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253. The passive has, with the exception of the preterite A deponent flexion resembles All tenses of the active voice

the same tenses as the active. the passive form as in Latin. are represented in the deponent except the second tenses. The deponent verb which in Old Irish already frames active forms as well, gradually disappears altogether as a peculiar verbal class, but deponent forms enter into the usual active flexion. This happens most often in the conjunctive present and in the third person singular of the S-preterite. In Old Irish the perfect active and the T-preterite have already a deponent flexion in the plural.

254. The present indicative and present conjunctive, the S-preterite, and the future have two sets of forms in the active voice. Forms (formæ conjunctæ) with a shorter termination appear if the verb is compounded or when the verb is preceded by one of the particles no, ro (coro that) do, ni, nad. Forms (formæ absolute) with a longer termination, on the other hand, appear when the verb stands by itself. Even in Old Irish in the first person singular of the present indicative this difference is not carried out thoroughly. Modern Irish has only the absolute flexion in the present and in the future, but in the preterite which is usually preceded by ro or do, the conjoined form only is preserved.

This distinction between conjoined and absolute forms may also be observed in the passive and deponent.

255. The flexion of the five first tenses (§ 249), those which may in the widest sense of the word be called present forms, may be taken together. Paradigms: Conjugation I. berimm I carry, do-biur I give, Conjugation II. carimm I love, Conjugation III. lécim I leave (dolléciu), dollécim I set free, throw. As to the distinction of absolute (abs.) and conjoined (conj.) see § 254.

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256. In the II. Conjugation instead of -imm, -i, -id, -it, gradually -aim, -ai, -aid, -ait, are more and more regularly written, especially after a broad vowel in the preceding syllable: caraim I love, molaim I praise, scaraim I separate, comalnaim I fulfil, adcobraim I desire, biathaim I nourish, techtaim I have.

257. In the III. Conjugation on the other hand the slender vowel of the flexion-syllable enters more and more regularly into the preceding syllable: léicim I leave (§ 255), dolléicem we leave; álim, no áiliu 1 implore, báigim I fight, guidim I ask, loiscim I burn, fodailim I divide, áirmim I count, suidigim I set, ainmnigim I name.

258. In this tendency to the assimilation of vowels the verbs of the I. Conjugation join the II. Conjugation or the III. Conjugation, so that in Modern Irish only these two conjugations appear to exist. gabaim I take, maraim I stay, canaim I sing, tragaim I go, gonaim I wound. On the other hand: saigim adeo, fodaimim I endure, dligim I deserve, cingim I step, lingim I leap. Old Irish, moreover, is not always consistent.

259. The doubled m of the absolute flexion in the 1 sg. and pl. is commonly written single. Before terminations with consonantal initial sound the suppression of the thematic vowels does not occur, in cases where too great an accumulation of consonants would result: predchimme praedicamus (II.).

260. Compound verbs even in Old Irish have frequently in 1 sg. present the form in -im: for-chanim beside for-chun, doceo, for-chon-grimm beside for-con-gur praecipio, fo-daimim patior, dollécim I leave, I throw, atchim gloss on ateoch I ask (ad-teoch), 3 ateich. In Middle Irish in the I. Conjugation forms also appear with terminal u, as in the II. and III. Conjugations: tongu for an older tong I swear (for do-fong?). Some verbs in t of the I. Conjugation are irregularly formed in the 3 sg. of the conjoined flexion: do-diat sistit, 1 do-diut sisto,

tad-bat demonstrat, pass. sg. 3 tad-badar demonstratur, tin-fet inspirat, do-in-fedam inspiramus, tin-feth, -fed aspiratio.

