Appendix:Old Irish s future verbs

The s-future is generally used in verbs that take the s-subjunctive. It is characterized by a reduplication of the initial consonant with the vowel i (usually lowered to e when the root vowel is a) as well as the suffix -s- (which assimilates to an r that immediately precedes it).

The initial consonant of the root is of course lenited after the i of the reduplicating syllable. In some cases, further phonological changes have obscured the reduplication, and in a few cases there is no trace of reduplication at all, so that the s-future is essentially identical to the s-subjunctive.

The future stem is used to form the conditional tense (called “secondary future” in some sources including Thurneysen and Strachan) as well as the future itself.

See Category:Old Irish s future verbs for a list of verbs that take the s-future.

The root vowel is generally deleted by syncope when a syllabic ending follows the s; when it is not deleted, the vowel varies according to the form. The location of the sometimes syncopated vowel is shown with "(V)" below. The basic pattern shows a reduplicating syllable with the vowel i:

• guidid → gig(V)s-
• ·rig → ·rir(V)s-
• ligid → lil(V)s-
• cingid → ·cich(V)s-
• ·ding → did(V)s-
• bongid → bib(V)s-
• ·loing → ·lil(V)s-
• ·claid → ·cichl(V)s-
• sligid → sil(V)s- (from *siṡl(V)s-)
• seinnid → sif(V)s-/sibs- (where f/b is the lenition of sw, from *swi-swen-s-)

In the following cases. the s has assimilated to a preceding consonant and the root vowel is always syncopated:

• orcaid → iorr- (from *i-orx-s- from *h₃i-h₃erg-s-)
• ·ceird → ·cicherr- (from *ki-ker-s- from *ki-kerd-s-)
• ed- → íss- (from *h₁i-h₁ed-s-) – inflected like an asigmatic a future, not a regular s-future
• saigid → sïass- (from *si-ṡass-)
• ·finnadar → ·fïass- (from *fi-ḟass- from *wi-wed-s-)
• midithir → ·mïass- (from *mi-wess-, dissimilated from *mi-mess- from *mi-med-s-)

In cases like the last three in the list above, the ïa contracts to e when the s is followed by a vowel, thus completely obscuring the reduplication:

• ·fïastar but ·fesatar
• mïastar but messimmir

In the following cases, the reduplicating vowel has been lowered to e because of the a originally in the root syllable:

• maidid → mem(V)s-
• nascaid → nen(V)s-
• slaidid → sel(V)s- (from *seṡl(V)s-)

In prototonic forms starting with fo- and to-, the consonant of the reduplicating syllable is deleted and the o of the prefix contracts with the i of the reduplicating syllable into /oːi̯/:

• fo·loing → ·foíl(V)s-
• fo·ceird → ·foích(V)rr-
• do·tuit → ·tóeth(V)s-

However, in the prototonic forms of ro·sïass (future of ro·saig), the reduplicating syllable is deleted without diphthongization:

• ·róïs (second-person singular) from *·ro-ṡais for *·ro-ṡi-ṡais
• ·roisset (third-person plural) from *·ro-ṡaisset for *·ro-ṡi-ṡaisset

If a verb has two (or more) prefixes, then the reduplicating syllable disappears:

• do·fonaig (= to- + fo- + nigid) → do·fon(V)s-
• ar·fuirig (= ar- + fo- + rigid) → ar·fur(V)s-
• du·esairc (= to- + ess- + orcaid) → do·essarr-
• do·immoirc (= to- + imm- + orcaid) → do·immarr-
• con·dieig (= com- + dí- + saigid) → con·dess-

The forms shown below for guidid (“to pray”) are constructed on the basis of attested endings.

No complete paradigm of the deponent conjugation is attested, but many endings can be deduced on the basis of other conjugations. Taking midithir (“to judge”) as an example onto which attested and deduced endings can be added, we can derive the following:

• Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, §§ 657–68, pages 407–13; reprinted 2017 (Please provide a date or year)
• Strachan, John, Bergin, Osborn (1949) Old-Irish Paradigms and Selections from the Old-Irish Glosses, Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, →ISBN, pages 59–60
• McCone, Kim (1997) The Early Irish Verb (Maynooth Monographs 1), 2nd edition, Maynooth: An Sagart, →ISBN, pages 43–45