1.But in theVoyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan, in which the style is apparently more that of oral than of written discourse, the Normal is more frequent than the Transposed order in dependent clauses. In his other writings Alfred manifests a partiality for the Transposed order in dependent clauses, except in the case of substantival clauses introduced byþæt. Such clauses show a marked tendency to revert to their Normaloratio rectaorder. The norm thus set by the indirect affirmative clause seems to have proved an important factor in the ultimate disappearance of Transposition from dependent clauses. The influence of Norman French helped only to consummate forces that were already busily at work.2.The positions of the genitive are various. It frequently follows its noun:þā bearn þāra Aðeniensa,The children of the Athenians. It may separate an adjective and a noun:Ān lȳtel sǣs earm,A little arm of(the)sea. The genitive may here be construed as an adjective, or part of a compound =A little sea-arm;Mid mǫnegum Godes gifum,With many God-gifts=many divine gifts.----CHAPTER V.Practical Suggestions.22.In the study of Old English, the student must remember that he is dealing not with a foreign or isolated language but with the earlier forms of his own mother tongue. The study will prove profitable and stimulating in proportion as close and constant comparison is made of the old with the new. The guiding principles in such a comparison are reducible chiefly to two. These are (1) the regular operation of phonetic laws, resulting especially in certain Vowel Shiftings, and (2) the alterations in form and syntax that are produced by Analogy.(1) “The former of these is of physiological ornaturalorigin, and is perfectly and inflexibly regular throughout the same period of the same language; and even though different languages show different phonetic habits and predilections, there is a strong general resemblance between the changes induced in one language and in another; many of the particular laws are true for many languages.(2) “The other principle is psychical, or mental, orartificial, introducing various more or less capricious changes that are supposed to be emendations; and its operation is, to some extent, uncertain and fitful.”1(1) Vowel-Shiftings.23.It will prove an aid to the student in acquiring the inflections and vocabulary of Old English to note carefully the following shiftings that have taken place in the gradual growth of the Old English vowel system into that of Modern English.(1) As stated in§3, the Old English inflectional vowels, which were all short and unaccented, weakened in early Middle English toe. Thisein Modern English is frequently dropped:Old English.Middle English.Modern English.stān-asston-esstonessun-usun-esonsun-asun-esonsox-anox-enoxenswift-raswift-erswifterswift-ostswift-estswiftestlōc-odelok-edelooked(2) The Old English long vowels have shifted their phonetic values with such uniform regularity that it is possible in almost every case to infer the Modern English sound; but our spelling is so chaotic that while the student may infer the modern sound, he cannot always infer the modern symbol representing the sound.Old English.Modern English.āo(as inno)2{nā=no;stān=stone;bān=bone;rād=road;āc=oak;hāl=whole;hām=home;sāwan=to sow;gāst=ghost.ēe(as inhe){hē=he;wē=we;ðē=thee;mē=me;gē=ye;hēl=heel;wērig=weary;gelēfan=to believe;gēs=geese.ī(ȳ)i(y) (as inmine){mīn=mine;ðīn=thine;wīr=wire;mȳs=mice;rīm=rime(wrongly speltrhyme);lȳs=lice;bī=by;scīnan=to shine;stig-rāp=sty-rope(shortened tostirrup,stīganmeaningto mount).ōo(as indo){dō=I do;tō=too,to;gōs=goose;tōð=tooth;mōna=moon;ðōm=doom;mōd=mood;wōgian=to woo;slōh=I slew.ūou(ow) (as inthou){ðū=thou;fūl=foul;hūs=house;nū=now;hū=how;tūn=town;ūre= our;ūt=out;hlūd=loud;ðūsend=thousand.ǣ,ēa,ēoea(as insea){ǣ:sǣ=sea;mǣl=meal;dǣlan=to deal;clǣne=clean;grǣdig=greedy.ēa:ēare=ear;ēast=east;drēam=dream;gēar=year;bēatan=to beat.ēo:ðrēo=three;drēorig=dreary;sēo=she,hrēod=reed;dēop=deep.(2) Analogy.24.But more important than vowel shifting is the great law of Analogy, for Analogy shapes not only words but constructions. It belongs, therefore, toEtymology and to Syntax, since it influences both form and function. By this law, minorities tend to pass over to the side of the majorities. “The greater mass of cases exerts an assimilative influence upon the smaller.”3The effect of Analogy is to simplify and to regularize. “The main factor in getting rid of irregularities is group-influence, or Analogy—the influence exercised by the members of an association-group on one another.... Irregularity consists in partial isolation from an association-group through some formal difference.”4Under the influence of Analogy, entire declensions and conjugations have been swept away, leaving in Modern English not a trace of their former existence. There are in Old English, for example, five plural endings for nouns,-as,-a,-e,-u, and-an. No one could well have predicted5that-as(Middle English-es) would soon take the lead, and become the norm to which the other endings would eventually conform, for there were morean-plurals thanas-plurals; but theas-plurals were doubtless more often employed in everyday speech.Oxen(Old Englishoxan) is the sole pure survival of the hundreds of Old Englishan-plurals.No group of feminine nouns in Old English had-esas the genitive singular ending; but by the close of the Middle English period all feminines formed their genitive singular in-es(or-s, Modern English’s) after the analogy of the Old English masculine and neuter nouns withes-genitives. The weak preterits in-odehave all been leveled under theed-forms, and of the three hundred strong verbs in Old English more than two hundred have become weak.These are not cases of derivation (as are the shifted vowels): Modern English-sinsons, for example, could not possibly be derived from Old English-ainsuna, or Middle English-einsune(§23, (1)). They are cases of replacement by Analogy.A few minor examples will quicken the student’s appreciation of the nature of the influence exercised by Analogy:(a) The intrusivelincould(Chaucer always wrotecoudorcoude) is due to association withwouldandshould, in each of whichlbelongs by etymological right.(b)He need not(forHe needs not) is due to the assimilative influence of the auxiliariesmay,can, etc., which have never added-sfor their third person singular (§137).(c)I am friends with him, in whichfriendsis a crystalized form foron good terms, may be traced to the influence of such expressions asHe and I are friends,They are friends, etc.(d) Such errors as are seen inrunned,seed,gooses,badder,hisself,says I(usually coupled withsays he)are all analogical formations. Though not sanctioned by good usage, it is hardly right to call these forms the products of “false analogy.” The grammar involved is false, because unsupported by literary usages and traditions; but the analogy on which these forms are built is no more false than the law of gravitation is false when it makes a dress sit unconventionally.1.Skeat,Principles of English Etymology, Second Series, § 342. But Jespersen, with Collitz and others, stoutly contests “the theory of sound laws and analogy sufficing between them to explain everything in linguistic development.”2.But Old Englishāpreceded bywsometimes gives Modern Englishoas intwo:twā=two;hwā=who;hwām=whom.3.Whitney,Life and Growth of Language, Chap. IV.4.Sweet,A New English Grammar, Part I., § 535.5.As Skeat says (§ 22, (2)), Analogy is “fitful.” It enables us to explain many linguistic phenomena, but not to anticipate them. The multiplication of books tends to check its influence by perpetuating the forms already in use. Thus Chaucer employed nineen-plurals, and his influence served for a time to check the further encroachment of thees-plurals. As soon as there is an acknowledged standard in any language, the operation of Analogy is fettered.PART II.----ETYMOLOGY AND SYNTAX.----The Strong or Vowel Declensions of Nouns.Thea-Declension.----CHAPTER VI.(a) Masculinea-Stems.[O.E., M.E., and Mn.E. will henceforth be used for Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. Other abbreviations employed are self-explaining.]25.Thea-Declension, corresponding to the Second oro-Declension of Latin and Greek, contains only (a) masculine and (b) neuter nouns. To this declension belong most of the O.E. masculine and neuter nouns of the Strong Declension. At a very early period, many of the nouns belonging properly to thei-andu-Declensions began to pass over to thea-Declension. This declension may therefore be considered thenormal declensionfor all masculine and neuter nouns belonging to the Strong Declension.26.Paradigms ofsē mūð,mouth;sē fiscere,fisherman;sē hwæl,whale;sē mearh,horse;sē finger,finger:Sing. N.A.mūðfiscer-ehwælmearhfingerG.mūð-esfiscer-eshwæl-esmēar-esfingr-esD.I.mūð-efiscer-ehwæl-emēar-efingr-ePlur N.A.mūð-asfiscer-ashwal-asmēar-asfingr-asG.mūð-afiscer-ahwal-amēar-afingr-aD.I.mūð-umfiscer-umhwal-ummēar-umfingr-umNote.