Gothic verbs have the most complex conjugation of any attested Germanic language. Most categories reconstructed for the Proto-Germanic verb system are preserved in Gothic. Knowledge of the Proto-Germanic verb is itself to a large degree based on Gothic, meaning that its reconstruction may be fragmentary.
In conjugations, note that stem-final -b- /β/ and -d- /ð/ change spelling and pronunciation to become -f /ɸ/ and -þ /θ/ respectively at the end of a word. Stem final -g- /ɣ/ also presumably became /x/, but the spelling does not change. Similarly, verb stems ending in -ái-, -áu-, -ē-, -iu-, and -ō- become -aj-, -aw, -ai-, -iw, and -au- respectively, before vowels. Expected *áij, *áuw, and *iuw are always simplified into ái, áu, and iu (respectively).
Voice Passive voice Gothic retains a morphological passive voice inherited from the Indo-European medio-passive, but only in the present indicative and optative (the past tense uses periphrasis). This contrasts a present tense such as ("is being given") with a past tense ("was given, has been given"). In other Germanic languages, there are only rare survivals of the morphological passive, such as Old English hātte ("am called"). The Gothic infinitive did not indicate active or passive voice and is sometimes employed to translate Greek passive infinitives.
In the attested corpus of Gothic, passive forms are frequent only in the third person, and for weak verbs, mostly in class 1. The periphrastic passive consists of a participle, which agrees with the subject in gender and number, and a helping verb. The helping verb varies by aspect: ("to be") creates a stative passive (, "was given, has been given"), whereas the verb ("to become") creates an inchoative passive (, "came to be given, got given").
Class four weak verbs (infinitive in -nan) are agentless and do not take passive forms; they are used to translate Greek passives, and are sometimes referred to as passive as well, although this is not strictly correct.
Strong verbs Germanic language strong verbs are verbs that change the vowel in the stem to form the past and past participle, rather than add a suffix. For an English example, contrast fall-fell-fallen (strong) from fell-felled (weak).
The following is a table of all the different types and subtypes of strong verbs. Strong verb classesStem vowelClassSubclassGeneralPast 1Past 2Past Participle1eiáii, aí (before h, ƕ, r)22aiuáuu, aú (before h, ƕ, r)2bū3i, aí (before h, ƕ, r)au, aú (before h, ƕ, r)44ai, aí (before h, ƕ, r)aēu, aú4bu, aú (before h, ƕ, r)5i, aí (before h, ƕ, r)aēi, aí (before h, ƕ, r)6aōa77aC+a, ā, ái, au, áu, ē, or ōCaíC+infinitive vowelsame as infinitive7bC+ai, ēCaíCōsame as infinitive The "general" stem is used for the present tense, infinitive and imperative. The "past 1" stem is used for the past tense indicative singular, and the "past 2" is used for the dual and plural indicative past as well as the optative past in all numbers.
Classes 5 and 6 have a small subclass of verbs that use the consonant suffix -j- in the general form, but drop it elsewhere
Reduplicating/ Class 7 strong verbs that begin with a vowel simply add aí- as a prefix, without adding a consonant to reduplicate or separate the "aí" prefix from the stem vowel.
