Old English grammar
The grammar of Old English clearly shows the relationship with the other West Germanic languages and is therefore more similar to that of German than that of the New English spoken today . Old English is an inflectional language: nouns and adjectives are divided into four cases (cases) nominative , genitive , accusative and dative and verbs (in the singular) three people. A fifth case (the instrumental ) has also been preserved in remnants: The old English adverb hwȳ 'why' (ne. Why ) is an old instrumental of the pronoun hwæt 'what?'. The sentence order was even more free than in today's English, as it is in German today.
The cases
Old English knows five cases, even if the instrumental only exists in remnants as a separate form. The use of the case shows numerous parallels to German.
Nominative
The nominative is used as in German to refer to the subject of a sentence, an addressee (z. B. "Look, my king !") Or a Prädikativums (z. B. "He is a teacher ").
Genitive
The genitive suppressed as in English a possession ratio ( possessive ) such. B. in Hæstenes wif ( Hæsten's wife ). The partitive genitive, which expresses the relationship of a share, is also common in Old English ( an hiora , English one of them ). Finally, the genitive is also used to describe properties such as in swete hunig and wysumes swæcces (German about sweet honey and delicious taste ). In addition, the genitive is also used as an object case after some verbs and adjectives, similar to the way there are some verbs in German that have their objects in the genitive (e.g. need rest with rest in the genitive).
dative
In Old English and German, the dative serves as an object case for indirect objects such as in on he hi him eft ageaf (German and he then returned them to him ). Furthermore, the dative can express possession ( him on heafod , dt. On his head ). The dative can also be used adverbially ( hwilum , dt. Temporarily ) and as an object case after some adjectives.
accusative
In the accusative case (as in German ) there is the direct object of transitive verbs .
Instrumental
The instrumental was still an independent case in West Germanic, but is only used in a few cases in Old English with nouns and otherwise replaced by the dative. The instrumental remains in the declination of adjectives and pronouns. Similar to Latin, the instrumental in Old English expresses the manner, e.g. B. hlutre mode ( Eng . With pure intentions ), accompaniment and time.
Syllable length
In Old English grammar, syllable length plays a major role, as a number of inflected endings after long stem syllables are omitted. Long are syllables that contain a long vowel or diphthong, or contain a short vowel or diphthong, but end in at least one consonant (in the nominative singular of nouns and adjectives two consonants, since the second part of the ending in inflection and is no longer part of the stem syllable).
Nouns
Old English nouns are divided into several declension classes. A rough distinction is made between the strong and the weak declination, which can be subdivided even more finely. Small residual classes are added to these two declination classes, such as B. the kinship terms.
On case, the Old English knew nominative , genitive , dative and accusative as well as the instrumental . The fifth case, the instrumental , was still separated from the dative in nouns at the beginning of the Old English period. The nouns of the a-declension (e.g. stān ) ended in -um in the dative , while in the instrumental they ended in -i or later in -y . Instead of the forms of the instrumental, the forms of the dative were later used in Old English, which is why the forms of the instrumental are no longer listed separately in most introductions and grammars of English.
In New English , only the nominative accusative singular (ae. Stān , ne. Stone ), the nominative accusative plural (ae. Stānas , ne. Stones ) and, with some nouns, the genitive singular have been retained. With a few exceptions such as child-children, goose-geese, ox-oxen , nothing has been preserved from a subdivision into different declension classes .
A distinction is made between three grammatical genders , the masculine, the feminine and the neuter. Numbers are differentiated in the noun two, the singular and the plural. In the personal pronouns there was also a two number ( dual ) ( wit 1st person dual “we both”, git 2nd person dual, “both of you”).
The strong declension - a- and ō-declension
The a-declination includes masculine and neuter and is comparable to the Latin o-declination (e.g. Latin dominus "Herr"). The ō-declension, on the other hand, contains feminine and is comparable to the Latin ā-declension (e.g. Latin domina "mistress"). A and ō declination are subdivided even more finely into a ja and wa declination, or a jō and wō declination. However, these are dealt with separately below.