—For meanings of the cases, see§12. The dative and instrumental are alike in all nouns.27.The student will observe (1) that nouns whose nominative ends in-e(fiscere) drop this letter before adding the case endings; (2) thatæbefore a consonant (hwæl) changes toain the plural;1(3) thath, preceded byr(mearh) orl(seolh,seal), is dropped before an inflectional vowel, the stem diphthong being then lengthened by way of compensation; (4) that dissyllables (finger) having the first syllable long, usually syncopate the vowel of the second syllable before adding the case endings.228.Paradigm of the Definite Article3sē,sēo,ðæt=the:Masculine.Feminine.Neuter.Sing. N.sē (se)sēoðætG.ðæsðǣreðæsD.ðǣm (ðām)ðǣreðǣm (ðām)A.ðoneðāðætI.ðȳ, ðon——ðȳ, ðonAll Genders.Plur. N.A.ðāG.ðāraD.ðǣm (ðām)29.Vocabulary.4sē bōcere,scribe[bōc].sē cyning,king.sē dæg,day.sē ęnde,end.sē ęngel,angel[angelus].sē frēodōm,freedom.sē fugol(G. sometimesfugles),bird[fowl].sē gār,spear[gore, gar-fish].sē heofon,heaven.sē hierde,herdsman[shep-herd].ǫnd(and),and.sē sęcg,man,warrior.sē seolh,seal.sē stān,stone.sē wealh,foreigner,Welshman[wal-nut].sē weall,wall.sē wīsdōm,wisdom.sē wulf,wolf.30.Exercises.I. 1. Ðāra wulfa mūðas. 2. Ðæs fisceres fingras. 3. Ðāra Wēala cyninge. 4. Ðǣm ęnglum ǫnd ðǣm hierdum. 5. Ðāradaga ęnde. 6. Ðǣm bōcerum ǫnd ðǣm sęcgum ðæs cyninges. 7. Ðǣm sēole ǫnd ðǣm fuglum. 8. Ðā stānas ǫnd ðā gāras. 9. Hwala ǫnd mēara. 10. Ðāra ęngla wīsdōm. 11. Ðæs cyninges bōceres frēodōm. 12. Ðāra hierda fuglum. 13. Ðȳ stāne. 14. Ðǣm wealle.II. 1. For the horses and the seals. 2. For the Welshmen’s freedom. 3. Of the king’s birds. 4. By the wisdom of men and angels. 5. With the spear and the stone. 6. The herdsman’s seal and the warriors’ spears. 7. To the king of heaven. 8. By means of the scribe’s wisdom. 9. The whale’s mouth and the foreigner’s spear. 10. For the bird belonging to (= of) the king’s scribe. 11. Of that finger.1.Adjectives usually retainæin closed syllables, changing it toain open syllables:hwæt(active),glæd(glad),wær(wary) have G.hwates,glades,wares; D.hwatum,gladum,warum; but A.hwætne,glædne,wærne. Nouns, however, change toaonly in open syllables followed by a guttural vowel,aoru. Theæin the open syllables of the singular is doubtless due to the analogy of the N.A. singular, both being closed syllables.2.Cf.Mn.E.drizz’ling,rememb’ring,abysmal(abysm=abizum),sick’ning, in which the principle of syncopation is precisely the same.3.This may mean four things: (1)The, (2)That(demonstrative), (3)He,she,it, (4)Who,which,that(relative pronoun). Mn.E. demonstrativethatis, of course, the survival of O.E. neuterðætin its demonstrative sense. Professor Victor Henry (Comparative Grammar of English and German, § 160, 3) sees a survival of dative plural demonstrativeðǣmin such an expression asin them days. It seems more probable, however, thatthemso used has followed the lead ofthisandthese,thatandthose, in their double function of pronoun and adjective. There was doubtless some such evolution as,I saw them. Them what? Them boys.An unquestioned survival of the dative singular feminine of the article is seen in the-terofAtterbury(=æt ðǣre byrig,at the town); andðǣmsurvives in the-tenofAttenborough, the wordboroughhaving become an uninflected neuter. Skeat,Principles, First Series, § 185.4.The brackets contain etymological hints that may help the student to discern relationships otherwise overlooked. The genitive is given only when not perfectly regular.----CHAPTER VII.(b) Neutera-Stems.31.The neuter nouns of thea-Declension differ from the masculines only in the N.A. plural.32.Paradigms ofðæt hof,court,dwelling;ðaet bearn,child;ðæt bān,bone;ðæt rīce,kingdom;ðæt spere,spear;ðæt werod,band of men;ðæt tungol,star:Sing. N.A.hofbearnbānrīc-esper-ewerodtungolG.hof-esbearn-esbān-esrīc-essper-eswerod-estungl-esD.I.hof-ebearn-ebān-erīc-esper-ewerod-etungl-ePlur N.A.hof-ubearnbānrīc-usper-uwerodtungl-uG.hof-abearn-abān-arīc-asper-awerod-atungl-aD.I.hof-umbearn-umbān-umrīc-umsper-umwerod-umtungl-um33.The paradigms show (1) that monosyllables with short stems (hof) take-uin the N.A. plural; (2) thatmonosyllables with long stems (bearn,bān) do not distinguish the N.A. plural from the N.A. singular;1(3) that dissyllables in-e, whether the stem be long or short (rīce,spere), have-uin the N.A. plural; (4) that dissyllables ending in a consonant and having the first syllable short2(werod) do not usually distinguish the N.A. plural from the N.A. singular; (5) that dissyllables ending in a consonant and having the first syllable long (tungol) more frequently take-uin the N.A. plural.Note.—Syncopation occurs as in the masculinea-stems. See§27, (4).34.Present and Preterit Indicative ofhabban,to have:Present.Sing.1.Ic hæbbe,I have, orshall have.32.ðū hæfst(hafast),thou hast, orwilt have.3.hē,hēo,hit hæfð(hafað),he,she,it has, orwill have.Plur.1.wē habbað,we have, orshall have.2.gē habbað,ye have, orwill have.3.hīe habbað,they have, orwill have.Preterit.Sing.1.Ic hæfdeI had.2.ðū hæfdest,thou hadst.3.hē,hēo,hit hæfde,he,she,it had.Plur.1.wē hæfdon,we had.2.gē hæfdon,ye had.3.hīe hæfdon,they had.Note.—The negativene,not, which always precedes its verb, contracts with all the forms ofhabban. The negative loses itse,habbanitsh.Ne+habban=nabban;Ic ne hæbbe = Ic næbbe;Ic ne hæfde = Ic næfde, etc. The negative forms may be got, therefore, by simply substituting in each casenforh.35.Vocabulary.ðæt dæl,dale.ðæt dēor,animal[deer4].ðæt dor,door.ðæt fæt,vessel[vat].ðæt fȳr,fire.ðæt gēar,year.ðæt geoc,yoke.ðæt geset,habitation[settlement].ðæt hēafod,head.ðæt hūs,house.ðæt līc,body[lich-gate].ðæt lim,limb.on(with dat.)in.ðæt spor,track.ðæt wǣpen,weapon.ðæt wīf,wife,woman.ðæt wīte,punishment.ðæt word,word.36.Exercises.I. 1. Hē hafað ðæs cyninges bearn. 2. Ðā Wēalas habbað ðā speru. 3. Ðā wīf habbað ðāra sęcga wǣpnu. 4. Ðū hæfst ðone fugol ǫnd ðæt hūs ðæs hierdes. 5. Hæfð5hēo ðā fatu6? 6. Hæfde hē ðæs wīfes līc on ðǣm hofe? 7. Hē næfde ðæs wīfes līc; hē hæfde ðæs dēores hēafod. 8. Hæfð sē cyning gesetu on ðǣm dæle? 9. Sē bōcere hæfð ðā sēolas on ðǣm hūse. 10. Gē habbað frēodōm.II. 1. They have yokes and spears. 2. We have not the vessels in the house. 3. He had fire in the vessel. 4. Did the woman have (= Had the woman) the children? 5. The animal has the body of the woman’s child. 6. I shall havethe heads of the wolves. 7. He and she have the king’s houses. 8. Have not (=Nabbað) the children the warrior’s weapons?1.Note the many nouns in Mn.E. that are unchanged in the plural. These are either survivals of O.E. long stems,swine,sheep,deer,folk, or analogical forms,fish,trout,mackerel,salmon, etc.2.Dissyllables whose first syllable is a prefix are, of course, excluded. They follow the declension of their last member:gebed,prayer,gebedu,prayers;gefeoht,battle,gefeoht,battles.3.See§17, Note 1. Note that (as inhwæl,§27, (2))æchanges toawhen the following syllable containsa:hæbbe, buthafast.4.The old meaning survives in Shakespeare’s “Rats and mice and such small deer,”King Lear, III,iv, 144.5.See§20, (2), (b).6.See§27, (2).----CHAPTER VIII.Theō-Declension.37.Theō-Declension, corresponding to the First orā-Declension of Latin and Greek, contains only feminine nouns. Many femininei-stems andu-stems soon passed over to this Declension. Theō-Declension may, therefore, be considered thenormal declensionfor all strong feminine nouns.38.Paradigms ofsēo giefu,gift;sēo wund,wound;sēo rōd,cross;sēo leornung,learning;sēo sāwol,soul:Sing. N.gief-uwundrōdleornungsāwolG.gief-ewund-erōd-eleornung-a (e)sāwl-eD.I.gief-ewund-erōd-eleornung-a (e)sāwl-eA.gief-ewund-erōd-eleornung-a (e)sāwl-ePlur. N.A.gief-awund-arōd-aleornung-asāwl-aG.gief-awund-arōd-aleornung-asāwl-aD.I.gief-umwund-umrōd-umleornung-umsāwl-um39.Note (1) that monosyllables with short stems (giefu) takeuin the nominative singular; (2) that monosyllables with long stems (wund,rōd) present the unchanged stem in the nominative singular; (3) that dissyllables are declined as monosyllables, except that abstract nouns in-ungpreferatoein the singular.Note.—Syncopation occurs as in masculine and neutera-stems.See§27, (4).40.Present and Preterit Indicative ofbēon(wesan)to be:Present(first form).Present(second form).Preterit.Sing.1.Ic eom1. Ic bēom1. Ic wæs2.ðū eart2. ðū bist2. ðū wǣre3.hē is3. hē bið3. hē wæsPlur.1.wē}1. wē}1. wē}2.gēsind(on), sint2. gēbēoð2. gēwǣron3.hīe3. hīe3. hīeNote 1.—The formsbēom,bist, etc. are used chiefly as future tenses in O.E. They survive to-day only in dialects and in poetry. Farmer Dobson, for example, in Tennyson’sPromise of May, usesbefor all persons of the present indicative, both singular and plural; andthere beis frequent in Shakespeare forthere are. The Northern dialect employedaronas well assindonandsindfor the present plural; hence Mn.E.are.Note 2.