Anon Mv II 14VII/3 — mátti ‘could’
Hreina vildu huggan
henni veita staðarmenn;
eingi mátti auðspaung
eina finna feginsgrein.
Sat hun upp og sárt griet
sonar — þess er mikil vón —
dauða, unz dagr leið
dróttum, en kom nótt.
Staðarmenn vildu veita henni hreina huggan; eingi mátti finna auðspaung eina feginsgrein. Hun sat upp og griet dauða sonar sárt — er mikil vón þess —, unz dagr leið dróttum, en nótt kom.
The townspeople wanted to offer her pure consolation; nobody could find one reason for joy for the wealth-clasp [WOMAN]. She sat upright and wept for the death of her son bitterly — which is certainly to be expected — until the day wore on for people, and night came.
grammar
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- | ||