1. Middle English period great change Middle English Verbal System

Verb types

As with other Germanic languages, the verbs of Middle English are conventionally grouped into four broad classes (though any givenverb may belong to more than one class due to variation in its conjugatioPreterite-present verb

Pre n):

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  Weak verbs, which can be identified by their past in -d- or -t-. Most Middle English verbs are weak.
  
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  Strong verbs, which form their past through modification of their stem vowel.
  
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  Preterite-present verbs, which use past endings to form their present (hence their name).
  
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  Anomalous verbs, which don't fit in any other category.
  

Weak verbs are the "regular" verb type in Middle English (though there are irregular weak verbs). The vast majority of verbs, including almost all formations from nouns and borrowings, are weak, and most of those are of one type (verbs ending in -ed). Unlike with strong verbs, the three weak verb classes inherited from Old English have become confused and are no longer recognisable. As a result, weak verbs are better classified into five principal types, though many verbs vary between two types. What type a verb belongs to is determined by its past suffix:

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  Verbs ending in -ed, as the name suggests, have a past with a -ed suffix. They continue Old English class 2 weak verbs (though there has been much change in the membership of the class); as the default weak verb type, they contain the majority of weak verbs.
  
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  Verbs ending in -de have a past that ends in -d(e), often with shortening of the stem vowel. They continue Old English class 1 weak verbs, and are relatively rare in Middle English.
  
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  Verbs ending in -te originally consisted of Old English class 1 weak verbs where the past suffix has assimilated to a preceding voiceless consonant, resulting in -t(e). However, the ending has spread to other verbs, often displacing verbs in -de.
  
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