What we can do after being 4-years studying Old and Middle English...

Our selection includes lines 1-25, found on pp. 1-2 in: Friedrich Klaeber, ed. (1950), Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, 3rd edition, Boston: Heath. Our translation, as generally in our lessons, is prose rather than poetry, and tends to be literal.

HWÆT, WĒ GĀR-DEna         in gēardagum
þēodcyninga         þrym gefrūnon,
hū ðā æþelingas         ellen fremedon!

• hwæt -- interrogative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hwā, hwā, hwæt> who, what -- Lo
• wē -- 1st person pronoun; nominative plural of <ic> I -- we
• Gār-Dena -- proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of <gār-Dene> spear-Danes -- of Spear-Danes
• in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in
• gēardagum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <gēar-dæg> lit. year-day -- days of yore
• þēodcyninga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <ðēod-cyning> lit. people-king -- of folk-kings'
• þrym -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <þrymm> glory, renown -- prowness
• gefrūnon -- strong verb, class III; 1st person plural preterite of <gefrīnan, gefrān, gefrūnon, gefrūnen> learn, hear of -- have heard
• hū -- adverbial conjunction <hū> how -- how
• ðā -- definite article; nominative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- the
• æþelingas -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <æðeling> nobleman, prince -- princes
• ellen -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <ellen> valor, courage -- deed(s) of valor
• fremedon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <fremman, fremede, fremed> do, perform -- wrought

Oft Scyld Scēfing         sceaþena þrēatum,
monegum mǣgþum         meodosetla oftēah,
egsode eorlas,         syððan ǣrest wearð
fēasceaft funden;

• oft -- adverb <oft> often, frequently -- often
• Scyld Scēfing -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Scyld Scēfing> Scyld Scefing -- Scyld Scefing
• sceaþena -- weak noun, masculine; genitive plural of <sceaða> enemy, warrior -- of enemies
• þrēatum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <ðrēat> band, troop -- (from) bands
• monegum -- adjective; dative plural feminine of <monig> many -- (from) many
• mǣgþum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <mǣgþ> tribe, nation -- tribes
• meodosetla -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <medu-setl> lit. mead-seat -- mead-benches
• oftēah -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <oftēon, oftēah, oftugon, oftogen> deny, deprive -- wrested
• egsode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <egsian, egsode, egsod> terrify -- terrified
• eorlas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior -- earls
• syððan -- adverb <syððan> afterwards -- since
• ǣrest -- adverb; superlative of <ǣr> ere, before, formerly -- first
• wearð -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <weorðan, wearð, wurdon, worden> become, happen -- (he) was
• fēasceaft -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <fēasceaft> poor, destitute -- abandoned # as a baby
• funden -- strong verb, class III; past participle of <findan, fond, fundon, funden> find -- found

        hē þæs frōfre gebād,
wēox under wolcnum         weorðmyndum þāh,
oð þæt him ǣghwylc         ymbsittendra
ofer hronrāde         hȳran scolde,
gomban gyldan;

• hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it -- he
• þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that -- for that
• frōfre -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <frōfor> relief, solace, consolation -- consolation
• gebād -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <gebīdan, gebād, gebidon, gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain -- received
• wēox -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <weaxan, wēox, wēoxon, wēaxen> wax, grow -- (he) grew
• under -- preposition <under> under -- under
• wolcnum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <wolcen> sky, heaven -- the heavens
• weorðmyndum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <weorðmynd> glory, honor, reverence -- honors
• þāh -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <ðēon, ðāh, ðigon, ðigen> thrive, prosper -- won
• oð þæt -- adverbial conjunction <oð þæt> until -- until
• him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it -- him
• ǣghwylc -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ǣghwilc> all, every -- all
• ymbsittendra -- strong verb, class V; present participle; genitive plural of <ymbsittan, ymbsæt, ymbsǣton, ymbseten> besiege, lit. sit round -- (of the) peoples
• ofer -- preposition <ofer> over, across -- across
• hronrāde -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hron-rād> sea, lit. whale-road -- the sea
• hȳran -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <hīeran, hīerde, hīered> hear, obey; belong -- obey
• scolde -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- had to
• gomban -- weak noun, feminine; accusative singular of <gombe> tribute -- tribute # "weak feminine" is speculative
• gyldan -- strong verb, class III; infinitive of <gieldan, geald, guldon, golden> yield, pay -- pay

        þæt wæs gōd cyning!

• þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that -- that
• wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen -- was
• gōd -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <gōd> good, excellent -- (a) good
• cyning -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <cyning> king -- king

Ðǣm eafera wæs         æfter cenned
geong in geardum,         þone God sende
folce tō frōfre;

• ðǣm -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- (to) him
• eafera -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <eafora> son, heir -- a child
• wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen -- was
• æfter -- adverb <æfter> after(wards), then -- then
• cenned -- weak verb, class I; past participle of <cennan, cennede, cenned> beget, conceive, bring forth -- born
• geong -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <geong> young -- a young (man)
• in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in
• geardum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <geard> yard, enclosure; dwelling -- the court # singular in meaning
• þone -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- him
• God -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <God> God, Deity -- God
• sende -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <sendan, sende, sened> send -- sent
• folce -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <folc> folk, people -- the people
• tō -- preposition <tō> (in)to -- to
• frōfre -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <frōfor> relief, solace, consolation -- for solace

        fyrenðearfe ongeat,
þē hīe ǣr drugon         aldorlēase
lange hwīle;

• fyrenðearfe -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <fyren-ðearf> dire distress -- the dire distress
• ongeat -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <ongietan, ongeat, ongēaton, ongieten> grasp, understand -- (he) perceived
• þē -- relative particle <þe> that, which, who -- which # Klaeber reconstructs "þē" where MS has only "þ"
• hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it -- they
• ǣr -- adverb <ǣr> ere, before, formerly -- before
• drugon -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of <drēogan, drēag, drugon, drogen> endure, suffer -- suffered
• aldorlēase -- noun, masculine <ealdor> elder, parent, prince + adjective; nominative plural masculine <lēas> without, bereft of -- lordless
• lange -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <lang> long -- (for a) long
• hwīle -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hwīl> while, time -- time

        him þæs Līffrea͡,
wuldres Wealdend         woroldāre forgeaf, 

• him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it -- him
• þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that -- for that
• Līffrea͡ -- proper noun, weak masculine; nominative singular of <Līf-frea͡> lit. Life-lord -- the Lord of Light
• wuldres -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <wuldor> glory, praise -- of Glory
• wealdend -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <wealdend> wielder, ruler, lord -- the Wielder
• woroldāre -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <worold-ār> worldly honor -- world honor
• forgeaf -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <forgifan, forgeaf, forgēafon, forgiefen> give, grant -- gave

Bēowulf wæs brēme         — blǣd wīde sprang —
Scyldes eafera         Scedelandum in. 

• Bēowulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Bēo-wulf> bear, lit. bee wolf -- Beowulf # Danish king, son of Scyld Scefing: not the hero of this poem
• wæs -- anomalous verb; 1st person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen -- was
• brēme -- adjective; nominative singular of <brēme> famous, renowned -- renowned
• blǣd -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <blǣd> blade, leaf -- the fame
• wīde -- adverb <wīde> widely, far -- far
• sprang -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <springan, sprang, sprungon, sprungen> spring, burst forth, spread -- spread
• Scyldes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Scyld> Scyld -- (of) Scyld's
• eafera -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <eafora> son, heir -- son # nominative (?) according to Klaeber
• Scedelandum -- proper noun, neuter; dative plural of <Scedeland> Danish land -- Danish lands
• in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in

Swā sceal geong guma         gōde gewyrcean,
fromum feohgiftum         on fæder bearme,
þæt hine on ylde         eft gewunigen
wilgesīþas,         þonne wīg cume,
lēode gelǣsten;

• swā -- adverbial conjunction <swā> so, thus -- thus
• sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- should
• geong -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <geong> young -- (a) young
• guma -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <guma> man, hero -- man
• gōde -- adjective; dative singular neuter of <gōd> good, excellent -- good # (i.e., a good outcome)
• gewyrcean -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <gewyrcan, geworhte, geworht> perform, achieve, accomplish -- accomplish
• fromum -- adjective; dative plural feminine of <from> bold, brave, splendid -- (with) splendid
• feohgiftum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <feoh-gift> money-, lit. cattle-gift -- money-gifts
• on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- (while) in
• fæder -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <fæder> father -- (his) father's
• bearme -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <bearm> bosom, lap -- bosom
• þæt -- conjunction <þæt> so/in order that -- so that
• hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it -- him
• on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- ...
• ylde -- indeclinable noun, masculine plural; nominative of <ylde> men -- men
• eft -- adverb <eft> afterwards, thereupon -- afterwards
• gewunigen -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present optative of <gewunian, gewunode, gewunod> remain with, stand by -- stand by
• wilgesīþas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <wilgesīð> dear companion -- dear companions
• þonne -- adverb <þonne> then, when -- when
• wīg -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <wīg> war, strife -- war
• cume -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present optative of <cuman, cwōm, cwōmon, cumen> come -- comes
• lēode -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <lēod> person, member of tribe -- the people # Klaeber, in error, reads 'np.' (nom.pl.)
• gelǣsten -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural present optative of <gelǣstan, gelǣste, gelǣset> serve, stand by -- to serve

