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WITH

BY

PRINTED IN ENGLAND
AT THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

{v}

The want of an introduction to the study of Old-English has long been felt. Vernon's Anglo-Saxon Guide was an admirable book for its time, but has long been completely antiquated. I was therefore obliged to make my Anglo-Saxon Reader a somewhat unsatisfactory compromise between an elementary primer and a manual for advanced students, but I always looked forward to producing a strictly elementary book like the present one, which would enable me to give the larger one a more scientific character, and would at the same time serve as an introduction to it. Meanwhile, however, Professor Earle has brought out his Book for the beginner in Anglo-Saxon. But this work is quite unsuited to serve as an introduction to my Reader, and will be found to differ so totally in plan and execution from the present one as to preclude all idea of rivalry on my part. We work on lines which instead of clashing can only diverge more and more.

My main principle has been to make the book the easiest possible introduction to the study of Old-English.

Poetry has been excluded, and a selection made from the easiest prose pieces I could find. Old-English original prose is unfortunately limited in extent, and the most suitable pieces (such as the voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan) are already given in the Reader; these I could not give over {vi}again. But I hope the short extracts from the Chronicle and the Martyrdom of King Edmund will be found not wanting in interest. For the rest of the selections I have had to fall back on scriptural extracts, which have the great advantages of simplicity and familiarity of subject. The Gospel extracts have been transferred here from the Reader, where they will be omitted in the next edition. The sentences which head the selections have been gathered mainly from the Gospels, Ælfric's Homilies, and the Chronicle. They are all of the simplest possible character, only those having been taken which would bear isolation from their context. They are intended to serve both as an introduction and as a supplement to the longer pieces. They are grouped roughly into paragraphs, according to the grammatical forms they illustrate. Thus the first paragraph consists mainly of examples of the nominative singular of nouns and adjectives, the second of accusative singulars, and so on.

The spelling has been made rigorously uniform throughout on an early West-Saxon basis. Injurious as normalizing is to the advanced student, it is an absolute necessity for the beginner, who wants to have the definite results of scholarship laid before him, not the confused and fluctuating spellings which he cannot yet interpret intelligently. Even for purely scientific purposes we require a standard of comparison and classification, as in the arrangement of words in a dictionary, where we have to decide, for instance, whether to put the original of hear under ē, īe, ī or ȳ. The spelling I here adopt is, in fact, the one I should recommend for dictionary purposes. From early West-Saxon it is an easy step both to late W. S. and to the Mercian forms from which Modern English is derived. That I give Ælfric in a spelling slightly earlier than his date is no more {vii}unreasonable than it is for a classical scholar to print Ausonius (who doubtless spoke Latin with an almost Italian pronunciation) in the same spelling as Virgil.

It is impossible to go into details, but in doubtful or optional cases I have preferred those forms which seemed most instructive to the student. Thus I have preferred keeping up the distinction between the indic. bundon and the subj. bunden, although the latter is often levelled under the former even in early MS. In the accentuation I have for the present retained the conventional quantities, which are really 'prehistoric' quantities, as I have shown elsewhere (Phil. Soc. Proc. 1880, 1881). It is no use trying to disguise the fact that Old English philology (owing mainly to its neglect in its native land) is still in an unsettled state.

In the Grammar I have cut down the phonology to the narrowest limits, giving only what is necessary to enable the beginner to trace the connection of forms within the language itself. Derivation and syntax have been treated with the same fulness as the inflections. In my opinion, to give inflections without explaining their use is as absurd as it would be to teach the names of the different parts of a machine without explaining their use, and derivation is as much a fundamental element of a language as inflection. The grammar has been based throughout on the texts, from which all words and sentences given as examples have, as far as possible, been taken. This I consider absolutely essential in an elementary book. What is the use of a grammar which gives a number of forms and rules which the learner has no occasion to apply practically in his reading? Simply to cut down an ordinary grammar and prefix it to a selection of elementary texts, without any attempt to adapt them to one another, is a most unjustifiable proceeding. {viii}

In the Glossary cognate and root words are given only when they occur in the texts, or else are easily recognizable by the ordinary English reader.

All reference to cognate languages has been avoided. Of course, if the beginner knows German, the labour of learning Old English will be lightened for him by one half, but he does not require to have the analogies pointed out to him. The same applies to the relation between Old and Modern English. To trace the history of the sounds would be quite out of place in this book, and postulates a knowledge of the intermediate stages which the beginner cannot have.

The Notes consist chiefly of references to the Grammar, and are intended mainly for those who study without a teacher. As a general rule, no such references are given where the passage itself is quoted in the Grammar.

On the whole I do not think the book could be made much easier without defeating its object. Thus, instead of simply referring the student from stęnt to standan, and thence to the Grammar, I might have saved him all this trouble by putting 'stęnt, 3 sg. pres. of standan, stand,' but the result would be in many cases that he would not look at the Grammar at all—surely a most undesirable result.

Although I have given everything that I believe to be necessary, every teacher may, of course, at his own discretion add such further illustrations, linguistic, historical, antiquarian, or otherwise, as he thinks likely to instruct or interest his pupils.

My thanks are due to Professor Skeat, not only for constant advice and encouragement in planning and carrying out this work, but also for help in correcting the proofs.

In conclusion I may be allowed to express a hope that this little book may prove useful not only to young beginners, but also to some of our Professors of and {ix}Examiners in the English language, most of whom are now beginning to see the importance of a sound elementary knowledge of 'Anglo-Saxon'—a knowledge which I believe this book to be capable of imparting, if studied diligently, and not hurriedly cast aside for a more ambitious one.

HENRY SWEET.

In the present edition I have put this book into what must be (for some time at least) its permanent form, making such additions and alterations as seemed necessary.

If I had any opportunity of teaching the language, I should no doubt have been able to introduce many other improvements; as it is, I have had to rely mainly on the suggestions and corrections kindly sent to me by various teachers and students who have used this book, among whom my especial thanks are due to the Rev. W. F. Moulton, of Cambridge, and Mr. C. Stoffel, of Amsterdam.

HENRY SWEET.

{x}

{1}

The oldest stage of English before the Norman Conquest is called 'Old English,' which name will be used throughout in this Book, although the name 'Anglo-Saxon' is still often used.

There were several dialects of Old English. This book deals only with the West-Saxon dialect in its earliest form.

VOWELS.

The vowel-letters in Old English had nearly the same values as in Latin. Long vowels were occasionally marked by (´), short vowels being left unmarked. In this book long vowels are marked by (ˉ). The following are the elementary vowels and diphthongs, with examples, and key-words from English, French (F.), and German (G.):—

The diphthongs are pronounced with the stress on the first element.

