"to oppress", saltan "to salt", gastaldan "to possess", waldan "to rule"; Class 7a; -ā- present: fāhan "to seize", hāhan "to hang"; Class 7a; -ái- present: afáikan "to deny", fráisan "to tempt", háitan "to call", láikan "to leap", máitan "to cut", skáidan "to divide" (skaískáiþ), gaþláihan "to cherish, comforẗ"; Class 7a; -ē- present: uf-blēsan "to blow up, puff up", slēpan "to sleep"; Class 7a; -ō- present: blōtan "to worship", *flōkan "to bewail", ƕōpan "to boast"; Class 7a; -au- present: *lauan "to revile" (*laílō); possibly also *bnauan "to rub", which may be a Class III weak verb (see below); Class 7a; -áu- present: áukan "to add", hláupan "to leap", stáutan "to smite"; Class 7b; -ē- present: grētan "to weep", lētan "to let", garēdan "to reflect upon" (garaírōþ), tēkan "to touch"; Class 7b; -ai- present: saian "to sow", *waian "to blow". The following is a sample paradigm of a strong verb, niman "to take" (Class 4): Weak verbs Weak verbs in Germanic languages are defined by the past tense being formed by a suffix, rather than the stem vowel changing. In the case of Gothic, further subclasses are defined by the vowel that comes before the past-tense prefix, as well as other forms of the verb. Generally, the present tense, infinitive, and imperative share the same personal suffixes with strong verbs. The following table outlines the common past-tense suffix between weak verbs; note that a thematic vowel is always used before this suffix: Class 1 Class 1 verbs are defined by having the thematic vowel -i-; which becomes -j- before vowels and becomes -ei- after long stems before -i-. The following is a sample paradigm of two class 1 weak verbs, nasjan "to save" (short stem-syllable), and sōkjan "to seek" (long stem-syllable; only differing forms shown): Some class 1 verbs have an irregular past due to the fact that the -i- in the past was lost in Proto-Germanic: gaggan is properly a Class 7 strong verb. iddja is declined like a weak verb. A weak past gaggida also occurs once. briggan is properly a Class 3 strong verb, with other parts taken from a lost verb *braggjan (cf. Old English breng(e)an, Old Saxon brengian). Class 2 Class 2 weak verbs are defined by having the thematic vowel -ō-. The following is a sample paradigm of a class 2 weak verb, salbōn "to anoint": Class 3 Class 3 weak verbs are marked by having