—Fusion withnegivesneom,neart,nisfor the present;næs,nǣre,nǣronfor the preterit.Note 3.—The verbto beis followed by the nominative case, as in Mn.E.; but when the predicate noun is plural, and the subject a neuter pronoun in the singular, the verb agrees in number with the predicate noun. The neuter singularðætis frequently employed in this construction:Ðaet wǣron eall Finnas,They were all Fins;Ðæt sind ęnglas,They are angels;Ðǣt wǣron ęngla gāstas,They were angels’ spirits.Notice, too, that O.E. writers do not sayIt is I,It is thou, butI it am,Thou it art:Ic hit eom,ðū hit eart. See§21, (1), Note 1.41.Vocabulary.sēo brycg,bridge.sēo costnung,temptation.sēo cwalu,death[quail, quell].sēo fōr,journey[faran].sēo frōfor,consolation,comfort.sēo geoguð,youth.sēo glōf,glove.sēo hālignes1,holiness.sēo heall,hall.hēr,here.hwā,who?hwǣr,where?sēo lufu,love.sēo mearc,boundary[mark, marches2].sēo mēd,meed,reward.sēo mildheortnes,mild-heartedness,mercy.sēo stōw,place[stow away].ðǣr,there.sēo ðearf,need.sēo wylf,she wolf.42.Exercises.I. 1. Hwǣr is ðǣre brycge ęnde? 2. Hēr sind ðāra rīca mearca. 3. Hwā hæfð þā glōfa? 4. Ðǣr bið ðǣm cyninge frōfre ðearf. 5. Sēo wund is on ðǣre wylfe hēafde. 6. Wē habbað costnunga. 7. Hīe nǣron on ðǣre healle. 8. Ic hit neom. 9. Ðæt wǣron Wēalas. 10. Ðæt sind ðæs wīfes bearn.II. 1. We shall have the women’s gloves. 2. Where is the place? 3. He will be in the hall. 4. Those (Ðæt) were not the boundaries of the kingdom. 5. It was not I. 6. Ye are not the king’s scribes. 7. The shepherd’s words are full (full+ gen.) of wisdom and comfort. 8. Where are the bodies of the children? 9. The gifts are not here. 10. Who has the seals and the birds?1.All words ending in-nesdouble the-sbefore adding the case endings.2.As inwarden of the marches.----CHAPTER IX.Thei-Declension and theu-Declension.Thei-Declension. (See§ 58.)43.Thei-Declension, corresponding to the group ofi-stems in the classical Third Declension, contains chiefly (a) masculine and (b) feminine nouns. The N.A. plural of these nouns ended originally in-e(from olderi).(a) Masculinei-Stems.44.These stems have almost completely gone over to thea-Declension, so that-asis more common than-eas the N.A. plural ending, whether the stem is long or short. The short stems all have-ein the N.A. singular.45.Paradigms ofsē wyrm,worm;sē wine,friend.Sing. N.A.wyrmwin-eG.wyrm-eswin-esD.I.wyrm-ewin-ePlur N.A.wyrm-aswin-as (e)G.wyrm-awin-aD.I.wyrm-umwin-umNames of Peoples.46.The onlyi-stems that regularly retain-eof the N.A. plural are certain names of tribes or peoples used only in the plural.47.Paradigms ofðā Ęngle,Angles;ðā Norðymbre,Northumbrians;ðā lēode,people:Plur. N.A.ĘngleNorðymbrelēodeG.ĘnglaNorðymbralēodaD.I.ĘnglumNorðymbrumlēodum(b) Femininei-Stems.48.The short stems (fręm-u) conform entirely to the declension of shortō-stems; long stems (cwēn,wyrt) differ from longō-stems in having no ending for the A. singular. They show, also, a preference for-erather than-ain the N.A. plural.49.Paradigms ofsēo fręm-u,benefit;sēo cwēn,woman,queen[quean];sēo wyrt,root[wort]:Sing. N.fręm-ucwēnwyrtG.fręm-ecwēn-ewyrt-eD.I.fręm-ecwēn-ewyrt-eA.fręm-ecwēnwyrtPlur N.A.fręm-acwēn-e (a)wyrt-e (a)G.fręm-acwēn-awyrt-aD.I.fręm-umcwēn-umwyrt-umTheu-Declension.50.Theu-Declension, corresponding to the group ofu-stems in the classical Third Declension, contains no neuters, and but few (a) masculines and (b) feminines. The short-stemmed nouns of both genders (sun-u,dur-u) retain the finaluof the N.A. singular, while the long stems (feld,hǫnd) drop it. The influence of the masculinea-stems is most clearly seen in the long-stemmed masculines of theu-Declension (feld,feld-es, etc.).Note.—Note the general aversion of all O.E. long stems to final-u:cf.N.A. pluralhof-u, butbearn,bān; N. singulargief-u, butwund,rōd; N. singularfręm-u, butcwēn,wyrt; N.A. singularsun-u,dur-u, butfeld,hǫnd.(a) Masculineu-Stems.51.Paradigms ofsē sun-u,son;sē feld,field:Sing. N.A.sun-ufeldG.sun-afeld-a (es)D.I.sun-afeld-a (e)Plur N.A.sun-afeld-a (as)G.sun-afeld-aD.I.sun-umfeld-um(b) Feminineu-Stems.52.Paradigms ofsēo dur-u,door;sēo hǫnd,hand:Sing. N.A.dur-uhǫndG.dur-ahǫnd-aD.I.dur-ahǫnd-aPlur N.A.dur-ahǫnd-aG.dur-ahǫnd-aD.I.dur-umhǫnd-um53.Paradigm of the Third Personal Pronoun,hē,hēo,hit=he,she,it:Masculine.Feminine.Neuter.Sing. N.hēhēohitG.hishierehisD.himhierehimA.hine, hienehīehitAll Genders.Plur. N.A.hīeG.hieraD.him54.Vocabulary.
1.But in theVoyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan, in which the style is apparently more that of oral than of written discourse, the Normal is more frequent than the Transposed order in dependent clauses. In his other writings Alfred manifests a partiality for the Transposed order in dependent clauses, except in the case of substantival clauses introduced byþæt. Such clauses show a marked tendency to revert to their Normaloratio rectaorder. The norm thus set by the indirect affirmative clause seems to have proved an important factor in the ultimate disappearance of Transposition from dependent clauses. The influence of Norman French helped only to consummate forces that were already busily at work.2.The positions of the genitive are various. It frequently follows its noun:þā bearn þāra Aðeniensa,The children of the Athenians. It may separate an adjective and a noun:Ān lȳtel sǣs earm,A little arm of(the)sea. The genitive may here be construed as an adjective, or part of a compound =A little sea-arm;Mid mǫnegum Godes gifum,With many God-gifts=many divine gifts.----CHAPTER V.Practical Suggestions.22.In the study of Old English, the student must remember that he is dealing not with a foreign or isolated language but with the earlier forms of his own mother tongue. The study will prove profitable and stimulating in proportion as close and constant comparison is made of the old with the new. The guiding principles in such a comparison are reducible chiefly to two. These are (1) the regular operation of phonetic laws, resulting especially in certain Vowel Shiftings, and (2) the alterations in form and syntax that are produced by Analogy.(1) “The former of these is of physiological ornaturalorigin, and is perfectly and inflexibly regular throughout the same period of the same language; and even though different languages show different phonetic habits and predilections, there is a strong general resemblance between the changes induced in one language and in another; many of the particular laws are true for many languages.(2) “The other principle is psychical, or mental, orartificial, introducing various more or less capricious changes that are supposed to be emendations; and its operation is, to some extent, uncertain and fitful.”1(1) Vowel-Shiftings.23.It will prove an aid to the student in acquiring the inflections and vocabulary of Old English to note carefully the following shiftings that have taken place in the gradual growth of the Old English vowel system into that of Modern English.(1) As stated in§3, the Old English inflectional vowels, which were all short and unaccented, weakened in early Middle English toe. Thisein Modern English is frequently dropped:Old English.Middle English.Modern English.stān-asston-esstonessun-usun-esonsun-asun-esonsox-anox-enoxenswift-raswift-erswifterswift-ostswift-estswiftestlōc-odelok-edelooked(2) The Old English long vowels have shifted their phonetic values with such uniform regularity that it is possible in almost every case to infer the Modern English sound; but our spelling is so chaotic that while the student may infer the modern sound, he cannot always infer the modern symbol representing the sound.Old English.Modern English.āo(as inno)2{nā=no;stān=stone;bān=bone;rād=road;āc=oak;hāl=whole;hām=home;sāwan=to sow;gāst=ghost.ēe(as inhe){hē=he;wē=we;ðē=thee;mē=me;gē=ye;hēl=heel;wērig=weary;gelēfan=to believe;gēs=geese.ī(ȳ)i(y) (as inmine){mīn=mine;ðīn=thine;wīr=wire;mȳs=mice;rīm=rime(wrongly speltrhyme);lȳs=lice;bī=by;scīnan=to shine;stig-rāp=sty-rope(shortened tostirrup,stīganmeaningto mount).ōo(as indo){dō=I do;tō=too,to;gōs=goose;tōð=tooth;mōna=moon;ðōm=doom;mōd=mood;wōgian=to woo;slōh=I slew.ūou(ow) (as inthou){ðū=thou;fūl=foul;hūs=house;nū=now;hū=how;tūn=town;ūre= our;ūt=out;hlūd=loud;ðūsend=thousand.ǣ,ēa,ēoea(as insea){ǣ:sǣ=sea;mǣl=meal;dǣlan=to deal;clǣne=clean;grǣdig=greedy.ēa:ēare=ear;ēast=east;drēam=dream;gēar=year;bēatan=to beat.ēo:ðrēo=three;drēorig=dreary;sēo=she,hrēod=reed;dēop=deep.