Editing Middle Dutch (section)

===Verbs===
{{expand section|date=November 2010}}
Middle Dutch mostly retained the Old Dutch verb system. Like all Germanic languages, it distinguished [[Germanic strong verb|strong]], [[Germanic weak verb|weak]] and [[Preterite-present verb|preterite-present]] verbs as the three main inflectional classes. Verbs were inflected in present and past tense, and in three moods: indicative, subjunctive and imperative.

The weakening of unstressed vowels affected the distinction between the [[Indicative mood|indicative]] and [[Subjunctive mood|subjunctive]] moods, which had largely been determined by the vowel of the inflectional suffix in Old Dutch. In Middle Dutch, with all unstressed vowels merging into one, the subjunctive became distinguished from the indicative only in the singular but was identical to it in the plural, and also in the past tense of weak verbs. That led to a gradual decline in the use of the subjunctive, and it has been all but lost entirely in modern Dutch.

====Strong verbs====
The seven classes of strong verb common to the Germanic languages were retained. The four principal parts were the present tense, first- and third-person singular past tense, remaining past tense, and the past participle.

{| class="wikitable"
! Class
! Present
! Past<br/>1/3 sg
! Past<br/>rest
! Ptcp.
! Example verbs
|-
! 1
| î
| ê
| ē
| ē
| {{wikt-lang|dum|bliven}}
|-
! 2
| {{notatypo|ie}}, û
| ô
| ō
| ō
| {{wikt-lang|dum|bieden}}, {{wikt-lang|dum|bugen}}
|-
! 3
| e, i
| a
| o
| o
| {{wikt-lang|dum|helpen}}, {{wikt-lang|dum|binden}}
|-
! 4
| ē
| a
| â
| ō
| {{wikt-lang|dum|stelen}}
|-
! 5
| ē, i
| a
| â
| ē
| {{wikt-lang|dum|lesen}}, {{wikt-lang|dum|liggen}}
|-
! 6
| ā
| oe
| oe
| â
| {{wikt-lang|dum|dragen}}
|-
! 7
| (any)
| {{notatypo|ie}}
| {{notatypo|ie}}
| (any)
| {{wikt-lang|dum|slapen}}
|}

In classes 6 and 7, there was no distinction between the two different vowels of the past tense. In classes 4 and 5, the difference was primarily one of length, since ''ā'' and ''â'' were not distinguished in most dialects. The difference between ''ê'' and ''ē'', and between ''ô'' and ''ō'', found in classes 1 and 2, was a bit more robust, but also eventually waned in the development to modern Dutch. Consequently, the distinction was mostly lost. Class 3, which retained a clear distinction that did not rely on vowel length, was levelled in favour of the ''o'' of the plural.

In classes with a lengthened vowel in the present, the singular imperative often appears with a short vowel instead, e.g. ''les'', ''drach''. An alternative form, with final ''-e'' by analogy with the weak verbs, also occurs.

The eastern dialects occasionally show ''i'' in the second- and third-person singular present indicative forms, instead of ''e''. This is a remnant of older i-mutation in these forms. Umlaut is also sometimes found in the past subjunctive in the east.

