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STRONG VERBS CLASS III

The strong verbs of the 3rd class have several different stem vowels. Before an /n/ or /m/ it's /i/, before other consonants it's usually /e/ but sometimes also the diphtong /ja/ or /já/, and in a few verbs it's /y/ or /ø/.
infinitivepreteriteperfect
participle
sing.plur.
verðavarðurðuorðinn

with e:with i:
· verða 'become'
· drekka 'drink'
· brenna 'be on fire' ; with /e/ from the transitive brenna 'set on fire'
 · vinna 'win, defeat'
· binda 'tie'
with ja:with y, and pret. sing. ö:with ø, and pret. sing. ö:
· hjalpa 'help'
· gjalda 'pay'
 · syngva 'sing'
 · søkkva 'sink'

These verbs all once had a nasal or liquid after the vowel, followed by an other consonant. The /e/ in the present tense stem either remained unchanged or was broken into /ja/. This /ja/ could be lengthened by certain consonant combinations, like in hjálpa < hjalpa < helpan.
For the origin of the inflexional endings, see the "strong endings" page.
© Peter Pettersson