261. In the I. Conjugation all types of the Latin III. Conjugation are again found: alim I bring up (pret. § 266, f. § 284), congarim I call together, frecraim 1 answer (for frith-garim pret. § 266, fut. § 277), atbail he dies (§ 266, fut. § 277), fodaimim I suffer (pret. § 266, perf. dep. § 349, fut. § 277), maraim I remain (fut. § 277), saigim I seek for, gabim I take (pret. § 271, fut. § 277), canim I sing (perf. § 290, fut. § 275) as Latin ago, alo.

melim I grind (pret. § 266, f. § 277), celim I conceal (pret. § 266, fut. § 277), rethim I run (perf. § 295), cunutgim I build (perf. § 295), cuintgim I ask, I demand (pret. § 266, fut. § 287), nigim I wash (perf. § 295, fut. § 287), ithim I eat (fut. § 287), as Latin rego, tego.

orcaim I kill (§ 284), gonaim I kill (perf. § 295, fut. § 280), like Latin molo.

tíagaim I go (fut. § 285), ríadaim I drive, as Latin dico, Greek στείχω.

ibim I drink, sessaim I stand (dep. § 336, pret. § 340), as Latin bibo, sisto.

ad-grennim I pursue (perf. § 295, fut. § 287), fo-gliunn, -glennim I learn (perf. § 295), cingim I go (perf. § 295, fut. § 288), lingim I jump (perf. § 295, fut. § 288), bongaim I break (pret. § 266, fut. § 287), ticim I come (§ 247, perf. § 299, fut. § 287, 284), as Latin prehendo, pingo; aingim protego sg. 3 (conjoined) no ainich (pret. § 266, fut. § 286, inf. § 370) is unique in its kind.

lenim adhæreo (perf. § 300, fut. § 276), glenim adhæreo (perf. § 298, fut. § 276), renim I give (perf. § 300, fut. § 276), crenim I buy (perf. § 298, fut. § 310), benim I strike (perf. § 296, fut. § 310), clunim I hear (perf. § 301, fut. § 280), sernim consero, as Latin lino, cerno.

262. In the II. Conjugation there are:

(a) Denominative verbs (pret. § 269, fut. § 282) like the Latin laudo, Greek Tuάw: biathaim I nourish, from biath food; adcobraim I desire, from accobor will, desire; marbaim I kill, from marb dead.

(b) Radical verbs like the Latin domo, sedo: molaim I praise (pret. § 269, fut. § 282), scaraim I separate (pret. § 269, fut. § 277), in-sádaim jacio.

263. In the same way there are in the III. Conjugation:

(a) Denominative (pret. § 269, fut. § 282), like the Latin custodio, Greek áλλáoow, pvλáoow: áirmim I count, from áram number; cumachtaigim potior, from cumachte might, cumachtach mighty; foillsigim I reveal, from follus, foillsech manifest, sudigim I set, from sude seat; ailigim muto, from aile alius.

(6) Radical verbs like the Latin fodio, Greek Teipw, tάoow: gudimm, no guidiu, I ask (perf. § 290), scuirim I loosen (pret. § 269), scuchim discedo (perf. § 297), no ráidiu I speak (pret. § 269), tibim I laugh (pret. § 269), rigim I stretch (perf. § 295).

264. To the III. Conjugation also belong the verbs: cíim I see (§ 54, perf. § 295, fut. § 276) and gníim I do (pret. § 273, fut. § 277), with their compounds, e.g. adchíu, déccu I see, dogníu I make, fogniu I serve. The conjunctive of dogníu is noteworthy: sg. 1 dognéo, 2 dogné, 3 dogné, pl. 1 dognem, 2 dogneid, 3 dognet. Cf. bíu I am.

2646. The verb gudimm I ask, varies between the III. and I. Conjugation: no guidiu rogo III., nosn-guid rogat eos I.

264. The radical syllable of certain verbs is in many forms difficult to recognise:

Root av: con-ói, for-com-ai servat, imperat. com-id servate, counted in the Grammatica Celtica as of Conjug. I., but the 3 pres. pass. for-dom-chom-aither servor (§ 329) shows it to belong to the III. Conjugation.

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