ascian
Appearance
Old English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn.
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]āscian
- to ask (+ genitive a question) (+ accusative a person) (+ genitive about something)
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy:
- Ac ānes þinges iċ þē wolde ǣrest āscian.
- But I wanted to ask you one thing first.
- late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History:
- to demand
- to learn about by asking
Usage notes
[edit]- The word meaning to ask for something is biddan.
- When asking "to ask", the thing being asked about, or the question being asked, is usually put in the genitive case, and the person being asked in the accusative case. Putting the thing being asked about in the accusative, and the person being asked in the dative is also attested. Marking the thing being asked about with a preposition like be or æfter is also common.
Conjugation
[edit]Conjugation of āscian (weak class 2)
infinitive | āscian | āscienne |
---|---|---|
indicative mood | present tense | past tense |
first person singular | āsciġe | āscode |
second person singular | āscast | āscodest |
third person singular | āscaþ | āscode |
plural | āsciaþ | āscodon |
subjunctive | present tense | past tense |
singular | āsciġe | āscode |
plural | āsciġen | āscoden |
imperative | ||
singular | āsca | |
plural | āsciaþ | |
participle | present | past |
āsciende | (ġe)āscod |