Kœnn njóti vel vænnar
vinr minn konu sinnar
— víst esat dapr of drósir
drengr — ok eigi lengi.
Njóti kœnn vinr minn vænnar konu sinnar vel ok eigi lengi; víst esat drengr dapr of drósir.
May my wise friend enjoy his fair wife well and keep [her] for a long time; indeed, the man is not downcast on account of women.
[4] ok eigi lengi ‘and keep [her] for a long time’: If this verb is taken as an adv. rather than as a verb (see Context above), the clause ok eigi lengi translates as ‘and not for a long time’. Cf. the almost similar ambiguity in Anon (TGT) 15.
Verbs: Preterite-present verbs
The present tense of these verbs is like the past tense of strong verbs, and their past tense is weak.
eiga | mega | kunna | skulu | munu | muna | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
indic. pres. | sing. pl. | 1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd | á átt á eigum eiguð eigu | má mátt má megum meguð megu | kann kannt kann kunnum kunnuð kunnu | skal skalt skal skulum skuluð skulu | mun munt mun munum munuð munu | man mant man munum munið muna |
indic. past stem subj. pres. stem subj. past stem | átt- eig- ætt- | mátt- meg- mætt- | kunn- kunn- kynn- | skyld- skyl- skyld- | mund- myn- mynd- | mund- mun- mynd- |