{|
|
{| class="wikitable"
! Infinitive
| colspan="2" | bliven
|-
! Gerund
| colspan="2" | blivene
|-
! colspan="3" | Indicative mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| blive
| blêef
|-
! 2nd sing.
| blijfs, blives
| blēefs, blēves
|-
! 3rd sing.
| blijft, blivet
| blêef
|-
! 1st plur.
| bliven
| blēven
|-
! 2nd plur.
| blijft, blivet
| blēeft, blēvet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| bliven
| blēven
|-
! colspan="3" | Subjunctive mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| blive
| blēve
|-
! 2nd sing.
| blijfs, blives
| blēefs, blēves
|-
! 3rd sing.
| blive
| blēve
|-
! 1st plur.
| bliven
| blēven
|-
! 2nd plur.
| blijft, blivet
| blēeft, blēvet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| bliven
| blēven
|-
! colspan="3" | Imperative mood
|-
! Sing.
| colspan="2" | blijf, blive
|-
! Plur.
| colspan="2" | blijft, blivet
|-
! colspan="3" | Participle
|-
!
| blivende
| geblēven
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
! Infinitive
| colspan="2" | binden
|-
! Gerund
| colspan="2" | bindene
|-
! colspan="3" | Indicative mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| binde
| bant
|-
! 2nd sing.
| bints, bindes
| bonts, bondes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| bint, bindet
| bant
|-
! 1st plur.
| binden
| bonden
|-
! 2nd plur.
| bint, bindet
| bont, bondet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| binden
| bonden
|-
! colspan="3" | Subjunctive mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| binde
| bonde
|-
! 2nd sing.
| bints, bindes
| bonts, bondes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| binde
| bonde
|-
! 1st plur.
| binden
| bonden
|-
! 2nd plur.
| bint, bindet
| bont, bondet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| binden
| bonden
|-
! colspan="3" | Imperative mood
|-
! Sing.
| colspan="2" | bint, binde
|-
! Plur.
| colspan="2" | bint, bindet
|-
! colspan="3" | Participle
|-
!
| bindende
| gebonden
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
! Infinitive
| colspan="2" | drāgen
|-
! Gerund
| colspan="2" | drāgene
|-
! colspan="3" | Indicative mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| drāge
| droech
|-
! 2nd sing.
| drāechs, drāges
| droechs, droeges
|-
! 3rd sing.
| drāecht, drāget
| droech
|-
! 1st plur.
| drāgen
| droegen
|-
! 2nd plur.
| drāecht, drāget
| droecht, droeget
|-
! 3rd plur.
| drāgen
| droegen
|-
! colspan="3" | Subjunctive mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| drāge
| droege
|-
! 2nd sing.
| drāechs, drāges
| droechs, droeges
|-
! 3rd sing.
| drāge
| droege
|-
! 1st plur.
| drāgen
| droegen
|-
! 2nd plur.
| drāecht, drāget
| droecht, droeget
|-
! 3rd plur.
| drāgen
| droegen
|-
! colspan="3" | Imperative mood
|-
! Sing.
| colspan="2" | drach, drāge
|-
! Plur.
| colspan="2" | drāecht, drāget
|-
! colspan="3" | Participle
|-
!
| drāgende
| gedrāgen
|}
|}

====Weak verbs====
Middle Dutch retained weak verbs as the only productive class of verbs. While Old Dutch still had two different classes of weak verbs (and remnants of a third), this distinction was lost in Middle Dutch with the weakening of unstressed syllables.

The past tense was formed with a suffix ''-ed-'', which generally lost its ''e'' through syncope and thus came to be directly attached to the preceding stem. This triggered voicing assimilation, so that ''t'' appeared whenever the preceding stem ended in a voiceless consonant. This phenomenon remains in modern Dutch. Unsyncopated forms, which retain the fuller suffix ''-ed-'', are sometimes found, especially with stems ending in a labial or velar consonant.

Some former class 1 weak verbs retained so-called ''[[Rückumlaut]]''. These verbs had undergone umlaut in the present tense, but the umlaut-triggering vowel was syncopated in the past tense already in Old Dutch, preventing umlaut from taking hold there. Thus, ''senden'' had the first- and third-person singular past tense ''sande''. These verbs tended to be reinterpreted as strong verbs in later Middle Dutch; ''sande'' itself gave rise to the modern ''zond'', mirroring strong class 3.

{|
|
{| class="wikitable"
! Infinitive
| colspan="2" | māken
|-
! Gerund
| colspan="2" | mākene
|-
! colspan="3" | Indicative mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| māke
| māecte
|-
! 2nd sing.
| māecs, mākes
| māectes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| māect, māket
| māecte
|-
! 1st plur.
| māken
| māecten
|-
! 2nd plur.
| māect, māket
| māectet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| māken
| māecten
|-
! colspan="3" | Subjunctive mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| māke
| māecte
|-
! 2nd sing.
| māecs, mākes
| māectes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| māke
| māecte
|-
! 1st plur.
| māken
| māecten
|-
! 2nd plur.
| māect, māket
| māectet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| māken
| māecten
|-
! colspan="3" | Imperative mood
|-
! Sing.
| colspan="2" | māke
|-
! Plur.
| colspan="2" | māect, māket
|-
! colspan="3" | Participle
|-
!
| mākende
| gemāect, gemāket
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
! Infinitive
| colspan="2" | senden
|-
! Gerund
| colspan="2" | sendene
|-
! colspan="3" | Indicative mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| sende
| sende, sande
|-
! 2nd sing.
| sents, sendes
| sendes, sandes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| sent, sendet
| sende, sande
|-
! 1st plur.
| senden
| senden, sanden
|-
! 2nd plur.
| sent, sendet
| sendet, sandet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| senden
| senden, sanden
|-
! colspan="3" | Subjunctive mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| sende
| sende
|-
! 2nd sing.
| sents, sendes
| sendes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| sende
| sende
|-
! 1st plur.
| senden
| senden
|-
! 2nd plur.
| sent, sendet
| sendet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| senden
| senden
|-
! colspan="3" | Imperative mood
|-
! Sing.
| colspan="2" | sende
|-
! Plur.
| colspan="2" | sent, sendet
|-
! colspan="3" | Participle
|-
!
| sendende
| gesent, gesendet, gesant
|}
|}