Grammar Flashcards
What often happens in middle english with the ordering of the subject and the verb?
(example)
They are inverted e.g.
wol I wake = I shall wake up
knokke they = they knock
In analysing difficult sentences, what are the steps you should take?
Try it with this sentence:
‘The burn blessed him bylive and the bredes passed, prayses the porter, before the prince kneled, gave him God and good day, that Gawan He save’
- Locate the verb
- Locate its subject
- Locate the object or the compliment
‘The burn blessed him bylive and the bredes passed, prayses the porter, before the prince kneled, gave him God and good day, that Gawan He save’
The man crossed himself quickly and passed over the boards, compliments the porter, [who] was knelt before the prince. [The porter] wished him god day and commended him to God, [praying] that he would save Gawain’
Things you may need to add into middle english writing to make it make sense in modern english (2)
- Connecting words
- Verbs, especially ‘to be’
What might you need to do about number or tense in middle english?
Regularise it - in Middle English a subject can shift from singular to plural or the syntax from present to past within a sentence.
What might you want to when translating ‘that’ into Modern English?
Try out different relative pronouns, such as who, whom, and which
The prefix ther- in words such as ‘therto’ and ‘therwith’ often refers back to what?
What may ‘therto’ therefore be translated as?
The subject matter of the previous phrase.
‘Therto’ may be translated as ‘in addition to all that’ or ‘in order to achieve that’
Certain verbs often appear as impersonal constructions in Middle English.
What does this mean?
That they use the third person neuter singular verb (sang, herde) with the object form of the personal pronoun (me, thee, hym, her, it, us, you, hem etc.)
When an impersonal construction comes up, what is it often better to do?
Practice on ‘hym thynketh’, ‘hem leste’, and ‘me reweth’
Translate it into a more direct form, or into the passive tense:
hym thynketh => ‘it seems to him’ or ‘he thought’
hem leste => ‘it pleased him’
me reweth => ‘I regret’ (lit. ‘it rues [saddens] me’)
Middle English loves reflexive pronouns.
What do you do when translating them into Modern English? Give two examples.
You either include it or ignore it (lol).
dressed hym upwards = took his place
gooth hym up = goes up
How is a yogh pronounced?
‘y’ or ‘g’ or a combination of the two
What is the inflexion for a verb in the first person singular?
I tell-
-e
I telle
What is the inflexion for a verb in the second person singular?
Thou tell-
-est
Thou tellest
(or -es?)
What is the inflexion for a verb in the third person singular?
She/ he tell-
-eth
She/ he telleth
(or -es?)
What is the inflexion for a verb in the first, second, or third person plural?
We/ Ye/ They tell-
-en
We/ Ye/ They tellen
With verbs, besides the first person singular, what can the ending -eth also indicate?
The singular imperative
Refuseth nat = Do not refuse
So-called ‘strong’ verbs form the past by ___
E.g. sing, throw
So-called ‘weak’ verbs form the past by ___
E.g. wish, laugh
So-called ‘strong’ verbs form the past by changing the stem
E.g. sang, threw
So-called ‘weak’ verbs form the past by adding to the stem
E.g. wished, laughed
Why this makes one stronger or weaker than the other is beyond me. Patriarchy.
To form the past tense in Middle English, ‘strong’ verbs ___, while special considerations apply for the second person singular and the plural.
E.g. Sing
To form the past tense in Middle English, ‘strong’ verbs change their stems
E.g. Sang or song
In the second person singular they also add an -e
E.g. Thou songe
And in the plural they an -en
E.g. We/ ye/ they songen
To form the past tense in Middle English, ‘weak’ verbs add ___ or ___ to the first person singular.
E.g. Here and fele
To form the past tense in Middle English, ‘weak’ verbs add -de or -te to the first person singular.
E.g. Herde and felte
To form the past tense in Middle English, ‘weak’ verbs add ___ to the second person singular.
E.g. Here
To form the past tense in Middle English, ‘weak’ verbs add -dest (i.e. -de + -st) to the second person singular.
E.g. Thou herdest
To form the past tense in Middle English, ‘weak’ verbs add ___ to the plural.