CONSONANTS.

Double consonants must be pronounced double, or long, as in Italian. Thus sunu (son) must be distinguished from sunne (sun) in the same way as penny is distinguished from penknife. So also in (in) must be distinguished from inn (house); noting that in modern English final consonants in accented monosyllables after a short vowel are long, our in and inn both having the pronunciation of Old English inn, not of O.E. in.

c and g had each a back (guttural) and a front (palatal) pron., which latter is in this book written ċ, ġ.

c = k, as in cēne (bold), cnāwan (know).

ċ = kj, a k formed in the j (English y) position, nearly as in the old-fashioned pron. of sky: ċiriċe (church), styċċe (piece), þęnċan (think).

g initially and in the combination ng was pron. as in 'get': gōd (good), lang (long); otherwise (that is, medially and finally after vowels and l, r) as in German sagen: dagas (days), burg (city), hālga (saint).

ġ initially and in the combination nġ was pronounced gj (corresponding to kj): ġē (ye), ġeorn (willing), spręnġan (scatter); otherwise = j (as in 'you'): dæġ (day), wrēġan (accuse), hęrġian (ravage). It is possible that ġ in ġe-boren (born) and other unaccented syllables was already pronounced j. ċġ = ġġ: sęċġan (say), hryċġ (back).

f had the sound of v everywhere where it was possible:—faran (go), of (of), ofer (over); not, of course, in oft (often), or when doubled, as in offrian (offer). {4}

h initially, as in hē (he), had the same sound as now. Everywhere else it had that of Scotch and German ch in loch:—hēah (high), Wealh (Welshman), riht (right). hw, as in hwæt (what), hwīl (while), had the sound of our wh; and hl, hn, hr differed from l, n, r respectively precisely as wh differs from w, that is, they were these consonants devocalized, hl being nearly the same as Welsh ll:—hlāford (lord), hlūd (loud); hnappian (doze), hnutu (nut); hraþe (quickly), hrēod (reed).

r was always a strong trill, as in Scotch:—rǣran (to raise), hēr (here), word (word).

s had the sound of z:—sēċan (seek), swā (so), wīs (wise), ā·rīsan (rise); not, of course, in combination with hard consonants, as in stān (stone), fæst (firm), rīċsian (rule), or when double, as in cyssan (kiss).

þ had the sound of our th (= dh) in then:—þū (thou), þing (thing), sōþ (true), hǣþen (heathen); except when in combination with hard consonants, where it had that of our th in thin, as in sēċþ (seeks). Note hæfþ (has) = hævdh.

w was fully pronounced wherever written:—wrītan (write), nīwe (new), sēow (sowed pret.).

STRESS.

The stress or accent is marked throughout in this book, whenever it is not on the first syllable of a word, by (·) preceding the letter on which the stress begins. Thus for·ġiefan is pronounced with the same stress as that of forgive, andswaru with that of answer.

VOWELS.

Different vowels are related to one another in various ways in O.E., the most important of which are mutation (German umlaut) and gradation (G. ablaut). {5}

The following changes are mutations:—

a .. ę:—mann, pl. męnn; wand (wound prt.), węndan (to turn).

ea (= a) .. ie (= ę):—eald (old), ieldra (older); feallan (fall), fielþ (falls).

ā .. ǣ:—blāwan (to blow), blǣwþ (bloweth); hāl (sound), hǣlan (heal).

u .. y:—burg (city), pl. byriġ; trum (strong), trymman (to strengthen).

o .. y:—gold, gylden (golden); coss (a kiss), cyssan (to kiss).

e .. i:—beran (to bear), bireþ (beareth); cweþan (speak), cwide (speech).

eo (= e) .. ie (= i):—heord (herd), hierde (shepherd); ċeorfan (cut), ċierfþ (cuts).

u .. o:—curon (they chose), ġe·coren (chosen).

ū .. ȳ:—cūþ (known), cȳþan (to make known); fūl (foul), ā·fȳlan (defile).

ō .. ē:—sōhte (sought prt.), sēċan (to seek); fōda (food), fēdan (to feed).

ēa .. īe:—hēawan (to hew), hīewþ (hews); tēam (progeny), tīeman (teem).

ēo .. īe:—stēor (rudder), stīeran (steer); ġe·strēon (possession), ġes·trīenan (gain).

Before proceeding to gradation, it will be desirable to describe the other most important vowel-relations.

a, æ, ea. In O.E. original a is preserved before nasals, as in mann, lang, nama (name), and before a single consonant followed by a, u, or o, as in dagas (days), dagum (to days), faran (go), gafol (profit), and in some words when e follows, as in ic fare (I go), faren (gone). Before r, l, h followed by another consonant, and before x it becomes ea, as in heard (hard), eall (all), eald (old), eahta (eight), weaxan (to grow). Not in bærst (p. 7). In most other cases it becomes æ:—dæġ, (day), dæġes (of a day), fæst (firm), wær (wary). {6}

e before nasals always becomes i: compare bindan (to bind), pret. band, with beran (to bear), pret. bær.

e before r (generally followed by a consonant) becomes eo:—eorþe (earth), heorte (heart). Not in berstan (p. 7). Also in other cases:—seolfor (silver), heofon (heaven).

i before r + cons. becomes ie:—bierþ (beareth) contr. from bireþ, hierde (shepherd) from heord (herd), wiersa (worse).

ę before r, or l + cons. often becomes ie:—fierd (army) from faran, bieldo (boldness) from beald, ieldra (elder) from eald.

By gradation the vowels are related as follows:—

e (i, eo) .. a (æ, ea) .. u (o):—

bindan (inf.), band (pret.), bundon (they bound). beran (inf.), bær (pret.), boren (past partic.). ċeorfan (cut), ċearf (pret.), curfon (they cut), corfen (past partic.). bęnd (bond) = mutation of band, byr-þen (burden) of bor-en.

a (æ, ea) .. ǣ:—spræc (spoke), sprǣcon (they spoke), sprǣċ (speech).

a .. ō:—faran (to go), fōr (pret.), fōr (journey). ġe·fēra (companion) mutation of fōr.

ī .. ā .. i:—wrītan, wrāt, writon, ġe·writ (writing, subst.). (be)·līfan (remain), lāf (remains), whence by mutation lǣfan (leave).

ēo (ū) .. ēa .. u (o):—ċēosan (choose), ċēas, curon, coren. cys-t (choice). (for)·lēosan (lose), lēas (loose), ā·līesan (release), losian (to be lost). būgan (bend), boga (bow).