        lofdǣdum sceal
in mǣgþa gehwǣre         man geþeo͡n.

• lofdǣdum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of <lof-dǣd> praiseworthy deed -- (by) praiseworthy deeds
• sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- is sure to
• in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in
• mǣgþa -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <mǣgþ> tribe, nation -- (of the) nations
• gehwǣre -- pronoun; dative singular feminine of <gehwā> each, everyone -- all
• man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <monn> man, person -- (a) man
• geþeo͡n -- strong verb, class I; infinitive <geþēon, geþāh, geþigon, geþigen> thrive, prosper -- prosper

Lesson Text

HWÆT, WĒ GĀR-DEna         in gēardagum
þēodcyninga         þrym gefrūnon,
hū ðā æþelingas         ellen fremedon!

Oft Scyld Scēfing         sceaþena þrēatum,
monegum mǣgþum         meodosetla oftēah,
egsode eorlas,         syððan ǣrest wearð
fēasceaft funden;         hē þæs frōfre gebād,
wēox under wolcnum         weorðmyndum þāh,
oð þæt him ǣghwylc         ymbsittendra
ofer hronrāde         hȳran scolde,
gomban gyldan;         þæt wæs gōd cyning!

Ðǣm eafera wæs         æfter cenned
geong in geardum,         þone God sende
folce tō frōfre;         fyrenðearfe ongeat,
þē hīe ǣr drugon         aldorlēase
lange hwīle;         him þæs Līffrea͡,
wuldres Wealdend         woroldāre forgeaf, Bēowulf wæs brēme         — blǣd wīde sprang —
Scyldes eafera         Scedelandum in. Swā sceal geong guma         gōde gewyrcean,
fromum feohgiftum         on fæder bearme,
þæt hine on ylde         eft gewunigen
wilgesīþas,         þonne wīg cume,
lēode gelǣsten;         lofdǣdum sceal
in mǣgþa gehwǣre         man geþeo͡n.

Translation

Lo, we have heard of Spear-Danes in days of yore, of folk-kings' prowness, how the princes wrought deeds of valor.

Often Scyld Scefing wrested mead-benches from bands of enemies from many tribes -- terrified earls -- since first he was found abandoned. (He received consolation for that.) He grew under the heavens, thrived with honors until all peoples across the sea had to obey: pay him tribute. That was a good king!

Then a child was born to him, a young man in the court; God sent him to the people for solace. He perceived the dire distress which they suffered before, lordless for a long time. For that the Lord of Light, the Wielder of Glory, gave him worldly honor. Beowulf was renowned; the fame of Scyld's son spread far in Danish lands. Thus should a young man accomplish good with splendid money-gifts while in his father's bosom, so that afterwards men stand by him, dear companions to serve the people when war comes. In all nations, a man is sure to prosper by praiseworthy deeds.

Grammar

1. The Alphabet and Sound System

As noted in the Series Introduction, spelling in Old English (OE) was never fully standardized, but instead the "continental" sounds of the Latin alphabet determined how words were spelled -- and this varied from one dialect and time to another. Several letters were added to the Latin alphabet for sounds that were not covered by it, but one of them (wynn) is generally replaced by Latin 'w' to avoid confusing it with the look-alike thorn; further, modern editors have typically added long marks (macrons) over vowels to distinguish their pronunciation from short vowels.

Regarding pronunciation, there are no "silent" letters in Old English.

