Theme 5. Old English Theme 5. Old English GrammarGrammar

Aims: Aims: •perceive grammatical terminology of the Old perceive grammatical terminology of the Old English period;English period;•be able to identify the distinction between be able to identify the distinction between lexical and grammatical categories;lexical and grammatical categories;•be able to recognize the morphological and be able to recognize the morphological and syntactic features of the Old English synthetic syntactic features of the Old English synthetic language.language.

Points for discussionPoints for discussion

• IntroductionIntroduction• 1.General tendencies of the Old English 1.General tendencies of the Old English

MorphologyMorphology• 2.Declension of Nouns in Old English 2.Declension of Nouns in Old English • 3.The pronoun and article classification3.The pronoun and article classification• 4.Declension of Adjectives in Old English. The 4.Declension of Adjectives in Old English. The

degrees of comparisondegrees of comparison• 5.The verb classification. The Old English 5.The verb classification. The Old English

Conjugation SystemConjugation System• 5.1. Development of the Finite Forms of the 5.1. Development of the Finite Forms of the

English VerbEnglish Verb• 5.2. Development of the Non-Finite Forms of the 5.2. Development of the Non-Finite Forms of the

English VerbEnglish Verb• ConclusionConclusion

Key Terms to KnowKey Terms to Know

• paradigm conjugationparadigm conjugation• category strong declensioncategory strong declension• synthetic languagesynthetic language

morphological structure morphological structure • declension suppletive verbsdeclension suppletive verbs• vocalic stems anomalous verbsvocalic stems anomalous verbs• consonantal stemsconsonantal stems• root stemsroot stems• strong verbsstrong verbs• weak verbsweak verbs

LITERATURELITERATURE

•• ObligatoryObligatory• Elly van Gelderen. A History of the English Language.- Elly van Gelderen. A History of the English Language.-

Amsterdam/ Philadelphia, 2006. -PP. 55-72Amsterdam/ Philadelphia, 2006. -PP. 55-72• Valery V. Mykhailenko. Paradigmatics in the evolution of Valery V. Mykhailenko. Paradigmatics in the evolution of

English. - Chernivtsi, - 1999.-English. - Chernivtsi, - 1999.- PP. 51-88; 89-115PP. 51-88; 89-115• T.A. Rastorguyeva. A History of English. - Moscow, 1983. - T.A. Rastorguyeva. A History of English. - Moscow, 1983. -

PP. 92-131PP. 92-131• L.Verba. History of the English language. - Vinnitsa, 2004. - L.Verba. History of the English language. - Vinnitsa, 2004. -

PP. 38-89PP. 38-89• AdditionalAdditional• Аракин В. Д. История английского языка. - М., 1985. - C. Аракин В. Д. История английского языка. - М., 1985. - C.

43-9243-92

Old English GrammarOld English Grammar

•Grammatical meanings expressed Grammatical meanings expressed by:by:

• Grammatical endings,Grammatical endings,

• Sound interchanges in the root,Sound interchanges in the root,

• Grammatical prefixes,Grammatical prefixes,

• Suppletive formationSuppletive formation

A synthetic, or, inflected type of language

Parts of Speech in Old English:Parts of Speech in Old English:

the adjective,

the pronoun,

the numeral

the noun,

nominal parts (nomina)

the verb,

the adverb,

the proposition,

the conjunction,

the interjection

Grammatical CategoriesGrammatical Categories

Nominal categories Verbal categories

Number

Case

Gender

Degrees of comparison

Category of definiteness/

indefiniteness

Tense

moodVerbal categories

proper

Number

personAgreement

between the

Predicate/subject

– –

The Old English grammatical system

appeared in texts of the 9th and 10th c.(mainly West Saxon dialect):

THE CǼDMON STORY-the extract is from an Old

English translation of Bede ́s Ecclesiastical History(Book 4, Ch.24),--tells the story of

CǼDMON the unlettered cowherd who became

England ̉s first Christian poet, sometime in the

Late 7th century.The translation dates from the

Late 9th century.

