Old Saxon grammar

This article is about the grammar of the continental Old Saxon language. For the grammar of the Anglo-Saxon language, see Old English grammar.

The grammar of Old Saxon is quite different from that of Modern English, predominantly by being much more inflected, similar to that of Old English or Latin. As an ancient Germanic language, the morphological system of Old Saxon is similar to that of the hypothetical Proto-Germanic reconstruction, retaining many of the inflections thought to have been common in Proto-Indo-European and also including characteristically Germanic constructions such as the umlaut. Among living languages, Old Saxon morphology most closely resembles that of modern High German.

Nouns, pronouns, adjectives and determiners were fully inflected with five grammatical cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, and instrumental), two grammatical numbers (singular and plural) and three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter). First- and second-person personal pronouns also had dual forms for referring to groups of two people, in addition to the usual singular and plural forms. The instrumental case was somewhat rare and occurred mostly in the masculine singular, but also sometimes in the neuter singular. It never occurred in the feminine nor plural. Instrumental could typically be replaced by the dative. Adjectives, pronouns and (sometimes) participles agreed with their antecedent nouns in case, number and gender. Finite verbs agreed with their subject in person and number.

Nouns came in numerous declensions (with deep parallels in Latin, Ancient Greek and Sanskrit). Verbs came in ten main conjugations (seven strong and two weak + the remains of a third weak class), each with numerous subtypes, as well as a few additional smaller conjugations and a handful of irregular verbs. The main difference from other ancient Indo-European languages, such as Latin, is that verbs can be conjugated in only two tenses (vs. the six "tenses" – really tense/aspect combinations – of Latin), and, like Old English, have no synthetic passive voice (although it did still exist in Gothic).

Gender in nouns was grammatical, as opposed to the natural gender that prevails in modern English. That is, the grammatical gender of a given noun did not necessarily correspond to its natural gender, even for nouns referring to people. For example, thiu sunna (the Sun) was feminine, thê mâno (the Moon) was masculine, and that wîf "the woman/wife" was neuter. (Compare Old English sēo sunne (f.), se mōna (m.) and þæt wīf, but also modern German die Sonne, der Mond, das Weib.) Pronominal usage could reflect either natural or grammatical gender, when it conflicted.

Morphology

Verbs

Verbs in Old Saxon are divided into strong and weak verbs. Strong verbs indicate tense by a change in the quality of a vowel, while weak verbs indicate tense by the addition of an ending.

Here is a quick sum up of all the Old Saxon classes of strong and weak verbs. More information on these classes are given below.

Strong verbs Weak verbs
Conjugation Pronoun 'to ride' 'to fly' 'to help' 'to break' 'to speak' 'to travel' 'to wield' 'to deem' 'to declare' 'to say'
Infinitive rīdan fliogan helpan brekan sprekan faran waldan dōmian mahlon seggian
Present indicative
ik rīdu fliugu hilpu briku spriku faru waldu dōmiu mahlo(n) seggiu
thū rīdis fliugis hilpis brikis sprikis feris weldis dōmis mahlos sages
hē/it/siu rīdid fliugid hilpid brikid sprikid ferid weldid dōmid mahlod saged
wī/gī/sia rīdad fliogad helpad brekad sprekad farad waldad dōmiad mahliod seggiad
Past indicative
ik rēd flōg halp brak sprak fōr wēld dōmda mahloda sagda
thū ridi flugi hulpi brāki sprāki fōri wēldi dōmdes mahlodes sagdes
hē/it/siu rēd flōg halp brak sprak fōr wēld dōmda mahloda sagda
wī/gī/sia ridun flugun hulpun brākun sprākun fōrun wēldun dōmdun mahlodun sagdun
Present subjunctive
ik rīde flioge helpe breke spreke fare walde dōmie mahlo seggie
thū rīdes flioges helpes brekes sprekes fares waldes dōmies mahlos seggies
hē/it/siu rīde flioge helpe breke spreke fare walde dōmie mahlo seggie
wī/gī/sia rīden fliogen helpen breken spreken faren walden dōmien mahlion seggien
Past subjunctive
ik ridi flugi hulpi brāki sprāki fōri wēldi dōmdi mahlodi sagdi
thū ridis flugis hulpis brākis sprākis fōris wēldis dōmdis mahlodis sagdis
hē/it/siu ridi flugi hulpi brāki sprāki fōri wēldi dōmdi mahlodi sagdi
wī/gī/sia ridin flugin hulpin brākin sprākin fōrin wēldin dōmdin mahlodin sagdin
Imperative Singular rīd fliog help brek sprek far wald dōmi mahlo sage
Plural rīdad fliogad helpad brekad sprekad farad waldad dōmiad mahliod seggiad
Present participle rīdandi fliogandi helpandi brekandi sprekandi farandi waldandi dōmiandi mahlondi seggiandi
Past participle (gi)ridan (gi)flogan (gi)holpan (gi)brokan (gi)sprekan (gi)faran (gi)waldan (gi)dōmid (gi)mahlod (gi)sagd