We see that the laws of gradation are most clearly shown in the conjugation of the strong verbs. But they run through the whole language, and a knowledge of the laws of gradation and mutation is the main key to O.E. etymology.

CONSONANTS.

s becomes r in the preterite plurals and past participles of strong verbs, as in curon, ġe·coren from ċēosan, wǣron pl. of wæs (was), and in other formations, such as hryre (fall) from hrēosan.

þ becomes d under the same conditions, as in wurdon, ġe·worden from weorþan (become), cwæþ (quoth), pl. cwǣdon, cwide (speech) from cweþan (infin.).

r is often transposed, as in iernan (run) from original *rinnan (cp. the subst. ryne), berstan (burst) from *brestan, bærst (burst pret.) from bræst, hors (horse) from *hross.

The combinations cæ-, gæ- become ċea-, ġea-, as in ċeaf (chaff) from *cæf, sċeal (shall) from *scæl, ġeaf (gave) = *gæf from ġiefan (cp. cwæþ from cweþan), ġeat (gate)—cp. fæt (vessel).

gǣ- often becomes ġēa-, as in ġēafon (they gave), with which compare cwǣdon (they said).

ge- becomes ġie, as in ġiefan, ġieldan (pay) from *gefan, *geldan—cp. cweþan, delfan. Not in the prefix ġe- and ġē (ye).

When g comes before a consonant in inflection, it often becomes h, as in hē līehþ (he lies) from lēogan (mentiri).

h after a consonant is dropt when a vowel follows, the preceding vowel being lengthened, thus Wealh (Welshman) has plural Wēalas.

NOUNS.

Gender. There are three genders in O.E.—masculine, neuter, and feminine. The gender is partly natural, partly {8}grammatical. By the natural gender names of male beings, such as se mann (the man), are masculine; of female beings, such as sēo dohtor (the daughter), are feminine; and of young creatures, such as þæt ċild (the child), neuter. Note, however, that þæt wīf (woman) is neuter.

Grammatical gender is known only by the gender of the article and other words connected with the noun, and, to some extent, by its form. Thus all nouns ending in -a, such as se mōna (moon), are masculine, sēo sunne (sun) being feminine. Those ending in -dōm, -hād, and -sċipe are also masculine:—se wīsdōm (wisdom), se ċildhād (childhood), se frēondsċipe (friendship). Those in -nes, -o (from adjectives) -rǣden, and -ung are feminine:—sēo rihtwīsnes (righteousness), sēo bieldo (boldness) from beald, sēo mann-rǣden (allegiance), sēo scotung (shooting).

Compounds follow the gender of their last element, as in þæt burg-ġeat (city-gate), from sēo burg and þæt ġeat. Hence also se wīf-mann (woman) is masculine.

The gender of most words can be learnt only by practice, and the student should learn each noun with its proper definite article.

Strong and Weak. Weak nouns are those which form their inflections with n, such as se mōna, plural mōnan; sēo sunne, genitive sing. þǣre sunnan. All the others, such as se dæġ, pl. dagas, þæt hūs (house), gen. sing. þæs hūses, are strong.

Cases. There are four cases, nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. The acc. is the same as the nom. in all plurals, in the sing. of all neuter nouns, and of all strong masculines. Masculine and neuter nouns never differ in the plural except in the nom. and acc., and in the singular they differ only in the acc. of weak nouns, which in neuters is the same as the nom. The dative plural of nearly all nouns ends in -um. {9}

STRONG MASCULINES.

(1) as-plurals.

So also dǣl (part), cyning (king), ċildhād (childhood).

dæġ (day) changes its vowel in the pl. (p. 5):—dæġ, dæġe, dæġes; dagas, dagum, daga.

Nouns in -e have nom. and dat. sing. the same:—ęnde, (end), ęnde, ęndes; ęndas, ęndum, ęnda.

Nouns in -el, -ol, -um, -en, -on, -er, -or often contract:—ęnġel (angel), ęnġle, ęnġles; ęnġlas, ęnġlum, ęnġla. So also næġel (nail), þeġen (thane), ealdor (prince). Others, such as æcer (field), do not contract.

h after a consonant is dropped in inflection (p. 7), as in feorh (life), fēore, fēores. So also in Wealh (Welshman), plur. Wēalas.

There are other classes which are represented only by a few nouns each.

(2) e-plurals.

(3) Mutation-plurals.

So also tōþ (tooth). Mann (man), męnn, mannes; męnn, mannum, manna.

{10}

(4) u-nouns.

So also wudu (wood).

(5) r-nouns (including feminines).

So also brōþor (brother); fæder (father), dohtor (daughter), have dat. sing. fæder, dehter.

(6) nd-nouns.

Formed from the present participle of verbs.

So also fēond (enemy).

Those in -end inflect thus:—būend (dweller), būend, būendes; būend, būendum, būendra. So also Hǣlend (saviour). The -ra is an adjectival inflection.

STRONG NEUTERS.

(1) u-plurals.

So all neuters with short final syllable, such as ġe·bed (prayer), ġe·writ (writing), ġeat (gate). {11}

Fæt (vessel), fæte, fætes; fatu, fatum, fata (p. 5).

Rīċe (kingdom), rīċe, rīċes; rīċu, rīċum, rīċa. So also all neuters in e, except ēage and ēare (p. 13): ġe·þēode (language), styċċe (piece).

Those in -ol, -en, -or, &c. are generally contracted:—dēofol (devil), dēofles, dēoflu. So also wǣpen (weapon), mynster (monastery), wundor (wonder).

(2) Unchanged plurals.

So all others with long final syllables (that is, containing a long vowel, or a short vowel followed by more than one consonant), such as bearn (child), folc (nation), wīf (woman).

Feoh (money) drops its h in inflection and lengthens the eo:—feoh, fēo, fēos. So also bleoh (colour).

STRONG FEMININES.

(1) a-plurals.

So also lufu (love), scamu (shame). Duru (door) is an u-noun: it has acc. duru, d., g. dura, g. pl. dura. Observe that all these nouns have a short syllable before the final vowel. When it is long, the u is dropped, and the noun falls under (b). {12}

So also strǣt (street), sorg (sorrow). Some have the acc. sing. the same as the nom., such as dǣd, hand, miht.

Those in -ol, -er, -or, &c. contract:—sāwol (soul), sāwle, sāwla, sāwlum. So also ċeaster (city), hlǣdder (ladder).

Some in -en double the n in inflection:—byrþen (burden), byrþenne. So also those in -rǣden, such as hierdrǣden (guardianship). Those in -nes also double the s in inflection: gōdnes (goodness), gōdnesse.

(2) Mutation-plurals.

