English is a member of the Indo-European language family, belonging to the West Germanic branch of Germanic languages.^[13] Owing to their descent from a shared ancestor, Proto-Germanic, English and other Germanic languages – which include Dutch, German, and Swedish^[14] – share characteristic features, including a division of verbs into strong and weak classes, the use of modal verbs, and sound changes affecting Proto-Indo-European consonants known as Grimm’s and Verner’s laws.^[15]