Strong verbs

Further information: Germanic strong verb

Strong verbs use the Germanic form of conjugation known as ablaut. In this form of conjugation, the stem of the word changes to indicate the tense. Verbs like this persist in modern English; for example sing, sang, sung is a strong verb, as are swim, swam, swum and choose, chose, chosen. The root portion of the word changes rather than its ending. In Old English, there were seven major classes of strong verb; each class has its own pattern of stem changes. Learning these is often a challenge for students of the language, though English speakers may see connections between the old verb classes and their modern forms.

The classes had the following distinguishing features to their infinitive stems:

  1. ī + one consonant.
  2. io or ū + one consonant.
  3. e or i + two consonants.
  4. e + 1 consonant (usually l or r, plus the verb brekan 'to break').
  5. e + 1 consonant (usually a stop or a fricative).
  6. a + 1 consonant.
  7. Other than the above. Always a heavy root syllable (either a long vowel or short + two consonants), almost always a non-umlauted vowel – e.g. ō, ā, ē, a. Infinitive is distinguishable from class 1 weak verbs by non-umlauted root vowel; from class 1 weak verbs by lack of suffix -ian and from class 2 weak verbs by lack of suffix -on. First and second preterite have identical stems, usually in io (occ. ē), and the infinitive and the past participle also have the same stem.
Stem changes in strong verbs
Class Root weight Infinitive First preterite Second preterite Past participle
I heavy ī ē i i
II heavy io or ū ō u o
III heavy e or i a u o or u
IV light e(+r/l) a ā o
V light e(+other) a ā e
VI light a ō a
VII heavy ō, ā, ē, a ē or io same as infinitive

The first preterite stem is used in the preterite, for the first- and third-person singular. The second preterite stem is used for second-person singular, and all persons in the plural (as well as the preterite subjunctive). Strong verbs also exhibit i-mutation of the stem in the second- and third-person singular in the present tense, and sometimes in the first person as well (especially class II, III, IV and V verbs).

Regular strong verbs were all conjugated roughly the same, with the main differences being in the stem vowel. Thus stelan 'to steal' represents the strong verb conjugation paradigm.

Conjugation Pronoun 'steal'
Infinitives stelan
tō/te stelanne
Present indicative
ik stilu
thū stilis
hē/it/siu stilid
wī/gī/sia stelad
Past indicative ik stal
thū stāli
hē/it/siu stal
wī/gī/sia stālun
Present subjunctive ik stele
thū steles
hē/it/siu stele
wī/gī/sia stelen
Past subjunctive ik stāli
thū stālis
hē/it/siu stāli
wī/gī/sia stālin
Imperative Singular stel
Plural stelad
Present participle stelandi
Past participle (gi)stolan

Weak verbs

Further information: Germanic weak verb

The past and past-participle forms of weak verbs are formed with a (t or d) added to the end of the stem. Some modern English examples of this are love, loved or look, looked.

