Wikipǣdia:Tutorial on Old English

Hū man sceolde ƿrītan

For information on typing, see Help:Innung#Typing

Gif þē is nīed, brūc þā stafas: ǣ æ ā ē ī ō ū ȳ þ ð ƿ oþþe Ǣ Æ Ā Ē Ī Ō Ū Ȳ Þ Ð Ƿ in þīnum geƿritum.

When writing, use the early West Saxon spellings:

1. Use ie instead of y (thus sierƿung instead of syrƿung, his instead of hys, etc.)
2. Use an instead of on (thus and instead of ond, mann instead of monn, etc.)

OE Style

As a general rule for the OE wiki, try to remember the following OE guidelines to give this wiki a consistent look and feel:

Don'ts

1. Do not use y for ie in words such as his, hire, sierwung, or for eo in words such as feorran, feorsian
2. Do not syncopate verb endings on verbs ending in consonant clusters or t/d. It is well known that the Anglo-Saxons did this, but it will make reading articles so much easier if one finds "bīteþ" and "biddeþ" instead of "bitt" and "bītt." And "hyngrest" not "hyngrst." However, you can probably get away with "bītst."
3. Do not use on instead of an. It is easier to see and understand "mann," "and," and "band" than "monn," "ond," and "bond."
4. Do not link to external sites within an article if you can help it. Save that for the end of the article.
5. Do not link to images outside the article. Having little thumbnails that one may click on is nicer, and makes the article better to look at.

Do's

1. Use the same spelling throughout your article. It is well known that the Anglo-Saxons didn't do this, but it will make reading articles so much easier with consistent spelling.
2. Use the special words and characters under the edit box if you need them.
3. Use the following for definite articles: se, sēo, þæt; þæs, þǣre; þǣm, þǣre; þȳ/þon, þǣre; þone, þā, þæt; and plural: þā; þāra/þǣra; þǣm; þā - don't use thaet, þat, sio, sīo, þām, þāre, etc. Consistency!
4. Use the distinctive accusative forms of pronouns (mec, þec, ūsic, uncit, ēowic, incit, hine, hīe, hit). This will make the articles that much easier to read.
5. Use the þ for the same sound as in "theta" and ð for the same sound as in "that." It is well known that the Anglo-Saxons didn't do this, but it will make pronouncing what is read in the articles so much easier.
6. Use internal links within this wiki. We are not an advertising service for other websites.
7. Use image thumbnails within an article rather than simply linking to the image page. This makes for prettier articles, and is already common practice in other wikis.

Or: be consistent, make it easy for your readers to understand. And remember, this is an encyclopedia, so Neutral Point of View applies!

Punctuation

1. Punctuate sentences as you normally would, i.e. a period for sentences, question mark for questions, and exclamation mark for imperatives/commands.
2. For subordinate clauses, separate them from the main clause by a comma, e.g. "Ic cann secgan, þæt hē is mīn brōðor." Or, "Þes is sē mōnaþ, þe ƿē 'Hāligmōnaþ' hātton." This makes it a bit clearer to understand.
3. In series, place commas after each word, including one before 'and' (mōdor, fæder, and sweostor).

Runes

Please visit the How to write with Runes article if you wish to write using the runic alphabet. If you wish to do so, please have a version of the page written using the Latin alphabet first, then transliterated into runes.

And as for Grammar

Information about Syllables Relevant to Old English

Syllables break when:

• There are two consonants between two vowel clusters, e.g. hab-ban, en-gel.
• There is one consonant between two vowel clusters (the consonant going to the latter syllable), e.g. ē-þel, fre-mast.

It is important to know what the stem of a word is: It is the most basic factor of a word (compound or not) minus declension/conjugation suffixes, therefore the Modern English word fireman has two stems: fire and man, the same rules apply to Old English; but in compound words, the declension/conjugation of a noun/adjective/verb is purely dependent on the last word in the compound (so the noun "sealtȳþ - salt-wave" may look like it takes the endings of a long-stemmed disyllable; but it is, in fact, a compound word of "sealt - salt" and "ȳþ - wave" (ȳþ being the final member of the compound), therefore it takes the conjugation of a long-stemmed monosyllable: ȳþ).

At many times in Old English, it is important to be able to distinguish four different types of syllables.

Short-stemmed monosyllables: end with short vowel and one consonant, e.g. scip, in, glæd.

