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The parent suffix in Germanic weak verbs of class III

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

William H. Bennett
William H. Bennett*
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
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Extract

Among the types of weak verbs occurring in Germanic, none has provoked more difference of opinion than that of Class III, and no other has so consistently eluded a believable analysis. As might be expected, most discussions of the subject lean heavily on the evidence provided by Gothic. In Gothic weak verbs of Class III, the most noticeable feature is the occurrence of a in some inflectional forms beside ai in others. Thus the present indicative active of the verb ‘have’ has sg. 1 hab-a but 2 hab-ais and 3 hab-aiþ, pl. 1 hab-am and 3 hab-and but 2 hab-aiþ. Similarly, the imperative has sg. 2 hab-ai and pl. 2 -aiþ but pl. 3 -andau. On the other hand, a always appears in the infinitive (haban), in the present participle (habands), and throughout the passive indicative (e.g. pl. 1–3 habanda). Conversely, ai occurs in all forms of the preterit (e.g. ind. sg. 1 habaida, p.p. habaiþs) and in nearly all optative forms, the sole exception being pres. act. 1 habau.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 38 , Issue 2: April-June , June 1962, pp. 135 - 141
Copyright
Copyright © 1962 Linguistic Society of America

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References

1 The nearest approach to mixture is the occurrence of hatjan beside hatan ‘hate’. Streitberg, Die got. Bibel 2.55, lists hatan as belonging to the third weak class, but there appears to be no clear-cut evidence to warrant this conclusion. The attested forms are hatandane L 1.71 and hatandans L 6.27, neither of which offers any definite clue as to whether the verb is even strong or weak. Streitberg (loc.cit.) also lists hatjan as belonging to the first weak class, but again the attested forms (M 5.44, gloss to L 6.27, R 7.15) are not distinctive.

2 W. Wilmanns, Deutsche Grammatik 3.86 (1906); Prokosch, op.cit. 158; Krahe, op.cit. 129, 134, and Germ. Sprachw.3 2.119; W. Krause, Handbuch des Got. 228 (1953).

3 Cowgill states (7) that he has found no instances in which intervocalic -j- survived after vowels (other than i) of noninitial syllables. If the developments posited below in §§10–15 are valid, they provide additional support for his opinion. I am indebted to Cowgill for several useful comments.