Part 2 — CHAPTER VI.
Reading edition
(a) Masculine a-Stems.
[O.E., M.E., and Mn.E. will henceforth be used for Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. Other abbreviations employed are self-explaining.]
25.
The a-Declension, corresponding to the Second or o-Declension of Latin and Greek, contains only (a) masculine and (b) neuter nouns. To this declension belong most of the O.E. masculine and neuter nouns of the Strong Declension. At a very early period, many of the nouns belonging properly to the i- and u-Declensions began to pass over to the a-Declension. This declension may therefore be considered the normal declension for all masculine and neuter nouns belonging to the Strong Declension.
26.
Paradigms of sē mūð, mouth; sē fiscere, fisherman; sē hwæl, whale; sē mearh, horse; sē finger, finger:
Sing. N.A. mūð fiscer-e hwæl mearh finger
G. mūð-es fiscer-es hwæl-es mēar-es fingr-es
D.I. mūð-e fiscer-e hwæl-e mēar-e fingr-e
Plur N.A. mūð-as fiscer-as hwal-as mēar-as fingr-as
G. mūð-a fiscer-a hwal-a mēar-a fingr-a
D.I. mūð-um fiscer-um hwal-um mēar-um fingr-um
Note.—For meanings of the cases, see § 12. The dative and instrumental are alike in all nouns.
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The student will observe (1) that nouns whose nominative ends in -e (fiscere) drop this letter before adding the case endings; (2) that æ before a consonant (hwæl) changes to a in the plural;1 (3) that h, preceded by r (mearh) or l (seolh, seal), is dropped before an inflectional vowel, the stem diphthong being then lengthened by way of compensation; (4) that dissyllables (finger) having the first syllable long, usually syncopate the vowel of the second syllable before adding the case endings.2
28.
Paradigm of the Definite Article3 sē, sēo, ðæt = the:
Masculine. Feminine. Neuter.
Sing. N. sē (se) sēo ðæt
G. ðæs ðǣre ðæs
D. ðǣm (ðām) ðǣre ðǣm (ðām)
A. ðone ðā ðæt
I. ðȳ, ðon —— ðȳ, ðon
All Genders.
Plur. N.A. ðā
G. ðāra
D. ðǣm (ðām)
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Vocabulary.4
sē bōcere, scribe [bōc].
sē cyning, king.
sē dæg, day.
sē ęnde, end.
sē ęngel, angel [angelus].
sē frēodōm, freedom.
sē fugol (G. sometimes fugles), bird [fowl].
sē gār, spear [gore, gar-fish].
sē heofon, heaven.
sē hierde, herdsman [shep-herd].
ǫnd (and), and.
sē sęcg, man, warrior.
sē seolh, seal.
sē stān, stone.
sē wealh, foreigner, Welshman [wal-nut].
sē weall, wall.
sē wīsdōm, wisdom.
sē wulf, wolf.
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Exercises.
I. 1. Ðāra wulfa mūðas. 2. Ðæs fisceres fingras. 3. Ðāra Wēala cyninge. 4. Ðǣm ęnglum ǫnd ðǣm hierdum. 5. Ðāra daga ęnde. 6. Ðǣm bōcerum ǫnd ðǣm sęcgum ðæs cyninges. 7. Ðǣm sēole ǫnd ðǣm fuglum. 8. Ðā stānas ǫnd ðā gāras. 9. Hwala ǫnd mēara. 10. Ðāra ęngla wīsdōm. 11. Ðæs cyninges bōceres frēodōm. 12. Ðāra hierda fuglum. 13. Ðȳ stāne. 14. Ðǣm wealle.
II. 1. For the horses and the seals. 2. For the Welshmen’s freedom. 3. Of the king’s birds. 4. By the wisdom of men and angels. 5. With the spear and the stone. 6. The herdsman’s seal and the warriors’ spears. 7. To the king of heaven. 8. By means of the scribe’s wisdom. 9. The whale’s mouth and the foreigner’s spear. 10. For the bird belonging to (= of) the king’s scribe. 11. Of that finger.