(2) Analogy.24.But more important than vowel shifting is the great law of Analogy, for Analogy shapes not only words but constructions. It belongs, therefore, toEtymology and to Syntax, since it influences both form and function. By this law, minorities tend to pass over to the side of the majorities. “The greater mass of cases exerts an assimilative influence upon the smaller.”3The effect of Analogy is to simplify and to regularize. “The main factor in getting rid of irregularities is group-influence, or Analogy—the influence exercised by the members of an association-group on one another.... Irregularity consists in partial isolation from an association-group through some formal difference.”4Under the influence of Analogy, entire declensions and conjugations have been swept away, leaving in Modern English not a trace of their former existence. There are in Old English, for example, five plural endings for nouns,-as,-a,-e,-u, and-an. No one could well have predicted5that-as(Middle English-es) would soon take the lead, and become the norm to which the other endings would eventually conform, for there were morean-plurals thanas-plurals; but theas-plurals were doubtless more often employed in everyday speech.Oxen(Old Englishoxan) is the sole pure survival of the hundreds of Old Englishan-plurals.No group of feminine nouns in Old English had-esas the genitive singular ending; but by the close of the Middle English period all feminines formed their genitive singular in-es(or-s, Modern English’s) after the analogy of the Old English masculine and neuter nouns withes-genitives. The weak preterits in-odehave all been leveled under theed-forms, and of the three hundred strong verbs in Old English more than two hundred have become weak.These are not cases of derivation (as are the shifted vowels): Modern English-sinsons, for example, could not possibly be derived from Old English-ainsuna, or Middle English-einsune(§23, (1)). They are cases of replacement by Analogy.A few minor examples will quicken the student’s appreciation of the nature of the influence exercised by Analogy:(a) The intrusivelincould(Chaucer always wrotecoudorcoude) is due to association withwouldandshould, in each of whichlbelongs by etymological right.(b)He need not(forHe needs not) is due to the assimilative influence of the auxiliariesmay,can, etc., which have never added-sfor their third person singular (§137).(c)I am friends with him, in whichfriendsis a crystalized form foron good terms, may be traced to the influence of such expressions asHe and I are friends,They are friends, etc.(d) Such errors as are seen inrunned,seed,gooses,badder,hisself,says I(usually coupled withsays he)are all analogical formations. Though not sanctioned by good usage, it is hardly right to call these forms the products of “false analogy.” The grammar involved is false, because unsupported by literary usages and traditions; but the analogy on which these forms are built is no more false than the law of gravitation is false when it makes a dress sit unconventionally.1.Skeat,Principles of English Etymology, Second Series, § 342. But Jespersen, with Collitz and others, stoutly contests “the theory of sound laws and analogy sufficing between them to explain everything in linguistic development.”2.But Old Englishāpreceded bywsometimes gives Modern Englishoas intwo:twā=two;hwā=who;hwām=whom.3.Whitney,Life and Growth of Language, Chap. IV.4.Sweet,A New English Grammar, Part I., § 535.5.As Skeat says (§ 22, (2)), Analogy is “fitful.” It enables us to explain many linguistic phenomena, but not to anticipate them. The multiplication of books tends to check its influence by perpetuating the forms already in use. Thus Chaucer employed nineen-plurals, and his influence served for a time to check the further encroachment of thees-plurals. As soon as there is an acknowledged standard in any language, the operation of Analogy is fettered.PART II.----ETYMOLOGY AND SYNTAX.----The Strong or Vowel Declensions of Nouns.Thea-Declension.----CHAPTER VI.(a) Masculinea-Stems.[O.E., M.E., and Mn.E. will henceforth be used for Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. Other abbreviations employed are self-explaining.]25.Thea-Declension, corresponding to the Second oro-Declension of Latin and Greek, contains only (a) masculine and (b) neuter nouns. To this declension belong most of the O.E. masculine and neuter nouns of the Strong Declension. At a very early period, many of the nouns belonging properly to thei-andu-Declensions began to pass over to thea-Declension. This declension may therefore be considered thenormal declensionfor all masculine and neuter nouns belonging to the Strong Declension.26.Paradigms ofsē mūð,mouth;sē fiscere,fisherman;sē hwæl,whale;sē mearh,horse;sē finger,finger:Sing. N.A.mūðfiscer-ehwælmearhfingerG.mūð-esfiscer-eshwæl-esmēar-esfingr-esD.I.mūð-efiscer-ehwæl-emēar-efingr-ePlur N.A.mūð-asfiscer-ashwal-asmēar-asfingr-asG.mūð-afiscer-ahwal-amēar-afingr-aD.I.mūð-umfiscer-umhwal-ummēar-umfingr-umNote.—For meanings of the cases, see§12. The dative and instrumental are alike in all nouns.27.The student will observe (1) that nouns whose nominative ends in-e(fiscere) drop this letter before adding the case endings; (2) thatæbefore a consonant (hwæl) changes toain the plural;1(3) thath, preceded byr(mearh) orl(seolh,seal), is dropped before an inflectional vowel, the stem diphthong being then lengthened by way of compensation; (4) that dissyllables (finger) having the first syllable long, usually syncopate the vowel of the second syllable before adding the case endings.228.Paradigm of the Definite Article3sē,sēo,ðæt=the:Masculine.Feminine.Neuter.Sing. N.sē (se)sēoðætG.ðæsðǣreðæsD.ðǣm (ðām)ðǣreðǣm (ðām)A.ðoneðāðætI.ðȳ, ðon——ðȳ, ðonAll Genders.Plur. N.A.ðāG.ðāraD.ðǣm (ðām)29.Vocabulary.4sē bōcere,scribe[bōc].sē cyning,king.sē dæg,day.sē ęnde,end.sē ęngel,angel[angelus].sē frēodōm,freedom.sē fugol(G. sometimesfugles),bird[fowl].sē gār,spear[gore, gar-fish].sē heofon,heaven.sē hierde,herdsman[shep-herd].ǫnd(and),and.sē sęcg,man,warrior.sē seolh,seal.sē stān,stone.sē wealh,foreigner,Welshman[wal-nut].sē weall,wall.sē wīsdōm,wisdom.sē wulf,wolf.30.Exercises.I. 1. Ðāra wulfa mūðas. 2. Ðæs fisceres fingras. 3. Ðāra Wēala cyninge. 4. Ðǣm ęnglum ǫnd ðǣm hierdum. 5. Ðāradaga ęnde. 6. Ðǣm bōcerum ǫnd ðǣm sęcgum ðæs cyninges. 7. Ðǣm sēole ǫnd ðǣm fuglum. 8. Ðā stānas ǫnd ðā gāras. 9. Hwala ǫnd mēara. 10. Ðāra ęngla wīsdōm. 11. Ðæs cyninges bōceres frēodōm. 12. Ðāra hierda fuglum. 13. Ðȳ stāne. 14. Ðǣm wealle.II. 1. For the horses and the seals. 2. For the Welshmen’s freedom. 3. Of the king’s birds. 4. By the wisdom of men and angels. 5. With the spear and the stone. 6. The herdsman’s seal and the warriors’ spears. 7. To the king of heaven. 8. By means of the scribe’s wisdom. 9. The whale’s mouth and the foreigner’s spear. 10. For the bird belonging to (= of) the king’s scribe. 11. Of that finger.1.Adjectives usually retainæin closed syllables, changing it toain open syllables:hwæt(active),glæd(glad),wær(wary) have G.hwates,glades,wares; D.hwatum,gladum,warum; but A.hwætne,glædne,wærne. Nouns, however, change toaonly in open syllables followed by a guttural vowel,aoru. Theæin the open syllables of the singular is doubtless due to the analogy of the N.A. singular, both being closed syllables.2.Cf.Mn.E.drizz’ling,rememb’ring,abysmal(abysm=abizum),sick’ning, in which the principle of syncopation is precisely the same.3.This may mean four things: (1)The, (2)That(demonstrative), (3)He,she,it, (4)Who,which,that(relative pronoun). Mn.E. demonstrativethatis, of course, the survival of O.E. neuterðætin its demonstrative sense. Professor Victor Henry (Comparative Grammar of English and German, § 160, 3) sees a survival of dative plural demonstrativeðǣmin such an expression asin them days. It seems more probable, however, thatthemso used has followed the lead ofthisandthese,thatandthose, in their double function of pronoun and adjective. There was doubtless some such evolution as,I saw them. Them what? Them boys.An unquestioned survival of the dative singular feminine of the article is seen in the-terofAtterbury(=æt ðǣre byrig,at the town); andðǣmsurvives in the-tenofAttenborough, the wordboroughhaving become an uninflected neuter. Skeat,Principles, First Series, § 185.4.The brackets contain etymological hints that may help the student to discern relationships otherwise overlooked. The genitive is given only when not perfectly regular.----CHAPTER VII.(b) Neutera-Stems.31.The neuter nouns of thea-Declension differ from the masculines only in the N.A. plural.32.Paradigms ofðæt hof,court,dwelling;ðaet bearn,child;ðæt bān,bone;ðæt rīce,kingdom;ðæt spere,spear;ðæt werod,band of men;ðæt tungol,star:Sing. N.A.hofbearnbānrīc-esper-ewerodtungolG.hof-esbearn-esbān-esrīc-essper-eswerod-estungl-esD.I.hof-ebearn-ebān-erīc-esper-ewerod-etungl-ePlur N.A.hof-ubearnbānrīc-usper-uwerodtungl-uG.hof-abearn-abān-arīc-asper-awerod-atungl-aD.I.hof-umbearn-umbān-umrīc-umsper-umwerod-umtungl-um33.The paradigms show (1) that monosyllables with short stems (hof) take-uin the N.A. plural; (2) thatmonosyllables with long stems (bearn,bān) do not distinguish the N.A. plural from the N.A. singular;1(3) that dissyllables in-e, whether the stem be long or short (rīce,spere), have-uin the N.A. plural; (4) that dissyllables ending in a consonant and having the first syllable short2(werod) do not usually distinguish the N.A. plural from the N.A. singular; (5) that dissyllables ending in a consonant and having the first syllable long (tungol) more frequently take-uin the N.A. plural.Note.