Preterite-present verb
Following standards set by historical linguistics, this article is marking reconstructed (i.e. not attested) words with an asterisk in front.
The
preterite-present verbs are a small group of anomalous verbs in the
Germanic languages. These have acquired a present meaning from a perfect form. For example,
Proto-Indo-European woida, "I have seen", which is attested in
Latin vīdi (same meaning) became Gothic
wait meaning "I know". The present tense thus has the form of a vocalic (
strong) preterite, with vowel-alternation between singular and plural. A new
weak preterite is formed with a dental suffix.
Further such verbs in
Proto-Germanic are
kunnana (can, pt
kunþa),
unnana (to grant, pt
unþa),
gamunnana (to remember, pt
gamunda),
dursana (dare, pt
dursta),
magana (to be able, may, pt
mahta),
skulana (to have to, shall, pt
skulda),
þurbana (to need, pt
þurfta),
dugana (to avail, pt
duhta),
aigana (to have, own, pt
aihta) and
mōtana (to be allowed, must, pt
mōsta).
In modern English, preterite-present verbs are visible by the absence of an -s suffix on the 3rd person singular present tense: compare
he can with regular
he sings and
he sang; the present paradigm of
can is thus parallel with the past tense of a strong verb. In modern German there is also an
ablaut shift between singular
ich kann (I can) and plural
wir können (we can). In the older stages of the Germanic languages (
Old English,
Middle High German) this too was a feature of the past tense of a strong verb.
The traditional modal verbs (which are followed by a bare infinitive, without "to") are generally preterite-presents. Examples are English
must and
shall/should, German
dürfen (may),
sollen (ought),
mögen (like), and
müssen (must). The early history of
will (German
wollen) is more complicated, as it goes back to an Indo-European optative, but the result in the modern languages is likewise a preterite-present paradigm.
