Strong verbs in Old and Middle English and irregular verbs in Modern English

A history of verb development and a comparison of classifications

Term Paper (Advanced seminar) , 2006 , 20 Pages , Grade: 2

English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics

In the following essay the development of strong verbs in English will be examined, starting in the Old English period and reaching up to Modern English times. The different classification systems and conjugational patterns that apply for the periods will be compared. The main task of the essay will be to find out similarities differences and parts which have remained the same in these systems.
In the course of the essay, the Old English system of strong verbs will be compared to the Middle English system and finally the Modern English system. In order to do this, it will be necessary to describe the classification system of Old English strong verbs in detail as well as pointing out the conjugational patterns that apply for these verbs.
In the next section the same will be done for Middle English strong verbs. In that section changes will already have to be mentioned.
Afterwards, an entirely different classification of Modern English irregular verbs as suggested by Quirk & Greenbaum will be introduced. In addition the conjugational system of Modern English verbs will be described.
Following this mainly descriptive first part of the essay, the second part will compare the systems and point out the main differences or similarities.
The last section provides a summary of the developments which took place in the evolution of strong verbs and which have already been touched in the descriptions of the different classification systems.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Introduction
• Old English
  • The Old English Classification System of Strong Verbs
  • Old English Conjugational System
• Middle English
  • The Middle English System of Strong Verbs
  • Middle English Conjugational System
• Modern English
  • Modern English Classification of Irregular Verbs
  • Conjugation of Irregular Verbs in Modern English
• A Comparison of the Different Classification Systems
• Development of Strong Verbs from Old English to Modern English
• Conclusion
• List of Abbreviations
• Bibliography

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte

This essay examines the development of strong verbs in English, starting in the Old English period and reaching up to Modern English times. It compares the different classification systems and conjugational patterns that apply for these periods. The main task of the essay is to find out similarities, differences, and parts that have remained the same in these systems.

• The classification of strong verbs in Old English, Middle English, and Modern English
• The conjugational patterns of strong verbs in each period
• The development of strong verbs from Old English to Modern English
• The similarities and differences between the classification systems of each period
• The changes in the conjugational patterns of strong verbs over time

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel

The essay begins by introducing the four types of verbs in Old English: strong verbs, weak verbs, preterite present verbs, and irregular verbs. The essay then focuses on the Old English strong verbs, describing their classification system and conjugational patterns. The classification system is based on the gradation series of the verbs, which are distinguished by different vowels. The essay then moves on to Middle English, describing the changes that occurred in the classification system and conjugational patterns of strong verbs. The essay then introduces the Modern English classification of irregular verbs, which is different from the previous systems. The essay concludes by comparing the different classification systems and highlighting the main differences and similarities. The essay also provides a summary of the developments that took place in the evolution of strong verbs.

Schlüsselwörter

The keywords and focus themes of the text include strong verbs, weak verbs, preterite present verbs, irregular verbs, Old English, Middle English, Modern English, classification systems, conjugational patterns, verb development, historical grammar, and language change.

• College: University of Tubingen (Seminar für Anglistik)
• Course: Historical Grammar
• Grade: 2
• Author: Sonja Rieber (Author)
• Publication Year: 2006
• Pages: 20
• Catalog Number: V114487
• ISBN (eBook): 9783640160235
• ISBN (Book): 9783640160303
• Language: English
• Tags: Strong, Middle, English, Modern, English, Historical, Grammar