—Syncopation occurs as in the masculinea-stems. See§27, (4).34.Present and Preterit Indicative ofhabban,to have:Present.Sing.1.Ic hæbbe,I have, orshall have.32.ðū hæfst(hafast),thou hast, orwilt have.3.hē,hēo,hit hæfð(hafað),he,she,it has, orwill have.Plur.1.wē habbað,we have, orshall have.2.gē habbað,ye have, orwill have.3.hīe habbað,they have, orwill have.Preterit.Sing.1.Ic hæfdeI had.2.ðū hæfdest,thou hadst.3.hē,hēo,hit hæfde,he,she,it had.Plur.1.wē hæfdon,we had.2.gē hæfdon,ye had.3.hīe hæfdon,they had.Note.—The negativene,not, which always precedes its verb, contracts with all the forms ofhabban. The negative loses itse,habbanitsh.Ne+habban=nabban;Ic ne hæbbe = Ic næbbe;Ic ne hæfde = Ic næfde, etc. The negative forms may be got, therefore, by simply substituting in each casenforh.35.Vocabulary.ðæt dæl,dale.ðæt dēor,animal[deer4].ðæt dor,door.ðæt fæt,vessel[vat].ðæt fȳr,fire.ðæt gēar,year.ðæt geoc,yoke.ðæt geset,habitation[settlement].ðæt hēafod,head.ðæt hūs,house.ðæt līc,body[lich-gate].ðæt lim,limb.on(with dat.)in.ðæt spor,track.ðæt wǣpen,weapon.ðæt wīf,wife,woman.ðæt wīte,punishment.ðæt word,word.36.Exercises.I. 1. Hē hafað ðæs cyninges bearn. 2. Ðā Wēalas habbað ðā speru. 3. Ðā wīf habbað ðāra sęcga wǣpnu. 4. Ðū hæfst ðone fugol ǫnd ðæt hūs ðæs hierdes. 5. Hæfð5hēo ðā fatu6? 6. Hæfde hē ðæs wīfes līc on ðǣm hofe? 7. Hē næfde ðæs wīfes līc; hē hæfde ðæs dēores hēafod. 8. Hæfð sē cyning gesetu on ðǣm dæle? 9. Sē bōcere hæfð ðā sēolas on ðǣm hūse. 10. Gē habbað frēodōm.II. 1. They have yokes and spears. 2. We have not the vessels in the house. 3. He had fire in the vessel. 4. Did the woman have (= Had the woman) the children? 5. The animal has the body of the woman’s child. 6. I shall havethe heads of the wolves. 7. He and she have the king’s houses. 8. Have not (=Nabbað) the children the warrior’s weapons?1.Note the many nouns in Mn.E. that are unchanged in the plural. These are either survivals of O.E. long stems,swine,sheep,deer,folk, or analogical forms,fish,trout,mackerel,salmon, etc.2.Dissyllables whose first syllable is a prefix are, of course, excluded. They follow the declension of their last member:gebed,prayer,gebedu,prayers;gefeoht,battle,gefeoht,battles.3.See§17, Note 1. Note that (as inhwæl,§27, (2))æchanges toawhen the following syllable containsa:hæbbe, buthafast.4.The old meaning survives in Shakespeare’s “Rats and mice and such small deer,”King Lear, III,iv, 144.5.See§20, (2), (b).6.See§27, (2).----CHAPTER VIII.Theō-Declension.37.Theō-Declension, corresponding to the First orā-Declension of Latin and Greek, contains only feminine nouns. Many femininei-stems andu-stems soon passed over to this Declension. Theō-Declension may, therefore, be considered thenormal declensionfor all strong feminine nouns.38.Paradigms ofsēo giefu,gift;sēo wund,wound;sēo rōd,cross;sēo leornung,learning;sēo sāwol,soul:Sing. N.gief-uwundrōdleornungsāwolG.gief-ewund-erōd-eleornung-a (e)sāwl-eD.I.gief-ewund-erōd-eleornung-a (e)sāwl-eA.gief-ewund-erōd-eleornung-a (e)sāwl-ePlur. N.A.gief-awund-arōd-aleornung-asāwl-aG.gief-awund-arōd-aleornung-asāwl-aD.I.gief-umwund-umrōd-umleornung-umsāwl-um39.Note (1) that monosyllables with short stems (giefu) takeuin the nominative singular; (2) that monosyllables with long stems (wund,rōd) present the unchanged stem in the nominative singular; (3) that dissyllables are declined as monosyllables, except that abstract nouns in-ungpreferatoein the singular.Note.—Syncopation occurs as in masculine and neutera-stems.See§27, (4).40.Present and Preterit Indicative ofbēon(wesan)to be:Present(first form).Present(second form).Preterit.Sing.1.Ic eom1. Ic bēom1. Ic wæs2.ðū eart2. ðū bist2. ðū wǣre3.hē is3. hē bið3. hē wæsPlur.1.wē}1. wē}1. wē}2.gēsind(on), sint2. gēbēoð2. gēwǣron3.hīe3. hīe3. hīeNote 1.—The formsbēom,bist, etc. are used chiefly as future tenses in O.E. They survive to-day only in dialects and in poetry. Farmer Dobson, for example, in Tennyson’sPromise of May, usesbefor all persons of the present indicative, both singular and plural; andthere beis frequent in Shakespeare forthere are. The Northern dialect employedaronas well assindonandsindfor the present plural; hence Mn.E.are.Note 2.—Fusion withnegivesneom,neart,nisfor the present;næs,nǣre,nǣronfor the preterit.Note 3.—The verbto beis followed by the nominative case, as in Mn.E.; but when the predicate noun is plural, and the subject a neuter pronoun in the singular, the verb agrees in number with the predicate noun. The neuter singularðætis frequently employed in this construction:Ðaet wǣron eall Finnas,They were all Fins;Ðæt sind ęnglas,They are angels;Ðǣt wǣron ęngla gāstas,They were angels’ spirits.Notice, too, that O.E. writers do not sayIt is I,It is thou, butI it am,Thou it art:Ic hit eom,ðū hit eart. See§21, (1), Note 1.41.Vocabulary.sēo brycg,bridge.sēo costnung,temptation.sēo cwalu,death[quail, quell].sēo fōr,journey[faran].sēo frōfor,consolation,comfort.sēo geoguð,youth.sēo glōf,glove.sēo hālignes1,holiness.sēo heall,hall.hēr,here.hwā,who?hwǣr,where?sēo lufu,love.sēo mearc,boundary[mark, marches2].sēo mēd,meed,reward.sēo mildheortnes,mild-heartedness,mercy.sēo stōw,place[stow away].ðǣr,there.sēo ðearf,need.sēo wylf,she wolf.42.Exercises.I. 1. Hwǣr is ðǣre brycge ęnde? 2. Hēr sind ðāra rīca mearca. 3. Hwā hæfð þā glōfa? 4. Ðǣr bið ðǣm cyninge frōfre ðearf. 5. Sēo wund is on ðǣre wylfe hēafde. 6. Wē habbað costnunga. 7. Hīe nǣron on ðǣre healle. 8. Ic hit neom. 9. Ðæt wǣron Wēalas. 10. Ðæt sind ðæs wīfes bearn.II. 1. We shall have the women’s gloves. 2. Where is the place? 3. He will be in the hall. 4. Those (Ðæt) were not the boundaries of the kingdom. 5. It was not I. 6. Ye are not the king’s scribes. 7. The shepherd’s words are full (full+ gen.) of wisdom and comfort. 8. Where are the bodies of the children? 9. The gifts are not here. 10. Who has the seals and the birds?1.All words ending in-nesdouble the-sbefore adding the case endings.2.As inwarden of the marches.----CHAPTER IX.Thei-Declension and theu-Declension.Thei-Declension. (See§ 58.)43.Thei-Declension, corresponding to the group ofi-stems in the classical Third Declension, contains chiefly (a) masculine and (b) feminine nouns. The N.A. plural of these nouns ended originally in-e(from olderi).(a) Masculinei-Stems.44.These stems have almost completely gone over to thea-Declension, so that-asis more common than-eas the N.A. plural ending, whether the stem is long or short. The short stems all have-ein the N.A. singular.45.Paradigms ofsē wyrm,worm;sē wine,friend.Sing. N.A.wyrmwin-eG.wyrm-eswin-esD.I.wyrm-ewin-ePlur N.A.wyrm-aswin-as (e)G.wyrm-awin-aD.I.wyrm-umwin-umNames of Peoples.46.The onlyi-stems that regularly retain-eof the N.A. plural are certain names of tribes or peoples used only in the plural.47.Paradigms ofðā Ęngle,Angles;ðā Norðymbre,Northumbrians;ðā lēode,people:Plur. N.A.ĘngleNorðymbrelēodeG.ĘnglaNorðymbralēodaD.I.ĘnglumNorðymbrumlēodum(b) Femininei-Stems.48.The short stems (fręm-u) conform entirely to the declension of shortō-stems; long stems (cwēn,wyrt) differ from longō-stems in having no ending for the A. singular. They show, also, a preference for-erather than-ain the N.A. plural.49.Paradigms ofsēo fręm-u,benefit;sēo cwēn,woman,queen[quean];sēo wyrt,root[wort]:Sing. N.fręm-ucwēnwyrtG.fręm-ecwēn-ewyrt-eD.I.fręm-ecwēn-ewyrt-eA.fręm-ecwēnwyrtPlur N.A.fręm-acwēn-e (a)wyrt-e (a)G.fręm-acwēn-awyrt-aD.I.fręm-umcwēn-umwyrt-umTheu-Declension.50.Theu-Declension, corresponding to the group ofu-stems in the classical Third Declension, contains no neuters, and but few (a) masculines and (b) feminines. The short-stemmed nouns of both genders (sun-u,dur-u) retain the finaluof the N.A. singular, while the long stems (feld,hǫnd) drop it. The influence of the masculinea-stems is most clearly seen in the long-stemmed masculines of theu-Declension (feld,feld-es, etc.).Note.—Note the general aversion of all O.E. long stems to final-u:cf.N.A. pluralhof-u, butbearn,bān; N. singulargief-u, butwund,rōd; N. singularfręm-u, butcwēn,wyrt; N.A. singularsun-u,dur-u, butfeld,hǫnd.(a) Masculineu-Stems.51.Paradigms ofsē sun-u,son;sē feld,field:Sing. N.A.sun-ufeldG.sun-afeld-a (es)D.I.sun-afeld-a (e)Plur N.A.sun-afeld-a (as)G.sun-afeld-aD.I.sun-umfeld-um(b) Feminineu-Stems.52.Paradigms ofsēo dur-u,door;sēo hǫnd,hand:Sing. N.A.dur-uhǫndG.dur-ahǫnd-aD.I.dur-ahǫnd-aPlur N.A.dur-ahǫnd-aG.dur-ahǫnd-aD.I.dur-umhǫnd-um53.Paradigm of the Third Personal Pronoun,hē,hēo,hit=he,she,it:Masculine.Feminine.Neuter.Sing. N.hēhēohitG.hishierehisD.himhierehimA.hine, hienehīehitAll Genders.Plur. N.A.hīeG.hieraD.him54.Vocabulary.