Long-stemmed monosyllables: end with either a long vowel and one consonant or a short vowel and two consonants, e.g. hand, cniht, fōt, tōþ.

Short-stemmed disyllables: end with a short vowel, then one consonant, then another short vowel, then one consonant, e.g. metod, ƿerod, hacod.

Long-stemmed disyllables: end with the same pattern as above (e.g. vowel, consonant cluster, vowel, consonant cluster) but must have at least one long vowel or one cluster of two consonants, e.g. engel, habban, ƿindig, ēþel.

Verbs

The verb is conjugated as follows: ic (stem)-e, þu (stem)-est, hē (stem)-eþ/aþ, ƿē/gē/hīe (stem)-aþ

1. Strong Verbs: ic -e, þu -(e)st, hē -(e)þ, ƿē/gē/hīe -aþ

--The () means the e of the ending can be syncopated if the ending is still understandable. Bisen: stendeþ hē, ne stent hē, ac nimþ hē, ne nimeþ hē. Understendest þu?

Weak Verbs

Type 1a

Verbs with stems ending in a double consonant or in -rian, unless otherwise marked. Infinitive Forms: nerian, fremman, settan, gremman, etc.

1. Note how the infinitive ending is always -an.

Weak Verb 1a Present Indicative: nerian Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic nerie ƿē neriaþ þu nerest gē neriaþ hē, hēo, hit nereþ hīe neriaþ	Weak Verb 1a Present Subjunctive: nerian Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic nerie ƿē nerien þu nerie gē nerien hē, hēo, hit nerie hīe nerien
Weak Verb 1a Past Indicative: nerian Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic nerede ƿē neredon þu neredest gē neredon hē, hēo, hit nerede hīe neredon	Weak Verb 1a Past Subjunctive: nerian Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic nerede ƿē nereden þu nerede gē nereden hē, hēo, hit nerede hīe nereden
Weak Verb 1a Imperative: nerian Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural (þu) nere (gē) neriaþ	Weak Verb 1a Participles: nerian Present Past neriende genered

And doubled consonant verbs (with fremman as an example):

Weak Verb 1a Present Indicative: fremman Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic fremme ƿē fremmaþ þu fremest gē fremmaþ hē, hēo, hit fremeþ hīe fremmaþ	Weak Verb 1a Present Subjunctive: fremman Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic fremme ƿē fremmen þu fremme gē fremmen hē, hēo, hit fremme hīe fremmen
Weak Verb 1a Past Indicative: fremman Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic fremede ƿē fremedon þu fremedest gē fremedon hē, hēo, hit fremede hīe fremedon	Weak Verb 1a Past Subjunctive: fremman Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic fremede ƿē fremeden þu fremede gē fremeden hē, hēo, hit fremede hīe fremeden
Weak Verb 1a Imperative: fremman Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural (þu) freme (gē) fremmaþ	Weak Verb 1a Participles: fremman Present Past fremmende gefremed

And one last type, settan/lecgan type 1a verbs:

Weak Verb 1a Present Indicative: settan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic sette ƿē settaþ þu setest gē settaþ hē, hēo, hit seteþ hīe settaþ	Weak Verb 1a Present Subjunctive: settan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic sette ƿē setten þu sette gē setten hē, hēo, hit sette hīe setten
Weak Verb 1a Past Indicative: settan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic sette ƿē setton þu settest gē setton hē, hēo, hit sette hīe setton	Weak Verb 1a Past Subjunctive: settan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic sette ƿē setten þu sette gē setten hē, hēo, hit sette hīe setten
Weak Verb 1a Imperative: settan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural (þu) sete (gē) settaþ	Weak Verb 1a Participles: settan Present Past settende geseted

Notes: Weak Verb 1a

• The first person is the infinitive, without -an (the stem), plus -e. (nerian -> neri+an -> neri+e)
• The second/third person is formed from the bare stem plus -est/-eþ (nerian -> ner+ian -> nerest, nereþ)
• The plural is the infinitive without -an (the stem), plus -aþ. (nerian -> neri+an -> neri+aþ)
• The imperative is formed from the þu (minus -st) and ge (same) forms. (nerest ->nere-st -> nere)
• The subjunctive is formed from the stem + -e, -en. (nerian -> neri+e, neri+en) Thus, it is just like the first person indicative and the first person indicative plus -n.
• The present participle is formed from the stem plus -ende (nerian -> neri+ende)
• The past participle is formed from the past tense and ge-, minus the -e (nerede -> ge+nered-e -> genered)

• Verbs ending in -rian and with doubled consonants drop the -i- or doubled consonant in the same positions: 2nd/3rd person singular, imperative singular, and throughout the past tense.
• Verbs like settan (ātreddan, cnyttan, hreddan, hƿettan, lettan, spryttan, lecgan) typically have the above declension. Lecgan has (legde, geleged). You may find past forms as "setede."

