Proto-Germanic formed the causative forms of most verbs by simply adding a suffix to the verb. This suffix, conveniently, began with an /i/, so it triggered umlaut in North and West Germanic languages. In addition, for English specifically, it caused palatalization of velar consonants. Here is a list of every pair that exists in English. Most of these words are obsolete, however, and many no longer have the same meaning they once had.
| Base Form | Causative | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| belive (intransitive; obsolete; "remain") |
beleave (transitive; obsolete; "leave") |
Both obsolete. |
| bind | bend | The causative relationship has been made opaque by semantic drift. |
| bite | bait | |
| burn | bren (transitive; obsolete; "burn") |
In contemporary English, burn is now ergative; the differing location of R was caused by metathesis in burn in the OE period; the placement in bren is original |
| bow | bay (transitive; obsolete; "bend") |
The common contemporary verb sense of bay is unrelated. |
| can | ken (transitive; obsolete; "know") |
In English, know supplanted ken; but in Scots, ken supplanted know. In OE, it meant make known; acknowledge. |
| cling | clench | The original transitivity distinction is still preserved in this pair, although the causativity distinction was lost. |
| ding | dinge | Only in the sense of hit. Both are now transitive. |
| dreep (intransitive; obsolete; "drip") |
drip | The causative form is now ergative in contemporary English. |
| drink | drench | The causative relationship has been made opaque by semantic drift. |
| drive | dreave (transitive; obsolete; "drive") |
The causative changed meaning to become identical with the base form, rendering it useless. |
| fall | fell | One of the few pairs to completely preserve the causative distinction. |
| fare | fure (transitive; obsolete; "lead") |
The causative form was reborrowed from Old Norse and supplanted the Old English version, resulting in apparently irregular umlaut. |
| greet (intransitive; obsolete; "weep") |
greet | The two forms were conflated during the OE period and the meanings merged. Originally, the causative form meant scold; address. |
| leak | leach | One of the few pairs to completely preserve the causative distinction. |
| lie | lay | One of the few pairs to completely preserve the causative distinction, although colloquially the causative is beginning to supplant the base form. |
| lithe (intransitive; obsolete; "go") |
lead | Semantic drift has changed the meaning of lead; originally it was the same as drive. |
| queal (intransitive; obsolete; "faint") |
quell | The base form originally meant die, and the causative kill. However, the causative is now typically only used figuratively. |
| rise | raise | One of the few pairs to completely preserve the causative distinction. |
| shine | sheen (intransitive; obsolete; "shine") |
The base form is now ergative, and the causative intransitive. |
| sit | set | One of the few pairs to completely preserve the causative distinction. |
| spring | springe (transitive; obsolete; "set off, activate") |
The base form is now ergative, supplanting the causative. The obsolete causative was only applied to traps. |
| sweve (transitive; obsolete; "put to sleep") |
sweb (intransitive; obsolete; "faint") |
Both words are now obsolete. Bizarrely, they have swapped transitivity through semantic drift. |
| swing | swinge (transitive; archaic; "lash") |
The base form is now ergative. |
| swoop | sweep | The transitivity distinction has been maintained, but the causative distinction has not. |
| tee (transitive; obsolete; "pull") |
tie | Semantic drift and obsolescence has made this derivation completely opaque. |
| wake | watch | The base form was originally intransitive; formally, it is ergative, but colloquially it is now transitive. |
| wall (intransitive; obsolete; "well") |
well | The causative form has replaced the base form. |
| weave | web | The causativity distinction has been completely lost. Both verbs are still in widespread use, but have evolved new meanings. |
| weigh | wedge | |
| wind | wend (transitive; obsolete; "turn; change") |
The base form is now ergative. |
| wring | wrench | The causativity distinction has been completely lost. Both verbs are still in widespread use, but have evolved new meanings. |
Note that in many cases, one in the pair became ergative (usually the base form), and the other obsolete (usually the causative). Additionally, some causatives, like teach and twinge, lost their base forms before entering English. These examples are not listed.