1.But in theVoyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan, in which the style is apparently more that of oral than of written discourse, the Normal is more frequent than the Transposed order in dependent clauses. In his other writings Alfred manifests a partiality for the Transposed order in dependent clauses, except in the case of substantival clauses introduced byþæt. Such clauses show a marked tendency to revert to their Normaloratio rectaorder. The norm thus set by the indirect affirmative clause seems to have proved an important factor in the ultimate disappearance of Transposition from dependent clauses. The influence of Norman French helped only to consummate forces that were already busily at work.2.The positions of the genitive are various. It frequently follows its noun:þā bearn þāra Aðeniensa,The children of the Athenians. It may separate an adjective and a noun:Ān lȳtel sǣs earm,A little arm of(the)sea. The genitive may here be construed as an adjective, or part of a compound =A little sea-arm;Mid mǫnegum Godes gifum,With many God-gifts=many divine gifts.
1.But in theVoyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan, in which the style is apparently more that of oral than of written discourse, the Normal is more frequent than the Transposed order in dependent clauses. In his other writings Alfred manifests a partiality for the Transposed order in dependent clauses, except in the case of substantival clauses introduced byþæt. Such clauses show a marked tendency to revert to their Normaloratio rectaorder. The norm thus set by the indirect affirmative clause seems to have proved an important factor in the ultimate disappearance of Transposition from dependent clauses. The influence of Norman French helped only to consummate forces that were already busily at work.
2.The positions of the genitive are various. It frequently follows its noun:þā bearn þāra Aðeniensa,The children of the Athenians. It may separate an adjective and a noun:Ān lȳtel sǣs earm,A little arm of(the)sea. The genitive may here be construed as an adjective, or part of a compound =A little sea-arm;Mid mǫnegum Godes gifum,With many God-gifts=many divine gifts.
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In the study of Old English, the student must remember that he is dealing not with a foreign or isolated language but with the earlier forms of his own mother tongue. The study will prove profitable and stimulating in proportion as close and constant comparison is made of the old with the new. The guiding principles in such a comparison are reducible chiefly to two. These are (1) the regular operation of phonetic laws, resulting especially in certain Vowel Shiftings, and (2) the alterations in form and syntax that are produced by Analogy.
(1) “The former of these is of physiological ornaturalorigin, and is perfectly and inflexibly regular throughout the same period of the same language; and even though different languages show different phonetic habits and predilections, there is a strong general resemblance between the changes induced in one language and in another; many of the particular laws are true for many languages.
(2) “The other principle is psychical, or mental, orartificial, introducing various more or less capricious changes that are supposed to be emendations; and its operation is, to some extent, uncertain and fitful.”1
It will prove an aid to the student in acquiring the inflections and vocabulary of Old English to note carefully the following shiftings that have taken place in the gradual growth of the Old English vowel system into that of Modern English.
(1) As stated in§3, the Old English inflectional vowels, which were all short and unaccented, weakened in early Middle English toe. Thisein Modern English is frequently dropped:
(2) The Old English long vowels have shifted their phonetic values with such uniform regularity that it is possible in almost every case to infer the Modern English sound; but our spelling is so chaotic that while the student may infer the modern sound, he cannot always infer the modern symbol representing the sound.
o(as inno)2
nā=no;stān=stone;bān=bone;rād=road;āc=oak;hāl=whole;hām=home;sāwan=to sow;gāst=ghost.
e(as inhe)
hē=he;wē=we;ðē=thee;mē=me;gē=ye;hēl=heel;wērig=weary;gelēfan=to believe;gēs=geese.
i(y) (as inmine)
mīn=mine;ðīn=thine;wīr=wire;mȳs=mice;rīm=rime(wrongly speltrhyme);lȳs=lice;bī=by;scīnan=to shine;stig-rāp=sty-rope(shortened tostirrup,stīganmeaningto mount).
o(as indo)
dō=I do;tō=too,to;gōs=goose;tōð=tooth;mōna=moon;ðōm=doom;mōd=mood;wōgian=to woo;slōh=I slew.
ou(ow) (as inthou)
ðū=thou;fūl=foul;hūs=house;nū=now;hū=how;tūn=town;ūre= our;ūt=out;hlūd=loud;ðūsend=thousand.
ea(as insea)
ǣ:sǣ=sea;mǣl=meal;dǣlan=to deal;clǣne=clean;grǣdig=greedy.
ēa:ēare=ear;ēast=east;drēam=dream;gēar=year;bēatan=to beat.
ēo:ðrēo=three;drēorig=dreary;sēo=she,hrēod=reed;dēop=deep.
But more important than vowel shifting is the great law of Analogy, for Analogy shapes not only words but constructions. It belongs, therefore, toEtymology and to Syntax, since it influences both form and function. By this law, minorities tend to pass over to the side of the majorities. “The greater mass of cases exerts an assimilative influence upon the smaller.”3The effect of Analogy is to simplify and to regularize. “The main factor in getting rid of irregularities is group-influence, or Analogy—the influence exercised by the members of an association-group on one another.... Irregularity consists in partial isolation from an association-group through some formal difference.”4
Under the influence of Analogy, entire declensions and conjugations have been swept away, leaving in Modern English not a trace of their former existence. There are in Old English, for example, five plural endings for nouns,-as,-a,-e,-u, and-an. No one could well have predicted5that-as(Middle English-es) would soon take the lead, and become the norm to which the other endings would eventually conform, for there were morean-plurals thanas-plurals; but theas-plurals were doubtless more often employed in everyday speech.Oxen(Old Englishoxan) is the sole pure survival of the hundreds of Old Englishan-plurals.No group of feminine nouns in Old English had-esas the genitive singular ending; but by the close of the Middle English period all feminines formed their genitive singular in-es(or-s, Modern English’s) after the analogy of the Old English masculine and neuter nouns withes-genitives. The weak preterits in-odehave all been leveled under theed-forms, and of the three hundred strong verbs in Old English more than two hundred have become weak.
These are not cases of derivation (as are the shifted vowels): Modern English-sinsons, for example, could not possibly be derived from Old English-ainsuna, or Middle English-einsune(§23, (1)). They are cases of replacement by Analogy.
A few minor examples will quicken the student’s appreciation of the nature of the influence exercised by Analogy:
(a) The intrusivelincould(Chaucer always wrotecoudorcoude) is due to association withwouldandshould, in each of whichlbelongs by etymological right.
(b)He need not(forHe needs not) is due to the assimilative influence of the auxiliariesmay,can, etc., which have never added-sfor their third person singular (§137).
(c)I am friends with him, in whichfriendsis a crystalized form foron good terms, may be traced to the influence of such expressions asHe and I are friends,They are friends, etc.
(d) Such errors as are seen inrunned,seed,gooses,badder,hisself,says I(usually coupled withsays he)are all analogical formations. Though not sanctioned by good usage, it is hardly right to call these forms the products of “false analogy.” The grammar involved is false, because unsupported by literary usages and traditions; but the analogy on which these forms are built is no more false than the law of gravitation is false when it makes a dress sit unconventionally.
