Historical Grammar
(2) The Participles may be used independently in the dative absolute construction (an imitation of the Latin ablative absolute), usually for the expression of time: Him ðā gȳt sprecendum, While he was yet speaking; gefylledum dagum, the days having been fulfilled.
The past participle is not usually inflected to agree with the direct object: Norðymbre ǫnd Ēastęngle hæfdon Ælfrede cyninge āðas geseald (not gesealde, § 82), The Northumbrians and East Anglians had given king Alfred oaths; ǫnd hæfdon miclne dǣl ðāra horsa freten (not fretenne), and (they) had devoured a large part of the horses.
NOTE.—Many sentences might be quoted in which the participle does agree with the direct object, but there seems to be no clear line of demarcation between them and the sentences just cited. Originally, the participle expressed a resultant state, and belonged in sense more to the object than to habban; but in Early West Saxon habban had already, in the majority of cases, become a pure auxiliary when used with the past participle. This is conclusively proved by the use of habban with intransitive verbs. In such a clause, therefore, as oð ðæt hīe hine ofslægenne hæfdon, there is no occasion to translate until they had him slain (= resultant state); the agreement here is more probably due to the proximity of ofslægenne to hine. So also ac hī hæfdon þā hiera stemn gesętenne, but they had already served out (sat out) their military term.
The few verbs belonging here show a blending of Classes I and II. Like certain verbs of Class I (§ 128), the preterit and past participle are formed by adding –de and –d; like Class II, the 2d and 3d present indicative singular end in –ast and –að, the imperative 2d singular in –a:
habb-an, hæf-de gehæf-d, to have.
libb-an, lif-de gelif-d, to live.
sęcg-an sǣd-e (sæg-de), gesǣd (gesæg-d), to say.
Paradigms of habban, to have; libban, to live; sęcgan, to say.
| habban to have |
libban to live |
sęcgan to say |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive. | habban | libban | sęcgan |
| Gerund. | tō habbane (-enne) | tō libbane (-enne) | tō sęcganne (-enne) |
| Present Participle. | hæbbende | libbende | sęcgende |
| Past Participle. | gehæfd | gelifd | gesǣd |
Syntax & Usage
Verb-Phrases in the Active Voice.
The present and preterit of habban, combined with a past participle, are used in O.E., as in Mn.E., to form the present perfect and past perfect tenses:
If the verb is intransitive, and denotes a change of condition, a departure or arrival, bēon (wesan) usually replaces habban. The past participle, in such cases, partakes of the nature of an adjective, and generally agrees with the subject: Mīne welan þe ic īo hæfde syndon ealle gewitene ǫnd gedrorene, My possessions which I once had are all departed and fallen away; wǣron þā męn uppe on lǫnde of āgāne, the men had gone up ashore; ǫnd þā ōþre wǣron hungre ācwolen, and the others had perished of hunger; ǫnd ēac sē micla hęre wæs þā þǣr tō cumen, and also the large army had then arrived there.
A progressive present and preterit (not always, however, with distinctively progressive meanings) are formed by combining a present participle with the present and preterit of bēon (wesan). The participle remains uninflected: ǫnd hīe alle on ðone cyning wǣrun feohtende, and they all were fighting against the king; Symle hē bið lōciende, nē slǣpð hē nǣfre, He is always looking, nor does He ever sleep.
NOTE.—In most sentences of this sort, the subject is masculine (singular or plural); hence no inference can be made as to agreement, since –e is the participial ending for both numbers of the nominative masculine (§ 82). By analogy, therefore, the other genders usually conform in inflection to the masculine: wǣron þā ealle þā dēoflu clypigende ānre stefne, then were all the devils crying with one voice.
Verb-Phrases in the Passive Voice.
Passive constructions are formed by combining bēon (wesan) or weorðan with a past participle. The participle agrees regularly with the subject: hīe wǣron benumene ǣgðer ge þæs cēapes ge þæs cornes, they were deprived both of the cattle and the corn; hī bēoð āblęnde mid ðǣm þīostrum heora scylda, they are blinded with the darkness of their sins; and sē wælhrēowa Domiciānus on ðām ylcan gēare wearð ācweald, and the murderous Domitian was killed in the same year; ǫnd Æþelwulf aldormǫn wearð ofslægen, and Æthelwulf, alderman, was slain.