• WWæs he se mon in weoruldhade geseted oð Þa tide Þe heæs he se mon in weoruldhade geseted oð Þa tide Þe he• Was he the man in secular life settled until the time that Was he the man in secular life settled until the time that

hehe• Wæs gelyfdre ylde, ond he næfre nænig leoð geleornode, Wæs gelyfdre ylde, ond he næfre nænig leoð geleornode,

ond heond he• Was of- advanced age, and he never any poem learned, Was of- advanced age, and he never any poem learned,

and heand he• For Þon oft in gebeorscipe, Þonne Þær wæs blisse For Þon oft in gebeorscipe, Þonne Þær wæs blisse

intingaintinga• Therefore often at banquet, when there was of-joy Therefore often at banquet, when there was of-joy

occasionoccasion• Gedemed, Þæt heo ealle sceolden Þurh endebyrdnesse Gedemed, Þæt heo ealle sceolden Þurh endebyrdnesse

be hearpanbe hearpan• Decided that they all should by arrangement with harpDecided that they all should by arrangement with harp• Singan, Þonne he geseah Þa hearpan him nealecan, Singan, Þonne he geseah Þa hearpan him nealecan,

Þonne aras heÞonne aras he• To sing when he saw the harp him approach, then arose To sing when he saw the harp him approach, then arose

hehe• For scome from Þæm symble,ond ham eode to his huse. For scome from Þæm symble,ond ham eode to his huse.

Þa heÞa he

THE CǼDMON STORY

– For shame from the feast and home went to his house. For shame from the feast and home went to his house. When heWhen he

– Þæt Þa sumbe tide dyde, Þæt he forlet Þæt hus ÞæsÞæt Þa sumbe tide dyde, Þæt he forlet Þæt hus Þæs– That a certain time did, that he left the house of theThat a certain time did, that he left the house of the– Gebeorscipes, ond ut wGebeorscipes, ond ut wæs gongende to neata scipeneæs gongende to neata scipene– Banquet, and out was going to of-cattle stallBanquet, and out was going to of-cattle stall– Þara heord him wæs Þære neahte beboden, Þa he ða Þara heord him wæs Þære neahte beboden, Þa he ða

ÞærÞær– Of which keeping him was that night entrusted.Of which keeping him was that night entrusted.

The Cædmon Story (continued)

The Old English NounThe Old English Noun

CategoriesCategories

case number gender

Nominative

Genitive

Dative

Accusative

Singular

Plural

Masculine

Feminine

Neuter

Morphological structure of a nounMorphological structure of a noun

root stem-suffix

+

+ inflection

e.

e. g. Ім-ен –і, ім-ен –ем, ім-ен –а, etc.

stem

Morphological Classification of OE Morphological Classification of OE NounsNouns

• Vocalic stemsVocalic stems

• (strong declension)(strong declension)

A-stems(and their variants)Ja-stems,wa-stems

Ō-stems (jō-stems, wo-stems)

i-stems

U-stems

Consonantal stems

w(

(weak declension)

N-stems

Root-stems

Minor-stems:R-, s-, nd-

A-stem declensionA-stem declension

• N. stān “stone”N. stān “stone”• G. stānesG. stānes• D. stāneD. stāne• A. stānA. stān• N. stānasN. stānas• G. stānaG. stāna• D. stānumD. stānum• A. stānasA. stānas

• scip “ship”scip “ship”• scipesscipes• scipescipe• scipscip• scipuscipu• scipascipa• scipumscipum• scipuscipu

Sg.

Pl.

