H. P. Grice, "The multiplicity of being in Gricese"

The verb 'to be' is actually composed of three different stems:  Conjugation Pronoun s-stem b-stem w-stem Infinitive – sīn *bion? wesan Present indicative ik *em bium wisu thū *art bis(t) wisis hē/it/siu is(t) *bid wis(id) wī/gī/sia sind(un) *biod wesad Past indicative ik – – was thū – – wāri hē/it/siu – – was wī/gī/sia – – wārun Present subjunctive ik/thū/hē/it/siu sī(e) – wese wī/gī/sia sī(e)n – wesen Past subjunctive ik/thū/hē/it/siu – – wāri wī/gī/sia – – wārin Imperative (singular) – – wis, wes (plural) – – wesad Present participle – – wesandi Past participle – – (gi)wesan The present forms of wesan are almost never used. Therefore, wesan is used as the past, imperative, and present participle versions of sīn, and does not have a separate meaning. The b-stem is only met in the present indicative of wesan, and only for the 1st and 2nd persons in the singular.