Page:A Danish and Dano-Norwegian grammar.djvu/123

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ETYMOLOGY.
109

D. N. slænge to fling, slængte); gjælde[1] to be worth, to refer to (gjaldt, gjældt); N. smælde to make a noise (smaldt or smældede, smældte, ptc. smældt); skjælve to shiver, (skjalv or skjælvede, N. skalv, skjælvet); knække to crack, knækkede or knak, knækket; sprætte to sprawl, imperf. N. sprat, D. sprættede, sprættet; skvætte to get a start, N. skvat, skvættede, skvættet.

Note 1. When there is a double set of forms in imperf., a strong one and a weak one, the strong form has originally represented the intransitive meaning, the weak form the transitive; Ex.: han strakte sin Haand ud he stretched his hand forth; Pengene strak ikke til the money was not sufficient; Huset brandt op the house burned down; jeg brændte mine Skibe I burned my ships; jeg skvat tilside I jumped aside; Pigen skvættede Vand paa mig the girl splashed water on me; jeg hængte min Hat paa Knagen I hung my hat on the rack; Manden hang i Galgen the man was hanging in the gallows.

Note 2. Antiquated and poet. Danish are the imperf. plurals: funde, runde, svunde, sprunge, stunge, sunge, drukke, hjulpe.

214. Class II.

i (e)–ai (e) or aa. Ex.: give to give, gav, givet; bede to pray, bad, bedt (bedet). To this class belong: give to give; gide to prevail upon one’s self to, gad, gidet; sidde to sit, sad, siddet; kvæde to sing, kvad, kvædet; være to be, var, været; bære to wear, bar, baaren; skjære to cut, skar, skaaren; stjæle to steal, stjal, stjaalen; se to se, saa, seet; ligge to lie, laa, ligget; æde to eat, aad, ædt.

Note 1. dræbe to kill, although regularly following the weak conjugation (dræbte, dræbt) occurs in N. poetry in the strang impf. drap: han drap far he killed my father (Björnson).

Note 2. To the infinitive være, to be, corresponds the pres. (jeg) er I am (pl. ere), but overvære, to be present at, has pres. overværer, imp. overvar, and undvære to be without, undværer, undværede.

  1. always weak: undgjælde to pay the penalty of, gjengjælde to requite.