Middle High German Verbs - Weak Verbs

Weak Verbs

Weak verbs consist of two distinct classes: Class I, a small subset that exhibits changes in the stem vowel in present versus preterite, in addition to the dental suffix, and Class II, which covers the vast majority of weak verbs in which the stem vowel remains the same throughout the paradigm. Weak, Class I verbs are the descendents of a group of Old High German verbs ending in "-jan". They exhibit different stem vowels in the present and preterite (a result of umlaut from the "-jan" ending). Weak, Class II verbs exhibit no changes in the stem vowels in the present and preterite, i.e., the stem vowel in the present tense remains the same in the preterite (as well as in the past participle). An example of the weak paradigm for the Weak, Class II verb "lëben" ('to live') in the indicative and subjunctive moods follows.

Weak Conjugation
Infinitive: lëben Present Participle: lëbende
Gerund: lëben(n)e, lëben(n)es Past Participle: gelëbet
Imperative: lëbe, lëbet, lëbe(n) wir
Indicative Subjunctive
Present Preterite Present Preterite
ich lëbe ich lëbete ich lëbe ich lëbete
du lëbest du lëbetest du lëbest du lëbetest
ër lëbet ër lëbete ër lëbe ër lëbete
wir lëben wir lëbeten wir lëben wir lëbeten
ir lëbet ir lëbetet ir lëbet ir lëbetet
si lëbent si lëbeten si lëben si lëbeten

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