The typical endings for the a and ō declination in the West Saxon dialect of Old English are as follows:
The endings of the strong declination | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | Masculine | neuter | Feminine | |||||||
Singular | Plural | Short | Long | Short | Long | |||||
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |||
Nominative | - | -as | - | -u | - | - | -u | -a | - | -a |
Genitive | -it | -a | -it | -a | -it | -a | -e | -a | -e | -a |
dative | -e | -around | -e | -around | -e | -around | -e | -around | -e | -around |
accusative | - | -as | - | -u | - | - | -e | -a, -e | -e | -a, -e |
The strong declination | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | Masculine stān stone |
neuter | Feminine | |||||||
Singular | Plural | Short scip ship |
Long word word |
Brief ðegu reception |
Long sorg concern |
|||||
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |||
Nominative | stān | stānas | scip | scipu | word | word | ðegu | ðega | care | care |
Genitive | stanes | stāna | scipes | scipa | wordes | worda | ðege | ðega | worry | care |
dative | stans | stānum | scipe | scipum | been | wordum | ðege | ðegum | worry | sorghum |
accusative | stān | stānas | scip | scipu | word | word | ðege | ðega / ðege | worry | care / concern |
Nouns with a vowel change æ to a
Some nouns in the a-declension change the vowelism between singular and plural. These words have a æ as a vowel in the singular , which changes to a in the plural (or before a , o , u ).
dæg day m. | ||||
case | Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | dæg | dagas | ||
Genitive | dæges | daga | ||
dative | dæge | dagum | ||
accusative | dæg | dagas |
Nouns with nominative singular ending on -h
Nouns that end with -h in the nominative singular lose it before an ending that begins with a vowel. If the vowel of the stem syllable is short, it may lengthen (cf. Nom. Sg .: mearh → Gen. Sg. Mēares). In addition, vowels are contracted if the -h is immediately preceded by a vowel, so that the genitive singular for scōh “shoe” is not * scōes , but scōs .
Nouns ending in -h | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | Masculine mearh horse |
Neuter feorh life |
Masculine scōh shoe |
|||
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | mearh | mēaras | feorh | feorh | scōh | scos |
Genitive | mēares | mēara | fēores | fēora | scos | scōna |
dative | mēare | mēarum | fēore | fēorum | scō | scōm |
accusative | mearh | mēaras | feorh | feorh | scōh | scos |
Strong declension nouns with -e | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | Masculine end end |
Neuter stȳle steel |
||||
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |||
Nominative | The End | endas | stȳle | stȳlu | ||
Genitive | end | enda | stȳles | stȳla | ||
dative | The End | endum | stȳle | stȳlum | ||
accusative | The End | endas | stȳle | stȳlu |
Two-syllable nouns
angel angel m. | ||||
case | Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | Angel | englas | ||
Genitive | engles | engla | ||
dative | engle | English | ||
accusative | Angel | englas |
Nouns with -w or -ġ before the ending
Nouns with -w or -ġ before the ending | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | Neuter smeoru fat |
Feminine sinu tendon |
Feminine lǣs willow |
|||
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | smeoru | smeoru | sinu | sinwa | lǣs | lǣswa |
accusative | smeoru | smeoru | sinwe | sinwa, -e | lǣswe | lǣswa, -e |
Genitive | smeorwes | smeorwa | sinwe | sinwa | lǣswe | lǣswa |
dative | smeorwe | smeorwum | sinwe | sinwum | lǣswe | lǣswum |
The weak declination
The typical endings of the weak declination are as follows:
The endings of the weak declination | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | Masculine | neuter | Feminine | |||
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | -a | -on | -e | -on | -e | -on |
Genitive | -on | -ena | -on | -ena | -on | -ena |
dative | -on | -around | -on | -around | -on | -around |
accusative | -on | -on | -e | -on | -on | -on |
The weak declination | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | Masculine nama name |
