rmed their preterite in {-ta}, and the latter in {-ita}; and
similarly in the inflected form of the past participle. In MHG. all the
unaccented vowels {i, e}, {a, o}, {u, [i]}, {[e], [o]} regularly fell together
in {e} (Sec. 7), so that the old distinction between the endings of the
three classes of verbs was to a great extent obliterated. The OHG. verbs
with a short stem-syllable belonging to Classes II and III came in MHG.
to be inflected entirely like sub-division (_b_) of Class I; and those
with a long stem-syllable mostly came to be inflected like sub-division
(_a_) of Class I, see Secs. 9,2, 92.

Owing to all the OHG. unaccented vowels being weakened to {e} the MHG.
endings are:--

Sing. Plur.
Pres. Indic.: -e, -es(t), -et -en, -et, -ent
" Subj.: -e, -es(t), -e -en, -et, -en

Pret. Indic. } -te, -tes(t), -te } -ten, -tet, -ten }
and Subj.: } -ete, -etes(t) -ete } -eten, -etet, -eten }

Imper. -e -en, -et

P.P. Uninfl. form -et
Infl. " -ter }
-eter }

Infin. -en.

Final {-n} in the first pers. sing. of the pres. indicative of the old
Classes II and III remained in early MHG., but during the MHG. period
the first person was remodelled after the analogy of Class I.

NOTE.--Old forms with {[)o]} ({u}) for later {e} occasionally occur in
verbs originally belonging to the OHG. Class II; and in like manner
{[)i]} for {e} in the pret. subjunctive.

Sec. 89.

The MHG. weak verbs are divided into two classes, according as the
preterite is formed in {-te} or {-ete} (see however Sec. 40). The inflexion
of the present is the same in both classes.

CLASS I.

Sec. 90.

To this class belong (1) verbs which have old long stem-syllables. Those
having a mutated vowel in the present have the corresponding unmutated
vowel in the preterite. The {i} which would have caused umlaut in the
preterite disappeared in the prehistoric period of the language. The
past participle generally has two forms: one with a mutated vowel, and
the other without it, properly from the old inflected form which did not
have umlaut. (2) Verbs having a short stem-vowel followed by a single
consonant ({l, r}), and trisyllabic verbs containing an {l, n}, or {r}
in the second syllable, as {zeln}, older {zellen} (Sec. 31,3), _to count_,
pret. {zelte} beside {zalte}, p.p. {gezelt} beside