Originally, the weak ending was used to form the preterite of informal, noun-derived verbs such as often emerge in conversation and which have no established system of stem-change. By nature, these verbs were almost always transitive, and even today, most weak verbs are transitive verbs formed in the same way. The same process is found in Old English, and throughout the history of the English language. As English came into contact with non-Germanic languages, it invariably borrowed useful verbs which lacked established stem-change patterns. Rather than inventing and standardizing new classes or learning foreign conjugations, English speakers simply applied the weak ending to the foreign bases. The same process also happened with Dutch, German and occurs in modern Germanic languages.

There are three major classes of weak verbs in Old Saxon. The two first classes are recognizable as all their infinitives have the same ending -ian (1st class) and -on/-oian (2nd class). There is also a third class explained below, also ending with -ian.

Class-one verbs with short roots exhibit gemination of the final stem consonant in certain forms. Geminated ⟨f⟩ appears as ⟨bb⟩, and that of ⟨g⟩ appears as ⟨gg⟩.

Class-two verbs are recognizable in having an o-theme throughout the whole conjugation.

The following table shows the conjugation of three verbs: swebbian, "to put to sleep" is a class-one verb exhibiting gemination and an epenthetic vowel; dēlian "to share, deal" is a class-one verb exhibiting neither gemination nor an epenthetic vowel; galpon 'to cry' is a class-two verb.

Conjugation Pronoun 'put to sleep' 'deal' 'journey'
Infinitives swebbian dēlian galpon
tō/te swebbianne tō/te dēlianne tō/te galponne
Present indicative
ik swebbiu dēliu galpo(n)
thū sweƀis dēlis galpos
hē/it/siu sweƀid dēlid galpod
wī/gī/sia swebbiad dēliad galpiod
Past indicative ik sweƀida dēlda galpoda
thū sweƀides dēldes galpodes
hē/it/siu sweƀida dēlda galpoda
wī/gī/sia sweƀidun dēldun galpodun
Present subjunctive ik swebbie dēlie galpo
thū swebbies dēlies galpos
hē/it/siu swebbie dēlie galpo
wī/gī/sia swebbien dēlien galpion
Past subjunctive ik sweƀidi dēldi galpodi
thū sweƀidis dēldis galpodis
hē/it/siu sweƀidi dēldi galpodi
wī/gī/sia sweƀidin dēldin galpodin
Imperative Singular sweƀi dēli galpo
Plural swebbiad dēliad galpiod
Present participle swebbiandi dēliandi galpondi
Past participle (gi)sweƀid (gi)dēlid (gi)galpod

Preterite-present verbs

The preterite-present verbs are a class of verbs which have a present tense in the form of a strong preterite and a past tense like the past of a weak verb. These verbs derive from the subjunctive or optative use of preterite forms to refer to present or future time. For example, witan, "to know" comes from a verb which originally meant "to have seen". The present singular is formed from the original singular preterite stem and the present plural from the original plural preterite stem. As a result of this history, the first-person singular and third-person singular are the same in the present.

Few preterite present appear in the Old Saxon corpus, and some are not attested in all forms.