Neuter ēage eye |
Feminine tunge tongue |
|||
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | nama | naman | ēage | ēagan | tunge | tungan |
Genitive | naman | namena | ēagan | ēagena | tungan | tungena |
dative | naman | namum | ēagan | ēagum | tungan | tungum |
accusative | naman | naman | ēage | ēagan | tungan | tungan |
Further declination classes
Athematic nouns
Athematic nouns | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | Masculine fōt foot |
Feminine hnutu nut |
Feminine bōc book |
|||
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | fōt | fēt | hnutu | hnyte | bōc | bēc |
Genitive | fōtes | fōta | hnyte, hnute | hnuta | bēc, bōce | bōca |
dative | fōte | fōtum | hnyte, hnute | hnutum | bēc, bōc | bōcum |
accusative | fōt | fēt | hnutu | hnyte | bōc | bēc |
This class also includes (the nominative singular and plural are given):
- Masculine: tōþ, tēþ tooth ; man, man man ; frēond, frīend friend ; fēond, fīend enemy
- Feminine: studu, styde post ; hnitu, hnite; āc, ǣc oak ; gāt, gǣt goat (nbock) ; brōc, brēc; gōs, gēs goose ; castle, byrg city ; dung, ding prison ; turf, tyrf lawn ; grūt, grȳt; lūs, lȳs louse ; mūs, mȳs mouse ; no, no night
- Feminine with loss of the -h in some forms: furh, fyrh furrow ; sulh, sylh plow ; þrūh, þrȳh; wlōh, wlēh
- Feminine with contracted ending: cū, cȳ cow
u declination
The u declination | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | Masculine sunu son |
Masculine field field |
||||
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |||
Nominative | sunu | suna | field | felda | ||
Genitive | suna | suna | felda | felda | ||
dative | suna | sunum | felda | fieldum | ||
accusative | sunu | suna | field | felda |
Family names
Relationships | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | Masculine fæder 'father' |
Masculine brōðor 'brother' |
Feminine mōdor 'mother' |
Feminine sweostor 'sister' |
Feminine dohtor 'daughter' |
|||||
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | fæder | fæd (e) ras | brōðor | (ge) brōðor | mōdor | mōdra / mōdru | sweostor | (ge) sweostor, -tru, -tra | dohtor | dohtor |
Genitive | fæder | fæd (e) ra | brōðor | (ge) brōðra | mōdor | mōdra | sweostor | (ge) sweostra | dohtor | dohtra |
dative | fæder | fæderum | brēðer | (ge) brōðrum | mēder | mōdrum | sweostor | (ge) sweostrum | dehter | dohtrum |
accusative | fæder | fæd (e) ras | brōðor | (ge) brōðor | mōdor | mōdra / mōdru | sweostor | (ge) sweostor, -tru, -tra | dohtor | dohtor |
Neutra with -r- in the plural
lamb lamb n. | ||||
case | Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | lamb | lambru | ||
Genitive | lambes | lambra | ||
dative | lambe | lambrum | ||
accusative | lamb | lambru |
pronoun
Most pronouns are inflected after case, number, and gender; in the plural, most pronouns have only one form for all genders. Also, some Old English pronouns (the asexual 1st and 2nd person personal pronouns, which can also be used reflexively) have retained the dual (which specifically refers to groups of two people or things, for example, “we two,” “you two "Or" the two "). Although it was rather uncommon, it remained.
Personal pronouns
First person | |||
---|---|---|---|
case | Singular | dual | Plural |
Nominative | ic, īc | wit | wē |
Genitive | mīn | uncer | ūser, ūre |
dative | mē | unc | ūs |
accusative | mec, mē | uncit, unc | ūsic, ūs |
Second person | |||
---|---|---|---|
case | Singular | dual | Plural |
Nominative | þū | git | gē |
Genitive | þīn | incer | ēower |
dative | þē | inc | ēow |
accusative | þēc, þē | incit, inc | ēowic, ēow |
Third person | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | Singular | Plural | ||||
Mask. | Neut. | Fem. | ||||
Nominative | hē | hit | hēo | hiē m. , hēo f. | ||
Genitive | his | his | hire | here m. , heora f. | ||
dative | him | him | hire | him | ||
accusative | into | hit | hīe | hiē m. , hīo f. |
Many of the forms shown above have strong similarities with their modern English equivalents: The genitive form ēower became “your”, ūre became “our” and mīn became “mine”.