Type 1b

Verbs with stems ending in more than one consonant (not a doubled consonant) or with a long vowel and one consonant. Infinitive Forms: dēman, hyngran, drencan, gierƿan, etc.

1. Note how the infinitive ending is always -an.

Weak Verb 1b Present Indicative: dēman Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic dēme ƿē dēmaþ þu dēmst gē dēmaþ hē, hēo, hit dēmþ hīe dēmaþ	Weak Verb 1b Present Subjunctive: dēman Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic dēme ƿē dēmen þu dēme gē dēmen hē, hēo, hit dēme hīe dēmen
Weak Verb 1b Past Indicative: dēman Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic dēmde ƿē dēmdon þu dēmdest gē dēmdon hē, hēo, hit dēmde hīe dēmdon	Weak Verb 1b Past Subjunctive: dēman Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic dēmde ƿē dēmden þu dēmde gē dēmden hē, hēo, hit dēmde hīe dēmden
Weak Verb 1b Imperative: dēman Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural (þu) dēm (gē) dēmaþ	Weak Verb 1b Participles: dēman Present Past dēmende gedēmed

And multiple consonant verbs (ending in -c, -sc, -p, -f, with drencan as an example):

Weak Verb 1b Present Indicative: drencan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic drence ƿē drencaþ þu drencest, drencst gē drencaþ hē, hēo, hit drenceþ, drencþ hīe drencaþ	Weak Verb 1b Present Subjunctive: drencan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic drence ƿē drencen þu drence gē drencen hē, hēo, hit drence hīe drencen
Weak Verb 1b Past Indicative: drencan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic drencte ƿē drencton þu drenctest gē drencton hē, hēo, hit drencte hīe drencton	Weak Verb 1b Past Subjunctive: drencan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic drencte ƿē drencten þu drencte gē drencten hē, hēo, hit drencte hīe drencten
Weak Verb 1b Imperative: drencan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural (þu) drenc (gē) drencaþ	Weak Verb 1b Participles: drencan Present Past drencende gedrenced

And multiple consonant verbs (using hyngran as an example):

Weak Verb 1b Present Indicative: hyngran Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic hyngre ƿē hyngraþ þu hyngrest gē hyngraþ hē, hēo, hit hyngreþ hīe hyngraþ	Weak Verb 1b Present Subjunctive: hyngran Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic hyngre ƿē hyngren þu hyngre gē hyngren hē, hēo, hit hyngre hīe hyngren
Weak Verb 1b Past Indicative: hyngran Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic hyngrede ƿē hyngredon þu hyngredest gē hyngredon hē, hēo, hit hyngrede hīe hyngredon	Weak Verb 1b Past Subjunctive: hyngran Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic hyngrede ƿē hyngreden þu hyngrede gē hyngreden hē, hēo, hit hyngrede hīe hyngreden
Weak Verb 1b Imperative: hyngran Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural (þu) hyngre (gē) hyngraþ	Weak Verb 1b Participles: hyngran Present Past hyngrende gehyngred

And one last type, gierƿan verbs (ending in -ƿan):

Weak Verb 1b Present Indicative: gierƿan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic gierƿe ƿē gierƿaþ þu gierest gē gierƿaþ hē, hēo, hit giereþ hīe gierƿaþ	Weak Verb 1b Present Subjunctive: gierƿan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic gierƿe ƿē gierƿen þu gierƿe gē gierƿen hē, hēo, hit gierƿe hīe gierƿen
Weak Verb 1b Past Indicative: gierƿan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic gierede ƿē gieredon þu gieredest gē gieredon hē, hēo, hit gierede hīe gieredon	Weak Verb 1b Past Subjunctive: gierƿan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic gierede ƿē giereden þu gierede gē giereden hē, hēo, hit gierede hīe giereden
Weak Verb 1b Imperative: gierƿan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural (þu) giere (gē) gierƿaþ	Weak Verb 1b Participles: gierƿan Present Past gierƿende gegierƿed, gegiered