NOTE 1—To express agency, Mn.E. employs by rarely of; M.E. of, rarely by; O.E. frǫm (fram), rarely of: Sē ðe Godes bebodu ne gecnǣwð, ne bið hē oncnāwen frǫm Gode, He who does not recognize God’s commands, will not be recognized by God; Betwux þǣm wearð ofslagen Ēadwine . . . fram Brytta cyninge,Meanwhile, Edwin was slain by the king of the Britons.
NOTE 2—O.E. had no progressive forms for the passive, and could not, therefore, distinguish between He is being wounded and He is wounded. It was not until more than a hundred years after Shakespeare’s death that being assumed this function. Weorðan, which originally denoted a passage from one state to another, was ultimately driven out by bēon (wesan), and survives now only in Woe worth (= be to).
Historical Exercises & Reading
143. EXERCISES.
ofslægen; ǫnd þā Dęniscan āhton wælstōwe gewald.
2. Ǫnd þæs ymb ānne mōnaþ gefeaht Ælfred cyning wiþ ealne þone hęre, and hine geflīemde.
3. Hē sǣde þēah þæt þæt land sīe swīþe lang norþ þǫnon.
4. Þā Beormas hæfdon swīþe wel gebūd (§ 126, Note 2) hiera land.
5. Ohtere sǣde þæt sēo scīr hātte Hālgoland, þe hē on (§ 94, (5)) būde.
6. Þā Finnas wīcedon be þǣre sǣ.
7. Dryhten, ælmightiga, (§ 78, Note) God, Wyrhta and Wealdend ealra gesceafta, ic bidde ðē for ðīnre miclan mildheortnese ðæt ðū mē gewissie tō ðīnum willan; and gestaðela mīn mōd tō ðīnum willan and tō mīnre sāwle ðearfe.
8. Þā sceolde hē ðǣr bīdan ryht-norþanwindes, for ðǣm æt land bēag Þǣr sūðryhte, oþþe sēo sǣ
in on ðæt land, hē nysse hwæðer.
9. For ðȳ, mē ðyncð betre, gif ēow swā ðyncð, ðæt wē ēac ðās bēc on ðæt geðēode wenden ðe wē
ealle gecnāwan mægen.
II. 1. When the king heard that, he went (=then went he) westward with his army to Ashdown.
2. Lovest thou me more than these?
3. The men said that the shire which they lived in was called Halgoland.
4. All things were made (wyrcan) by God.
5. They were fighting for two days with (=against) the Danes.
6. King Alfred fought with the Danes, and gained the victory; but the Danes retained
Syntax & Usage — Wülfing
Loquentes translation from Wülfing. Wülfing wrote in German; the English below is a Loquentes translation. The Old English examples are Wülfing’s own and are reproduced exactly as printed. The cleaned German original follows in the collapsible block.
Sixth division. The participle. First chapter. The participle of the present.
A. Use of the participle of the present as a noun. The present participle is very frequently used as a noun; with some, in such use, the feeling for the origin has completely disappeared, while others are still felt entirely as participles and are even often combined with the case which the verb is accustomed to have with it; the boundary is hard to fix.
506. 1. The participle is combined with the definite article. a. The catalogue below runs through Bede, the Cura Pastoralis, Boethius, the Soliloquies, the Psalms and the Laws; Wülfing marks compound forms ("zusammengesetzte Formen") separately and flags doubtful readings with an exclamation mark, as at So. 178, 29 (lufiende) and So. 168, 34 (gehec, dedum).
b. For true nouns Wülfing holds the participles at the following places. He notes that swelgend occurs after Bosworth-Toller only once more in this sense, namely Lucas 7, 34 (þes man is swelgend), and otherwise means "throat, whirlpool"; and that at Cp. 96, 13 the manuscript form hælendum, against the edited hælendan, "spricht hier allerdings für wirkliches Partizip", "here indeed speaks for a true participle".
Examples
swa þæt oft on middre nihte geflit cymeþ ðam behealdendum, hwæþer . . .
