Verb Exercise #3
Now that we are aware of the nouns in the passage it is time to figure out what actions they are performing. For this particular activity you will need to determine all of the verbs as well as their tense, person and number. The only verbs you will not have to identify are the anomalous ones, whose information is provided beside the Old English text. When you are finished check your accuracy and make any necessary changes. Always ensure that you understand your corrections.
| Back to Verb Exercise #1 | Back to Second Verb Exercise #2 |
| Riddle 67 | Grammatical Information | |
| Ic eom māre žonne žes middangeard, | am [anom, present first person singular] | |
| lęsse žonne hond wyrm, lēotre žonne mōna, | ||
| swiftre žonne sunne. Sęs mē sind[on] ealle | are [anom, present third person plural] | |
| flōdas on fęđmum ond žēs foldan bearm, | ||
| (5) | grēne wongas ; grundum ic hrīne, | |
| helle underhnīge, heofonas oferstīge, | ||
| wuldres ēžel ; wīde ręce | ||
| ofer engla eard ; eoržan gefylle, | ||
| ealne middangeard ond merestrēamas | ||
| (10) | sīde mid mē sylfum. Saga hwęt ic hātte. | |
| Answer Key: | Translation: |
| Line 5 | |
| hrīne: class one strong, present first person singular | touch |
| Line 6 | |
| (under)hnīge: [38] class one strong, present first person singular | sink/bow down |
| (ofer)stīge: class one strong, present first person singular | rise/ascend |
| Line 7 | |
| ręce: class one strong, present first person singular | extend/stretch |
| Line 8 | |
| gefylle: class one strong, present first person singular | replenish/fill |
| Line 10 | |
| saga: class three weak verb, imperative singular | say/tell |
| hātte: class seven strong verb, passive voice first person singular | command |
[38] Both verbs in line six are combined with prepositions to convey a sense of position and direction. In order to avoid confusion I have put brackets around the prepositions and underlined the verbs. Basically, these words have been compounded to give the listener/reader a better sense of how high and low the subject is capable of moving.