Burg (city), byriġ, burge; byriġ, burgum, burga.

(3) Indeclinable.

So also ieldo (age).

For r-nouns, see under Masculines.

WEAK MASCULINES.

{13}

So also all nouns in -a:—ġe·fēra (companion), guma (man), ġe·lēafa (belief). Ieldran (elders) occurs only in the plural.

Ġe·fēa (joy) is contracted throughout:—ġefēa, ġefēan.

WEAK NEUTERS.

So also ēare 'ear.'

WEAK FEMININES.

So also ċiriċe (church), fǣmne (virgin), heorte (heart).

Lēo (lion) has acc., &c. lēon.

PROPER NAMES.

Native names of persons are declined like other nouns:—Ælfred, gen. Ælfredes, dat. Ælfrede; Ēad-burg (fem.), gen. Ēadburge, &c.

Foreign names of persons sometimes follow the analogy of native names, thus Crīst, Salomon have gen. Crīstes, Salomones, dat. Crīste, Salomone. Sometimes they are declined as in Latin, especially those in -us, but often with a mixture of English endings, and the Latin endings are used {14}somewhat loosely, the accus. ending being often extended to the other oblique cases; thus we find nom. Cȳrus, gen. Cȳres, acc. Cȳrum, dat. Cȳrum (þǣm cyninge Cȳrum).

Almost the only names of countries and districts in Old English are those taken from Latin, such as Breten (Britain), Cęnt (Kent), Ġermānia (Germany), and those formed by composition, generally with land, such as Ęnġla-land (land of the English, England), Isr·ahēla-þēod (Israel). In both of these cases the first element is in the gen. pl., but ordinary compounds, such as Scot-land, also occur. In other cases the name of the inhabitants of a country is used for the country itself:—on Ēast-ęnġlum = in East-anglia, lit. 'among the East-anglians.' So also on Angel-cynne = in England, lit. 'among the English race,' more accurately expressed by Angelcynnes land.

Uncompounded names of countries are sometimes undeclined. Thus we find on Cęnt, tō Hierusalēm.

Ġermānia, Asia, and other foreign names in -a take -e in the oblique cases, thus gen. Ġermānie.

Adjectives have three genders, and the same cases as nouns, though with partly different endings, together with strong and weak inflection. In the masc. and neut. sing. they have an instrumental case, for which in the fem. and plur., and in the weak inflection the dative is used.

STRONG ADJECTIVES.

Adjectives with a short syllable before the endings take -u in the fem. sing. nom. and neut. pl. nom., those with a long one drop it. {15}

So also sum (some), fǣrlic (dangerous).

Those with æ, such as glæd (glad), change it to a in dat. gladum, &c.

Those in -e, such as blīþe (glad), drop it in all inflections:—blīþne, blīþu, blīþre.

Those in -ig, -el, -ol, -en, -er, -or often contract before inflections beginning with a vowel, as in hāliġ (holy), hālges, hālgum; miċel (great), miċlu, miċle. Not, of course, before consonants:—hāliġne, miċelne, miċelra.

Those in -u, such as ġearu (ready), change the u into a w before vowels:—ġearwes, ġearwe.

Adjectives with long syllable before the endings drop the u of the fem. and neuter:—

Fēa (few) has only the plural inflections, dat. fēam, gen. fēara.

Hēah (high) drops its second h in inflection and contracts:—hēare, nom. pl. hēa, dat. hēam, acc. sing. masc. hēanne.

Fela (many) is indeclinable. {16}

WEAK ADJECTIVES.

The weak inflections of adjectives agree exactly with the noun ones:-

The vowel- and consonant-changes are as in the strong declension.

COMPARISON.

The comparative is formed by adding -ra, and is declined like a weak adjective:—lēof (dear), lēofra masc., lēofre fem., lēofran plur., etc.; mǣre (famous), mǣrra. The superlative is formed by adding -ost, and may be either weak or strong:—lēofost (dearest).

The following form their comparisons with mutation, with superlative in -est (the forms in parentheses are adverbs):—

The following show different roots:—

{17}

The following are defective as well as irregular, being formed from adverbs:—

NUMERALS.

Ān is declined like other adjectives.

Twā is declined thus:—

So also bēġen (both), bā, bǣm, bēġra.

Þrēo is declined thus:—

The others up to twęntiġ are generally indeclinable. Those in -tiġ are sometimes declined like neuter nouns, sometimes like adjectives, and are often left undeclined. When not made into adjectives they govern the genitive.

Hund and þūsend are either declined as neuters or left undeclined, always taking a genitive:—eahta hund mīla (eight hundred miles), fēower þūsend wera (four thousand men).

Units are always put before tens:—ān and twęntiġ (twenty-one). {19}

The ordinals are always weak, except ōþer, which is always strong.

PERSONAL.

There are no reflexive pronouns in O.E., and the ordinary {20}personal pronouns are used instead:—hīe ġe·samnodon hīe (they collected themselves, assembled); hīe ā·bǣdon him wīf (they asked for wives for themselves). Self is used as an emphatic reflexive adjective agreeing with its pronoun:—swā swā hīe wȳsċton him selfum (as they wished for themselves).

POSSESSIVE.

Mīn (my), þīn (thy), ūre (our), ēower (your), and the dual uncer and incer are declined like other adjectives. The genitives his (his, its), hiere (her), hiera (their) are used as indeclinable possessives.

INTERROGATIVE.

Hwelc (which) is declined like a strong adjective: it is used both as a noun and an adjective.

DEMONSTRATIVE.

{21}

Se is both a demonstrative and a definite article. It is also used as a personal pronoun:—hē ġe·hīerþ mīn word, and wyrċþ þā (he hears my words, and does them). Sē as a demonstrative and pers. pronoun has its vowel long.

Other demonstratives, which are used both as nouns and as adjectives, are se ilca (same), which is always weak, swelc (such), which is always strong.

RELATIVE.

The regular relative is the indeclinable þe, as in ǣlc þāra þe þās mīn word ġe·hīerþ (each of those who hears these my words). It is often combined with sē, which is declined:—sē þe = who, masc., sēo þe, fem., &c. Sē alone is also used as a relative:—hēr is mīn cnapa, þone ic ġe·ċēas (here is my servant, whom I have chosen); sometimes in the sense of 'he who':—hēr þū hæfst þæt þīn is (here thou hast that which is thine).

INDEFINITE.

Indefinites are formed with swā and the interrogative pronouns, thus:—swā hwā swā, swā hwelċ swā (whoever), swā hwæt swā (whatever). {22}

Ān and sum (some) are used in an indefinite sense:—ān mann, sum mann = 'a certain man,' hence 'a man.' But the indefinite article is generally not expressed.