Conjugation Pronoun 'know how to' 'be able to' 'be obliged' 'to know' 'own' 'to avail' 'dare to do' 'to remember' 'to need' 'be allowed' 'allow' 'have use of'
Infinitives kunnan mugan skulan witan ēgan dugan *(gi-)durran far-munan thurƀan mōtan gi-unnan *gi-nugan
Present Indicative
ik kan mag, mah skal wēt ēh dōg, dōh gidar far-man tharf mōt gi-an ginah
thū kanst maht skalt wēst ēhst *dōht *(gi)darst far-manst tharft mōst gi-anst *ginaht
hē/it/siu kan mag, mah skal wēt ēh dōg, dōh gidar far-man þearf mōt gi-an ginah
wī/gī/sia kunnun mugun skulun witun ēgun dugun (gi)durrun *far-munun thurƀun mōtun *gi-unnun *ginugun
Past Indicative
ik konsta mohta skolda wissa ēhta dohta (gi)dorsta far-monsta thorfta mōsta gi-onsta *ginohta
thū konstes mohtes skoldes wisses ēhtes *dohtes *(gi)dorstes *far-monstes thorftes mōstes *gi-onstes *ginohtes
hē/it/siu konsta mohta skolda wissa ēhta dohta (gi)dorsta far-monsta thorfta mōsta gi-onsta *ginohta
wī/gī/sia konstun mohtun skoldun wissun ēhtun *dohtun (gi)dorstun far-monstun thorftun mōstun *gi-onstun *ginohtun
Present subjunctive
ik kunni mugi skuli witi ēgi dugi *(gi)durri far-muni thurƀi mōti *gi-unni *ginugi
thū kunnis mugis skulis witis ēgis *dugis *(gi)durris *far-munis thurƀis mōtis *gi-unnis *ginugis
hē/it/siu kunni mugi skuli witi ēgi dugi *(gi)durri far-muni thurƀi mōti *gi-unni *ginugi
wī/gī/sia kunnin mugin skulin witin ēgin *dugin *(gi)durrin far-munin thurƀin mōtin *gi-unnin *ginugin
Past subjunctive
ik konsti mohti skoldi wissi ēhti *dohti gidorsti far-monsti thorfti mōsti *gi-onsti *ginohti
thū konstis mohtis skoldis wissis ēhtis *dohtis *(gi)dorstis *far-monstis thorftis mōstis *gi-onstis *ginohtis
hē/it/siu konsti mohti skoldi wissi ēhti *dohti gidorsti far-monsti thorfti mōsti *gi-onsti *ginohti
wī/gī/sia konstin mohtin skoldin wissin ēhtin *dohtin gidorstin *far-monstin thorftin mōstin *gi-onstin *ginohtin

[Forms above with asterisk (*) unattested]

Anomalous verbs

Additionally, there is a further group of four verbs which are anomalous: willian (to want), dōn (to do), gān (to go), stān (to stand) and wesan/sīn (to be). These five have their own conjugation schemes which differ significantly from all the other classes of verb. This is not especially unusual: "want", "do", "go", and "be" are the most commonly used verbs in the language, and are very important to the meaning of the sentences in which they are used. Idiosyncratic patterns of inflection are much more common with important items of vocabulary than with rarely used ones.

dōn 'to do', stān 'to stand' and gān 'to go' are conjugated alike; willian 'to want' is similar outside of the present tense.

Conjugation Pronoun 'do' 'go' 'stand' 'will'
Infinitive – dōn gān stān willan
Present indicative
ik dōm gā *stā williu
thū dēs gēs stēs wilt, wilis
hē/it/siu dēd gēd stēd wili
wī/gī/sia dōd gād stād williad
Past indicative
ik/hē/it/siu deda geng stōd welda
thū dedes gengi stōdi weldes
wī/gī/sia dedun gengun stōdun weldun
Present subjunctive
ik/hē/it/siu dō(e) gā(e) stā(e) willie
thū dō(e)s gā(e) stā(e)s willies
wī/gī/sia dō(e)n gā(e)n stā(e)n willien
Past subjunctive
ik/hē/it/siu dedi gengi stōdi weldi
thū dedis gengis stōdis weldis
wī/gī/sia dedin gengin stōdin weldin
Present participle dōndi gānde stānde willende
Past participle gidān gigangan gistandan —

The verb 'to be' is actually composed of three different stems:

Conjugation Pronoun s-stem b-stem w-stem
Infinitive – sīn *bion? wesan
Present indicative
ik *em bium wisu
thū *art bis(t) wisis
hē/it/siu is(t) *bid wis(id)
wī/gī/sia sind(un) *biod wesad
Past indicative
ik – – was
thū – – wāri
hē/it/siu – – was
wī/gī/sia – – wārun
Present subjunctive
ik/thū/hē/it/siu sī(e) – wese
wī/gī/sia sī(e)n – wesen
Past subjunctive
ik/thū/hē/it/siu – – wāri
wī/gī/sia – – wārin
Imperative
(singular) – – wis, wes
(plural) – – wesad
Present participle – – wesandi
Past participle – – (gi)wesan

The present forms of wesan are almost never used. Therefore, wesan is used as the past, imperative, and present participle versions of sīn, and does not have a separate meaning. The b-stem is only met in the present indicative of wesan, and only for the 1st and 2nd persons in the singular.

Nouns

Old Saxon is an inflected language, and as such its nouns, pronouns, adjectives and determiners must be declined in order to serve a grammatical function. A set of declined forms of the same word pattern is called a declension. As in several other ancient Germanic languages, there are five major cases: nominative, accusative, dative, genitive and instrumental.

In addition to inflection for case, nouns take different endings depending on whether the noun was in the singular (for example, berg 'one mountain') or plural (for example, bergos 'many mountains'). Also, some nouns pluralize by way of Umlaut, and some undergo no pluralizing change in certain cases.

Nouns are also categorized by grammatical gender – masculine, feminine, or neuter. In general, masculine and neuter words share their endings. Feminine words have their own subset of endings. The plural of some declension types distinguishes between genders, e.g., a-stem masculine nominative plural stēnos "stones" vs. neuter nominative plural skipu "ships" and word "words".

Furthermore, Old Saxon nouns are divided as either strong or weak. Weak nouns have their own endings. In general, weak nouns are easier than strong nouns, since they had begun to lose their declensional system. However, there is a great deal of overlap between the various classes of noun: they are not totally distinct from one another.

Old Saxon language grammars often follow the common NOM-ACC-GEN-DAT-INST order used for the Germanic languages.

Strong nouns

Here are the strong a-stem declensional endings and examples for each gender:

The Strong Noun Declension
Case Masculine Neuter Feminine
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative dag dagos – -u/– -a -a
Accusative dag dagos – -u/– -a -a
Genitive dages dago -es -a -o -ono
Dative dage dagum/un -e -um/un -u -um/un

For the '-u/–' neuter forms above, the '-u' is used with a root consisting of a single short syllable such as bak ('back'), skip ('ship') or fat ('vat'). The feminine nominative -a is due to analogy with the accusative.[1]

Here are the strong ja-stem declensional endings and examples for each gender:

The Strong Noun Declension
Case Masculine Neuter Feminine
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative -i -ios -i -i -ia -ia
Accusative -i -ios -i -i -ia -ia
Genitive -ies -io -ies -o -io -iono
Dative -ie -ium/iun -ie -ium/iun -iu -ium/iun

Here is the i-stem declension. We will be using examples to display mutations:

The Strong Noun Declension
Case Masculine Feminine
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative gast gesti anst ensti
Accusative gast gesti anst ensti
Genitive gastes gestio ensti enstio
Dative gaste gestium ensti enstium

Here is the u-stem declension. We will be using examples to display mutations:

The Strong Noun Declension
Case Masculine Neuter
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative sunu suni(os) fehu ?
Accusative sunu suni(os) fehu ?
Genitive sunu/ies sunio fehes ?
Dative sunu/ie sunium fehe *fehum?

Syntax

Old Saxon syntax is mostly different from that of English. Some were simply consequences of the greater level of nominal and verbal inflection – e.g., word order was generally freer. In addition:

References

  1. ↑ Schuhmann, Roland. Einführung in das Altsächsische. P.45
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