Consonant		Pronunciation		Comment/Environment
b		like b in 'boy'
c		like c in 'cold'		before a consonant, or with guttural vowels;
		like ch in 'chin'		when word-final after i, otherwise depending on etymology.
d		like d in 'did'
f		like f in 'fin'		initially, finally, in ff/fs/ft, and in strictly medial positions except...
		like v in 'have'		between vowels/voiced consonants (e.g., ǣfre, ofer, sealfian).
g		like g in Ger. 'sagen'		with guttural vowels;
		like y in 'you'		with palatal vowels.
h		like ch in Ger. 'ach'		with guttural vowels;
		like ch in Ger. 'ich'		with palatal vowels.
k		like k in 'kite'		rarely used; see c
l		like l in 'land'
m		like m in 'man'
n		like n in 'night'
p		like p in 'pin'
q		like q in 'queen'		rarely used; see c
r		like trilled r in Sp. 'rueda'		[or perhaps merely flapped?]
s		like s in 'rising'		single letter between vowels;
		like s in 'sing'		otherwise.
t		like t in 'toy'
ð		like th in 'that'		rarely distinguished in writing from þ
þ		like th in 'thorn'		rarely distinguished in writing from ð
v		like v in 'viper'		rarely used; see f
w		like w in 'work'
x		like x in 'box'
z		like z in 'zephyr'		rarely used (usually ts)

Some pairs of consonants (digraphs) have special pronunciation:

Digraph		Pronunciation
cg		like j in 'just'
gg		like g in 'go'
ng		like ng in 'finger'
qu		like qu in 'quick' (but rarely used)
sc		like sh in 'ship' (but originally like sk)
ðð		like th in 'thorn' (never voiced)

The vowels have continental values:

Vowel		Pronunciation
a		like a in 'father'
ā		like aa in 'baah'
æ		like a in 'bat'
ǣ		like uy in 'buy'
e		like e in 'bet'
ē		like a in 'hate'
i		like i in 'bit'
ī		like ee in 'beet'
o		like o in 'pot'
ō		like oa in 'boat'
u		like u in 'put'
ū		like oo in 'boot'
y		early, like ü in Ger. 'füllen'; later, the y and i sounds merged
ȳ		early, like ü in Ger. 'fühlen'; later, the ȳ and ī sounds merged

Diphthongs are generally pronounced as the first vowel followed quickly by the second; for long diphthongs, lengthen the first vowel sound only.

2. Verb Inflection

Verbs are classed in two conjugations, weak and strong, in accordance with their means of producing the preterite (i.e. past) tense. This is produced by addition of a suffix -de (or -te) in weak verbs, e.g. hīere, hīerde 'hear, heard', or by internal vowel change called ablaut in strong verbs, e.g. binde, band 'bind, bound'. There are three classes of weak verbs, and seven classes of strong verbs; in addition there are six classes of preterite-present verbs, based on strong verb classes 1-6 in the present tense but incorporating weak verb suffixes in the preterite. These verb classes will be detailed in this and successive lessons.

As in modern English, there is only an active inflection; passives are formed with the auxiliaries bēon 'be', wesan 'be', and also with weorðan 'become' plus the infinitive. There are two tenses:present and preterite; three moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative, each with two numbers: singular and plural; the plural in each mood has one form throughout, except in the preterite subjunctive which may have two. There are also three "nominal" forms: the gerund, present participle, and past participle.

N.B. A fourth mood, the optative, is occasionally noted in our glosses and other reference works; it is quite similar to the subjunctive mood, and indicates a wish or hope. But as the optative was in the process of being lost from Germanic languages in general, and is seldom if ever categorically distinguished from subjunctive in OE -- older texts often use the term "optative" exclusively, while newer texts often use the term "subjunctive" exclusively -- it will be ignored as such in our verb conjugations and discussion.

The present indicative and subjunctive as well as the present participle are given here for the strong verb bindan 'bind, fetter', and the weak verb hīeran 'hear, obey' from our text.

Present		Strong		Weak
Infinitive		bindan 'bind'		hīeran 'hear'
Indicative
1 Sg.		binde		hīere
2 Sg.		bindest/bintst		hīerst
3 Sg.		bindeð/bint		hīerð
Pl.		bindað		hīerað
Subjunctive
Sg.		binde		hīere
Pl.		binden		hīeren
Participle		bindende		hīerende

3. The Preterite System of Verbs

Verbs have preterite (past tense) forms in the indicative and the subjunctive. As is clear from the examples below (again using bindan 'bind, fetter' and hīeran 'hear, obey'), the number ofpotential forms has been greatly reduced, especially in the subjunctive.

