Preterite-Presents
Another important group of verbs are the so-called "Preterite-Presents". These verbs exhibit a present tense with vowel alternations and endings that are similar to those of a strong preterite, except in the 2nd person singular, where the ending is -t or -st (instead of the usual -e of strong verbs), and the 3rd person plural ending, which is the expected -ent of other verbs in the present indicative. Their preterites are generally formed as those of the weak verbs, as are their past participles (where one exists). This group is fairly small and includes the modal auxiliaries. "Wiȥȥen" (Modern German 'wissen', English 'to know') will serve as an example of this group.
| Preterite-Present Conjugation | |||||||
| Infinitive: | wiȥȥen | Present Participle: | wiȥȥende | ||||
| Gerund: | wiȥȥen(n)e, wiȥȥen(n)es | Past Participle: | gewist, gewest | ||||
| Imperative: | weiȥ, wiȥȥet, wiȥȥe(n) wir | ||||||
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
| Present | Preterite | Present | Preterite | ||||
| ich | weiȥ | ich | wisse/wesse/wiste/weste | ich | wiȥȥe | ich | wisse/wesse/wiste/weste |
| du | weist | du | wissest/wessest/wistest/westest | du | wiȥȥest | du | wissest/wessest/wistest/westest |
| ër | weiȥ | ër | wisse/wesse/wiste/weste | ër | wiȥȥe | ër | wisse/wesse/wiste/weste |
| wir | wiȥȥen | wir | wissen/wessen/wisten/westen | wir | wiȥȥen | wir | wissen/wessen/wisten/westen |
| ir | wiȥȥet | ir | wisset/wesset/wistet/westet | ir | wiȥȥet | ir | wisset/wesset/wistet/westet |
| si | wiȥȥent | si | wissen/wessen/wisten/westen | si | wiȥȥen | si | wissen/wessen/wisten/westen |
Please note the use of -ss- instead of -ȥȥ- in the preterite forms. This is the easiest way to distinguish preterite forms of "wiȥȥen" from present tense forms. Note also that the past participle is either "gewist" or "gewest", the latter of which could be confused for the past participle of "sîn" (Modern German 'sein', English 'to be'), one form of which is "geweset".
The modals themselves are a somewhat larger class in Middle High German than in Modern German, and where there are superficial resemblances in the form, there is often a difference in meaning. Following are the common preterite-presents, including the modals, in Middle High German with their associated meanings:
- "tugen"/"tügen" (Modern German 'taugen'): to be of use (often used impersonally).
- "gunnen"/"günnen" (Modern German 'gönnen'): to grant.
- "kunnen"/"künnen" (Modern German 'können'): knowing how to do things (this is not equivalent to the Modern German meaning, or the English meaning of 'can'.
- "durfen"/"dürfen" (Modern German 'dürfen'): to need (not equivalent to the Modern German meaning, except in the Modern German form 'bedürfen').
- "turren"/"türren": to dare.
- "süln"/"suln" (Modern German 'sollen): ought to/should; this modal was also one of several possible choices for the future tense auxiliary, is in English 'shall'.
- "mugen"/"mügen"/"magen"/"megen" (Modern German 'mögen'): can, may (not equivalent to the Modern German meaning of 'to like', but rather the same sense in "das mag sein" ('that may be'). This is the modal used in the sense of Modern German 'können'.
- "müeȥen" (Modern German 'müssen'): must, to have to. This can also mean 'may' in the sense of a wish.
- "wëllen"/"wollen" (Modern German 'wollen'): to want.
Read more about this topic: Middle High German Verbs