The same use is often extended to possessive pronouns; we find the plurals mine, 385, 514 (but min’, 392), þine, 620, hise, 34, 67, hure, 1231; and even the singulars hire, 84, 85, hure, 338, yure, 171. But the personal pronoun feminine is often hir’, 172, 209; yet see l. 316.
(c) the vocative case, as, dere, 839, 2170; leue, 909.
(3) In verbs it marks—
(a) the infinitive mood; as, telle, 3, duelle, 4, falle, 39, beye, 53, swere, 254, be-bedde, 421, bere, 549, &c. On this point there cannot be a moment’s doubt, for the form -en is found quite as often, and they rime together, as in 254, 255, cf. 29, 30. But it is well worth remarking that -en is slurred over exactly where -e would be, with much regularity. Examples are: riden, 10, biginnen, 21, maken, 29, hengen, 43, lurken, 68, crepen, 68, riden, 88, hauen, 270. Other examples are very numerous. But we sometimes find -en not slurred over, as, drinken, 15; and the same is true even of -e, but such cases are exceptional and rare.
(b) the gerund; as, to preyse, 60.
(c) the past participle of a strong verb; as, drawe, 1802, slawe, 1803. But these are rare, as they are commonly written drawen, slawen, 2224.
(d) the past tense of weak verbs, where the -e follows -ed, -t, or -d. Examples are very numerous; as, louede = lov’de, 30, 35 (not elided), 37, hauede = hav’de, 343; cf. haued = havd’, 336; þurte, 10, durste, 65, refte, 94; dede, 29, sende, 136, seyde, 228, herde, 286. Observe hated = hatede, 40. The plurals of these tenses are rarely in -e, generally in -en, as, haueden, 241, deden, 242, sprauleden = spraul’den, 475.
(e) the subjunctive or optative mood, or the 3rd person of the imperative mood, which is really the 3rd person of the subjunctive. This rule seems to be carefully observed. Examples are yeue, 22, thaue, 296, yerne, 299, leue, 406, were, 513, wite, 517, &c. So for the first person, as, late, 509, lepe (not elided), 2009, speke, 2079; and for the second person, as, understonde, 1159, fare, 2705, cone, 622, 623.
(f) other parts of a few verbs; thus, the 1st person singular present, as, liue, 301, ete, 793, rede, 1660, wille, 388, where wille is equivalent to wish.
(g) present participles: thus, plattínde, 2282, is a half-rime to gangánde. In other places, the author is careful to place them before a vowel, as gretinde, 1390, lauhwinde, 946, starinde, 508, driuende, 2702, fastinde, 865.