190. The Provençal imperfect subjunctive came from the Latin pluperfect
subjunctive, which in Vulgar Latin assumed the functions of the
imperfect and generally displaced it, its own place having been taken
by a compound form: see § 141, (2).
191. For weak verbs the basis was the contracted form of the first
and fourth conjugations (_amāssem_ ＜ _amāvĭssem_, _audīssem_ ＜
_audīvĭssem_); weak verbs of third conjugation had a similar analogical
form (✱_vēndęssem_). First conjugation verbs substituted ę for á, as in
the perfect and the old conditional: § 175, (4); § 186. The Provençal
types are: amęs, vendęs, auzís. The inflection is:
amęs amessẹm auzís auzissẹm
amęsses amessẹtz -ẹs auzísses auzissẹtz -ẹs
amęs amęssen -on -o auzís auzíssen -on -o
192. Strong verbs regularly made their imperfect directly from the
Vulgar Latin form of the pluperfect: _fecĭssem_ ＞ fezẹs, _fŭĭssem_
✱_fŭssem_ ＞ fọs, _vidĭssem_ ＞ vezẹs, _venĭssem_ ✱_venuĭssem_ ＞
venguẹs; _dixĭssem_ ＞ dissẹs, ✱_pre(n)sĭssem_ ＞ prezẹs; _habuĭssem_
＞ aguẹs, _potuĭssem_ ＞ poguẹs, _voluĭssem_ ＞ volguẹs, _sapuĭssem_ ＞
saubẹs saupẹs (§ 65, P, 3). The inflection is:--
fọs fossẹm aguẹs aguessẹm, acsẹm
fọsses fossẹtz -ẹs aguẹsses aguessẹtz -ẹs, acsẹtz -ẹs
fọs fọssen -on -o aguẹs aguẹssen -on -o
1. The syncopated forms in the 1st and 2d pers. pl. are common
to the _-uī_ class: _decsém_, _iacsém_, _pocsém_, _saupsém_.
2. In the 3d pers. pl. _-an_ sometimes takes the place of _-en_
or _-on_: _mezéssan_, _saubéssan_. This ending is doubtless
borrowed from the present subjunctive and the old conditional.
3. _Vezér_ has _vis_ beside _vezés_. From _faire_ we find in
the 3d pers. pl. _fésson_.
4. _Metre_ has _mezés_, due, no doubt, to the analogy of _mes_
and of _prezés_.
193. Some dialects have an ending -a, -as, -a, -ám, -átz, an, borrowed
from the present subjunctive and the old conditional, but added to
the stem of the imperfect subjunctive: chantęssa, vendęssa, floríssa;
fọssa.