The following strong verbs are extant in Gothic:
Class 1: beidan "to await" (báiþ), beitan "to bite", digan "to knead", dreiban "to drive" (dráif), greipan "to seize", hneiwan "to bow", bileiban "to remain" (biláif), ga-leiþan "to go", urreisan "to arise", skeinan "to shine", disskreitan "to rend", gasmeitan "to smear", sneiþan "to cut", speiwan "to spit", steigan "to ascend", sweiban "to cease" (swáif), weipan "to crown", inweitan "to worship"; Class 1, before h, ƕ, r: leiƕan "to lend", ga-teihan "to tell", þeihan "to thrive", þreihan "to press upon", weihan "to fight"; Class 2a: ana-biudan "to bid" (anabáuþ), biugan "to bend", driugan "to serve as a soldier", driusan "to fall", giutan "to pour", hiufan "to mourn", dishniupan "to break asunder", kiusan "to test", kriustan "to gnash"; liudan "to grow" (láuþ), liugan "to lie", fraliusan "to lose", niutan "to enjoy", siukan "to be sick", af-skiuban "to push aside" (afskáuf), sliupan "to slip", usþriutan "to trouble"; Class 2a, before h, ƕ, r: tiuhan "to lead", þliuhan "to flee"; Class 2b: galūkan "to shut"; Class 3: bindan "to bind", bliggwan "to beat", brinnan "to burn", drigkan "to drink", filhan "to hide", finþan "to find", usgildan "to repay", duginnan "to begin", hilpan "to help", frahinþan "to capture", aflinnan "to depart", rinnan "to run", siggwan "to sing", sigqan "to sink", fraslindan "to swallow up", spinnan "to spin", stigqan "to thrust", swiltan "to die", ana-trimpan "to tread on", atþinsan "to attract", þriskan "to thresh", wilwan "to rob", windan "to wind", winnan "to suffer", gawrisqan "to bear fruit"; Class 3, before h, ƕ, r: baírgan "to keep", ufgaírdan "to gird up", ƕaírban "to walk", afswaírban "to wipe out", gaþaírsan "to wither", waírpan "to throw", waírþan "to become"; Class 4a: brikan "to break", niman "to take", qiman "to come", stilan "to steal", ga-timan "to suit"; Class 4a, before h, ƕ, r: baíran "to bear", ga-taíran "to destroy"; Class 4b: trudan "to tread"; Class 5: diwan "to die" (dáu), fitan "to travail in birth", giban "to give" (gaf), bi-gitan "to find", hlifan "to steal", ligan "to lie down", lisan "to gather", mitan "to measure", ganisan "to be saved", niþan "to help", qiþan "to say", rikan "to heap up", sitan "to sit", sniwan "to hasten" (snáu), gawidan "to bind" (gawaþ), gawigan "to shake down", wisan "to be, remain", wrikan "to persecute"; Class 5, j-present: bidjan "to pray" Class 5, irregular: fraíƕnan "to ask"; itan "to eat"; Class 5; before h, ƕ, r: saíƕan "to see"; Class 5; before h, ƕ, r; -n- present: fraíhnan "to ask"; Class 6: alan "to grow", usanan "to expire", ga-daban "to beseem" (gadōf), ga-draban "to hew out" (ga-drōf), ga-dragan "to heap up", faran "to go", graban "to dig" (grōf), af-hlaþan "to lade", malan "to grind", sakan "to rebuke", skaban "to shave" (skōf), slahan "to smite", swaran "to swear", þwahan "to wash", wakan "to wake"; Class 6, -j- present: fraþjan "to understand", hafjan "to raise", hlahjan "to laugh", ga-raþjan "to count", ga-skapjan "to create", skaþjan "to injure", wahsjan "to grow"; Class 6, irregular: standan "to stand" (stōþ); Class 7a; -a- present: us-alþan "to grow old", blandan "to mix", falþan "to fold", gaggan "to go" (past supplied by iddja), haldan "to hold", anapraggan "to oppress", saltan "to salt", gastaldan "to possess", waldan "to rule"; Class 7a; -ā- present: fāhan "to seize", hāhan "to hang"; Class 7a; -ái- present: afáikan "to deny", fráisan "to tempt", háitan "to call", láikan "to leap", máitan "to cut", skáidan "to divide" (skaískáiþ), gaþláihan "to cherish, comforẗ"; Class 7a; -ē- present: uf-blēsan "to blow up, puff up", slēpan "to sleep"; Class 7a; -ō- present: blōtan "to worship", *flōkan "to bewail", ƕōpan "to boast"; Class 7a; -au- present: *lauan "to revile" (*laílō); possibly also *bnauan "to rub", which may be a Class III weak verb (see below); Class 7a; -áu- present: áukan "to add", hláupan "to leap", stáutan "to smite"; Class 7b; -ē- present: grētan "to weep", lētan "to let", garēdan "to reflect upon" (garaírōþ), tēkan "to touch"; Class 7b; -ai- present: saian "to sow", *waian "to blow".
