SYNTAX.
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
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
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
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:
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).
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
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).
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).
B. In dependent sentences.
The chief cases are the following:—
(1) In indirect narrative and question: sēo cwēn sæġde þæt hiere nǣre be healfum dǣle ġe·sæġd be Salomones mǣrþo (the queen said that she had not been told about Solomon's glory by half); ic āsciġe hwǣr sēo offrung sīe (I ask where the offering is); męnn woldon sċēawian hū hē lǣġe (men
wished to see how he lay). When the statement in the indirect narration is perfectly certain in itself, and not merely accepted on the authority of the speaker, it is put in the indicative:—hē hiere sæġde on hwǣm his miht wæs (he told her what his strength consisted in).
(2) After verbs of desiring and commanding:—
þæs ic ġe·wilniġe and ġe·wysċe mid mōde þæt ic āna ne be·līfe æfter mīnum lēofum þeġnum (that I desire and wish with heart that I may not remain alone after my dear thanes).
(3) To express purpose:—þȳ lǣs ġē þone hwǣte ā·wyrtwalien (lest ye root up the wheat);—Dryhten ās·tāg niþer, tō bǣm þæt hē ġe·sāwe þā burg (the Lord descended, in order that he might see the city).
(4) To express result:—þū næfst þā mihte þæt þū mæġe him wiþ·standan (thou hast not the power that thou canst withstand him).
(5) To express hypothetical comparison (as if):—se wulf folgode forþ mid þǣm hēafde, swelce hē tam wǣre (the wolf followed on with the head, as if he were tame); hē ġe·lǣhte āne lēon, and tō·bræġd hīe tō styċċum, swelce hē tō·tǣre tiċċen (he seized a lion and tore her to pieces, as if he were rending a kid).
(6) In conditional clauses, generally with ġif or būtan, and in concessive clauses with þēah, þēah þe:—God wāt þæt ic nyle ā·būgan fram his bīgęngum ǣfre, swelte ic, libbe ic (God knows that I will not swerve from his worship ever, whether I die or live); þās flotmęnn cumaþ, and þē cwicne ġe·bindaþ, būtan þū mid flēame þīnum fēore ġe·beorge (these pirates will come and bind thee alive, unless thou savest thy life with flight); God hielt Ēadmund hālne his līchaman oþ þone miċlan dæġ, þēah þe hē on moldan cōme (God will keep Edmund
with his body whole until the great day, although he has come to earth—been buried). Sometimes the idea of 'if' must be got from the context:—clipiaþ tō þissum ġieftum swā hwelce swā ġē ġe·mēten (summon to this wedding whomsoever ye meet, = if ye meet any one); hīe be·hēton hiere sċeattas wiþ þǣm þe hēo be·swice Samson (they promised her money in consideration of her betraying Samson, = if she would...).
When the statement is assumed as unreal, instead of merely hypothetical, as in the above instances, both clauses are put in the subjunctive, the preterite being substituted for the present, as in Modern English also, where if I were ... implies I am not.... The modern distinction between if I were and if I had been, the former corresponding to the present indicative I am not, the latter to the preterite I was not, is not made in Old English, which uses gif ic wǣre in both instances. Sometimes the 'if'-clause has to be supplied in thought:—mē lēofre wǣre þæt ic on ġe·feohte fēolle wiþ þǣm þe mīn folc mōste hiera eardes brūcan (I would rather fall in fight that my people might possess their country), where we must supply some such clause as ġif hit swā bēon mihte (if it might be so—if it were possible to save my people by my death).
(7) In clauses dependant on a negative sentence:—nis nān þing þe his mihte wiþ·stande (there is nothing that resists his might). Sometimes the negation must be gathered from the context, as in se hālga is mǣrra þonne męnn mæġen ā·smēan (the saint is more illustrious than men can conceive = the saint is so illustrious that no men can conceive it).
(8) In other cases, to express uncertainty, futurity, &c.: þīn rīċe ġe·wītt fram þē, oþ þæt þū wite þæt God ġe·wielt manna rīċa (thy kingdom shall depart from thee, till thou knowest that God rules the kingdoms of men); uton
weorþian ūrne naman, ǣr þǣm þe wē sīen tō·dǣlde ġeond ealle eorþan! (let us make our name famous, before we are dispersed over the earth).
The preterite subjunctive is often expressed by should and would with an infinitive, as in Modern English.
Scolde is used after verbs of desiring, requesting and commanding:—biddende þone Ælmihtigan þæt hē him ārian scolde (praying the Almighty to have mercy on him). In the following example the verb of commanding is understood from the noun ǣrende:—hē sęnde tō þæm cyninge bēotlic ǣrende, þæt hē ā·būgan scolde tō his mannrǣdenne, ġif hē his fēores rōhte (he sent to the king an arrogant message, that he was to turn to his allegiance, if he cared about his life).
Wolde is used after verbs of purpose:—se cyning ēode inn þæt he wolde ġe·sēon þā þe þǣr sǣton (the king went in to see those who were sitting there).
Infinitive.
