."iS C'oi.oKADo ('()li,E(;e Stii>ii:s. 



feet is retaiiu'»l with tlic coiulitioiifil force. Oiu' t-aii hear in 

 the Western Alps ( Switzerhmd ) the periphrasis with " i wurdi. 

 wiiril (wur)," in the Eastern, more often the periphrasis with 

 ''i thaet". but also the weak and stronLC foims of tlie liiiper- 

 feet Subjunctive. 



W'rnalaken explains the orii;in of the future siL^nitication 

 of ircrdi'H as follows: Sciu and iro'dcn with the present parti- 

 ciple are analo.ij;ous to sciii and ircrdcii with the infinitive, 

 though this construction with xciii is consiilerably older than 

 with iroHlcii (cf. CTrimni, Gr., -4. 125; for an example of irerdcn 

 with the present particii)le compare die ircrdcnt (/of sehciidc). 

 With both auxiliaries the infinitive soon replaced the parti- 

 ciple; the present of ircrdcn joined, to the infinitive was (juite 

 suitable to denote the i^resent as initial point of the future 

 (that is the incej^tion of the action); for the transition was 

 very near. We find this already prepared in the 13th and 14th 

 centuries, when the periphrasis with sollen was gradually dis- 

 appearing. The passive periphrasis \vitli ircrdcn may properly 

 be connected with this (cf. Grimm, Gr., 4, 182). The M.H.G. 

 furnishes examples like icli waene ir wcrdent mirsjehcn, daz 

 ir inch Koufes nit begant, Flore 3115; Der «•/>•/ inch wol 

 enthdlfcn, ibid. 3580. In the 15tli century the future signifi- 

 cation of the present of iverden became more decided, e. g., so 

 wird in Jhesus iciscu; Wann er umb sich hin und her schcn 

 icucri ; AVann dami der sudenwind uugestuemlichen ween 

 icucrd ( spiret ), so godt dann die gezierd in doerneu hinweg 

 (anfaeugt zu wehen ). Toward the end of the 15th century the 

 vacillation between the participle and infinitive was greatest, 

 but finally the infinitive carried the day ( cf. sie icerdent wishey t 

 seheii an und den Ion, der drumb ist bereit und ircrend n-urt 

 jn ewikeyt). 



If we now turn to the past tense, we shall find the same 

 idea of inceptive action expressed by the past tense of ircrdcn, 

 at first joined with the participle and then with the infinitive, 

 e. (J. do sie got an sehende irurdcn (cf. above, die icerdent got 

 sehcnde); Sie wnrdcn lihte spotten min; l^nd da bi irart man 

 sie erkennen ("this led to their recognition"); So wanne si 

 dat kint an sach, so ivart si iveinen; again, gar haisz sy wdinen 