Verbs
The verbs are basically divided into two groups, the strong verbs and the weak verbs . The strong verbs form the tense past tense and the past participle by changing the stem vowel (so-called ablaut ), the weak verbs by adding a dental element. Further breakdowns are made within these groups. For example, the strong verbs are divided into seven classes, so-called ablaut series, while the weak verbs are classified into three groups according to their derivative suffix.
Regarding the tenses, it should be said that Old English, like Old High German , did not yet have an independent future tense ; there was only the past tense for the past and the present tense, which was used equally for the present and future.
Strong verbs
The strong verbs form their past tense and their past participle with the help of the Ablauts inherited from Indo-European . There are four stems in the verbal area, on which the respective tenses are based. The first stem is used to form the present tense paradigm , as well as the infinitive and the present participle (e.g. rīdan "ride"). The second stem form exclusively forms the 1st and 3rd person simple past indicative (e.g. iċ rād "I rode"), while the third stem forms the basis of the remaining preterital forms (e.g. wē ridon "we rode") . The past participle is finally formed by the fourth stem form (e.g. (ġe-) riden "ridden").
The prefix ġe - (rarely ġi -) is used in Old English to add a perfecting meaning to verbs. It usually occurs in the past participle of verbs that have no other prefix. However, with the past participle in particular, it is no longer possible to clearly decide whether diente - is still used as a meaningful prefix or is more of a flexion marker .
Also, the German knows this tense formation using four primary forms, although three tribes are with the High German strong verbs usually only present because the Präteritalformen were often compensated (for example, tie -. I tied - we tied - tied). The original four-part division can still be recognized in the verb will : will - I became (archaic for: I became) - we became - became.
Ablautreihen
Depending on the vowel alternance, the strong verbs are divided into seven ablaut classes.
Stem formation in strong verbs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
class | 1. Root form | 2. Root form | 3. Root form | 4. Root form |
I. | ī | - | i | i |
II | ēo, ū | ēa | u | O |
III | Fine subdivision (explanation: see below) | |||
IIIa | e | æ | u | O |
IIIb | eo | ea | u | O |
IIIc | e | ea | u | O |
IIId | i | a | u | u |
IIIe | ie | ea | u | O |
IV | e | æ | ǣ | O |
V | e | æ | ǣ | e |
VI | a | O | O | a |
VII | - | ē, ēo | ē, ēo | - |
The following is a listing of the consonantic environment of the changing vowel.
- First class: 1 consonant follows the vowel
- Second class: 1 consonant follows the vowel
- Third class: There are differences depending on the following consonants:
- Fourth grade: 1 liquid or nasal follows the vowel
- Fifth grade: 1 consonant ( fricative or plosive ) follows the vowel
- Sixth grade: 1 consonant follows the vowel
- Seventh grade: irregular; the vowel of the 1st and 4th stem form can be different, only the 2nd and 3rd stem form have ē or ēo as a vowel; formerly reduplicating verbs
However, there may be exceptions to this list. The form murnan "mourn, complain" is to be assigned to the third ablaut row , although it does not have an eo in the 1st root form. Such exceptions are not considered here. In addition, in the 2nd and 3rd person singular present indicative there may be a vowel alternation due to umlaut (e.g. helpan - þū hilpst - see: German: help - you help), but this is not a form of ablaute .
