| Basis for Comparison
| Strong Verbs
| Weak Verbs
|
| Number
|
|
|
| Type/Origin
| Indo-European (reveals suppletivity)
| Germanic (reveals dental suffix)
|
| Formation of Past Tense forms
| by changing the root-vowel (ablaut):
s i ttan (Infinitive) – s æ t (Past Indefinite)
(verb “to sit”)
| with the help of the dental suffix -t/-d:
līcian (Infinitive) – līco d e (Past Indefinite)
(verb “to like”)
|
| Formation of Participle2 forms
| with the help of the suffix –en(+ sometimes root-vowel interchange):
f i ndan (Infinitive) – f u nd en (Participle 2)
(verb “to find”)
| with the help of the dental suffix -t/-d:
cēpan (Infinitive) – cēpe d (Participle 2)
(verb “to keep”)
|
| Derivation
| Strong verbs were root-words /non-derivatives (i.e. they were not derived from some other words/roots but were the words/roots from which other words were derived)
| Weak verbs were derivatives from nouns, adjectives, strong verbs:
tellan (to tell) ← talu (a tale)
fyllan (to fill) ← fyll (full)
fandian (to find out) ← findan (to find)
|
| Productivity
| unproductive type (no new words employed this type of form-building)
| productive type (new words that appeared employed this type of form-building)
|
| Principle Forms
| Infinitive Past Sg Past Pl Participle 2
wrītan – wrāt – writon – writen
| Infinitive Past Participle 2
cēpan – cēpte – cēped
|
| Classes
| subdivided into 7 classes
| subdivided into 3 classes
|