ðam lifgendum ðonne on gemænum life, hwæt is us to sprecanne hu hi . . .
seo gifu ðæs halgan gerynes, swa swa lifgendum & ðam ongytendum mid mycle gesceade is to foreseonne, swa . . . .
of hwylcere wisan ðam mode hit gegange ðæs slæpendan
gif ðonne of scondlicum geþohte ðæs wæccendan upcymeþ seo bysmrung slæpendes
ðætte ða ingongendan ðær heora cneo begean scolden
& on gemett ðara gebiddendra swa swa heo to hyre spræce lifgendre, bæd þæt . . .
ða frunon hi ða ymbsittendan mid hwæne heo sprecende wære
ða frunon hi ðone sittendan [bi his stealle] hu . . .
þæt gelamp for wean & for yfelnesse ðara eardiendra ðær on ðære byrig
& ðam dwoliendum soðfæstnesse weg bodade
ða cwæþ he þæt gewunalice word ðara frefrendra: Truma ðe hraþe & wel
& hine grette & ða ymbsittendan
sio stefn ðæs lareowes micle ðy ieðelicor ðurhfærð ða heortan ðæs gehierendenes, gif he . . .
ond mid nanum ðingum nyllað geopenian ðæm syngiendum hiera unryht
ðæt he gewundige ða heortan ðara gehierendra mid ðære wunde
on ðara tohlystendra heortan
& gedeð ða spræce unnytte ðæm tohlystendum
he underfehð ðæt fenn ðara ðweandra
he sceal bion wið ðara agyltendra unðeawas upahæfen
ðæt se efsienda efsade his heafod
ðylæs se hneawa & se gidsigenda fægnige ðæs
ðeah þe he wið ða scyldgigendan swugude
se lacnigenda forlist ðone cræft his læcedomes
ða creopendan & ða snicendan licgeað mid ealle lichoman on eorðan
ðonne bið ðæt mod ðæs agyltendan mid ormodnesse geðrysced
ðara gyltendra scylda
ða fæstendan
ac ðæm geðyldegan & ðæm forgiefendan is to secganne
sio leasung simle dereð ðæm secgendum
betweoh ðæm irsiendan & ðæm ungeðyldegan
& ðæm swiðe fæstendan oft folgað ungeðyld
is to kyðonne ðæm fæstendum
brec ðæm hyngriendum ðinne hlaf
ðæt ðæm forhæbbendum hwilum gebyrede ðæt hie . . . .
ac ðonne æs sellandan mod ne cann ða wædelnesse geðolian
sien ða hæbbendan swelce hie nowiht hæbben
ðonne we gehirað under bæc ðæs maniendes stemne
ðæt scip wile hwilum stigan ongean ðone stream, ac hit ne mæg, buton ða rowend hit teon
swa hi ða forhæbbendan ne gebrengen on unryhthæmde
& swa ða forhæbbendan læren forhæfdnesse, swa hie . . . .
ðæt he wiðstande mid his spræce ðæm unryhtwillendum
& ðone wiðfarendan & ðone wædlan læd on ðin hus
þæt hi mægen mid ðy aweccan þæt Mod þara geherendra
& woldon þæt hit wurde to nytte ðam geherendon
& ðone ungemetlice modegan & yrsiendan ðu scealt hatan leo
& on hu ðiostrum horaseape þara unþeawa þa yfelwillendan sticiaþ
lufu byð betweona þam lufiende (!) & þam ðe he þær lufað
& gehec (!) good eadlean ðam weldondum & yfel þam yfel dedum (!)
þæt synt þa sawla þe heora mægðhad gehealdað, and þa hreowsiendan, and þa þe gewitnode beoð for hiora scyldum
ne mid þe ne wunað se yfelwillenda
þylæs se yfelwillenda mæge don þæt he wille
ne wundrie ge þæra yfelwillendra
gif man mægð-man nede genimeð, þam agende L scillinga and æft æt þam agende sinne willan æt gebicge
se agend þone banan agefe
be þam wrecendan ær he him ryhtes bidde
ðæt se bisceop Aidan ðam scypfarendum ðone storm towardne foresægde
ða ðe to gemynde & to getimbernesse ðara æfterfyligendra fram monegum ða e hit cuþon awriten hæfd wæron
to ontimbernesse & to gemynde ðære æfterfyligendra
ær se swelgend to rice feng, Alexander his sunu
þes man is swelgend
beforan Gode & ðæm hælendan (H.: hælendum) Criste
to fultome ðæm wiðfeohtende
gif ge willað þone fruman sceaft geþencan & ðone scippend
and þu dydest þe to þam woh-hæmendum
Original German — Wülfing
Sechste Abteilung. DAS PARTIZIP.
