Gothic/Verbs

Note: this article contains Gothic characters. You may need to install a Gothic Unicode Font.

What kind of verb is smart?

When you look up a verb in a Gothic dictionary, you will be told

• whether it is strong or weak
• which class it is in. There are seven classes of strong verbs (1 to 7, or I to VII) and four classes of weak verbs.

Strong verbs are marked with sv or abl.V.. Weak verbs are marked with wv or sw.V.. For example, look at the entries for skreitan (a strong verb) and skritnan (a weak verb) in this modern dictionary and this facsimile of a 1910 dictionary.

Things which are the same for both strong and weak verbs

Present tense

The present tense goes as follows:

Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
First	ik qiþa, 𐌹𐌺 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌰 I say.	wit qiþos, 𐍅𐌹𐍄 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐍉𐍃 the two of us say.	weis qiþam, 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍃 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌰𐌼 we say.
Second	þu qiþis, 𐌸𐌿 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌹𐍃 thou sayest.	jut qiþats, 𐌾𐌿𐍄 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌰𐍄𐍃 the two of you say.	jus qiþiþ, 𐌾𐌿𐍃 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌹𐌸 you all say.
Third	is qiþiþ, 𐌹𐍃 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌹𐌸 he says.	(use the plural)	eis qiþand, 𐌴𐌹𐍃 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌰𐌽𐌳 they say.

How strong verbs behave

Infinitive

The infinitive of strong verbs always ends in -an. For example:

Infinitive
qiþan, 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌰𐌽 to say.

How weak verbs behave

...

Irregular verbs

wisan, 𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌰𐌽, to be

Infinitive
wisan 𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌰𐌽 to be.

Present

Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
First	ik im, 𐌹𐌺 𐌹𐌼 I am.	wit siju, 𐍅𐌹𐍄 𐍃𐌹𐌾𐌿 the two of us are.	weis sijum, 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍃 𐍃𐌹𐌾𐌿𐌼 we are.
Second	þu is, 𐌸𐌿 𐌹𐍃 thou art.	jut sijuts, 𐌾𐌿𐍄 𐍃𐌹𐌾𐌿𐍄𐍃 the two of you are.	jus sijuþ, 𐌾𐌿𐍃 𐍃𐌹𐌾𐌿𐌸 you all are.
Third	is ist, 𐌹𐍃 𐌹𐍃𐍄 he is.	(use the plural)	eis sind, 𐌴𐌹𐍃 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌳 they are.

Past

Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
First	ik was, 𐌹𐌺 𐍅𐌰𐍃 I was.	wit wesu, 𐍅𐌹𐍄 𐍅𐌴𐍃𐌿 the two of us were.	weis wesum, 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍃 𐍅𐌴𐍃𐌿𐌼 we were.
Second	þu wast, 𐌸𐌿 𐍅𐌰𐍃𐍄 thou wert.	jut wesuts, 𐌾𐌿𐍄 𐍅𐌴𐍃𐌿𐍄𐍃 the two of you were.	jus wesun, 𐌾𐌿𐍃 𐍅𐌴𐍃𐌿𐌽 you all were.
Third	is was, 𐌹𐍃 𐍅𐌰𐍃 he was.	(use the plural)	eis wesun, 𐌴𐌹𐍃 𐍅𐌴𐍃𐌿𐌽 they were.