E.g. Fele
To form the past tense in Middle English, ‘weak’ verbs add -ten (i.e. -te + -e) to the plural.
E.g. We/ ye/ they felten
The past tense is often formed using the auxiliary verb ___ with the ___ ___.
E.g. Absolon ___ ___ his mouth means ‘Absolon wiped his mouth’, the folk ___ ___ means ‘the people laughed’
The past tense is often formed using the auxiliary verb gan with the past participle.
E.g. Absolon gan wype his mouth means ‘Absolon wiped his mouth’, the folk gan laughen means ‘the people laughed’
Where ‘gan’ is used with an infinitive verb, usually with ‘to’, it can mean ___.
E.g. he gan to cry means ___.
However, frequently these cases also need to be translated using the ___ past tense.
E.g. gan to rynge means ___.
Where ‘gan’ is used with an infinitive verb, usually with ‘to’, it can mean began.
E.g. he gan to cry means ‘he began to cry.
However, frequently these cases also need to be translated using the simple past tense.
E.g. gan to rynge means ‘rang’.
Some verbs add an initial _ or _ to the past participle.
E.g. _cleped means ‘called’, and _crowe means ‘crowed’
Some verbs add an initial i or y to the past participle.
E.g. ycleped means ‘called’, and ycrowe means ‘crowed’
Plural nouns are generally formed by adding ___ or ___ to singular nouns. Ocassionally there are irregulars e.g. instrument_.
Note that ___ are formed in the same way as plural nouns.
E.g. the Kinges Noote or Goddes pryvetee
Plural nouns are generally formed by adding -s or -es to singular nouns. Ocassionally there are irregulars e.g. instrumentz.
Note that possessives are formed in the same way as plural nouns.
E.g. the Kinges Noote means ‘the King’s Tune’ or Goddes pryvetee means ‘God’s secrets’
Some nouns add ___ for plural, such as ___ for ‘eyes’.
A few have the ___ form in ___ and plural. Example with the noun ‘thing’.
Also some mutated plurals, such as ___.
Some nouns add -en for plural, such as eyen for ‘eyes’.
A few have the same form in singular and plural. o thing means ‘one thing’, while certeyn thing means ‘certain things’.
Also some mutated plurals, such as men.
Most adjectives ___ ___ take a plural ending, although monosyllabic adjectives add ___ to pluralize.
E.g. a yong squire but yong_ women.
In some circumstances, an -e is added in the singular, such as when the adjective appears with a ___ article, or with a ___ article.
E.g. ___ yonge sonne, ___ yonge wyf, ___ ilke nyght.
Most adjectives do not take a plural ending, although monosyllabic adjectives add -e to pluralize.
E.g. a yong squire but yonge women.
In some circumstances, an -e is added in the singular, such as when the adjective appears with a definite article, or with a demonstrative article.
E.g. the yonge sonne, this yonge wyf, that ilke nyght.
Some adjectives are converted to adverbs by the addition of ___, such as fair_, ‘fairly’, and bright_, ‘brightly’
Some adjectives are converted to adverbs by the addition of -e, such as faire, ‘fairly’, and brighte, ‘brightly’
Sometimes ___ ___ and ___ adverbs are merged into associative verbs.
E.g. hast thow? becomes ___?
- ne wiste*, ‘did not know’, becomes ___
- ne wolde*, ‘did not wish’, becomes ___.
Sometimes personal pronouns and negative adverbs are merged into associative verbs.
E.g. hast thow? becomes hastow?
- ne wiste*, ‘did not know’, becomes nyste
- ne wolde*, ‘did not wish’, becomes nolde.
In Middle English, double negatives act as ___ and do not ___ each other ___.
For triple negative, ___ both parts of the double negative ____ the verb. In other words, triple = ___.
E.g. noon of us ne speke nat a word becomes ___, not ___
In Middle English, double negatives act as intensifiers and do not cancel each other out.
For triple negative, omit both parts of the double negative around the verb. In other words, triple = singular.
E.g. noon of us ne speke nat a word becomes ‘none of us says a word’, not ‘none of us says not a word’
