Old English · verb
beginnan
Normalised beġinnan
- Part of speech
- verb
- Verb class
- strong class III
- IPA
- /beˈjin.nɑn/
- Syllables
- be · ˈjin · nɑn (3 syllables)
- Modern English
- begin
Meaning
-
to begin
Hē ārās þā ġesund, swelċe of slǣpe āwreaht, and begann tō wundrienne hū hē wurde þæder ġebrōht.
Then he got up safe and sound, as if woken from sleep, and began to wonder how he got there.
c. 992, Ælfric, "Saint Maur, Abbot"
Conjugation
| Present | Past | |
|---|---|---|
| Indicative | ||
| 1st singular | beġinne | begann |
| 2nd singular | beġinst | begunne |
| 3rd singular | beġinþ | begann |
| Plural | beġinnaþ | begunnon |
| Subjunctive | ||
| Singular | beġinne | begunne |
| Plural | beġinnen | begunnen |
| Form | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | beġinnan |
| Inflected infinitive | beġinnenne |
| Imperative singular | beġinn |
| Imperative plural | beġinnaþ |
| Present participle | beġinnende |
| Past participle | begunnen |
All forms (13)
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *biginnan, derived from Proto-Germanic *ginnaną; equivalent to be- + *ginnan.
Descendants
begin
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beginnan · CC BY-SA 4.0 licence · Attribution