Grammatical categories of old english verbs
Grammatical Categories of the finite forms of the OE Verb. The system of the OE verb was rather developed though less complicated than it is to-day. The main form-building means were synthetic: suffixation (endings), gradation (ablaut, vowel interchange) and suppletion (suppletive formations). Some of them could be combined. The forms of verbs could be finite (changeable in accordance with grammatical categories) and non-finite. Non-finite forms existing in OE are: the Verbal Noun, the Infinitive, Participle I and Participle II. The finite forms of the Verb had the categories of Person, Number, Tense and Mood. The category of Person was based on the opposition of three persons: the first, the second and the third, which were grammatically marked only in the singular. There were no person distinctions in the plural. There were two numbers – the singular and the plural. Dual pronouns took the plural forms of verbs.