Litteratur:
Axel Erdmann, Essay on the history and modern use of the verbal forms in -ing in the English language. Part I. Old Anglo-Saxon Period. Uppsalaer Doktorschrift. Stockholm 1871.
K. Köhler, Der syntaktische Gebrauch des Infinitivs und Particips im Beöwulf. Münsterer Doktorschrift. 1886.
Erstes Kapitel. DAS PARTIZIP DES PRÄSENS.
A. Verwendung des Partizips des Präsens als Hauptwort.
Das Partizip des Präsens wird sehr häufig als Hauptwort verwendet; bei einigen ist in solcher Verwendung das Gefühl für den Ursprung vollständig geschwunden, andere werden noch ganz als Partizip gefühlt und sogar oft mit dem Kasus verbunden, den das Zeitwort bei sich zu haben pflegt; die Grenze ist schwer festzustellen.
506. 1. Das Partizip ist mit dem bestimmten Artikel verbunden.
a. Be. 473, 30 swa þæt oft on middre nihte geflit cymeþ ðam behealdendum, hwæþer . . . (= ita ut medio sæpe tempore noctis in quæstionem veniat intuentibus, utrum . . . .); 489, 24 ðam lifgendum ðonne on gemænum life, hwæt is us to sprecanne hu hi . . .; 493, 28 seo gifu ðæs halgan gerynes, swa swa lifgendum & ðam ongytendum mid mycle gesceade is to foreseonne, swa . . . .; 496, 36 of hwylcere wisan ðam mode hit gegange ðæs slæpendan; 497, 6 gif ðonne of scondlicum geþohte ðæs wæccendan upcymeþ seo bysmrung slæpendes; 544, 38 ðætte ða ingongendan ðær heora cneo begean scolden; 577, 7 & on gemett ðara gebiddendra swa swa heo to hyre spræce lifgendre, bæd þæt . . .; 31 ða frunon hi ða ymbsittendan mid hwæne heo sprecende wære; 579, 39 ða frunon hi ðone sittendan [bi his stealle] hu . . .; 599, 22 þæt gelamp for wean & for yfelnesse ðara eardiendra ðær on ðære byrig; 604, 13 & ðam dwoliendum soðfæstnesse weg bodade; 618, 9 ða cwæþ he þæt gewunalice word ðara frefrendra: Truma ðe hraþe & wel; 16 & hine grette & ða ymbsittendan. Cp. 80, 8 sio stefn ðæs lareowes micle ðy ieðelicor ðurhfærð ða heortan ðæs gehierendenes, gif he . . .; 90, 10 ond mid nanum ðingum nyllað geopenian ðæm syngiendum hiera unryht; 92, 20 ðæt he gewundige ða heortan ðara gehierendra mid ðære wunde; 96, 8 on ðara tohlystendra heortan; 18 & gedeð ða spræce unnytte ðæm tohlystendum; 104, 24 he underfehð ðæt fenn ðara ðweandra; 106, 10 he sceal bion wið ðara agyltendra unðeawas upahæfen; 140, 3 ðæt se efsienda efsade his heafod; 148, 18 ðylæs se hneawa & se gidsigenda fægnige ðæs; 150, 24 ðeah þe he wið ða scyldgigendan swugude; 152, 5 se lacnigenda forlist ðone cræft his læcedomes; 154, 17 ða creopendan & ða snicendan licgeað mid ealle lichoman on eorðan; 164, 19 ðonne bið ðæt mod ðæs agyltendan mid ormodnesse geðrysced; 166, 7 ðara gyltendra scylda; 176, 4 ða fæstendan; 220, 24 ac ðæm geðyldegan & ðæm forgiefendan is to secganne; 237, 10 sio leasung simle dereð ðæm secgendum; 292, 15 betweoh ðæm irsiendan & ðæm ungeðyldegan; 309, 1 & ðæm swiðe fæstendan oft folgað ungeðyld; 310, 14 is to kyðonne ðæm fæstendum; 314, 13 brec ðæm hyngriendum ðinne hlaf; 316, 24 ðæt ðæm forhæbbendum hwilum gebyrede ðæt hie . . . .; 324, 14 ac ðonne æs sellandan mod ne cann ða wædelnesse geðolian; 387, 35 