Notes: Weak Verb 1b

• See notes on Weak Verb 1a for formation of the different forms of the verb.
• The most 'regular' 1b verbs are those like dēman (long vowel, 1 consonant) and hyngran (short vowel, multiple consonants), in that they don't have much variation in formation like drencan and gierƿan verbs.
• Verbs having a long vowel and one consonant, like dēman, don't generally have the full -est, -eþ endings. Thus, the imperative is simply the þu form without -st (dēm!, not dēme!).
• Verbs like dēman include verbs ending in -rn, -ng, -rg, -lg, ƿiernan (ƿiernde, geƿierned), lengan (lengde, gelenged), byrgan (byrgde, gebyrged), and fylgan (fylgde, gefylged). It also includes contracted verbs like hēan (hēade, gehēad), rȳn, tȳn, þēon, þȳn.
• Verbs like drencan include those ending in -nc, -sc, -p, -sp, -t, -rp. They add -te in the past tense (ācƿencte, ādƿæscte, etc.).
• Verbs like hyngran, with a short vowel and multiple consonants, are more 'regular' than other 1b verbs. Their past tense is always -ede, and the past participle is always ge-(stem)-ed (bīecnede, þrysmede, symblede, ræfnede).
• Verbs like gierƿan, ending in -ƿan, drop the -ƿ- in the same places as the -i- in 1a verbs (smierƿan -> smierest, nierƿan -> niereþ). Verbs like getrīeƿan, lǣƿan, forslǣƿan, hlēoƿan (with a long vowel/diphthong) kept the -ƿ- in all forms, however.

Weak Verb 2

These are all other verbs, and are about half of all weak verbs.

Weak Verb 2 Present Indicative: endian Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic endie ƿē endiaþ þu endast gē endiaþ hē, hēo, hit endaþ hīe endiaþ	Weak Verb 2 Present Subjunctive: endian Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic endie ƿē endien þu endie gē endien hē, hēo, hit endie hīe endien
Weak Verb 2 Past Indicative: endian Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic endode ƿē endodon þu endodest gē endodon hē, hēo, hit endode hīe endodon	Weak Verb 2 Past Subjunctive: endian Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic endode ƿē endoden þu endode gē endoden hē, hēo, hit endode hīe endoden
Weak Verb 2 Imperative: endian Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural (þu) enda (gē) endiaþ	Weak Verb 2 Participles: endian Present Past endiende geendod

Verbs like tƿēogan to doubt are slightly irregular, since they were originally class 3 verbs, but decline alike, so it's not too difficult to learn them. There are only tƿēogan, fēogan to hate, frēogan to love, make free, smēagan to ponder, consider, and þrēagan to reprove, rebuke. Sometimes these verbs show up as tƿēon, fēon, frēon, smēan, and þrēan.

Weak Verb 2 Present Indicative: tƿēogan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic tƿēoge ƿē tƿēogaþ þu tƿēost gē tƿēogaþ hē, hēo, hit tƿēoþ hīe tƿēogaþ	Weak Verb 2 Present Subjunctive: tƿēogan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic tƿēoge ƿē tƿēogen þu tƿēoge gē tƿēogen hē, hēo, hit tƿēoge hīe tƿēogen
Weak Verb 2 Past Indicative: tƿēogan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic tƿēode ƿē tƿēodon þu tƿēodest gē tƿēodon hē, hēo, hit tƿēode hīe tƿēodon	Weak Verb 2 Past Subjunctive: tƿēogan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural ic tƿēode ƿē tƿēoden þu tƿēode gē tƿēoden hē, hēo, hit tƿēode hīe tƿēoden
Weak Verb 2 Imperative: tƿēogan Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural (þu) tƿēo (gē) tƿēogaþ	Weak Verb 2 Participles: tƿēogan Present Past tƿēogiende, tƿēonde (poetical) getƿēod

Notes: Weak Verb 2

• See notes on Weak Verb 1a for formation of the different forms of the verb.
• These verbs all end in -ian.
• These verbs are the most 'regular' verbs in that all verbs of this class decline the same aside from a small group of exceptional verbs.
• The second and third person singular have the endings -ast and -aþ, without the -i-.
• The imperative is still the second person, minus -st.
• The verbs that act like twēogan are remnants of class 3 verbs that became class 2 verbs before the written history of Old English.

