(2) Verbs of the fourth conjugation (except venir) all took the weak endings -í, -íst, -í, -ím, -ítz, -íron: partí, partíst, partí, partím, partítz, partíron. Irregular verbs either disappeared or became regular (_sensī_ = sentí), with the exception of _venīre_ ＞ venir (vinc).[125]
(3) The new weak endings of the third conjugation developed into -ęi, -ęst, -ęt, -ém, -ętz, -ęron: vendęi, vendęst, vendęt, vendém, vendętz, vendęron. In the 1st pers. sg. the ę often broke (vendięi), and the diphthong was sometimes carried into the 2d pers. sg. (vendięst). These endings were considerably extended in Provençal (cazęt, etc.), and were occasionally attached to a strong preterit stem (nasquęt, tesquęt, venquęt, visquęt). Most verbs, however, kept their strong preterit (mis, conọc). The _-īvī_ perfect disappeared from the third conjugation: _quæsīvit_ ＞ ✱_quæsit_ ＞ quẹs.
(4) The first conjugation discarded its own weak endings, and substituted those of the third: cantęi cantięi, cantęst cantięst, cantęt, cantém, cantętz, cantęron. This strange phenomenon seems to have originated as follows: _dare_, _dĕdī_ ＞ dar, dęi; from dar the ending -ęi was readily extended to estar (estęi); and from these two very common verbs it spread to the whole first conjugation.
Irregular verbs (except _dare_, _stare_) either disappeared or became regular.
1. According to Meyer-Lübke, _Gram._, II, p. 304, Latin _-ai_ became by phonetic process -ęi in Vulgar Latin, and -ęi or -ięi in Provençal. There seems to be no evidence to support this theory. Cf. § 23, 2.
2. In the dialects of Béarn and Catalonia the original _a_ remains in some parts of the preterit.
176. A final -c, which developed in the strong _-ui_ preterits (§ 184), often became attached to the 3d pers. sg. of weak preterits of the fourth conjugation: floríc, fugíc, iauzíc, partíc.[126] It was sometimes extended to other weak preterits: chantęc, entendęc, nasquęc,[127] paręc.[128] We find also a 3d pers. pl. cazęgron, etc., and even a 1st pers. sg. ameguí, etc. In some western dialects the final -c was adopted by the whole first conjugation: donęc, portęc, etc.
177. Some strong preterits occasionally assumed weak endings:--
(1) In the 1st pers. sg. several verbs in -s sometimes either added an -í or shifted the stress to an originally unaccented final -i (cf. §§ 172, 173): dis dissí, pris presí, quis quesí, respos respozí. A few verbs in -c did the same: aic aiguí, bẹc beguí, conọc conoguí, saup saubí, vinc venguí, vǫlc volguí. An ending -guí being thus established, this syllable was sometimes added to preterits not of the -c class: costrenguí, destrenguí, prenguí, remanguí, restrenguí, traguí.