Masculine Neuter

O-stem declensionO-stem declension

“ “care”care” “journey”“journey”

• N.carufōr N.carufōr fōre fōre

• G. care fōreG. care fōre

• D. care fōreD. care fōre

• A. care A. care

• cara fōracara fōra

• cara fōracara fōra

• carum fōrumcarum fōrum

• cara fōra cara fōra

Singular Plural

N-stem declensionN-stem declension

• N. nama “name” tunge “tongue” ēage N. nama “name” tunge “tongue” ēage “eye”“eye”

• G. naman tungan ēaganG. naman tungan ēagan

• D. naman tungan ēaganD. naman tungan ēagan

• A. naman tungan ēageA. naman tungan ēage

• N. naman tungan ēaganN. naman tungan ēagan

• G. namena tungena ēagenaG. namena tungena ēagena

• D. namum tungum ēagumD. namum tungum ēagum

• A. naman tungan ēaganA. naman tungan ēagan

Masculine Feminine Neuter

Sg.

Pl.

Root-stems nounsRoot-stems nouns

•Masculine Feminine

Sg. N.

G.

D.

A.

Pl. N.

G.

D.

A.

Fōt

Fōtes

Fēt

Fōt

Fēt

Fōta

Fōtum

fēt

“foot” Mūs

Mŷs, mūse

Mŷs

mūsMŷs

Mūsa

Mūsum

mŷs

“mouse”

Old English noun classesOld English noun classes

•

Like stan: aÞ “oath”,coss “kiss”, cyning “king”, dom judgement”, hlaf “loaf”, hund “dog”, Þeof “thief”, weall “wall”, weg “way”,wer “man”

Like word: bearn “child”, deor “animal”, folc “people”, gear

“year”, land “land”, sceap “sheep”, sweord “sword”, weork

“work”, wif “woman”

Like lufu: faru “journey”, giefu “gift”, racu “narrative”,sceadu “shade”, scolu “troop”Like sunu: lagu “lake”, medu “mead”, wudu “wood”

( Elly van Gelderen 2006:62)

Old English PronounsOld English Pronouns

personal

demonstrative interrogative

indefinite

other groups – relative, possessive and reflexive – were as yet not fully developed and separated from

the four main classes.

Old English Personal PronounsOld English Personal Pronouns

•categories

3 persons

first person

second person

third person

3 numbers

singular

dual

plural

3 genders

masculine

feminine

neuter

4 cases

Nominative

Genitive

Dative

Accusative

Old English Personal PronounsOld English Personal Pronouns

•Singular Dual Plural

First Nom. Ic wit wē

Gen. mīn uncer ūre

Dat. m unc ūs

Acc. Mē/mec uncit ūsic, ūs

Second Nom. Þū git gē

Gen. Þīn incer ēower

Dat. Þē inc ēow

Acc. Þēc, Þē incit, inc ēowic, ēow

ē

Old English Personal PronounsOld English Personal Pronouns

•

declension continued

Third Singular Plural

M. F. N. All genders

Nom. hē hēo, hīo hit hīe, hī, hŷ, hēo

Gen. his hire, hiere his hira, heora, hiera, hyra

Dat. him hire, hiere him him, heom

Acc. hine hīe, hī, hŷ hit hīe, hī, hŷ, hēo

Demonstratives in Old EnglishDemonstratives in Old English

•Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural

Nom. sē, se sēo Þæt Þā

Gen. Þæs Þǽre Þæs Þāra, Þǽra

Dat. Þǽm Þǽre Þǽm, Þām Þām, Þǽm

Acc. Þōne Þā Þæt Þā

The Old English AdjectiveThe Old English Adjectivecategories

3 genders

masculine

feminine

neuter

2 numbers

singular

plural

5 cases

Nominative

Genitive

Dative

Accusative

Instrumental( Instr.—lŷtle werede “with (the help of) a small troop”

Strong and Weak Declension ofStrong and Weak Declension ofAdjectivesAdjectives

•Pronouns NounsPronouns Nouns• n-stems n-stems ō-stems n-stemsō-stems n-stems

• (weak)(weak)