Ǣlċ (each), ǣniġ (any), nǣniġ (no, none), are declined like other adjectives.

Ōþer (other) is always strong:—þā ōþre męnn.

Man, another form of mann, is often used in the indefinite sense of 'one,' French on:—his brōþor Horsan man of·slōg (they killed his brother Horsa).

There are two classes of verbs in O.E., strong and weak. The conjugation of strong verbs is effected mainly by means of vowel-gradation, that of weak verbs by the addition of d (-ode, -ede, -de) to the root-syllable.

The following is the conjugation of the strong verb bindan (bind), which will serve to show the endings which are common to all verbs:—

For the plural bindaþ, both indicative and imperative, binde is used when the personal pronoun follows immediately after {23}the verb:—wē bindaþ (we bind), but binde wē (let us bind); so also gāþ! (go plur.), but gā ġē! (go ye).

The present participle may be declined like an adjective. Its declension when used as a noun is given above, p. 10.

The past participle generally prefixes ġe-, as in ġe·bunden, ġe·numen from niman (take), unless the other parts of the verbs have it already, as in ġe·hīeran (hear), ġe·hīered. It is sometimes prefixed to other parts of the verb as well. No ġe is added if the verb has another prefix, such as ā-, be-, for-; thus for·ġiefan (forgive) has the past participle for·ġiefen. The past participle may be declined like an adjective.

Traces of an older passive voice are preserved in the form hāt-te from hātan (call, name), which is both present 'is called,' and preterite 'was called':—se munuc hātte Abbo (the monk's name was Abbo).

STRONG VERBS.

In the strong verbs the plural of the pret. indic. generally has a different vowel from that of the sing. (ic band, wē bundon). The 2nd sing. pret. indic. and the whole pret. subj. always have the vowel of the preterite plural indicative (þū bunde, ic bunde, wē bunden.)

The 2nd and 3rd persons sing. of the pres. indic. often mutate the root-vowel, thus:—

{24}

The full ending of the 3rd pers. sing. pres. indic. is -eþ, which is generally contracted, with the following consonant-changes:—

Double consonants become single, as in hē fielþ from feallan.

Before the -st of the 2nd pers. consonants are often dropt, as in þū cwist from cweþan, þū ċīest from ċēosan; and d becomes t, as in þū bintst from bindan.

For the changes between s and r, þ and d, g and h, see p. 7.

Some verbs, such as sēon (see), drop the h and contract before most inflections beginning with a vowel:—ic sēo, wē sēoþ, tō sēonne; but hē sihþ.

There are seven conjugations of strong verbs, distinguished mainly by the different formation of their preterites. The following lists comprise all the strong verbs that occur in the texts given in this book, together with several others of the commoner ones.

I. 'Fall'-conjugation.

The pret. sing. and pl. has ēo or ē, and the past partic. retains the original vowel of the infinitive. {25}

{26}

II. 'Shake'-conjugation.

Verbs in a (ea) and ę (ie). Ō in pret. sing, and pl., a (æ) in partic. pret. Standan drops its n in the pret. The partic. pret. of swęrian is irregular.

The presents of these verbs are inflected weak, so that their imperative sing. is hęfe and swęre, like that of węnian (p. 32). Swęrian has indic. swęrige, swęrest, like węnian; hębban has hębbe, hęfst, &c. like hīeran (p. 30).

III. 'Bind'-conjugation.

I (ie, e, eo) followed by two consonants, one or both of which is nearly always a liquid (l, r) or nasal (m, n) in the infin., a (æ, ea) in pret. sing., u in pret. pl., u (o) in ptc. pret. Findan has a weak preterite.

IV. 'Bear'-conjugation.

Verbs in e (i), followed by a single consonant, generally a liquid or nasal; in brecan the liquid precedes the vowel. A (æ) in pret. sing., ǣ (ā) in pret. pl., o (u) in ptc. pret. Cuman is irregular.

V. 'Give'-conjugation.

Verbs in e (i, eo, ie) followed by single consonants, which are not liquids or nasals. This class differs from the last only in the ptc. pret. which keeps the vowel of the infinitive.

VI. 'Shine'-conjugation.

Verbs in ī, with pret. sing, in ā, pl. i, ptc. pret. i.

VII. 'Choose'-conjugation.

Verbs in ēo and ū, with pret. sing. ēa, pl. u, ptc. pret. o. Flēon and tēon contract.

{30}

WEAK VERBS.

There are three conjugations of weak verbs—(1) in -an, pret. -de (hīeran, hīerde, 'hear'); (2) in -ian, pret. -ede (węnian, węnede, 'wean'); (3) in -ian, pret. -ode (lufian, lufode, 'love'). The verbs of the first two conjugations nearly all have a mutated vowel in the present and infinitive, which those of the third conjugation very seldom have.

I. an-verbs.

This class of weak verbs has the same endings as the strong verbs, except in the pret. and past partic., which are formed by adding -de and -ed respectively, with the following consonant changes.

The past partic. is generally contracted in the same way:—sęnd, mētt, tǣht, but some of them often retain the uncontracted forms:—fylled, dypped. When declined like adjectives they drop their e where practicable:—fylled, plur. fylde; hīered, hīerde.

The 2nd and 3rd pres. sing. ind. are contracted as in the strong verbs.

(a) 'Hear'-class.

Further examples of this class are:—

(b) 'Seek'-class.

In this class the mutated vowels lose their mutation in the preterite and past partic., besides undergoing other changes in some verbs.

Those in double consonants (and ċġ) simplify them in the contracted 2nd and 3rd sing. pres. indic.:—sęlle, sęlst, sęlþ; sęċ[,g]e, sęġst, sęġþ; also in the imperative, which is formed as in Conj. II:—sęle, sęġe, byġe, &c. {32}

II. 'Wean'-conjugation.

{33}

So are conjugated all weak verbs with a short mutated root syllable, such as fęrian (carry), węrian (defend), ġe·byrian (befit). There are not many of them.

III. 'Love'-conjugation.

So also āscian (ask), macian (make), weorþian (honour), and many others.

Irregularities.

Some verbs are conjugated partly after I, partly after III. Such are habban (have) and libban (live).

Habban has pres. indic. hæbbe, hæfst, hæfþ; habbaþ, subj. hæbbe, hæbben, pret. hæfde, imper. hafa, habbaþ, particc. habbende, hæfd.

Libban has pres. libbe, leofast, leofaþ; libbaþ, subj. libbe, pret. leofode, imper. leofa, libbaþ, particc. libbende, lifiende; leofod.