The conjugation of strong verbs should be illustrated by the following example:
conjugation | pronoun | Class I 'ride' |
Class II 'freeze' |
Class III 'help' |
Class IV 'wear' |
Class V 'sleep' |
Class VI 'sing' |
Class VII 'are called' |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Infinitive | rīdan | frēosan | helpan | beran | swefan | gallantly | wears | |
tō rīdenne | tō frēosenne | tō helpenne | to run | to swefenne | tō galenne | tō hātenne | ||
Present indicative |
||||||||
ic | rīde | frēose | help | re | swefe | Gael | had | |
þū | rītst | frīest | help | bursts | swifst | gælst | have | |
hē / hit / hēo | ride | frīest | help | birþ | swifþ | gælþ | hǣtt | |
wē / gē / hīe | rīdaþ | frēosaþ | helpaþ | advised | swefaþ | galaþ | hātaþ | |
Past tense indicative |
ic | wheel | frēas | healp | bear | swæf | gōl | hēt |
þū | ride | frure | hulp | bǣre | swǣfe | gole | hēte | |
hē / hit / hēo | wheel | frēas | healp | bear | swæf | gōl | hēt | |
wē / gē / hīe | ridon | fruron | hulpon | buron | swǣfon | gōlon | hēton | |
Present subjunctive |
ic / þū / hē / hit / hēo | rīde | frēose | help | re | swefe | Gael | had |
wē / gē / hīe | rīden | frēosen | help | berries | sweeten | galen | had | |
Past tense subjunctive |
ic / þū / hē / hit / hēo | ride | frure | hulp | bǣre | swǣfe | gole | hēte |
wē / gē / hīe | ride | fruren | howl | bren | swǣfen | gol | would have | |
imperative | Singular | rīd! | frēos! | help! | about! | swef! | gal! | Has! |
Plural | rīdaþ! | frēosaþ! | helpaþ! | beraþ! | swefaþ! | galaþ! | hātaþ! | |
Present participle | rīdende | freezing | help end | berende | sweeping | galende | having | |
past participle | (ġe) ride | (frozen | (ġe) pick up | (born | (ġe) swefen | (ġe) galen | (ġe) to have |
Remarks:
- With forms like (þū) rītst , (hē) rītt , (hē) frīest , (hē) hǣtt , assimilations occur (e.g. -dst becomes -tst; -sþ becomes -st; -tþ becomes - tt).
- In the 2nd and 3rd person singular present indicative i-umlaut occurs (e> i, ēo> īe etc.).
- In the verb frēosan "freeze" there is a grammatical change between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 4th stem form (-s- as opposed to -r-).
Weak verbs
The following table shows the conjugation of the verbs Swebban (to bring to sleep) (class I), Hǣlan (to heal) (class I) and Sīðian (to travel) (class II).
conjugation | pronoun | 'put to sleep' | 'heal' | 'to travel' |
---|---|---|---|---|
Infinitive | swebban | hǣlan | sīðian | |
to swebbanne | tō hǣlanne | tō sīðianne | ||
Present indicative | ||||
ic | swebbe | hell | sīðie | |
þū | swefest | you think | sīðast | |
hē / hit / hēo | swefeþ | hǣlþ | sīðað | |
wē / gē / hīe | swebbaþ | hǣlaþ | sīðiað | |
Past tense indicative | ic | swefede | hǣlde | sīðode |
þū | swefedest | hldest | sīðodest | |
hē / hit / hēo | swefede | hell | sīðode | |
wē / gē / hīe | swefedon | hǣlon | sīðodon | |
Present subjunctive | ic / þū / hē / hit / hēo | swebbe | hell | sīðie |
wē / gē / hīe | swebben | to hide | sīðien | |
Past tense subjunctive | ic / þū / hē / hit / hēo | swefede | hǣlde | sīðode |
wē / gē / hīe | swefeden | hlden | sīðoden | |
imperative | Singular | swefe | hǣl | sīða |
Plural | swebbaþ | hǣlaþ | sīðiað | |
Present participle | sweeping | covering | sīðiende | |
Past participle | swefed | hǣled | sīðod |
Preteritopresentia
The past tense are a class of verbs that form their present tense like a strong past tense and the past tense like weak verbs. These verbs were created through the optional use of the past tense, which was related to the present or future. For example, witan (to know) comes from a verb that originally meant "to have seen" (the Latin verb videre (to see) comes from the same root). The present tense is formed like the original past tense. For this reason, the first person singular and the third person singular are identical in the present tense.