1.Skeat,Principles of English Etymology, Second Series, § 342. But Jespersen, with Collitz and others, stoutly contests “the theory of sound laws and analogy sufficing between them to explain everything in linguistic development.”2.But Old Englishāpreceded bywsometimes gives Modern Englishoas intwo:twā=two;hwā=who;hwām=whom.3.Whitney,Life and Growth of Language, Chap. IV.4.Sweet,A New English Grammar, Part I., § 535.5.As Skeat says (§ 22, (2)), Analogy is “fitful.” It enables us to explain many linguistic phenomena, but not to anticipate them. The multiplication of books tends to check its influence by perpetuating the forms already in use. Thus Chaucer employed nineen-plurals, and his influence served for a time to check the further encroachment of thees-plurals. As soon as there is an acknowledged standard in any language, the operation of Analogy is fettered.
1.Skeat,Principles of English Etymology, Second Series, § 342. But Jespersen, with Collitz and others, stoutly contests “the theory of sound laws and analogy sufficing between them to explain everything in linguistic development.”
2.But Old Englishāpreceded bywsometimes gives Modern Englishoas intwo:twā=two;hwā=who;hwām=whom.
3.Whitney,Life and Growth of Language, Chap. IV.
4.Sweet,A New English Grammar, Part I., § 535.
5.As Skeat says (§ 22, (2)), Analogy is “fitful.” It enables us to explain many linguistic phenomena, but not to anticipate them. The multiplication of books tends to check its influence by perpetuating the forms already in use. Thus Chaucer employed nineen-plurals, and his influence served for a time to check the further encroachment of thees-plurals. As soon as there is an acknowledged standard in any language, the operation of Analogy is fettered.
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[O.E., M.E., and Mn.E. will henceforth be used for Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. Other abbreviations employed are self-explaining.]
Thea-Declension, corresponding to the Second oro-Declension of Latin and Greek, contains only (a) masculine and (b) neuter nouns. To this declension belong most of the O.E. masculine and neuter nouns of the Strong Declension. At a very early period, many of the nouns belonging properly to thei-andu-Declensions began to pass over to thea-Declension. This declension may therefore be considered thenormal declensionfor all masculine and neuter nouns belonging to the Strong Declension.
Paradigms ofsē mūð,mouth;sē fiscere,fisherman;sē hwæl,whale;sē mearh,horse;sē finger,finger:
Note.—For meanings of the cases, see§12. The dative and instrumental are alike in all nouns.
The student will observe (1) that nouns whose nominative ends in-e(fiscere) drop this letter before adding the case endings; (2) thatæbefore a consonant (hwæl) changes toain the plural;1(3) thath, preceded byr(mearh) orl(seolh,seal), is dropped before an inflectional vowel, the stem diphthong being then lengthened by way of compensation; (4) that dissyllables (finger) having the first syllable long, usually syncopate the vowel of the second syllable before adding the case endings.2
Paradigm of the Definite Article3sē,sēo,ðæt=the:
Vocabulary.4
sē bōcere,scribe[bōc].sē cyning,king.sē dæg,day.sē ęnde,end.sē ęngel,angel[angelus].sē frēodōm,freedom.sē fugol(G. sometimesfugles),bird[fowl].sē gār,spear[gore, gar-fish].sē heofon,heaven.sē hierde,herdsman[shep-herd].ǫnd(and),and.sē sęcg,man,warrior.sē seolh,seal.sē stān,stone.sē wealh,foreigner,Welshman[wal-nut].sē weall,wall.sē wīsdōm,wisdom.sē wulf,wolf.
sē bōcere,scribe[bōc].
sē cyning,king.
sē dæg,day.
sē ęnde,end.
sē ęngel,angel[angelus].
sē frēodōm,freedom.
sē fugol(G. sometimesfugles),bird[fowl].
sē gār,spear[gore, gar-fish].
sē heofon,heaven.
sē hierde,herdsman[shep-herd].
ǫnd(and),and.
sē sęcg,man,warrior.
sē seolh,seal.
sē stān,stone.
sē wealh,foreigner,Welshman[wal-nut].
sē weall,wall.
sē wīsdōm,wisdom.
sē wulf,wolf.
Exercises.
I. 1. Ðāra wulfa mūðas. 2. Ðæs fisceres fingras. 3. Ðāra Wēala cyninge. 4. Ðǣm ęnglum ǫnd ðǣm hierdum. 5. Ðāradaga ęnde. 6. Ðǣm bōcerum ǫnd ðǣm sęcgum ðæs cyninges. 7. Ðǣm sēole ǫnd ðǣm fuglum. 8. Ðā stānas ǫnd ðā gāras. 9. Hwala ǫnd mēara. 10. Ðāra ęngla wīsdōm. 11. Ðæs cyninges bōceres frēodōm. 12. Ðāra hierda fuglum. 13. Ðȳ stāne. 14. Ðǣm wealle.
II. 1. For the horses and the seals. 2. For the Welshmen’s freedom. 3. Of the king’s birds. 4. By the wisdom of men and angels. 5. With the spear and the stone. 6. The herdsman’s seal and the warriors’ spears. 7. To the king of heaven. 8. By means of the scribe’s wisdom. 9. The whale’s mouth and the foreigner’s spear. 10. For the bird belonging to (= of) the king’s scribe. 11. Of that finger.
1.Adjectives usually retainæin closed syllables, changing it toain open syllables:hwæt(active),glæd(glad),wær(wary) have G.hwates,glades,wares; D.hwatum,gladum,warum; but A.hwætne,glædne,wærne. Nouns, however, change toaonly in open syllables followed by a guttural vowel,aoru. Theæin the open syllables of the singular is doubtless due to the analogy of the N.A. singular, both being closed syllables.2.Cf.Mn.E.drizz’ling,rememb’ring,abysmal(abysm=abizum),sick’ning, in which the principle of syncopation is precisely the same.3.This may mean four things: (1)The, (2)That(demonstrative), (3)He,she,it, (4)Who,which,that(relative pronoun). Mn.E. demonstrativethatis, of course, the survival of O.E. neuterðætin its demonstrative sense. Professor Victor Henry (Comparative Grammar of English and German, § 160, 3) sees a survival of dative plural demonstrativeðǣmin such an expression asin them days. It seems more probable, however, thatthemso used has followed the lead ofthisandthese,thatandthose, in their double function of pronoun and adjective. There was doubtless some such evolution as,I saw them. Them what? Them boys.An unquestioned survival of the dative singular feminine of the article is seen in the-terofAtterbury(=æt ðǣre byrig,at the town); andðǣmsurvives in the-tenofAttenborough, the wordboroughhaving become an uninflected neuter. Skeat,Principles, First Series, § 185.4.The brackets contain etymological hints that may help the student to discern relationships otherwise overlooked. The genitive is given only when not perfectly regular.
1.Adjectives usually retainæin closed syllables, changing it toain open syllables:hwæt(active),glæd(glad),wær(wary) have G.hwates,glades,wares; D.hwatum,gladum,warum; but A.hwætne,glædne,wærne. Nouns, however, change toaonly in open syllables followed by a guttural vowel,aoru. Theæin the open syllables of the singular is doubtless due to the analogy of the N.A. singular, both being closed syllables.
2.Cf.Mn.E.drizz’ling,rememb’ring,abysmal(abysm=abizum),sick’ning, in which the principle of syncopation is precisely the same.
3.This may mean four things: (1)The, (2)That(demonstrative), (3)He,she,it, (4)Who,which,that(relative pronoun). Mn.E. demonstrativethatis, of course, the survival of O.E. neuterðætin its demonstrative sense. Professor Victor Henry (Comparative Grammar of English and German, § 160, 3) sees a survival of dative plural demonstrativeðǣmin such an expression asin them days. It seems more probable, however, thatthemso used has followed the lead ofthisandthese,thatandthose, in their double function of pronoun and adjective. There was doubtless some such evolution as,I saw them. Them what? Them boys.
An unquestioned survival of the dative singular feminine of the article is seen in the-terofAtterbury(=æt ðǣre byrig,at the town); andðǣmsurvives in the-tenofAttenborough, the wordboroughhaving become an uninflected neuter. Skeat,Principles, First Series, § 185.
4.The brackets contain etymological hints that may help the student to discern relationships otherwise overlooked. The genitive is given only when not perfectly regular.
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The neuter nouns of thea-Declension differ from the masculines only in the N.A. plural.
Paradigms ofðæt hof,court,dwelling;ðaet bearn,child;ðæt bān,bone;ðæt rīce,kingdom;ðæt spere,spear;ðæt werod,band of men;ðæt tungol,star:
The paradigms show (1) that monosyllables with short stems (hof) take-uin the N.A. plural; (2) thatmonosyllables with long stems (bearn,bān) do not distinguish the N.A. plural from the N.A. singular;1(3) that dissyllables in-e, whether the stem be long or short (rīce,spere), have-uin the N.A. plural; (4) that dissyllables ending in a consonant and having the first syllable short2(werod) do not usually distinguish the N.A. plural from the N.A. singular; (5) that dissyllables ending in a consonant and having the first syllable long (tungol) more frequently take-uin the N.A. plural.
Note.—Syncopation occurs as in the masculinea-stems. See§27, (4).
Present and Preterit Indicative ofhabban,to have:
Note.—The negativene,not, which always precedes its verb, contracts with all the forms ofhabban. The negative loses itse,habbanitsh.Ne+habban=nabban;Ic ne hæbbe = Ic næbbe;Ic ne hæfde = Ic næfde, etc. The negative forms may be got, therefore, by simply substituting in each casenforh.
Vocabulary.
