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Middle English Grammar
Peter Hofstee 2011
CASESNominative: Subject; Complement (He is a man).
Accusative: Direct object.Genitive: Possessive.Dative: Indirect object (She gave a cookie to him).
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
First-person pronouns Second-person pronouns1
singular plural singular (inf.) plural (formal)
nom. I (I) we (we) thou/thow (you)2 ye (you)
acc. me (me) us (us) thee (you) you/yow (you)
gen. my (my) our (our) thyn (your) your (your)
dat. me (me) us (us) thee (you) you/yow (you)
Third-per on pronouns
masculine neuter feminine plural
nom. he (he) it, hit (it) she (she) they (they)
acc. hym, him (him) it, hit (it) hir, hyr (her) hem (them)
gen. his (his) his (its) hir (her) hir (their)
dat. hym, him (him) it, hit (it) hir, hyr (her) hem (them)
__________1 The sg. forms were used to indicate formality and distance, while the pl. forms expressed a
degree of formality, distance and politeness. Note that God was also addressed informally withthou.
2 Also occur in contracted forms, e.g.: artow (art thou/thou art), canstow (can you/you can).
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NOUNS
singular plural
nom. / acc. stoon stoones
gen. stoones stoones
dat. stoon stoones
Variant plural forms also include:
: yeris, wyvys.
if the word ends in : tirauntz, instrumentz.
, derived om the OE weak noun declension: children, oxen.
ADJECTIVES
(Descended om OE; the table below applies to singular monosyllabic adjectives.)
Weak (ending with -e) Strong
If preceded by a definite article (the). If preceded by an indefinite article (a, an).
If preceded by a demonstrative. All other instances.
If preceded by a possessive pronoun.
If preceded by a proper noun in gen. case (e.g.
Goddes owene son)
If preceded by an adjective in vocative case (cf.Latin, used for exclamations): O deerehousbonde!
OPEN AND CLOSE VOWELS
Long o:
Close /o:/
In PDE pronounced with /u/ (good), /u:/ (foot), or // (other). Open /:/ A diphthong in PDE. Or, sometimes the PDE spelling is .
Long e:
Close /e:/ In PDE the spelling is or .
Open /:/ In PDE the spelling is .
Silent e: riche plus h or vowel the e is dropped.
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VERBS
VERB MOODS: Indicative, subjunctive (expressing a possibility or desire) and imperative.WEAK VERBS: Preterite is formed by adding .STRONG VERBS: Preterite is formed by change of stem vowel (as in PDE bind/bound).
Present forms Preterite (past) forms Subjunctive forms
WEAK STRONG PRESENT PRETERITE
sg. loue (love) louede bounde loue binde louede
louest(love) louedest bounde loue binde louede
loueth* (loves) louede bounde loue binde louede
pl. loue(n) (love) louede(n) bounde(n) loue(n) binde(n) louede(n)
* Third p. sg. variation: rideth, rit; sitteth, sit, writeth, writ; byndeth, bynt.
Participle formsPresent participle: louyng, bindyngWeak past participle: louedeStrong past participle: bounde
The irregular verb beINDICATIV SUBJUNCTI E PARTICIPLES IMPERATIVE
present preterite present preterite present past be
sg. am was be were beyng been
art were be were
is was be were
pl. be
ar
were are were beth
Verb phrases, auxiliaries, etc.myghte might, but usually means could.gan + infinitive: gan is used as an auxiliary, indicating past tense (e.g. gan wype = wiped)shal: only translated with shall if used with I.shulan & willan: mostly full verbs in ME.kunnan = know how
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COUNCTIONS
al although, even if and, and if if als, al so asbut, but if if, unlesseek/eke alsofor, for that because
forthy thereforeforwhy becausefor to in order toor or either orother, outher orsin/syn since
sithe sincether(as) wherewher whether; also used to
introduce a question
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
that (that)tho (those, then)this (this)
thise/these (these)ilke/thilke (the same/that,this)
yon (yonder)
FREQUENTLY USED WORDS
again back3
al be that althoughanon at oncebenedicte bless usbut, but if unlesscan, kan know (how to), be ableclepe callech eacheek, eke also
ful veryhan havehem themhem lost/liste they wantedhight named, calledilke samekoude knew (how to), couldmaugre in spite ofnamely especially, specificallynat notne not, nornoght nought, nothing; notnones, nonys occasionnyce foolish
o, (that) on onepardee by God; certainlyrede advise, interpret, readright (adv.) just, quitesith since, thensomdel somewhatswich suchsyn sincetask: taketh take
than(ne) then, thanther, ther as wherethoughte (imp.) it seemedthynketh (imp.) it seemswar aware (beth war)a ware yow beware, take heedwher where, whetherwhere as wherewhylom once (upon a time),
formerly yaf gave ycleped named ydo done
Negated verbsnam am notnas was notnere were notniste did not know
nolde would notnoot know notnys is notnyste knew not
__________3 Context-dependent, e.g. with a verb of movement.
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