Pronouns

In dæftunge: nemniendlic, āgniendlic, forgifendlic, ƿregendlic

First Person Singular: I, We Two, We I We two We Nom. ic ƿit ƿē Gen. mīn uncer ūser, ūre Dat. mē unc ūs Acc. mec uncit ūsic
Second Person Pronouns: Thou, Ye two, Ye Thou Ye two Ye Nom. þu git gē Gen. þīn incer ēoƿer Dat. þē inc ēoƿ Acc. þec incit ēoƿic
Third Person Pronouns: He, She, It, They He She It They Nom. hē hēo hit hīe Gen. his hire his hira, hiera Dat. him hire him him, heom Acc. hine hīe hit hīe	Interrogative Pronoun: Who, What Who What Nom. hƿā hƿæt Gen. hƿæs hƿæs Dat. hƿǣm hƿǣm Inst. hƿȳ/hƿī hƿȳ/hƿī Acc. hƿone hƿæt

Notice how the Interrogative pronouns look like the pronouns hē and hit (hƿǣm and him, hƿone and hine, hƿæt and hit, hƿæs and his). If you compare to the Definite Article, you'll see the same similarities, mostly a difference of þ-/hƿ- (þone and hƿone, þǣm and hƿǣm, þȳ and hƿȳ, þæt and hƿæt, þæs and hƿæs).

Declension

The genitive pronoun functions as an adjective. As such, it declines to agree with the case, gender, and number of the noun which it describes. The pronouns mīn, þīn, sīn, ūser, ēoƿer, uncer, incer decline, whereas his, hire, and hira do not. The following table illustrates the declensions of these pronouns, which is exactly like the adjective blind.

First Person Singular Genitive Declension: mīn Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. mīn mīn mīn Gen. mīnes mīnes mīnre Dat. mīnum mīnum mīnre Inst. mīne mīne mīnre Acc. mīnne mīn mīne	First Person Singular Genitive Declension: mīn Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. mīne mīn mīna Gen. mīnra mīnra mīnra Dat. mīnum mīnum mīnum Inst. mīnum mīnum mīnum Acc. mīne mīn mīna
Second Person Singular Genitive Declension: þīn Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. þīn þīn þīn Gen. þīnes þīnes þīnre Dat. þīnum þīnum þīnre Inst. þīne þīne þīnre Acc. þīnne þīn þīne	Second Person Singular Genitive Declension: þīn Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. þīne þīn þīna Gen. þīnra þīnra þīnra Dat. þīnum þīnum þīnum Inst. þīnum þīnum þīnum Acc. þīne þīn þīna
First Person Plural Genitive Declension: ūser Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. ūser ūser ūser Gen. ūseres ūseres ūserre Dat. ūserum ūserum ūserre Inst. ūsere ūsere ūserre Acc. ūserne ūser ūsere	First Person Plural Genitive Declension: ūser Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. ūsere ūser ūsera Gen. ūserra ūserra ūserra Dat. ūserum ūserum ūserum Inst. ūserum ūserum ūserum Acc. ūsere ūser ūsera

Nouns

The following tables show the most common noun declensions for the three genders (~68% masculine, ~73% feminine, ~91% neuter).

The Strong Masculine Noun Declension Article Singular Article Plural Nom. se - þā -as Gen. þæs -es þāra -a Dat. þǣm -e þǣm -um Inst. þȳ/þon -e þǣm -um Acc. þone - þā -as	The Weak Masculine Noun Declension Article Singular Article Plural Nom. se -a þā -an Gen. þæs -an þāra -ena Dat. þǣm -an þǣm -um Inst. þȳ/þon -an þǣm -um Acc. þone -an þā -an
The Strong Feminine Noun Declension Article Singular Article Plural Nom. sēo -/-u þā -a Gen. þǣre -e þāra -a Dat. þǣre -e þǣm -um Inst. þǣre -e þǣm -um Acc. þā -e þā -a	The Weak Feminine Noun Declension Article Singular Article Plural Nom. sēo -e þā -an Gen. þǣre -an þāra -ena Dat. þǣre -an þǣm -um Inst. þǣre -an þǣm -um Acc. þā -an þā -an
The Strong Neuter Noun Declension Article Singular Article Plural Nom. þæt - -/-u -/-u Gen. þæs -es þāra -a Dat. þǣm -e þǣm -um Inst. þȳ/þon -e þǣm -um Acc. þæt - þā -/-u	The Weak Neuter Noun Declension Article Singular Article Plural Nom. þæt -e þā -an Gen. þæs -an þāra -ena Dat. þǣm -an þǣm -um Inst. þȳ/þon -an þǣm -um Acc. þæt -e þā -an

