur | nasidēduþ | stauidēduþ | sōkidēduþ |
| Past | 3rd plur | nasidēdun | stauidēdun | sōkidēdun |
Some class I verbs have an irregular past.

## Class II Weak Verbs

Class II weak verbs end in -ōn. The verb salbōn (to anoint) will serve as a model for class II weak verbs.

### Present Tense

| | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative |
| | Active | Active | Active | Active |
| salbōn | 1st sing | salbō |
| salbōn | 2nd sing | salbōs |
| salbōn | 3rd sing | salbōþ |
| salbōn | 1st dual | salbōs |
| salbōn | 2nd dual | salbōts |
| salbōn | 1st plur | salbōm |
| salbōn | 2nd plur | salbōþ |
| salbōn | 3rd plur | salbōnd |

### Past Tense

Their past tense ends similarly to class I weak verbs, but with /ō instead of /i.
| | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative |
| | Preterite | Preterite | Preterite | Preterite |
| salbōn | 1st sing | salbōda |
| salbōn | 2nd sing | salbōdēs |
| salbōn | 3rd sing | salbōda |
| salbōn | 1st dual | salbōdēdu |
| salbōn | 2nd dual | salbōdēduts |
| salbōn | 1st plur | salbōdēdum |
| salbōn | 2nd plur | salbōdēduþ |
| salbōn | 3rd plur | salbōdēdun |

## Class III Weak Verbs

Verbs in this class have infinitives that end in -an. Verbs in this class have /ai/ in the 2nd person singular, 3rd person singular, and 2nd person singular. All persons have /ai/ in the past tense. The verb haban will serve as a model for class III weak verbs.

### Present Tense

| | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative |
| | Active | Active | Active | Active |
| Haban | 1st sing | haba |
| Haban | 2nd sing | habais |
| Haban | 3rd sing | habaiþ |
| Haban | 1st dual | habōs |
| Haban | 2nd dual | habāts |
| Haban | 1st plur | habām |
| Haban | 2nd plur | habaiþ |
| Haban | 3rd plur | haband |

### Past Tense

| | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative |
| | Preterite | Preterite | Preterite | Preterite |
| Haban | 1st sing | habaida |
| Haban | 2nd sing | habaidēs |
| Haban | 3rd sing | habaida |
| Haban | 1st dual | habaidēdu |
| Haban | 2nd dual | habaidēduts |
| Haban | 1st plur | habaidēdum |
| Haban | 2nd plur | habaidēduþ |
| Haban | 3rd plur | habaidēdun |

## Class IV Weak Verbs

Verbs in this class have infinitives that end in -nan, which becomes -noda in the past tense. Verbs of this class denote entering into a state. Example: fullnan "to become full"; andbundnan "to become unbound", compare with fulls "full" and andbindan "to unbind". The verb fullnan will serve as a model for class IV weak verbs.

### Present Tense

| | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative |
| | Active | Active | Active | Active |
| Present | 1st sing | fullna |
| Present | 2nd sing | fullnis |
| Present | 3rd sing | fullniþ |
| Present | 1st dual | fullnōs |
| Present | 2nd dual | fullnats |
| Present | 1st plur | fullnam |
| Present | 2nd plur | fullniþ |
| Present | 3rd plur | fullnand |

### Past Tense

| | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative | Indicative |
| | Preterite | Preterite | Preterite | Preterite |
| Past | 1st sing | fullnōda |
| Past | 2nd sing | fullnōdēs |
| Past | 3rd sing | fullnōda |
| Past | 1st dual | fullnōdēdu |
| Past | 2nd dual | fullnōdēduts |
| Past | 1st plur | fullnōdēdum |
| Past | 2nd plur | fullnōdēduþ |
| Past | 3rd plur | fullnōdēdun |