sien ða hæbbendan swelce hie nowiht hæbben; 407, 13 ðonne we gehirað under bæc ðæs maniendes stemne; 445, 11 ðæt scip wile hwilum stigan ongean ðone stream, ac hit ne mæg, buton ða rowend hit teon; 453, 30 swa hi ða forhæbbendan ne gebrengen on unryhthæmde; & swa ða forhæbbendan læren forhæfdnesse, swa hie . . . .; — zusammengesetzte Formen: 88, 21 ðæt he wiðstande mid his spræce ðæm unryhtwillendum; 314, 14 & ðone wiðfarendan & ðone wædlan læd on ðin hus. Bo. 216, 19 þæt hi mægen mid ðy aweccan þæt Mod þara geherendra; 258, 26 & woldon þæt hit wurde to nytte ðam geherendon; 298, 5 & ðone ungemetlice modegan & yrsiendan ðu scealt hatan leo; — zusammengesetzte Form: 290, 23 & on hu ðiostrum horaseape þara unþeawa þa yfelwillendan sticiaþ. So. 178, 29 lufu byð betweona þam lufiende (!) & þam ðe he þær lufað; — zusammengesetzte Formen: 168, 34 & gehec (!) good eadlean ðam weldondum & yfel þam yfel dedum (!). Ps. 44, 16 þæt synt þa sawla þe heora mægðhad gehealdað, and þa hreowsiendan, and þa þe gewitnode beoð for hiora scyldum; — zusammengesetzte Formen: 5, 4 ne mid þe ne wunað se yfelwillenda; 9, 18 þylæs se yfelwillenda mæge don þæt he wille; 36, 1 ne wundrie ge þæra yfelwillendra. — Vgl. Blickling Hom. (Flamme, a. a. O. S. 54). — Æþelbirht Le. 8, 82 gif man mægð-man nede genimeð, þam agende L scillinga and æft æt þam agende sinne willan æt gebicge. — Hloðhære Le. 10, 1 se agend þone banan agefe; u. ö. — Ine Le. 24, 9 be þam wrecendan ær he him ryhtes bidde.
b. Für wirkliche Hauptwörter halte ich die Partizipe an folgenden Stellen: Be. 541, 16 ðæt se bisceop Aidan ðam scypfarendum ðone storm towardne foresægde (= nautis); 574, 26 ða ðe to gemynde & to getimbernesse ðara æfterfyligendra fram monegum ða e hit cuþon awriten hæfd wæron; 585, 16 to ontimbernesse & to gemynde ðære æfterfyligendra. Or. 120, 16 ær se swelgend to rice feng, Alexander his sunu; das Wort kommt nach B.-T. nur noch einmal so vor, nämlich: Lucas 7, 34 þes man is swelgend; sonst bedeutet es: Schlund, Strudel (vgl. Bo. 34, 16; § 504. 2., S. 223 u. Cp. 439, 3; § 509). Cp. 96, 13 beforan Gode & ðæm hælendan (H.: hælendum) Criste (die Form von H. spricht hier allerdings für wirkliches Partizip); 278, 1 to fultome ðæm wiðfeohtende. Bo. 170, 19 gif ge willað þone fruman sceaft geþencan & ðone scippend. Ps. 49, 19 and þu dydest þe to þam woh-hæmendum.
Source: Johann Ernst Wülfing, Die Syntax in den Werken Alfreds des Grossen, vol. 2, pp. 225-227, § 506 (Das Partizip des Präsens. A. Verwendung des Partizips des Präsens als Hauptwort). Scan authority: archive.org diesyntaxindenw00wlgoog; OCR extraction aid: Google Books GEwuAAAAMAAJ. Translator: Loquentes. Printed edition in the US public domain.
Loquentes Practice Reference
Our drill practices the formation and inflection of present and past participles. Smith gives no single “participle formation” table: the table above is his Class III infinitive/gerund/participle block, and the prose carries his rules for the strong classes (-ende, ge- + past participle in -en) and for the weak classes (-ed, -d, -od).