Masculine Nouns

Strong Masculine

Strong Masculine Noun: stān Article Singular Article Plural Nom. se stān þā stānas Gen. þæs stānes þāra stāna Dat. þǣm stāne þǣm stānum Inst. þȳ/þon stāne þǣm stānum Acc. þone stān þā stānas

This declension has about 63.8% of all masculine nouns. Since this declension was so common, it became the basis for the modern English plural -(e)s ending. One-syllable nouns, like stān, gang, and ǣl all decline alike. Nouns ending in a double consonant, like bucc, hnæpp, and cropp, also decline like stān. The first irregularity comes with nouns like dæg, which have the letter 'æ' followed by one consonant. The 'æ' becomes 'a' in the plural.

Strong Masculine Noun: dæg Article Singular Article Plural Nom. se dæg þā dagas Gen. þæs dæges þāra daga Dat. þǣm dæge þǣm dagum Inst. þȳ/þon dæge þǣm dagum Acc. þone dæg þā dagas

Nouns like dæg include: pæþ, stæf, hƿæl, etc. One noun, mǣg, has both māgas and mǣgas for plural.

Nouns like mearh are also a litle different from stān. They drop the -h before endings, and lengthen the vowel.

Strong Masculine Noun: mearh Article Singular Article Plural Nom. se mearh þā mēaras Gen. þæs mēares þāra mēara Dat. þǣm mēare þǣm mēarum Inst. þȳ/þon mēare þǣm mēarum Acc. þone mearh þā mēaras

Nouns like mearh include: ealh, eolh, fearh, healh, sealh, seolh, ƿealh, etc. The word scōh simply adds endings, since it already has a long vowel:

Strong Masculine Noun: scōh Article Singular Article Plural Nom. se scōh þā scōs Gen. þæs scōs þāra scōna Dat. þǣm scō þǣm scōm, scōum Inst. þȳ/þon scō þǣm scōm, scōum Acc. þone scōh þā scōs

Weak Masculine

Note that all weak masculine nouns have the letter a as an ending in the nominative singular (making weak masculine nouns very easy to detect), which is a suffix which is often the equivalent in meaning to the Modern English suffix -er.

Note that some masculine nouns ending in a long ā are weak (e.g. rā "roebuck), but not all.

Weak Masculine Noun: Nama - Name Article Singular Article Plural Nom. se nama þā naman Gen. þæs naman þāra namena Dat. þǣm naman þǣm namum Inst. þȳ/þon naman þǣm namum Acc. þone naman þā naman

Neuter Nouns

Neuter nouns are much the same as masculine nous in declension, and, if you have already learnt the masculine noun declensions, these should be no problem.

Strong Neuter

Here's where your knowledge of long-stemmed and short-stemmed syllables comes in handy.

Short-stemmed monosyllables and long-stemmed disyllables take these endings:

Strong Neuter Noun: Scip - Ship Article Singular Article Plural Nom. þæt scip þā scipu Gen. þæs scipes þāra scipa Dat. þǣm scipe þǣm scipum Inst. þȳ/þon scipe þǣm scipum Acc. þæt scip þā scipu

And long-stemmed monosyllabes/short-stemmed disyllables take these endings:

Strong Neuter Noun: Hūs - House Article Singular Article Plural Nom. þæt hūs þā hūs Gen. þæs hūses þāra hūsa Dat. þǣm hūse þǣm hūsum Inst. þȳ/þon hūse þǣm hūsum Acc. þæt hūs þā hūs

Note that the only difference between the two declensions is that u is in the neuter plural for short-stemmed monosyllables and long-stemmed disyllables; but in long-stemmed disyllables and short-stemmed mono-syllables, the u is not there.

All of the rules for the masculine strong sub-declensions occur (e.g. æ in singular and a in plural; h after a vowel is lost before declension suffixes, and the vowel is lengthened; and h after a consonant is lost, and the first stem-vowel is lengthened) in the neuter strong declension, too.

Weak Neuter

Weak neuter nouns are almost exactly the same as weak masculine nouns in declension, but singular nominative and accusative has -e instead of -a and -an.

