Wikipedia:Old English Grammar
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[ādihtan] Purpose
This page is to provide a reference grammar for users of this wiki, so they can provide readers with high quality Old English text.
[ādihtan] Cases
- Nominative
- Case of the subject of the sentence. Also the case of the copula (noun after be, become)
- John is here. John is nominative.
- John is a king. John and king are both nominative.
- Genitive
- Case of ownership. The King's house - the king's is in the genitive. The house of the man - of the man is in the genitive
- Note that of is a dative preposition in Old English, and does not indicate possession.
- Dative
- Case of giving to/doing for; the Indirect Object
- I give him the wheel. Him is in the dative case.
- I give a car to Mark. To Mark is in the dative case.
- Instrumental
- Case indicating means, instrument
- I hit him with the hammer. With the hammer is instrumental
- Accusative
- Case indicating direct object.
- I see John. John is the direct object, in the accusative case.
- I have the ring. The ring is in the accusative case.
[ādihtan] Nouns
Nouns are words indicating a person, place, animal, or thing. They have a grammatical gender, which merely indicates how the noun is declined.
[ādihtan] Masculine Nouns
Masculine nouns take se, and often indicate masculine beings.
the/that | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Article/Ending | Mod.E. | Article/Ending | Mod.E. | ||
Nominative | se - | the - | þā -as | the -s | ||
Genitive | þæs -es | of the -, the -'s | þāra -a | of the -s, the -s' | ||
Dative | þǣm -e | to/for the - | þǣm -um | to/for the -s | ||
Instrumental | þȳ -e | by means of the - | þǣm -um | by means of the -s | ||
Accusative | þone - | the - | þā -as | the -s |
These endings cover about 64% of all masculine nouns.
[ādihtan] Masculine nouns ending in -a
Typically called "weak" nouns, these masculine nouns simply add -n to form other cases.
the/that | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Article/Ending | Mod.E. | Article/Ending | Mod.E. | ||
Nominative | se - | the - | þā -an | the -s | ||
Genitive | þæs -an | of the -, the -'s | þāra -ena | of the -s, the -s' | ||
Dative | þǣm -an | to/for the - | þǣm -um | to/for the -s | ||
Instrumental | þȳ, þon -an | by means of the - | þǣm -um | by means of the -s | ||
Accusative | þone -an | the - | þā -an | the -s |
[ādihtan] Masculine Noun Suffixes
[ādihtan] Hād
Masculine nouns with the suffix hād added to them.
the/that | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Article/Ending | Mod.E. | Article/Ending | Mod.E. | ||
Nominative | se -hād | the - | þā -hāda | the -s | ||
Genitive | þæs -hāda | of the -, the -'s | þāra -hāda | of the -s, the -s' | ||
Dative | þǣm -hāda | to/for the - | þǣm -hādum | to/for the -s | ||
Instrumental | þȳ, þon -hāda | by means of the - | þǣm -hādum | by means of the -s | ||
Accusative | þone -hād | the - | þā -hāda | the -s |
[ādihtan] Neuter Nouns
Neuter nouns include those nouns which take þæt as an article. That is the main difference between neuter and masculine nouns, besides having either no plural inflection, or u.
the/that | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Article/Ending | Mod.E. | Article/Ending | Mod.E. | ||
Nominative | þæt - | the - | þā -/-u | the -s | ||
Genitive | þæs -es | of the -, the -'s | þāra -a | of the -s, the -s' | ||
Dative | þǣm -e | to/for the - | þǣm -um | to/for the -s | ||
Instrumental | þȳ -e | by means of the - | þǣm -um | by means of the -s | ||
Accusative | þæt - | the - | þā -/-u | the -s |
[ādihtan] Feminine Nouns
Feminine nouns typically describe feminine beings, and those things which take sēo as an article.
the/that | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Article/Ending | Mod.E. | Article/Ending | Mod.E. | ||
Nominative | sēo - | the - | þā -a | the -s | ||
Genitive | þǣre -e | of the -, the -'s | þāra -a | of the -s, the -s' | ||
Dative | þǣre -e | to/for the - | þǣm -um | to/for the -s | ||
Instrumental | þǣre -e | by means of the - | þǣm -um | by means of the -s | ||
Accusative | þā -e | the - | þā -a | the -s |
[ādihtan] Feminine Nouns ending in -e
[ādihtan] Feminine Noun suffixes
[ādihtan] Feminine Nouns ending in -ung
Have the same endings as regular feminine nouns.