After verbs of commanding the infinitive often seems to have a passive sense:—hīe hēton him sęndan māran fultum (they ordered that more forces should be sent to them). So also after verbs of hearing, &c.:—þæt mǣste wæl þe wē sęċġan hīerdon (the greatest slaughter we have heard told of). In such cases an indefinite pronoun has been omitted: 'ordered them to send ...' etc.
Gerund.
The gerund is used—
(1) to express purpose:—ūt ēode se sāwere his sǣd tō sāwenne (the sower went forth to sow his seed).
(2) it defines or determines an adjective (adverb or noun): hit is scandlic ymb swelc tō sprecenne (it is shameful to speak of such things).
PREPOSITIONS.
Some prepositions govern the accusative, such as þurh (through), ymbe (about); some the dative (and instrumental), such as æfter (after), ǣr (before), æt (at), be (by), binnan (within), būtan (without), for (for), fram (from), of (of), tō (to).
Some govern both accusative and dative, such as ofer (over), on (on, in), under (under). The general rule is that when motion is implied they take the accusative, when rest is implied, the dative. Thus on with the accusative signifies 'into,' with the dative 'in.' But this rule is not strictly followed, and we often find the accusative used with verbs of rest, as in hē his hūs ġe·timbrode ofer stān (he built his house on a rock), and conversely, the dative with verbs of motion, as in hīe fēollon on stǣnihte (they fell on stony ground).
As regards the use and meaning of the prepositions, it must be noticed that in is very seldom used, its place being supplied by on, the meaning 'on' being in its turn often expressed by ofer, as in the passage just quoted.
When a thing is referred to, þǣr is substituted for hit, the preposition being joined on to the þǣr, so that, for instance, þǣr-tō corresponds to tō him; hīe lǣddon þone cyning tō ānum trēowe, and tīeġdon hine þǣr-tō (they led the king to a tree, and tied him to it). So also hēr-beēastan is equivalent to 'east of this (country).'
Prepositions sometimes follow, instead of preceding the words they modify, sometimes with other words intervening: hīe scuton mid gafelocum him tō (they shot at him with missiles); hīe cwǣdon him be·twēonan (they said among themselves); þǣm Ælmihtigan tō lofe, þe hīe on ġe·līefdon (to the praise of the Almighty, in whom they believed), where on
refers to the indeclinable þe. So also in þæt hūs þe hē inne wunode (the house he dwelt in).
Where the noun modified by such a preposition is not expressed, the preposition becomes an adverb: se cyning sęnde his hęre tō, and for·dyde þā mannslagan (the king sent his army to the place, and destroyed the murderers).
Negation.
The negative particle is ne, which drops its e before some common verbs and pronouns, as in nis = ne is, nān = ne ān. The negative particle is prefixed to every finite verb in a sentence, and to all the words besides which admit the contracted forms:—tō·cwīesed hrēod hē ne for·brīett (he breaks not the bruised reed), hit nā ne fēoll (it did not fall); nān mann nyste nān þing (no man knew anything). So also with ne ... ne = 'neither ... nor': ne flītt hē ne hē ne hrīemþ (he neither disputes nor cries out).
Correlation.
Correlation is often more fully expressed in Old than in Modern English, as in þā þā męnn slēpon, þā cōm his fēonda sum = 'when the men slept, then came one of his enemies.' In þā þā = 'when' the two correlatives are brought immediately together:—þā þā hē sēow, sumu hīe fēollon wiþ weġ = 'then when he sowed, some of them fell by the road.' In the following example the conjunction þæt is correlative with the pronoun þæt:—þæs ic ġe·wilniġe þæt ic āna ne be·līfe æfter mīnum lēofum þeġnum—'that I desire, that I may not remain alone after my dear thanes.' Sometimes a word is used to include both the demonstrative and the relative meaning:—hē ġe·brōhte hine þǣr hē hine ǣr ġe·nam (he brought him to the place where he took him from).
Word-Order.
The Old English word-order resembles that of German in many respects, though it is not so strict, thus:—
The verb comes before its nominative when the sentence is headed by an adverb or adverbial group, or when the object or predicate is put at the head of the sentence:—þā cwæþ se cyning (then said the king); ǣrest wǣron būend þisses landes Brettas (at first the Britons were the inhabitants of this country); on his dagum cōmon ǣrest þrēo sċipu (in his days three ships first came); þæt bǣron olfendas (camels carried it); mǣre is se God þe Daniēl on be·līefþ (great is the God that Daniel believes in).
The infinite often comes at the end of the sentence; wē magon ēow rǣd ġe·lǣran (we can teach you a plan).
The finite verb often comes at the end in dependent sentences, an auxiliary verb often coming after an infinitive or participle; 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); þæt mǣste wæl þe wē sęċġan hīerdon oþ þisne andweardan dæġ (the greatest slaughter that we have heard tell of up to this present day); þæt hīe þone Godes mann ā·bitan scolden (in order that they should devour the man of God).
There is a tendency to put the verb at the end in principal sentences also, or, at least, to bring it near the end: hiene man of·slōg (they killed him); hīe þǣr siġe nāmon (they got the victory there).