Fętian (fetch) has pret. fętte.

STRONG-WEAK VERBS.

The strong-weak verbs have for their presents old strong preterites, from which new weak preterites are formed. Note the occasional second person sing. in t. {34}

The other most important weak-strong verbs are given below in the 1st and 2nd sing. pres. indic., in the plur. indic., in the pret., in the infin. and partic. pret. Of several the last two forms are doubtful, or do not exist.

Āh (possess), āge, āgon; āhte; āgen (only as adjective)^[4].

Cann (know) canst, cunnon; cūþe; cunnan; cūþ (only as adjective.)

Dearr (dare), durre, durron; dorste.

Ġe·man (remember), -manst; -munde; -munan.

Mæġ (can), miht, magon, mæġe (subj.); mihte.

Mōt (may), mōst, mōton; mōste.

Sċeal (shall), sċealt, sculon, scyle (subj.); scolde.

Þearf (need), þurfon, þyrfe (subj.); þorfte; þurfan.

ANOMALOUS VERBS.

(1) Willan (will) shows a mixture of subj. forms in the pres. indic. sing.:—

{35}

Similarly nyllan (will not):—

(2) Wesan (be).

The contracted negative forms are:—neom, neart, nis; næs, nǣre, nǣron; nǣre, nǣren.

(3) Dōn (do).

{36}

(4) Gān (go).

PREFIXES.

The following are the most important prefixes, some of which are verbal, being confined to verbs and words formed directly from them; some nominal, being confined to nouns and adjectives.

ā- (1) originally 'forth,' 'away,' as in ā·rīsan, 'rise forth,' 'arise'; ā·faran, 'go away,''depart'; but generally only intensive, as in ā·cwęllan (kill), ā·hrēosan (fall).

(2) = 'ever' in pronouns and particles, where it gives an indefinite sense, as in ā-hwǣr (anywhere), ā-wiht (anything).

ǣġ- from ā-ġe-, the ā being mutated and the e dropped, has a similar meaning, as in ǣġ-hwelc (each), ǣġþer = ǣġ-hwæþer (either).

be-, originally 'by,' 'around' (cp. the preposition be), (1) specializes the meaning of a transitive verb, as in be·sęttan (beset, surround), be·sċieran (shear); (2) makes an intransitive verb transitive, as in be·þęnċan (consider) from þęnċan (think); (3) gives a privative meaning, as in be·hēafdian (behead). In some words, such as be·cuman (come), it is practically unmeaning. {37}

for- (which is distinct from the preposition for) generally has the sense of 'loss' or 'destruction,' as in for·dōn (destroy), for·weorþan (perish). Of course, if the verb with which it is compounded already has this meaning, it acts merely as an intensitive, as in for·brēotan (break up, break), for·scrincan (shrink up). It also modifies in a bad sense generally, as in for·sēon (despise), or negatives, as in for·bēodan (forbid).

ġe- originally meant 'together,' as in ġe·fēra (fellow-traveller, companion) from fēran (travel). With verbs it often signifies 'completion,' 'attainment,' and hence 'success,' as in ġe·gān (conquer), originally 'go over,' or 'reach,' ġe·winnan (win) from winnan (fight). Hence generally prefixed to hīeran and sēon, ġe·hīeran and ġe·sēon strictly meaning 'succeed in hearing, seeing.' It is generally prefixed to past participles (p. 23), where it originally gave the meaning of completion—ġe·lufod = 'completely loved.'

mis- = 'mis,' as in mis-dǣd (misdeed).

n- = ne (not), as in nā (not), literally 'never,' nǣfre (never), næs (was not) = ne wæs.

on- as a verbal prefix has nothing to do with the preposition on. It properly signifies 'separation,' as in on·lūcan (open) from lūcan (lock, close), but is often practically unmeaning, as in on·ġinnan (begin).

or-, literally 'out of,' is privative, as in orsorg (unconcerned) from sorg (sorrow).

tō- as a verbal prefix has nothing to do with the preposition tō (which occurs in tō·gædre, 'together,' &c.), but signifies 'separation,' as in tō·berstan (burst asunder), tō·breġdan (shake off), and hence 'destruction,' as in tō·cwīesan (crush to pieces, bruise).

un- negatives, as in un-ġesǣliġ (unhappy). {38}

ENDINGS.

(a) Nouns.

Personal.

-end, from the present participle -ende, = '-er':—Hǣlend (healer, Saviour), būend (dweller).

-ere = '-er':—sāwere (sower), mynetere (money-changer, minter) from mynet (coin).

-ing, patronymic, æþeling (son of a noble, prince) from æþele (noble).

Abstract.

-nes, fem. from adjectives:—gōd-nes (goodness), rihtwīsnes (righteousness).

-uþ, -þo, fem., generally from adjectives:—ġēoguþ (youth), stręnġþo (strength) from strang.

-ung, fem. from verbs:—scotung (shooting, shot), hęrgung (ravaging), from scotian, hęrgian.

The following are also independent words:—

-dōm, masc.:—wīs-dōm (wisdom), þēow-dōm (servitude).

-hād, masc.:—ċild-hād (childhood).

-rǣden, fem.:—ġe·cwid-rǣden (agreement) from cwide (speech); mann-rǣden (allegiance).

-sċipe, masc.:—frēond-sċipe (friendship). Concrete in wæter-sċipe (piece of water, water).

(b) Adjectives.

-en, with mutation, denotes 'material,' 'belonging to':—gylden (golden), stǣnen (of stone), hǣþen (heathen) from hǣþ (heath). In seolcen (silken) there is no mutation.

-feald = '-fold':—hund-feald (hundred-fold).

-iġ:—miht-iġ (mighty); hāl-iġ (holy) from hāl (whole). {39}

-isc, with mutation:—Ęnġlisc (English) from Angel; męnn-isc (human) from mann.

-ol:—swic-ol (deceitful).

-iht, with mutation, denotes 'material,' 'nature':—stǣn-iht (stony).

-sum = 'some':—hīer-sum (obedient).

The following exist (sometimes in a different form) as independent words:—

-fæst:—sōþ-fæst (truthful).

-full:—sorg-full (sorrowful), ġe·lēaf-full (believing, pious).

-lēas = '-less':—ār-lēas (dishonoured, wicked).

-lic (cp. ġe·līc) = '-ly':—folc-lic (popular), heofon-lic (heavenly).

-weard = '-ward':—sūþan-weard (southward).

Verbs.

-lǣċan:—ān-lǣċan (unite), ġe·þwǣr-lǣċan (agree).

Adverbs.

