An Old English Grammar |
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Common terms and phrases
1st sing 2d and 3d 3d sing Ablaut Class according adjectives adverbs apocope belong beside compound conjugation consonant contract verbs Cura Past declension declined derivatives dialects diphthongs dissyllabic ending example feminines final foreign words fréa frequently gemination Germanic gód Goth grammatical change héah hwæt i-stems i-umlaut imperative indicative infinitive inflected instr Kent Kentish latter likewise long stems masc masculines medial metathesis middle vowel nasal neut neuters North NOTE nouns o-declension occasionally occurs Old English older oldest texts optative originally palatal umlaut paradigm past participle plur pres pret preterit preteritive presents pronoun pronunciation rarely regularly retained secg séo séon short stems sometimes sonant spirant strong verbs suffix superlative surd syncope téon termination tréo tréow umlaut usually vowel weak verbs West Germ wuht
Popular passages
Page 170 - Words with a simple consonant before the w, change this w, when final, to -o, -u(-a) ; when before a consonant, to -o. So are declined earu, swift; calu, bald; fealu, fallow; basu, brown; hasu, hazel; meara, tender; nearu, narrow; salu, sallow, &c.
Page 74 - ... 144. a) Every middle vowel of a trisyllabic word, when originally short, and not rendered long by position, is syncopated after a long radical syllable ; after a short radical syllable this syncopation does not take place : cf.
Page iii - ... re-distributions of matter, the modifications are confined to excisions, additions, 'changes in terminology, and changes in accent. Important supplementary matter has been furnished by articles in various philological journals. With regard to accent, the third edition of Sweet's Reader has been followed. Hitherto, Old English Grammars have virtually been founded upon the language of the poetical texts. This is to be deplored, especially when we consider that the manuscripts in which they are...