[ādihtan] Articles
[ādihtan] Determiners
Old English had two main determiners: se, which could function as both 'the' or 'that', and þes for 'this'.
the/that | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Mod.E. | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Plural | |
Nominative | the | se | þæt | sēo | þā | |
Genitive | of the | þæs | þæs | þǣre | þāra | |
Dative | to/for the | þǣm | þǣm | þǣre | þǣm | |
Instrumental | by means of the | þȳ, þon | þȳ, þon | þǣre | þǣm | |
Accusative | the | þone | þæt | þā | þā |
Modern English 'that' descends from the neuter nominative/accusative form, and 'the' from the plural nominative/accusative form. The feminine nominative form was probably the source of Modern English 'she.'
this | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Mod.E. | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Plural | |
Nominative | this | þes | þis | þēos | þās | |
Genitive | this x's of this | þisses | þisses | þisse, þisre | þissa, þisra | |
Dative | to/for this | þissum | þissum | þisse, þisre | þissum | |
Instrumental | by means of this | þȳs | þȳs | – | – | |
Accusative | this | þisne | þis | þās | þās |
[ādihtan] Pronouns
First Person | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Mod.E. | Singular | Mod.E. | Dual | Mod.E. | Plural |
Nominative | I | ic | we two | wit | we | wē |
Genitive | my, mine, of me | mīn | of us two | uncer | our, of us | ūser |
Dative | to/for me | mē | to/for us two | unc | to/for us | ūs |
Accusative | me | mec | us two | uncit | us | ūsic |
Second Person | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Mod.E. | Singular | Mod.E. | Dual | Mod.E. | Plural |
Nominative | thou | þu | you two | git | ye | gē |
Genitive | thy, thine, of thee | þīn | your two, of you two | incer | your, of you | ēower |
Dative | to/for thee | þē | to/for you two | inc | to/for you | ēow |
Accusative | thee | þec | you two | incit | you | ēowic |
Third Person | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Mod.E. | Masc.S. | Mod.E. | Neut.S. | Mod.E. | Fem.S. | Mod.E. | Plural |
Nominative | he | hē | it | hit | she | hēo | they | hīe |
Genitive | his, of his | his | its, of it | his | her, of her | hire | their, of them | hira |
Dative | to/for him | him | to/for it | him | to/for her | hire | to/for them | him |
Accusative | him | hine | it | hit | her | hīe | them | hīe |
[ādihtan] Declensions of Genitive Pronouns
The genitives mīn, þīn, sīn, ūser, ēower, uncer, and incer decline like strong adjectives, showing the case and gender corresponding to that of the noun which they describe. The genitives his, hire, and hira do not inflect in any way to show case and gender. So, you will see:
Possessive Declension | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Masculine S. | Neuter S. | Feminine S. | Masculine P. | Neuter P. | Feminine P. |
Nominative | mīn | mīn | mīn | mīne | mīn | mīna |
Genitive | mīnes | mīnes | mīnre | mīnra | mīnra | mīnra |
Dative | mīnum | mīnum | mīnre | mīnum | mīnum | mīnum |
Instrumental | mīne | mīne | mīnre | mīnum | mīnum | mīnum |
Accusative | mīnne | mīn | mīne | mīne | mīn | mīna |
So to are þīn and sīn declined. Notice, the masculine, feminine, and neuter have no ending in the nominative (subject) case, and the masculine/neuter share the same genitive/dative forms in the singular. In the plural, the nominative/accusative are the same for masculine, feminine, and neuter.
