Grammar Flashcards
Present participle in ME
Ends on -yng
When is a verb strong in ME?
When it has a stem vowel change in past tense.
Strong past participles might end in -en like in Dutch.
When is a verb weak in ME?
When it has a -t or -d suffix (even if it had a stemvowel change) in past tense
When is an adjective strong in ME?
Do not add -e. All adjectives add -e in the plural form. Can be modified by an indefinite article (a).
When is an adjective weak in ME?
Add -e after definite articles, genitives, and before nouns in the vocative case
Vocative case = direct address; “O blinde world!”)
All adjectives add -e in the plural form.
Long closed e
PDE words spekt either e or ee (he, see, speech, meet).
Long open e
PDE words spelt either like break, learned, or either words that contain ‘ea’ in PDE translation.
Long closed o
Look at the pronunciation in PDE; mood /u:/, good /hoef/, blood /^/.
Long open o
Words such as boat, goat, holy.
Demonstratives
That = that
Tho = those
This = this
Thise/these = these
Ilke/thilke = ‘the same’ but best translated as ‘that’
Yon = yonder
Hym = that (that Darys)
What is a context in which this/thise may be used by Chaucer?
Instances where the demonstrative is used to refer to a person/group who have not been previously mentioned.
Three noun inflexions in ME
-es and -s
Sometimes used -is and -ys
Plurals are formed by adding -z
When is it common to find nouns without inflexions?
After number
Mutated plural
Goose > geese
Foot > feet
Cases and their grammatical function
Nominative = subject
Accusative = direct object
Genitive = possessive (‘s)
Dative = indirect object
Monotransitive
Only a direct object in a sentence.
Direct object
Direct object and indirect in a sentence.
What is the subclass of weak verbs?
When you thinks verb is both weak and strong, it is weak. So if it ends in a dental suffix in both ways.
What kind of moods are there for verbs?
- Subjunctive mood
- Imperative mood
- Indicative mood
Subjunctive mood and inflexions
Used when expressing;
1. Doubt
2. Desire
3. Hypothetical situations (not necessarily real)
But also appears in subordinate clauses introduced by words such as; if, though, lest, whether.
Inflexions: base of the verb, similar to present tense, so a final -e or -en
Imperative mood and inflexions
Used when;
1. Commands
2. Request
3. Offer advice
4. To address someone directly
Inflexions: uses whole form of the verb for affirmative commands, such as “love me!”. In plural, add -th.
(Third person singular of the present) indicative mood
- He, she, it
- Verbs in third p. singular often end in -eth, -th, -es (loveth, maketh)
Facts!
Dangerous
Difficult, aloof (distant)
Therto
Moreover
Er
Before
How can the emphasis on the negative particle (ne…) be enlarged?
Through its position:
1. Before a verb
2. Adding stress through metre
What is a phrasal verb?
A verb that consists of two elements
E.g. sit down, stand up
Possible verb types in ME
- Strong: speken, spak
- Weak: kissen, kisste
- Irregular: be, was
Possible cases in ME
- Nominative (Subject)
- Accusative (DO)
- Genitive (Possessive)
- Dative (IO)
Possible verb forms in ME
Infinitive, participle
When is ‘who’ used in Chaucer?
Only used as interrogative questions.
What inflexions did Chaucer use for his adverbs?
-ly
-e
-liche(e)
What functions does the discourse marker lo have in Chaucer’s language?
Used to draw attention to what’s going to be said next.
Nam (negation)
Ne + am
Am not
Nas (negation)
Ne + was
Was not
Nyste (negation)
Ne + wiste
Knew not, did not know
Nolde (negation)
Ne + Wolde
Would not, did not want to
How are questions formed in ME compared to PDE?
ME questions are typically formed using a combination of word order, verb inflection and context. At times, the verb comes before the subject to indicate a question.
PDE relies on auxiliary verbs (“do”) and specific word order.
Impersonal verb construction
Lacks a subject
Most common word order in ME
S-O-V
But can also be
S-V
O-V-S
V-S-O
Relative pronouns difference PDE and ME (who, which, that)
PDE
Who: humans
Which: inanimate objects
That: neutral, both humans and inanimate objects
ME
Who: only functions as interrogative pronoun
Which: both inanimate and animate objects (most common)
That: also for both
Why is <-e> a problem when distinguishing a weak verb or an adverb?
It confuses whether a word is an adjective or adverb, so then look at context.
When does the inversion of the subject and verb occur in ME? And which word class triggers inversion? Examples?
In questions, negation and negative sentences.
Adverbs trigger inversion, such as “thus” and “now”.
-eth
Characteristic of the third person singular in the present tense (in ME).
Infinitive / Participle
The infinitive is the base form of a verb with to. A participle is a verb that ends in -ing (present participle) or -ed, -d, -t, -en, -n (past participle).
Parsing
Person, number, participle/infinitive, tense, mood, strong/weak/irregular
Thou vs. ye
Thou: Informal pronoun, used in friendly relationships; Lord to servant, old to young. Expresses lack of respect, also used for addressing God because he is a friend!
Ye: Formal pronoun, to show respect, to keep distance, common pronoun between spouses. Used for and by Pagan gods.
Linguistic variation
Coexistence of different spelling variants in the Chaucer’s London dialect, which was a result of massive immigration. Because of that, the London dialect was influenced by speech patterns, morphology and phonology from other regional dialects.
• Rhyming purposes
• Spelling variants can be used to fit rhyme pattern
• Typifying some characters (Reeve’s Tale)
Direct object - indirect object
DO
Received action, effect of the verb. What or whom?
IO
For what or whom?
