с

2. CONSONANTS.

c, before a, o, and u = k in take; before e and i =
in child.

sc sc, before a, o, and u = sk in skin; before e and i sh in shine.

ff, when final or between two vowels

probably, ch

=

v in wives.

probably, y

g g, before a, o, and u = g in goat; before e and i =

in yes.

th in thin; 8:

= th in then.

=

The other consonants are pronounced generally as in modern English.

DEFINITE ARTICLE AND DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN. (Used also as a Relative, and sometimes as a Personal, Pronoun.)

Se, &c.
Seo, &c.

þæt
Plural

Examples, taken from extracts, in the text, pp. 1-12:Se hearpere, bæs hearperes wíf, be þám hearpere, &c. Seó was háten, for þære mirhþe, þære þeóde nama, &c. þæt wif, wið þæs wifes, on þæt gemære, þæs landes folc, &c. þá stánas, þá eá, on þám muntum, þæra cnapena. De indeclinable is often used but especially as a relative, and be wilnað, of those that desire.

for se, seó, þæt, as a demonstrative, later as the article, the; e.g. þára (See extracts, p. 5).

(1) Seó = O.E. sheo, sho, and modern she; þat mod. that.

(2) þá, þæra þám = they, their, them. The forms originally corresponding in A.S. were hí, hira, or heora, him or heom (see p. xl.). These words, changed into ho, heo; hire, here, her; hem or him, long maintained their ground in O.E., but almost suddenly gave place to thei, ther, their, thaim, and tham, and finally gained their present form.

(3) þæs, þære, þán, are the origin of thus = in this manner; there in that place; than (then) at that time. Than is the true spelling, and was in use up

to the beginning of the eighteenth century.

(4) þy is found in O.E. forthy for that reason, therefore. This, and not the article the, is seen in the phrase, "the more the better" (A.S. "þy máre by betere"), i.e. by that more by that better. In Latin, quo magis eo melius.

SECOND DECLENSION.

(Nouns ending in a consonant, and masculines in e.)

Acc.

húnd

-as

(1) -an. From this we have O.E. pl. termination en-e.g. A.S. oxa, pl. oxan, O.E. oren. A.S. eáge, pl. eágan, O.E. eyghen, eyen, and eyne. Many similar instances are found in O.E. and the provincial dialects, as hosen, shoon, peasen.

(2) -ena. This termination is seen in the well-known word Witenagemót, i.e. mote or meeting of wise men, fr. wita, a wise man or counsellor, declined like nama. Oxenaford or Oxenford, now Oxford, is another instance of the same kind. (3) -as. This term. became changed in O.E. into es or is, and thus prepared for mod. Eng. -s for both possessive case and plural number. Chaucer has, "smale houndes;" and Wiclif, "sonis of seyntis."

(4) -es. This termination, the genitive or possessive of O.E. and mod. Eng., is seen pure in the compound Dom-es Day Book. In O.E., whether es or is-for both are found-it was always a separate syllable; so Chaucer, "in his lordes werre;" Wiclif, "Goddis Sone."

(5) -um. Vestiges of this termination are thought to be traceable in the adverb whilom at whiles.

THIRD DECLENSION.

(Nouns ending in ɑ, and neuters in e, not of the first declension.

This form is used (as in German) when the adjective is preceded by the definite article or any other demonstrative or possessive pronoun. Its terminations are the same as those of nouns of the first declension-thus

Examples taken from extracts in the text, pp. 1-12:—

(1) menn, fét (pronounce feet). We see here the origin of mod. Eng. men and feet. (2) Some think that the final e of adjectives in the singular number, as seen in this line from Chaucer:

"Upon the smal-é, soft-é, swet-é gras,"

and in "the yong-e sonne," is a trace of the A.S. definite form.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES.

The comparative ends in (M.) - ra, (F.) -re, (N.) -re; and this form is used both for the definite and indefinite declensions, e.g.:

The superlative ends in -ost for the indefinite, and (M.) -esta, (F.) -este, (N.) -este, for the definite declension, as :

(1) góde. The plural of this adjective in O.E. often ended in e; as Chaucer, "shoures sot-e," "tendr-e croppes," "smal-e foules maken melodie."

(2) godra. The term. ra became re in Semi Saxon. Layamon has "the alre treuweste cniht," "the trustiest knight of all;" Chaucer, too, in O.E, "he was our aller (for alre) cok," "he was cock of us all," i.e. he waked us in the morning. Shakspeare, too, has "alder (a strengthened form of aller or alre) liefest sovereign," i.e." dearest of all."

(3) Bet, in the Herefordshire dialect, means good; hence beter, or better, and betest, or best.

(4) wyrse. In this comparative alone, s, and not r, is the distinguishing letter, supposed to be a trace of the oldest Gothic comparative ending, oza.

We sculon be sum bíspell reccan, hit gelamp, he hí (her) hæfp geearnod, that hí (they) him (to him) ageafan eft his wif, Gregorius hine (him) bæd, híre (of her or her) sawle mon sceolde lædan to helle, him (to them) oleccan, hí (they) hí (them) na ne onscunedon.

(1) hehst, nehst. Chaucer has "hext" for highest, which is similar to next for nighest, because the guttural h, plus the sibilant s=x.

(2) In Lancashire they still say hoo for she.

(3) ic. The c softened to ch is still heard in the provinces-chave, I have; chill, I'will.

(4) Min, thin, his, &c., are, of me, of thee, of him, or it. So in O.E. maugre myne, in spite of me; maugre thyne, in spite of thee; oure aller, of us all.

(5) his. The word its, now used for this neuter gen., is a modern introduction. In the Authorized Version of 1611, we find in relation to a candlestick, mention made of "his shaft, and his branch," &c.

(6) me, him, us. The datival force was preserved in O.E., where we find "me thought," "us thought," "him thought "-it appeared to me, to us, to him-and survives in "give me, or us, or him the book," as also in "methinks, methought."