There are only a few preteritopresentia in Old English, and not all are documented in all forms.
conjugation | pronoun | 'can, master something' | 'can, like, have the opportunity to do something' | 'should' | 'knowledge' | 'have to be guilty' | 'use' | 'dare' | 'remember, mean' | 'need, may' | 'have to' |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | cunnan | magan | sculan | witan | āgan | dugan | durran | munan | mōtan | ||
Present indicative | |||||||||||
ic | cann | mæg | sceal | wāt | Ah | deah | dearr | man | þearf | mōt | |
þū | canst | meaht | scealt | wāst | āhst | dearst | manst | þearft | must | ||
hē / hit / hēo | cann | mæg | sceal | wāt | Ah | deah | dearr | man | þearf | mōt | |
wē / gē / hīe | cunnon | magon | sculon | witon | āgon | dugon | durron | munon | þurfon | mōton | |
Past tense indicative | |||||||||||
ic | cūðe | guessed | sceolde | know, know | āhte | didhte | there | mouth | þorfte | must | |
þū | cūðest | meahtest | sceoldest | know, know | āhte | didhte | there | mouth | þorfte | must | |
hē / hit / hēo | cūðe | guessed | sceolde | know, know | āhte | didhte | there | mouth | þorfte | must | |
wē / gē / hīe | cūðon | meahton | sceoldon | wisson, wiston | |||||||
Present subjunctive | |||||||||||
ic / þū / hē / hit / hēo | cunne | mæge | scule | wite | āge | dyge, duge | drought | myne, mune | þyrfe, þurfe | mōte | |
wē / gē / hīe | cunnen | mægen | school | witaþ | |||||||
Past tense subjunctive | |||||||||||
ic / þū / hē / hit / hēo | cūðe | guessed | sceolde | know, know | |||||||
wē / gē / hīe | cūðen | suspected | sceolden |
Irregular verbs
There is also a further group of four irregular verbs, “want”, “do”, “go” and “be”, which have their own conjugation schemes that differ greatly from those of the other classes. This has to do with the fact that these verbs are the most commonly used.
Dōn 'do', gān 'go', and willan 'want' are conjugated as follows:
conjugation | pronoun | ,to do' | ,go' | ,want' |
---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | - | Don | gān | willan |
Present indicative | ||||
ic | do | gā | will | |
þū | dēst | gst | wilt | |
hē / hit / hēo | dēð | gǣð | wile | |
wē / gē / hīe | dōð | gāð | willað | |
Past tense indicative | ||||
ic / hē / hit / hēo | dyde | ēode | wolde | |
þū | dydest | ēodest | woldest | |
wē / gē / hīe | dydon | ēodon | woldon | |
Present subjunctive | (all people) | do | gā | will |
Past tense subjunctive | (all people) | dyde | ēode | wolde |
Present participle | dōnde | going end | willing | |
past participle | (ġe) dōn | gān | * sake |
The suppletive copula verb "sein" is composed of three different roots:
conjugation | pronoun | sēon | bēon | wesan | * eran | German |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | - | sēon | bēon | wesan | * eran | be |
Present indicative | ||||||
ic | eom | bēo | what | - | am | |
þū | - | are | wesest, know | eart | are | |
hē / hit / hēo | is | bið | weseð, wist | - | is | |
wē / gē / hīe | are (on) | bēoð | wesað | earon | are / are | |
Past tense indicative | ||||||
ic | - | - | wæs | - | was | |
þū | - | - | would be | - | were | |
hē / hit / hēo | - | - | wæs | - | was | |
wē / gē / hīe | - | - | wǽron | - | were / were | |
Present subjunctive | ||||||
ic / þū / hē / hit / hēo | she | bēo | what | - | be / be | |
wē / gē / hīe | sīen | bēon | being | - | be / be | |
Past tense subjunctive | ||||||
ic / þū / hē / hit / hēo | - | - | would be | - | would | |
wē / gē / hīe | - | - | would be | - | would be | |
imperative | ||||||
(Singular) | sī | bēo | wes | - | be | |
(Plural) | - | bēoð | wesað | - | are | |
Present participle | - | bēonde | present | - | being | |
past participle | - | ġebēon | - | - | been |
The present tense forms of wesan are almost never used. The bēon forms are usually used to refer to the future. The New England verb be taking his present forms of Seon and * eran , its past forms of wesan its subjunctive in the present tense of beon , in the past by wesan , infinitive, imperative and participle of Beon.