•Strong Weak

Adjectives

The adjective The adjective “good“good” in Old ” in Old EnglishEnglish

• Strong Weak

Sg. M F N M F N

Nom. god god god goda gode gode

Gen. godes godre godes godan godan godan

Dat. godum godre godum godan godan godan

Acc. godne gode god godan godan gode

Instr. gode godre gode godan godan godan

The adjective The adjective “good“good” in Old ” in Old EnglishEnglish

•

(continued)

Strong Weak

Plural M F N All genders

Nom. gode goda god godan

Gen. godra godra godra godra/godena

Dat. godum godum godum godum

Acc. gode goda,-e god godan

Instr. godum godum godum godum

The Old English VerbThe Old English Verb

•categories

2 tenses

present

past (preterite)

3 moods

Indicative

Subjunctive

(conjunctive)

imperative

2 numbers

singular

plural

3 persons

Morphological Classification of Old Morphological Classification of Old EnglishEnglishVerbsVerbs

•Strong Weak Minor groups

Seven classes with Three classes with Preterite-

different gradation different stem- presents

series suffixes Suppletive

Anomalous

Principal Parts of the Principal Parts of the Old English Old English VerbVerb

I – the Infinitive

II – the Singular Past Indicative

III– the Plural Past Indicative (and the Past Subjunctive)

IV-- Participle II

Strong Verbs in Old EnglishStrong Verbs in Old English

•(form their past tense stems by gradation (ablaut) of the

root vowel)I II III IV

Class IĪ ā I i

Wrītan “write” wrāt writon writen

Class II ēo ēa u o

Flēogan “fly” flēag flugon flogen

Strong verbs in Old EnglishStrong verbs in Old English

•(continued)

Class III

b)I a u u

drincan”drink” drank druncon druncenb) E ea u o

helpan “help” healp hulpon holpen

c) Eo ea u o

steorfan “die” stearf sturfon storfenClass IV

e æ ǽ ostelan “steal” stæl stǽlon stolen

Strong verbs in Old EnglishStrong verbs in Old English

•

continued)

Class VE æ ǽ e

Tredan “tread” træd trǽdon treden

Class VIa ō ō a

dragan “draw” drōg drōgon dragen

Class VIIcnāwan “know” cnēow cnēowon cnāwen

feallan “fall” feoll feollon feallen

Weak Verbs in Old EnglishWeak Verbs in Old English

•

Classes Infinitive Past Tense Participle II NE I -an/ -ian -de/ede/-te -ed/-d/-t

styrian styrede styred stir

temman temede temed tame

dēman dēmde dēmed deem

cēpan cēpte cēped keep

tellan tealde teald tell

Þγncan Þūhte Þūht think

II -ian -ode -od

lōcian lōcode lōcod look

III -an -de -d

libban lifde lifd live

Conjugation of Old English Strong Conjugation of Old English Strong VerbsVerbs

ī Indicative Subjunctive Imperative

Present ic drīfe ic drīfe --

Þū drīfest Þū drīfe drīf

hē/o drīf(e)Þ hē/o drīfe

wē, gē, hīe drīfaÞ drifen gē drīfaÞ

Past ic drāf ic drife

Þū drife Þū drife

hē/o drāf hē/o drife

wē, gē, hīe drifon drifen

Past Participle (ge)drīfen

Conjugation of Old English Weak Conjugation of Old English Weak VerbsVerbs

•Present Indicative Subjunctive Imperative

ic fremme “do” ic fremme

Þū fremme Þū fremme freme

hē/o, hit frem(e)Þ hē/o, hit fremme

wē, gē, hīe fremmaÞ fremmen fremmaÞ

Past ic fremede ic fremede

Þū fremedest Þū fremede

hē/o, hit fremede hē/o, hit fremede

wē, gē, hīe fremedon fremeden

Past Participle (ge)fremed

The forms of the verb The forms of the verb to beto be

• Indicative Subjunctive Imperative

Present ic eom/beo sie/beo

Þū eart/bist sīe/bēo wes/bēo

hē/o is/biÞ sīe/bēo

wē, gē, hīe sint, bēoÞ sīen, bēon wesaÞ, bēoÞ

Past ic wæs wǽre

Þū wǽre

hē/o wæs

wē, gē, hīe wǽron wǽren

The forms of the verb The forms of the verb to beto becontinued

Future Indicative Subjunctive Imperative

ic bēo

Þū bist

hē/o biÞ

wē, gē, hīe beoÞ

Participles wesende/beonde/gebeon

Old English Preteritive PresentsOld English Preteritive PresentsPreterit-present (or preteritive presents)—