After the words, mīn, þīn, sīn, ūser, ēower, uncer, incer, his, hire, and hira you will have weak adjective declensions. So, mīn gōda cyning, and not mīn gōd cyning.
[ādihtan] Question Words
- Who, what
- This agrees with the gender of the noun to which it refers, whether masculine/feminine, or neuter. Since there's only singular, that serves for the plural as well.
who/what | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Mod.E. | Masc/Fem | Mod.E. | Neuter | ||
Nominative | who? | hwā | what? | hwæt | ||
Genitive | whose?, of whom? | hwæs | whose?, of what? | hwæs | ||
Dative | to/for whom | hwǣm | to/for what? | hwǣm | ||
Instrumental | by means of whom | hwȳ, hwon | by means of what? | hwȳ, hwon | ||
Accusative | whom? | hwone | what? | hwæt |
- Which of two?
which of two? | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Masculine S. | Neuter S. | Feminine S. | Masculine P. | Neuter P. | Feminine P. |
Nominative | hwæðer | hwæðer | hwæðer | hwæðre | hwæðer | hwæðra |
Genitive | hwæðres | hwæðres | hwæðerre | hwæðerra | hwæðerra | hwæðerra |
Dative | hwæðrum | hwæðrum | hwæðerre | hwæðrum | hwæðrum | hwæðrum |
Instrumental | hwæðere | hwæðere | hwæðerre | hwæðrum | hwæðrum | hwæðrum |
Accusative | hwæðerne | hwæðer | hwæðre | hwæðre | hwæðer | hwæðra |
- Which of many?
which of many? | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Masculine S. | Neuter S. | Feminine S. | Masculine P. | Neuter P. | Feminine P. |
Nominative | hwilc | hwilc | hwilc | hwilce | hwilc | hwilca |
Genitive | hwilces | hwilces | hwilcre | hwilcra | hwilcra | hwilcra |
Dative | hwilcum | hwilcum | hwilcre | hwilcum | hwilcum | hwilcum |
Instrumental | hwilce | hwilce | hwilcre | hwilcum | hwilcum | hwilcum |
Accusative | hwilcne | hwilc | hwilce | hwilce | hwilc | hwilca |
- Where?
- To where?
- From where?
[ādihtan] Adjectives
[ādihtan] Verbs
[ādihtan] Inflections
[ādihtan] Active/Passive
The only surviving passive form in Old English is the verb hātte - am called. Otherwise, it was formed in one of three ways:
- Using the pronoun man (one, someone, they, people) as the subject
- Using weorðan - become for activities and changes of state
- Using bēon/wesan - be for the resultant states
[ādihtan] Prepositions
[ādihtan] Adverbs
[ādihtan] Syntax
Until I can organize it further, this will be a general syntax section.
[ādihtan] Verb/Noun Agreement
- Verbs with a decade as the subject tend to be singular.
- Example: Fīftig wæs ofslagen - fifty were slain.
- Example: In Egyptum wearþ on ānre nihte fīftig manna ofslagen - In Egypt, fifty men were slain in one night. (The verb is singular in OE, but plural in Modern English)
[ādihtan] Use of Se/Þes
- The word se (the/that) was used differently than in modern English
- Example: Hēr Cynewulf benam Sigebryht his rīces...and se Cynewulf oft miclum gefeohtum feaht wiþ Bretwalum - In this year Cynewulf deposed Sigebriht...and this Cynewulf often waged mighty battles against the Welsh.
[ādihtan] Uses of the Subjunctive
- In negative because clauses, the verb is subjunctive. (But in positive ones, it's still indicative)
- Example: ac þæs wundrodon menn, nā for þȳ þæt hīe māre wundor wǣre, ac for þȳ þæt hit wæs ungewunelic - but people wondered about that, not because it was a greater mystery, but because it was unaccustomed.
- In this sentence, the first because-clause is subjunctive because the proposition is denied, but the second is indicative because it was the real reason for the wonderment.
[ādihtan] Special Phrases
- to consist of - bēon/onstandan on w.d.; þæt biþ on dēora fellum - that consists of animals' fur.