The following is a sample paradigm of a strong verb, niman "to take" (Class 4):
+Strong verb conjugationNiman, "to take" Indicative Optative ImperativeActivePassiveActivePassive PresentPastPresent PresentPastPresent Singular 1st person nima-anam-_ nimada-ada nimáu-áunēmjáu-jáu nimáidáu-áidau 2nd person nimis-isnamt-t nimaza-aza nimáis-áisnēmeis-eis nimáizáu-áizáu nim -_ 3rd person nimiþ-iþnam-_ nimada-ada nimái-áinēmi-i nimáidáu-áidáu nimadáu-adáuDual 1st person nimōs-ōsnēmu-u — nimáiwa-áiwanēmeiwa-eiwa —— 2nd person nimats-atsnēmuts-uts nimáits-áitsnēmeits-eits nimats-atsnimats-atsPlural 1st person nimam-amnēmum-um nimanda-anda nimáima-áimanēmeima-eima nimáindáu-áindáu nimam-am 2nd person nimiþ-iþnēmuþ-uþ nimáiþ-áiþnēmeiþ-eiþ nimiþ-iþ 3rd person nimand-andnēmun-un nimáina-áinanēmeina-eina nimandáu-andáu Infinitive niman (-an) Present Participle nimands (-ands) Past Participle numans (-ans)
Weak verbs Weak verbs in Germanic languages are defined by the past tense being formed by a suffix, rather than the stem vowel changing. In the case of Gothic, further subclasses are defined by the vowel that comes before the past-tense prefix, as well as other forms of the verb. Generally, the present tense, infinitive, and imperative share the same personal suffixes with strong verbs.
The following table outlines the common past-tense suffix between weak verbs; note that a thematic vowel is always used before this suffix: Weak past-tense suffixSubjectIndicativeOptativeSingular1st person -da -dēdjáu2nd person -dēs -dēdeis3rd person -da -dēdiDual1st person -dēdu -dēdeiwa2nd person -dēduts -dēdeitsPlural1st person -dēdum -dēdeima2nd person -dēduþ -dēdeiþ3rd person -dēdun -dēdeina
Class 1 Class 1 verbs are defined by having the thematic vowel -i-; which becomes -j- before vowels and becomes -ei- after long stems before -i-. The following is a sample paradigm of two class 1 weak verbs, nasjan "to save" (short stem-syllable), and sōkjan "to seek" (long stem-syllable; only differing forms shown):
+Class 1 weak verb conjugationNasjan, "to save"; Sōkjan, "to seek" Indicative Optative Imperative Active Passive Active PassivePresentPastPresentPresentPastPresent Singular 1st person nasja -janasida-ida nasjada -jada nasjáu-jáu nasidēdjáu-idēdjáu nasjáidáu -jáidáu 2nd person nasjis/ sōkeis -jis/ -eisnasidēs-idēs nasjaza -jaza nasjáis-jáis nasidēdeis-idēdeis nasjáizáu -jáizáu nasei -ei 3rd person nasjiþ/ sōkeiþ -jiþ/ -eiþnasida-ida nasjada -jada nasjái-jái nasidēdi-idēdi nasjáidáu -jáidáu nasjadáu -jadáuDual 1st person nasjōs -jōsnasidēdu-idēdu — nasjáiwa-jáiwa nasidēdeiwa-idēdeiwa —— 2nd person nasjats -jatsnasidēduts-idēduts— nasjáits-jáits nasidēdeits-idēdeitsnasjats-jats nasjats -jatsPlural 1st person nasjam -jamnasidēdum-idēdum nasjanda -janda nasjáima-jáima nasidēdeima-idēdeima nasjáindáu -jáindáu nasjam -jam 2nd person nasjiþ/ sōkeiþ -jiþ/ -eiþnasidēduþ-idēduþ nasjáiþ-jáiþ nasidēdeiþ-idēdeiþ nasjiþ/ sōkeiþ -jiþ/ -eiþ 3rd person nasjand -jandnasidēdun-idēdun nasjáina-jáina nasidēdeina-idēdeina nasjandáu -jandáu Infinitive nasjan (-jan)Present Participlenasjands (-jands) Past Participle nasiþs (-iþs) Some class 1 verbs have an irregular past due to the fact that the -i- in the past was lost in Proto-Germanic: Class 1 stem-changing verbs General stemInfinitive Past stem Past Participle Meaning brigg-briggan brāht- *brāhts "to bring" brūkj-brūkjan brūht- *brūhts "to use" bugj-bugjan baúht- *baúhts "to buy" gagg-gaggan iddja, gaggida gaggans "to go" káupatj-káupatjan káupast- káupatiþs "to buffet" þagkj-þagkjan þāht- þāhts "to think" þugkj-þugkjan þūht- þūhts "to seem" waúrkj-waúrkjan waúrht- waúrhts "to work"
gaggan is properly a Class 7 strong verb. iddja is declined like a weak verb. A weak past gaggida also occurs once. briggan is properly a Class 3 strong verb, with other parts taken from a lost verb *braggjan (cf. Old English breng(e)an, Old Saxon brengian).
Class 2
Class 2 weak verbs are defined by having the thematic vowel -ō-.
The following is a sample paradigm of a class 2 weak verb, salbōn "to anoint":