Preterite		Strong		Weak
Indicative
1 Sg.		band 'bound'		hīerde 'heard'
2 Sg.		bunde		hīerdest
3 Sg.		band		hīerde
Pl.		bunden		hīerdon
Subjunctive
Sg.		bunde		hīerde
Pl.		bunden		hīerden
Participle		bunden		hīered

4. The Anomalous Verb wesan

So-called anomalous verbs have forms that are not always morphologically predictable (e.g., by adding inflectional suffixes), but are instead "suppletive," and hence must be learned ('supplied') by rote. They are, accordingly, neither weak nor strong. Modern English was, were provides a contemporary example of suppletion, which is commonly observed among Indo-European languages for the most basic verbs, pronouns, and a few other parts of speech.

Old English inherited from Proto-Germanic, its ancestral tongue, three different anomalous verbs for 'to be', none of them exhibiting [in surviving texts] a complete repertoire of forms. OE wesan(the infinitive) survives as a verb only in the two modern English forms was, were, although a relic is also observed in the word wassail, originally a salutation meaning 'be healthy'.

wesan 'be'		Preterite Indicative		Preterite Subjunctive		Imperative
1 Sg.		wæs 'was'		wǣre
2 Sg.		wǣre 'were'		wǣre		wes
3 Sg.		wæs		wǣre
Pl.		wǣron		wǣren		wesað

There are no present forms other than the participle wesende 'being'. As is often true in OE, forms of wesan were subject to alternative spelling, which includes in lesson 3 the 3rd person plural preterite indicative forms wǣran and wǣrun 'were'.

As in modern English, forms of the auxiliary wesan are used with the past participle to produce passives. An example in our lesson text is wæs cenned 'was born' (Beowulf 12), where the past participle lacks the prefix ge-; examples in the lesson 3 text are wæs geseted 'was appointed' and wæs gedēmed 'was deemed'. N.B. Passives can also be made with the auxiliary weorðan'become', cf. the use in German of werden for the passive, as in Beowulf 6-7 wearð ... funden 'was found'.

The auxiliary wesan is also used as in modern English with the present participle to indicate ongoing action, as in wæs gongende 'was going' and sprecende wæs 'was speaking' (lesson 2).

5. Weak Verbs in Class I

As noted earlier, the weak preterite forms are produced by addition of the suffix -de (or -te) -- akin to modern English 'lived' formed from the infinitive 'live'. Here we begin to lay out full verb conjugations starting with Class I of the weak verbs. We use the same verb hīeran 'hear' that was introduced above, and other verbs with minor conjugational differences:

• mētan 'meet' (see text in lesson 3) because, in a devoiced context, t appears in place of d in the preterite suffix;
• werian 'wear' (also in lesson 3) because, for some verbs, the stem includes a residual -i- in certain forms;
• fremman 'perform' (this lesson) because, in certain forms like the infinitive, the final stem consonant is geminated.

Barring certain verbs that are exceptional owing to their derivational history, the same stem (e.g., hīer-) is employed in every form of a weak verb, though possibly with residual -i- or gemination. The suffixes are all standard for their person, number, tense, mood, etc., with possible devoicing.

Class I		Normal		Devoiced		Residual -i-		Geminated
Infinitive		hīeran 'hear'		mētan 'meet'		werian 'wear'		fremman 'perform'
Inflected Infin.		hīeranne		mētanne		werianne		fremmanne
Imperative Sg.		hīere		mēte		were		freme
Imperative Pl.		hīerað		mētað		weriað		fremmað
Pres. Participle		hīerende		mētende		weriende		fremmende
Past Participle		hīered		mēted		wered		fremed
Gerund		hīerenne		mētenne		werenne		fremmenne

Present Indicative		Normal		Devoiced		Residual -i-		Geminated
1 Sg.		hīere		mēte		werie		fremme
2 Sg.		hīerst		mētst		werest		fremest
3 Sg.		hīerð		mētð		wereð		fremeð
Plural		hīerað		mētað		weriað		fremmað

Present Subjunctive		Normal		Devoiced		Residual -i-		Geminated
Singular		hīere		mēte		werie		fremme
Plural		hīeren		mēten		werien		fremmen

Preterite Indicative		Normal		Devoiced		Residual		Geminated
1 Sg.		hīerde		mētte		werede		fremede
2 Sg.		hīerdest		mēttest		weredest		fremedest
3 Sg.		hīerde		mētte		werede		fremede
Plural		hīerdon		mētton		weredon		fremedon

Preterite Subjunctive		Normal		Devoiced		Residual		Geminated
Singular		hīerde		mētte		werede		fremede
Plural		hīerden		mētten		wereden		fremeden