Preterite - present Verbs

They can be referred in OE neither to strong nor to weak verbs. The present tense forms

of these verbs were originally past tense forms, which have acquired the meaning of the pres-

ent. Preterite-present verbs have the same endings as the past tense forms of strong verbs. In

OE there were 12 preterite-present verbs. Such verbs as a3 (owe); cunnan, can (can); dearr

(dare); sculan, sceal (shall); ma3an, mж3 (may); mot (must) survived in MnE.

Most of the preterite-present verbs expressed a kind of the attitude to an action denoted

by another verb and infinitive which followed preterite-present verb. They were used like mo-

dal verbs and developed into modem modal verbs. In ME several preterite-present verbs died

out. The surviving verbs lost some of their grammatical forms and distinctions but retained

many specific peculiarities. They lost the forms of the verbals which had sprung up in OE and

distinctions between the forms of number and mood in present tense. In MnE their paradigms

were reduced to 2 or even 1 form.

The Irregular Verbs

A few anomalous or irregular verbs in OE combined both ways of form-building - that of

strong verbs and of weak verbs. Thus the form bude is Past tense of the verb buan 'stay',

'live' formed according to the weak conjugation. Participle II of the verb, however, was

formed without a dental suffix, 3e-bun, and ended in-n like a strong verb. The verbs don, NE

do and willan, NE will, 3an, NE go, and beon, NE be, had irregular forms as early as the OE

period. The two latter verbs had suppletive forms.

Irregular Verbs