Appendix:Old Czech verbs

Main category: Old Czech verbs

Inflectional categories

Infinitive and supine

Unlike modern Czech, Old Czech had two non-finite verb forms – infinitive, which probably originated as a dative form of some deverbal noun, and supine, which originated as an accusative form. The infinitive endings were -ti (vésti, státi) or -ci (péci). The supine forms had short ending vowels and their endings were -t (vest) or -c (pec), the only exception being verbs formed by contraction of a longer word (stojati –> státi) which didn't shorten their ending vowels in supine (stát).

Supine was used as an object of verbs of motion and mostly formed from imperfective verbs.

• Chcu spáti. ― I want to to sleep. (infinitive)
• Jdu spat. ― I go to sleep. (supine)

If the supine verb had an object, it was usually in genitive.

• Příde súdit živých i mrtvých. ― He shall come to judge the living as well as the deceased.

Already in the 14th century, the infinitive ending -ti was sometimes reduced to -ť. In the 15th century, the supine disappeared completely and the infinitive had two possible endings -ti/-t with the -ti being formal and preferred until the second half of the 20th century when the ending -t became standard and -ti archaic.

Composed forms

Future

The future tense can be expressed by sever ways:

A) Like in modern Czech, the present forms of perfective verbs were used for the future tense. This meant that the future tense of imperfective verbs could be sometimes formed from perfective verbs with similar meaning – sometimes just by adding a prefix (dělaju x udělaju).

• Dělaju x Udělaju ― I am doing x I will do
• Jdu x Pójdu ― I am going x I will go
• Nesu x Ponesu ― I am carrying x I will carry
• Bydľu x Vzbydľu ― I am dwelling x I will dwell

B) Although rare, the present forms of imperfective verbs can in some texts be found with the future meaning. Consider the following text:

• A to jest často vídáno, že kdy jelen bude postřelen, hned běží do konopí a v usta nachvátá sěmence a v ránu položí a hned střěla vyskočí.

  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

C) The future tense was also expressed using the present form of an auxiliary or the future form of býti and an infinitive of the verb. Unlike modern Czech, which uses only the verb být, the Old Czech future auxiliary wasn't fixed yet, so verbs like býti, chtieti, jmieti could be used. The verbs "chtieti" and "jmieti" can be used with imperfective as well as perfective verbs and still mean future:

• Že chceš vždy v krčmě ležěti, dietky chtie hladem zemřieti. ― As you only want to sit in the pub, the children will die (perfective) of hunger.
• věci, ješto přijíti jmajú ― things that shall come (perfective)
• Oldřich počě mluviti: Na které lesy chcemy jíti? ― Oldřich started to speak: Which forests will we go (imperfective) to?
• Tvé siemě hostinno má býti v zemi nevlastní. ― Your children will be (imperfective) guests in a land that won't be theirs.

The auxiliary "býti" is the most important one of them all. The verb "býti" is the only verb that has its own future form. The composed future tense of "býti" is rare:

• když bude potřebno býti ― in case it is necessary

The negative prefix is normally borne by the auxiliary. The contrary is rare:

• Nebáti sě budu. ― I won't be afraid.

It is also rarely formed with the L-participle instead of the infinitive. It can also be debated whether these rare forms couldn't have been used as a future perfect tense.

• Budeš pykal. ― You'll pay for this. / You'll have payed for this. (?)

Preterite

The preterite was composed from the present forms of býti and the L-participle. In Proto-Slavic, these forms might have been used to express a situation which was a consequence of a preceding action. The resultative meaning was also in Old Czech so the name "perfect" would probably be better than "preterite". During Old Czech, it gradually became what is the basic past tense in modern Czech. This was supported by the extinction of the aorist and imperfect in the 15th century. The benefit of the preterite compared to the aorist and the imperfect are:

• it can be formed from perfective as well as imperfective verbs
• it doesn't have the same forms in the 2nd and 3rd person singular
• it expressed gender as well as number

Already in the 14th century, the third person started losing the auxiliary býti – jest/je dělal –> dělal; jsú dělali –> dělali. The auxiliary in the 3rd person became rare in the 16th century. In Old Czech, the negation could be placed on the auxiliary (nenie dělal) which isn't standard in modern Czech.