Numerals
Old English uses the following basic and ordinal numbers:
Base number | Atomic number | |
---|---|---|
1 | on | forma, formest (a), fyrmest (a), fyrest (a), ǣrest (a) |
2 | tū | ōþer, æfterra |
3 | þrēo | þridda |
4th | fēower | fēorþa, fēowerþa |
5 | fīf | fīfta |
6th | six (later form), siex | sixta, siexta |
7th | seofon | seofoþa |
8th | eahta | eahtoþa |
9 | nigon | nigoþa |
10 | tīen | tēoþa |
11 | endleofan, endlefan, enlefan | endleofta, endlefta, enlefta |
12 | twelf | twelfta |
13 | þrēotīene | þrēotēoþa |
14th | fēowertīene | fēowertēoþa |
15th | fīftīene | fīftēoþa |
16 | sixtīene | sixtēoþa, siextēoþa |
17th | seofontīene | seofontēoþa |
18th | eahtatīene | eahtatēoþa |
19th | nigontīene | nigontēoþa |
20th | twenty | twentigoþa / twēntigoþa |
30th | þrītig | þrītigoþa |
40 | fēowertig | fēowertigoþa |
50 | fīftig | fīftigoþa |
60 | sixtig, siextig | sixtigoþa, siextigoþa |
70 | seofontig (hundseofontig) |
seofontigoþa |
80 | eahtatig (dog eatable) |
eahtatigoþa |
90 | nigontig (dog nigontig) |
nigontigoþa |
100 | Hund, hundred, hundtēontig |
hundtēontigoþa |
200 | tū dog | |
300 | þrēo dog | |
1000 | þūsend |
Note: There are no separate forms for the ordinal numbers for hund , hundred (100) and þūsend (1000). Instead, paraphrases are used, e.g. B. sē ðē byð on ðām twām hundredum .
syntax
The sentence structure of Old English differs from the sentence structure of today's English mainly in that in Old English a much more free order of the parts of the sentence was possible. While in today's English the order of subject-verb-object is mandatory in main clauses, with a few exceptions, in Old English as in German z. B. the position of subject and object can be swapped, because appropriate case endings sufficiently indicate what is the subject and what is the object of the sentence:
- Se dogca bāt þone guman ( Eng . The dog bites the man )
- Þone guman bāt se dogca ( Eng . The dog bites the man )
Despite the possible freedom in the order of sentences, there is also a tendency in Old English how parts of sentences are arranged: As in German, Old English main clauses have a V2 position , while Old English subordinate clauses are verb-final like in German:
- Main clause with V2 position: Þā becōm hē tō Westseaxan ( Eng . Then he came to the West Saxons )
- Relative clause with the verb-final position: ... sumne dǣl þæs mēoses þe hēo mid beweaxen wæs ( Eng . A part of the moss with which it was overgrown )
The way in which Old English expresses negation is another characteristic of Old English, with which it differs from today's English and also from other Western European languages such as German. In Old English, negated sentences are indicated by a negation particle ne in front of the verb, but other sentence constituents are often also negated, such as B. by using nān (dt. None ) in the following sentence:
- þēr nān wīfman ǣr ne cōm ( Eng . where no woman had gone before )
The syntactic style in Old English texts is assessed differently by research: In older specialist literature it was assumed that Old English does not use very complex sentences composed of main and subordinate clauses ( hypotactic style), but rather strings together main clauses ( paratactic style), e.g. B. by using and , then or there . Furthermore, sentences in which a second sentence is added without a subject and without a conjunction are typical of Old English:
- Þā cōmon þēofas eahta, woldon stelan þā māðmas (dt .: Then came eight thieves who wanted to steal the treasure )
Current research no longer speaks of a paratactic style, because adverbs like þā or þǣr that can introduce sentences do not have to be clearly translated as then and there , but can also be interpreted as subordinating conjunctions if and where . Overall, it is difficult to clearly describe the sentence structures of Old English using the categories of today's English or German, so that a clear characterization of Old English as paratactic or hypotactic must remain open.
literature
- Karl Brunner: Old English grammar. 3. Edition. Niemeyer, Tübingen 1965.