ðæt dæl,dale.ðæt dēor,animal[deer4].ðæt dor,door.ðæt fæt,vessel[vat].ðæt fȳr,fire.ðæt gēar,year.ðæt geoc,yoke.ðæt geset,habitation[settlement].ðæt hēafod,head.ðæt hūs,house.ðæt līc,body[lich-gate].ðæt lim,limb.on(with dat.)in.ðæt spor,track.ðæt wǣpen,weapon.ðæt wīf,wife,woman.ðæt wīte,punishment.ðæt word,word.
ðæt dæl,dale.
ðæt dēor,animal[deer4].
ðæt dor,door.
ðæt fæt,vessel[vat].
ðæt fȳr,fire.
ðæt gēar,year.
ðæt geoc,yoke.
ðæt geset,habitation[settlement].
ðæt hēafod,head.
ðæt hūs,house.
ðæt līc,body[lich-gate].
ðæt lim,limb.
on(with dat.)in.
ðæt spor,track.
ðæt wǣpen,weapon.
ðæt wīf,wife,woman.
ðæt wīte,punishment.
ðæt word,word.
Exercises.
I. 1. Hē hafað ðæs cyninges bearn. 2. Ðā Wēalas habbað ðā speru. 3. Ðā wīf habbað ðāra sęcga wǣpnu. 4. Ðū hæfst ðone fugol ǫnd ðæt hūs ðæs hierdes. 5. Hæfð5hēo ðā fatu6? 6. Hæfde hē ðæs wīfes līc on ðǣm hofe? 7. Hē næfde ðæs wīfes līc; hē hæfde ðæs dēores hēafod. 8. Hæfð sē cyning gesetu on ðǣm dæle? 9. Sē bōcere hæfð ðā sēolas on ðǣm hūse. 10. Gē habbað frēodōm.
II. 1. They have yokes and spears. 2. We have not the vessels in the house. 3. He had fire in the vessel. 4. Did the woman have (= Had the woman) the children? 5. The animal has the body of the woman’s child. 6. I shall havethe heads of the wolves. 7. He and she have the king’s houses. 8. Have not (=Nabbað) the children the warrior’s weapons?
1.Note the many nouns in Mn.E. that are unchanged in the plural. These are either survivals of O.E. long stems,swine,sheep,deer,folk, or analogical forms,fish,trout,mackerel,salmon, etc.2.Dissyllables whose first syllable is a prefix are, of course, excluded. They follow the declension of their last member:gebed,prayer,gebedu,prayers;gefeoht,battle,gefeoht,battles.3.See§17, Note 1. Note that (as inhwæl,§27, (2))æchanges toawhen the following syllable containsa:hæbbe, buthafast.4.The old meaning survives in Shakespeare’s “Rats and mice and such small deer,”King Lear, III,iv, 144.5.See§20, (2), (b).6.See§27, (2).
1.Note the many nouns in Mn.E. that are unchanged in the plural. These are either survivals of O.E. long stems,swine,sheep,deer,folk, or analogical forms,fish,trout,mackerel,salmon, etc.
2.Dissyllables whose first syllable is a prefix are, of course, excluded. They follow the declension of their last member:gebed,prayer,gebedu,prayers;gefeoht,battle,gefeoht,battles.
3.See§17, Note 1. Note that (as inhwæl,§27, (2))æchanges toawhen the following syllable containsa:hæbbe, buthafast.
4.The old meaning survives in Shakespeare’s “Rats and mice and such small deer,”King Lear, III,iv, 144.
5.See§20, (2), (b).
6.See§27, (2).
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Theō-Declension, corresponding to the First orā-Declension of Latin and Greek, contains only feminine nouns. Many femininei-stems andu-stems soon passed over to this Declension. Theō-Declension may, therefore, be considered thenormal declensionfor all strong feminine nouns.
Paradigms ofsēo giefu,gift;sēo wund,wound;sēo rōd,cross;sēo leornung,learning;sēo sāwol,soul:
Note (1) that monosyllables with short stems (giefu) takeuin the nominative singular; (2) that monosyllables with long stems (wund,rōd) present the unchanged stem in the nominative singular; (3) that dissyllables are declined as monosyllables, except that abstract nouns in-ungpreferatoein the singular.
Note.—Syncopation occurs as in masculine and neutera-stems.See§27, (4).
Present and Preterit Indicative ofbēon(wesan)to be:
Note 1.—The formsbēom,bist, etc. are used chiefly as future tenses in O.E. They survive to-day only in dialects and in poetry. Farmer Dobson, for example, in Tennyson’sPromise of May, usesbefor all persons of the present indicative, both singular and plural; andthere beis frequent in Shakespeare forthere are. The Northern dialect employedaronas well assindonandsindfor the present plural; hence Mn.E.are.
Note 2.—Fusion withnegivesneom,neart,nisfor the present;næs,nǣre,nǣronfor the preterit.
Note 3.—The verbto beis followed by the nominative case, as in Mn.E.; but when the predicate noun is plural, and the subject a neuter pronoun in the singular, the verb agrees in number with the predicate noun. The neuter singularðætis frequently employed in this construction:Ðaet wǣron eall Finnas,They were all Fins;Ðæt sind ęnglas,They are angels;Ðǣt wǣron ęngla gāstas,They were angels’ spirits.
Notice, too, that O.E. writers do not sayIt is I,It is thou, butI it am,Thou it art:Ic hit eom,ðū hit eart. See§21, (1), Note 1.
Vocabulary.
sēo brycg,bridge.sēo costnung,temptation.sēo cwalu,death[quail, quell].sēo fōr,journey[faran].sēo frōfor,consolation,comfort.sēo geoguð,youth.sēo glōf,glove.sēo hālignes1,holiness.sēo heall,hall.hēr,here.hwā,who?hwǣr,where?sēo lufu,love.sēo mearc,boundary[mark, marches2].sēo mēd,meed,reward.sēo mildheortnes,mild-heartedness,mercy.sēo stōw,place[stow away].ðǣr,there.sēo ðearf,need.sēo wylf,she wolf.
sēo brycg,bridge.
sēo costnung,temptation.
sēo cwalu,death[quail, quell].
sēo fōr,journey[faran].
sēo frōfor,consolation,comfort.
sēo geoguð,youth.
sēo glōf,glove.
sēo hālignes1,holiness.
sēo heall,hall.
hēr,here.
hwā,who?
hwǣr,where?
sēo lufu,love.
sēo mearc,boundary[mark, marches2].
sēo mēd,meed,reward.
sēo mildheortnes,mild-heartedness,mercy.
sēo stōw,place[stow away].
ðǣr,there.
sēo ðearf,need.
sēo wylf,she wolf.
Exercises.
I. 1. Hwǣr is ðǣre brycge ęnde? 2. Hēr sind ðāra rīca mearca. 3. Hwā hæfð þā glōfa? 4. Ðǣr bið ðǣm cyninge frōfre ðearf. 5. Sēo wund is on ðǣre wylfe hēafde. 6. Wē habbað costnunga. 7. Hīe nǣron on ðǣre healle. 8. Ic hit neom. 9. Ðæt wǣron Wēalas. 10. Ðæt sind ðæs wīfes bearn.
II. 1. We shall have the women’s gloves. 2. Where is the place? 3. He will be in the hall. 4. Those (Ðæt) were not the boundaries of the kingdom. 5. It was not I. 6. Ye are not the king’s scribes. 7. The shepherd’s words are full (full+ gen.) of wisdom and comfort. 8. Where are the bodies of the children? 9. The gifts are not here. 10. Who has the seals and the birds?
1.All words ending in-nesdouble the-sbefore adding the case endings.2.As inwarden of the marches.
1.All words ending in-nesdouble the-sbefore adding the case endings.
2.As inwarden of the marches.
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Thei-Declension, corresponding to the group ofi-stems in the classical Third Declension, contains chiefly (a) masculine and (b) feminine nouns. The N.A. plural of these nouns ended originally in-e(from olderi).
These stems have almost completely gone over to thea-Declension, so that-asis more common than-eas the N.A. plural ending, whether the stem is long or short. The short stems all have-ein the N.A. singular.
Paradigms ofsē wyrm,worm;sē wine,friend.
The onlyi-stems that regularly retain-eof the N.A. plural are certain names of tribes or peoples used only in the plural.
Paradigms ofðā Ęngle,Angles;ðā Norðymbre,Northumbrians;ðā lēode,people:
The short stems (fręm-u) conform entirely to the declension of shortō-stems; long stems (cwēn,wyrt) differ from longō-stems in having no ending for the A. singular. They show, also, a preference for-erather than-ain the N.A. plural.
Paradigms ofsēo fręm-u,benefit;sēo cwēn,woman,queen[quean];sēo wyrt,root[wort]:
Theu-Declension, corresponding to the group ofu-stems in the classical Third Declension, contains no neuters, and but few (a) masculines and (b) feminines. The short-stemmed nouns of both genders (sun-u,dur-u) retain the finaluof the N.A. singular, while the long stems (feld,hǫnd) drop it. The influence of the masculinea-stems is most clearly seen in the long-stemmed masculines of theu-Declension (feld,feld-es, etc.).
Note.—Note the general aversion of all O.E. long stems to final-u:cf.N.A. pluralhof-u, butbearn,bān; N. singulargief-u, butwund,rōd; N. singularfręm-u, butcwēn,wyrt; N.A. singularsun-u,dur-u, butfeld,hǫnd.
Paradigms ofsē sun-u,son;sē feld,field:
Paradigms ofsēo dur-u,door;sēo hǫnd,hand:
Paradigm of the Third Personal Pronoun,hē,hēo,hit=he,she,it:
Vocabulary.