Unit 17
Adjectives in the superlative degree have the suffixes -ists, -ōsts, which follow their comparatives as far as which suffix occurs:
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| alþeis | alþiza | alþists |
| arms | armōza | armōsts |
| hardus | hardiza | hardists |
| haúhs | haúhiza | haúhists |
| juggs | jūhiza | jūhists |
| manags | managiza | managists |
| sūts | sūtiza | sūtists |
| swinþs | swinþōza | swinþōsts |
Some comparatives and superlatives are irregular. Just as in English we have good, better, best, Gothic has:
| gōþs (good) | batiza | batists |
| leitils (little) | minniza | minnists |
| mikils (great) | máiza | máists |
| sineigs (old) | *siniza | sinists (here the comparative is not attested) |
| ubils (evil) | waírsiza | *waírsists (here the superlative is not attested) |
The six known ma-comparatives, and two more unattested ma-comparatives, have their own superlatives that were built upon them:
| aftuma (following, next) | aftumists (last) |
| aúhuma (higher) | aúh(u)mists(highest) |
| fruma (former, prior, first) | frumists (first) |
| *hinduma | hindumists (hindmost) |
| hleiduma (left) | hleidumists (leftmost) |
| iftuma (following, next) | iftumists (last) |
| innuma (inner) | innumists (innermost) |
| *spēduma | spēdumists (last) |
Superlatives are declined both strong and weak, and their declension is the same as mikils.
Comparatives of adverbs usually end in -is, -ōs, parallel to the -iza, -ōza adjcetival endings. In the superlative, the adverbial
endings are -ist, -ōst.
Ordinals attested in Gothic include:
| 1st | fruma |
| 2nd | anþar |
| 3rd | þridja |
| 5th | fimfta |
| 6th | saíhsta |
| 8th | ahtuda |
| 9th | niunda |
| 10th | taíhunda |
| 15th | fimftataíhunda |
The ordinal number anþar (second) is declined like mikils, but without the masc. nom. sing. -s and with no -ata form in the neuter nom.
acc. singular.
After the ordinal of the number 3, the remaining ordinals are formed by suffixing -ta after a voiceless consonant, otherwise -da. This
is cognate to the -th in English.
Fruma is always declined weak; the feminine has the same endings as managei. Anþar is always declined strong, and the neut. nom. acc.
does not have an -ata form. The other ordinals are all declined weak.
Besides the cardinal and ordinal numbers, there is bái (both), masc. acc. bans, dat. báim; neut. nom. acc. ba. This also occurs as masc.
nom. bajōþs, dat. bajōþum.
Tweihnái (two each) has fem. acc. tweihnōs, dat. tweihnáim. This distributive numeral is synonymous with the preposition bi + a cardinal
as in bi twans, by twos; insandida ins twans ƕanzuh, he sent them forth two and two.
The adjectival suffix -falþ (fold) turns a cardinal into a multiplicative: áinfalþs, onefold, simple; fidurfalþs, fourfold;
taíhuntaíhund-falþs, hundredfold;
also managfalþs, manifold. Áinfalþs is also the root of the abstract noun áin-falþei, simplicity, declined like áiþei.
Numeral adverbs are formed with the dative of sinþs (time, occurrence; lit. a going): áinamma sinþa, once; twáim sinþam, twice;
anþaramma sinþa, a second time; etc.
The passive voice, in the present tense, is formed in strong verbs with a set of endings. This is different from English where we use a
passive participle and a form of the verb "to be". The passive present endings for niman (to take) are:
| Singular | Indicative | Subjunctive |
| 1st | nimada | nimáidáu |
| 2nd | nimaza | nimáizáu |
| 3rd | nimada | nimáidáu |
| Plural |
| (all numbers) | nimanda | nimáindáu |
All classes of strong and weak verbs take these same endings in the present passive. For example, sōkjan has sōkjada, sōkjaza,
sōkjada, etc. Class II weak verbs such as salbō have pass. subj. salbōdáu, salbōzáu, salbōdáu, salbōndáu.
In the preterite, the passive is formed by using wisan or waírþan as an auxiliary verb with the past participle:
| 1. Gamēleiþ ist. | It is written. (Ga-mēljan = to write.) |
| 2. Ga-áiwiskōþs waírþa. | I shall be ashamed. (ga-áiwiskon) = to make ashamed.) |
| 3. Gamarzidái waúrþun in þamma. | They were offended at him. (ga-marzjan = to offend.) |
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