- Alistair Campbell: Old English Grammar. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1959, ISBN 0-19-811943-7 .
- Richard Hogg, Rhona Alcorn: An Introduction to Old English , 2nd edition. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2012, ISBN 978-0-7486-4238-0 .
- Bruce Mitchell, Fred C. Robinson: A Guide to Old English , 6th Edition. Blackwell, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-631-22636-2 .
- Wolfgang Obst, Florian Schleburg: Textbook of Old English . Winter, Heidelberg 2004, ISBN 3-8253-1594-0 .
See also
Web links
References and footnotes
- ↑ Bruce Mitchell, Fred C. Robinson: A Guide to Old English . 5th edition. Blackwell, Oxford 1996, ISBN 0-631-16657-2 , pp. 105-106 .
- ↑ Bruce Mitchell, Fred C. Robinson: A Guide to Old English . 5th edition. Blackwell, Oxford 1996, ISBN 0-631-16657-2 , pp. 106 .
- ↑ Bruce Mitchell, Fred C. Robinson: A Guide to Old English . 5th edition. Blackwell, Oxford 1996, ISBN 0-631-16657-2 , pp. 106 .
- ^ Joseph Wright, Elisabeth Mary Wright: Old English Grammar . Oxford University Press, London / New York / Toronto 1908, pp. 162 .
- ^ Alistair Campbell: Old English Grammar . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1959, ISBN 0-19-811943-7 , pp. 223 f .
- ^ Richard Hogg, Rhona Alcorn: An Introduction to Old English . 2nd Edition. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2012, ISBN 978-0-7486-4238-0 , pp. 73 .
- ↑ Bruce Mitchell, Fred C. Robinson: A Guide to Old English . 5th edition. Blackwell, Oxford 1996, ISBN 0-631-16657-2 , pp. 17 .
- ^ Karl Brunner: Old English grammar . Niemeyer, Tübingen 1965, p. 194 .
- ↑ The ending - (e) na also occurs rarely from the weak declination; see. on this: Brunner, 1965, p. 206f. §252 note 4.
- ^ Alistair Campbell: Old English Grammar . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1959, ISBN 0-19-811943-7 , pp. 224 f .
- ↑ The nasal ending here comes from the weak declination. (see: Campbell, 1959, p. 225)
- ↑ Bruce Mitchell, Fred C. Robinson: A Guide to Old English . 5th edition. Blackwell, Oxford 1996, ISBN 0-631-16657-2 , pp. 19-20 .
- ↑ Bruce Mitchell, Fred C. Robinson: A Guide to Old English . 5th edition. Blackwell, Oxford 1996, ISBN 0-631-16657-2 , pp. 18 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Obst, Florian Schleburg: Textbook of Old English . Winter, Heidelberg 2004, ISBN 3-8253-1594-0 , p. 152 .
- ^ Richard Hogg, Rhona Alcorn: An Introduction to Old English . 2nd Edition. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2012, ISBN 978-0-7486-4238-0 , pp. 107 .
- ^ Karl Brunner: Old English grammar . 3. Edition. Niemeyer, Tübingen 1965, p. 257 .
- ^ Richard Hogg, Rhona Alcorn: An Introduction to Old English . 2nd Edition. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2012, ISBN 978-0-7486-4238-0 , pp. 89 .
- ^ Richard Hogg, Rhona Alcorn: An Introduction to Old English . 2nd Edition. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2012, ISBN 978-0-7486-4238-0 , pp. 90, 93 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Obst, Florian Schleburg: Textbook of Old English . Winter, Heidelberg 2004, ISBN 3-8253-1594-0 , p. 232 .
- ^ Richard Hogg, Rhona Alcorn: An Introduction to Old English . 2nd Edition. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2012, ISBN 978-0-7486-4238-0 , pp. 98 .
- ^ Albert C. Baugh, Thomas Cable: A History of the English Language . 6th edition. Routledge, London / New York 2013, ISBN 978-0-415-65596-5 , pp. 63-65 .