ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Germanic strong verb

Okay, let's talk about Germanic strong verbs. But first, let's break it down. "Germanic" means something that comes from or is related to the Germanic languages (like German, English, Dutch, Swedish, etc.). "Verbs" are action words that describe doing something, like "run", "sing", or "jump".

So, a Germanic strong verb is a special kind of verb that changes its form (how the verb is spelled or spoken) in order to show when the action happened in the past (like "ran" instead of "run").

Here's an example to help explain. Let's say the verb is "to speak". In the present tense (talking about what's happening now), we say "speak". But in the past tense (talking about something that already happened), we say "spoke". The verb changed its form to show that it happened in the past.

Now, Germanic strong verbs are a little trickier because they change their form in more than one way. For example, the verb "to write". In the present tense, we say "write". But in the past tense, we say "wrote". Do you see how it changed? Not only did the "i" in "write" change to an "o", but we added a "t" at the end. That's what makes it a Germanic strong verb - it changes in multiple ways to show when the action happened in the past.

So, to summarize: Germanic strong verbs are a special kind of verb that change their form in multiple ways to show when the action happened in the past. They are part of the Germanic languages (like English), and they can be a little tricky to learn but with practice, you'll get the hang of it!