-e, the regular adverb-termination:—lange (long), ġe·līce (similarly) from lang, ġe·līc. Sometimes -līce (from -lic) is used to form adverbs, as blīþe-līce (gladly) from blīþe.

DERIVATIONS FROM PARTICIPLES.

Many abstract words are formed from present participles (often in a passive sense) and past participles (often in an active sense):—

-nes:—for·ġiefen-nes (forgiveness), ġe·ręċed-nes (narrative), welwillend-nes (benevolence).

-lic:—unārīmed-lic (innumerable).

-līce:—welwillend-līce (benevolently).

{40}

Gender.

When masculine and feminine beings are referred to by the same adjective or pronoun, the adjective or pronoun is put in the neuter:—hīe ġe·samnodon hīe, ealle þā hēafod-męnn, and ēac swelce wīf-menn ... and þā hīe blīþost wǣron ... (they gathered themselves, all the chief men, and also women ... and when they were most merry ...). Here blīþost is in the neuter plur.

Cases.

Accusative. Some verbs of asking (a question) and requesting, together with lǣran (teach), take two accusatives, one of the person, and another of the thing:—hīe hine ne dorston ǣniġ þing āscian (they durst not ask him anything); wē magon ēow rǣd ġe·lǣran (we can teach you a plan).

The accusative is used adverbially to express duration of time: hwȳ stande ġē hēr ealne dæġ īdle? (why stand ye here all the day idle?)

Dative. The dative in Old E. is of two kinds, (1) the dative proper, and (2) the instrumental dative, interchanging with the regular instrumental. It is not always easy to separate the two.

(1) The dative proper usually designates personal relations, and is frequently used with verbs, together with an accusative (generally of the thing). The dative is also used with adjectives. It is used not only with verbs of giving, &c., as in hē sealde ǣlcum ānne pęning (he gave each a penny); addressing, as in ic ēow sęċġe (I say to you), hē þancode his Dryhtne (he thanked his Lord); but also with many verbs of benefiting, influencing, &c., as in ne dō ic þē nānne tēonan (I do thee no injury), hīe noldon him līefan (they would not allow {41}them to do so); þǣm rēþum stīerde (restrained the cruel ones). Also in looser constructions, to denote the person indirectly affected, benefited, &c., as in byċġaþ ēow ele (buy for yourselves oil). Note especially the following idiom: hīe ġe·sōhton Bretene Brettum tō fultume (they came to Britain as a help to the Britains—to help them); hē clipode Crīst him tō fultume (he called Christ to his help).

The dative is also used with adjectives of nearness, likeness, &c.:—Ēadmund cyning clipode ānne biscop þe him ġe·hęndost wæs (King Edmund summoned a bishop who was nearest at hand to him); heofona rīċe is ġe·līc þǣm mangere þe sōhte þæt gōde męregrot (the kingdom of the heavens is like the merchant who sought the good pearl).

(2) The instrumental dative is used to denote the instrument and manner of an action: hē ġe·ęndode yflum dēaþe (he ended with an evil death). Hence its use to form adverbs, as in sċēafmǣlum (sheafwise). It also signifies time when:—þrim ġēarum ǣr þǣm þe hē forþ·fērde (three years before he died), which is also expressed by the instrumental itself:—sēo wolde ęfsian ǣlce ġēare þone sanct (she used to cut the saint's hair every year); þȳ fēorþan ġēare his rīċes (in the fourth year of his reign). A past participle with a noun in the instrumental dative is used like the ablative absolute in Latin: Hubba be·lāf on Norþhymbra-lande, ġe·wunnenum siġe mid wælhrēownesse (H. remained in Northumbria, victory having been won with cruelty).

Genitive. The genitive is often used in a partitive sense:—his fēonda sum (one of his enemies); hiera fīf wǣron dysiġe (five of them were foolish). Hence it is generally used with fela, as in fela wundra (many miracles); also with numerals when used as substantives (p. 18).

The genitive is often used like an accusative to denote the object of various emotions and mental states, such as {42}joy, desire, remembering:—hīe þæs fæġnodon swīþe (they rejoiced at it greatly); mē lēofre wǣre þæt ic on ġe·feohte fēolle wiþ þǣm þe mīn folc mōste hiera eardes brūcan (it would be pleasanter to me to fall in fight that my people might enjoy (possess) their country); ic þæs ġe·wilniġe (I desire that); ġif hē his fēores rōhte (if he cared about his life); hē wæs þæs Hǣlendes ġe·myndiġ (he was mindful of—he remembered the Saviour).

Some of these verbs, such as biddan (ask), take an accusative of the person and a genitive of the thing:—hē hine hlāfes bitt (he asks him for bread).

Verbs of depriving, restraining, &c., have the same construction:—nis Angel-cynn be·dǣled Dryhtnes hālgena (England is not deprived of the Lord's saints).

Some verbs of giving, &c., take a genitive of the thing and a dative of the person:—him wæs of·togen ǣlces fōdan (they were deprived of all food).

The genitive is often used to define an adjective or noun:—þū eart wierþe slęġes (thou art worthy of death); on þǣm ġēare þe Ælfred æþeling ān and twęntiġ ġēara wæs (in the year when Prince Alfred was twenty-one).

Concord.

Adjectives agree with their nouns not only when used attributively (gōde męnn), but also when the adjective follows the noun, either predicatively or in apposition:—þā męnn sind gōde; hē ġe·seah ōþre īdle standan (he saw others standing idle); hīe cōmon mid langum sċipum, nā manigum (they came with long ships, not many).

Apposition.

In such expressions as 'the island of Britain,' the second noun is not put in the genitive, but the two are simply put in {43}apposition, both being declined separately:—Breten īeġland, on Bretene (þǣm) īeġlande. In 'king Alfred,' &c., the proper name is put first in the same way:—Ælfred æþeling (prince Alfred); on Æþelredes cyninges dæġe (in the days of king Æþelred).

There is a similar apposition with the adjective sum followed by a noun or pronoun, as in sume þā męnn (some of the men); þā þā hē sēow, sumu hīe fēollon wiþ weġ (while he sowed, some of them [the seeds] fell by the road). Sometimes the pronoun precedes, as in þā bǣdon hīe sume þæt Samson mōste him macian sum gamen (then some of them asked that Samson might make some sport for them).

Another kind of apposition occurs in instances like the following, where we have an adjective agreeing with a following noun, and denoting a part of it:—hīe ġe·sǣton sūþanwearde Bretene ǣrest (they occupied the south of Britain first); sūþanweard hit (= þæt land) hæfdon Peohtas (the Picts had the south part of it).

ADJECTIVES.