Their present tense forms followed the preterit

(past tense) pattern of strong verbs

E.g.: Sg. Ic wāt “know”

Pl. wē witon

In OE—12 preterit present verbs.

6 of them have survived in Mod.E:

owe, ought, can, dare, shall, may, must

Old English VerbalsOld English Verbals

Infinitive Participle I Participle IIbindan bindende ge-bunden “bind”

ā-drencan ā-drencende ā-drenced

“drown”

Old English SyntaxOld English Syntax 2 major conditions:

The nature of OE morphology the relations between

the spoken and the

written forms of the

language

The syntax was relatively simple:coordination

prevailed over

subordination

Old English synthetic Old English synthetic characteristics:characteristics:

• lack of prepositionslack of prepositions

• free word orderfree word order

• omission of subject pronounsomission of subject pronouns

• lack of auxiliarieslack of auxiliaries

• frequent use of coordinate structuresfrequent use of coordinate structures

• use of adverbs as discourse markers use of adverbs as discourse markers

• placing of the negation placing of the negation nene or or –n–n before the verb before the verb

Conclusion

Old English morphologic Old English morphologic characteristics:characteristics:• an elaborate pronominal system as a result of casean elaborate pronominal system as a result of case• no real articles, only demonstrativesno real articles, only demonstratives• nouns have endings depending on whether they nouns have endings depending on whether they

are are • subjects or objects, they can be masculine, subjects or objects, they can be masculine,

feminine or neuter in genderfeminine or neuter in gender• adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in

case, number, and gender ; and are either weak case, number, and gender ; and are either weak or strongor strong

• verbs are marked depending on whether they are verbs are marked depending on whether they are weak or strongweak or strong

Questions for Self-ControlQuestions for Self-ControlExplain why OE can be called a “synthetic” or “inflected”

Language.Speak on the differences between the categories of

Case, number and gender in nouns, pronouns and

Adjectives.

Explain the difference between the grouping of nouns

Into declensions and the two declensions of adjectives.

Find instances of “breaking” in the principal forms of

Strong and weak verbs?

Questions for Self-Control (continued)Questions for Self-Control (continued)

• What parts of speech were there in OE? What parts What parts of speech were there in OE? What parts of speech did it lack? of speech did it lack?

• What morphological categories did the OE Noun What morphological categories did the OE Noun have? have?

• What types of declensin did the noun have? What types of declensin did the noun have? • What classes of pronouns were ther in OE? What classes of pronouns were ther in OE? • What morpholodical categories did the OE personal What morpholodical categories did the OE personal

pronoun have? pronoun have? • What did the possessive pronoun develop from? What did the possessive pronoun develop from? • What morphological categories did the What morphological categories did the

demonstrative pronouns have in OE? demonstrative pronouns have in OE? • What part of speech develop from the What part of speech develop from the

demonstrative pronoundemonstrative pronoun??

Questions for Self-Control (continued)Questions for Self-Control (continued)

• How were the degrees of comparison built How were the degrees of comparison built in OE? in OE?

• What classes of verbs were there in OE? What classes of verbs were there in OE? • What were the characteristic features of What were the characteristic features of

strong verbs, weak verbs, preteristrong verbs, weak verbs, preterite-te- •

present verbs and irregular verbspresent verbs and irregular verbs??• What categories did the verb have in OE? What categories did the verb have in OE?