The weak forms are used:

(1) after the definite article:—se æþela cyning (the noble king); þæs æþelan cyninges, þæt gōde męregrot, þā gōdan męregrotu.

(2) after þis:—þās earman landlēode (these poor people, pl.); þes hālga cyning (this holy king), þisses hālgan cyninges.

(3) occasionally after other demonstrative and indefinite adjectives, and often after possessive pronouns:—þīne dīeglan gold-hordas (thy hidden treasures).

(4) in the vocative:—þū yfla þēow and slāwa! (thou bad and slothful servant); ēalā þū lēofa cyning! (oh, thou dear king).

Note that ōþer always keeps the strong form: þā ōþru dēor (the other wild beasts). So also do the possessive pronouns: {44}þās mīn word (these my words). Ān in the sense of 'one' keeps the strong form to distinguish it from the weak āna = 'alone': þæt ān dēorwierþe męregrot (the one precious pearl).

ARTICLES.

The definite article is omitted as in Modern English before names such as God, and also before Dryhten (the Lord), Dēofol (the Devil), although se Dēofol also occurs, and names of nations:—Bretta cyning (king of the Britons).

It is omitted in many prepositional combinations, not only in those where it is omitted in Modern English also, as in siġefæst on sǣ and on lande (victorious on sea and on land), but also in many others: ġewęnde tō wuda on·ġēan (went back to the wood); se flothęre fērde eft tō sċipe (the army of pirates went back to their ships); hē fēng tō rīċe (he took the government—came to the throne).

The definite article is, on the other hand, sometimes used where it would not be in Modern E., as in se mann = 'man' (men in general).

The indefinite article is often not expressed at all:—þæt dyde unhold mann (an enemy did that); hē be·stealcode on land swā swā wulf (he stole to land like a wolf). Or it is expressed by sum: on þǣm lande wæs sum mann, Lēofrīċ ġe·hāten (in that country was a man called L.). Or by ān, as in Modern English:—ān wulf wearþ ā·sęnd tō be·węrienne þæt hēafod wiþ þā ōþru dēor (a wolf was sent to protect the head against the other wild beasts).

PRONOUNS.

Hwæt is used interrogatively of persons where we should use 'who':—hē nyste hwæt hīe wǣron (he did not know who they were). {45}

VERBS.

Number.

After ǣlc þāra þe (each of-those-who) the verb is put in the sing., agreeing not with þāra þe but with ǣlc:—ǣlc þāra þe þās mīn word ġe·hīerþ (each of those who hear these my words).

When þæt or þis is connected with a plural predicate by means of the verb 'to be,' the verb is put in the plural:—þæt wǣron þā ǣrestan sċipu Dęniscra manna þe Angel-cynnes land ġe·sōhton (those were the first ships of Danish men which came to the land of the English race).

Impersonal verbs take an accusative of the person, sometimes also with a genitive of the thing.

Others, such as þynċan (appear), take a dative of the person:—wæs him ġe·þūht þæt hīe be·hȳdden þæt hēafod (they thought they (the Danes) had hidden the head).

Tenses.

There being no future inflection in Old E., the present is used instead:—ne ā·bȳhþ nǣfre Eādmund Hinguare (Edmund will never submit to H.); gā ġē on mīnne wīnġeard, and ic sęlle ēow þæt riht biþ (go ye into my vineyard, and I will give you what is right). As we see in this example, there is a tendency to use bēon in a future sense. Another example is ġif ic bēo ġe·bunden mid seofon rāpum, sōna ic bēo ġe·wield (if I am bound with seven ropes, I shall at once be overcome). The future is sometimes expressed by will and shall, as in Modern English, though generally with a sense of volition with the one, and of necessity with the other, the idea of simple futurity coming out most clearly in the preterites wolde and scolde:—

Hē ġe·lǣhte āne lēon þe hine ā·bītan wolde (he seized a lion {46}that was going to devour him); hīe wēndon þæt hīe scolden māre on·fōn (they expected to receive more).

The preterite has the meaning of the modern

(1) Preterite and imperfect:—se sāwere ūt ēode his sǣd tō sāwenne, and þā þā hē sēow ... (the sower went out to sow his seed, and while he was sowing ...).

(2) Perfect:—hēr is mīn cnapa, þone ic ġeċēas (here is my servant, whom I have chosen);—ūre cyning cōm nū hēr tō lande (our king has just landed here).

(3) Pluperfect:—þā þā ġe·cōmon þe ymb þā ęndlyftan tīd cōmon (when those came who had come at the eleventh hour).

Periphrastic tenses are sometimes formed, as in Modern E., by hæbbe and hæfde with the past participles, and often have the meanings of the modern perfect and pluperfect respectively, as in nū ic hæbbe ġestrīened ōþru twā pund (now I have gained two other pounds), but even the pluperfect often has the sense of a simple preterite. The participle is undeclinable in the later language, but originally it was declined, being really an adjective in apposition to the noun or pronoun governed by habban: hīe hæfdon hiera cyning ā·worpenne (they had deposed their king).

The pluperfect sense is often indicated by the addition of the adverb ǣr (before):—his swēora, þe ǣr wæs for·slæġen (his neck, which had been cut through).

The periphrastic forms of intransitive verbs are formed with wesan:—siþþan hīe ā·farene wǣron (after they had gone away). Here the participle always agrees with the noun or pronoun with which it is connected.

The periphrases with the present participle have no distinctive meanings of duration, &c.:—ān mann wæs eardiende on Israhēla þēode, Manuē ġe·hāten (a man dwelt in Israel called Manue). {47}

Passive.

The passive is formed with wesan or weorþan with the past participle. These forms are very vague in meaning, and the distinction between the two auxiliaries is not clearly marked, but wesan appears to indicate a state, weorþan an action.

wearþ ġe·lufod is generally preterite or perfect in meaning: ān wulf wearþ ā·sęnd (a wolf was sent); mīne lēofe þeġnas, þe on hiera będdum wurdon of·slæġene (my beloved thanes, who have been killed in their beds).

wæs ġe·lufod, indicating a state, is naturally pluperfect in meaning:—se ǣrendraca sæġde his hlāforde hū him ġe·andwyrd wæs (the messenger told his lord how he had been answered).

Subjunctive.

The subjunctive states something not as a fact, as in the indicative, but merely as an object of thought. Hence it is used to express wish, conditions, doubt, &c.

A. In principal sentences.

Wish and command (often nearly equivalent to the imperative):—þæs him sīe wuldor and lof ā būtan ęnde (therefore let there be to him praise and glory ever without end); ne hē ealu ne drince nǣfre oþþe wīn (nor shall he ever drink ale or wine).