Weak Neuter Noun: Ēare - Ear Article Singular Article Plural Nom. þæt ēare þā ēaran Gen. þæs ēaranan þāra ēarena Dat. þǣm ēaran þǣm ēarum Inst. þȳ/þon ēaran þǣm ēarum Acc. þæt ēare þā ēaran

There is only one other noun belonging to this declension: ēage - eye.

Case Usage

General Notes

A noun's case tells what it is doing in a sentence. And when there is an appositive phrase, it matches the noun to which it refers. E.g., "I gave it to John, the new president - Ic geaf hit Iohanne, þǣm nīƿan foresittende." John and "the new president" are both in the dative case.

Nominative

Subject of a sentence, or the object of copula verbs (bēon, ƿesan, ƿeorðan). This is the dictionary form of a noun.

Genitive

Case of possession, and the object of some prepositions and adjectives. This tells whose thing a specific thing is. E.g., "cyninges þorp" - "king's village."

Dative

Case of giving, telling to/for whom something is done, the benificiary of some action. E.g., Ic geaf him þæt - I gave him that. It is also the case of many prepositions.

Instrumental

Case telling "by what means" something is done. It is inflected in nouns like the dative, but with an adjective describing the noun, the difference is made clearer (or with an article - þȳ or þon). E.g., þȳ hamore slōg hē þone cyning - with the hammer he hit the king.

Accusative

Direct Object of a sentence, and the object of some prepositions (ƿiþ, etc.). It is uninflected in masculine/neuter nouns, but has an -e ending with most feminine nouns.

It is also used to show duration of length or time, e.g. "I ran a mile," "I waited an hour," "I'll be running the whole length of the school," etc.

Adjectives

These are those words that come before a noun, describing what kind of noun it is. There are two ways to decline an adjective, either strong or weak. A Strong adjective is that which stands alone, preceded by no article or possessive. A Weak adjective is that which is preceded by se/sēo/þæt, mīn/þīn, etc.

• NOTE: eall, genōg, manig, and ōðer are always declined strong. You may find "Se ōðer mann" instead of *"Se ōðera mann."

One-Syllable Adjectives

Strong Adjective Singular Declension: glæd Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. glæd glæd gladu Gen. glades glades glædre Dat. gladum gladum glædre Inst. glade glade glædre Acc. glædne glæd glade	Strong Plural Adjective Declension: glæd Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. glade gladu glada Gen. glædra glædra glædra Dat. gladum gladum gladum Inst. gladum gladum gladum Acc. glade gladu glada
Strong Adjective Singular Declension: blind Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. blind blind blind Gen. blindes blindes blindre Dat. blindum blindum blindre Inst. blinde blinde blindre Acc. blindne blind blinde	Strong Adjective Plural Declension: blind Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. blinde blind blinda Gen. blindra blindra blindra Dat. blindum blindum blindum Inst. blindum blindum blindum Acc. blinde blind blinda
Strong Adjective Singular Declension: hēah Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. hēah hēah hēa Gen. hēas hēas hēare Dat. hēa(u)m hēa(u)m hēare Inst. hēa hēa hēare Acc. hēane hēah hēa	Strong Plural Adjective Declension: hēah Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. hēa hēa hēa Gen. hēara hēara hēara Dat. hēa(u)m hēa(u)m hēa(u)m Inst. hēa(u)m hēa(u)m hēa(u)m Acc. hēa hēa hēa

Variations in Declension

1. Adjectives like glæd, have æ followed by one consonant, and change the æ to a with endings beginning in a vowel (-es, -u, etc.). Also declined like glæd are all adjectives ending in -lic and -sum.
2. Adjectives like blind, have a short vowel followed by two consonants (sƿift, scearp), or a long vowel followed by one consonant (ƿāc, frōd). Also declined like blind are all adjectives ending in -cund, -feald, -fæst, and -lēas. The possessives mīn, þīn, sīn, ūser, uncer, ēoƿer, incer are declined like blind also.
3. Adjectives like hēah, ending in -h, drop the -h before any ending beginning in a vowel, and drop that vowel. Thus, where glæd has gladu, glades, hēah will have hēa, hēas.

Two-Syllable Adjectives

Strong Adjective Singular Declension: manig Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. manig manig manig Gen. maniges maniges manigre Dat. manigum manigum manigre Inst. manige manige manigre Acc. manigne manig manige	Strong Plural Adjective Declension: manig Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. manige manig maniga Gen. manigra manigra manigra Dat. manigum manigum manigum Inst. manigum manigum manigum Acc. manige manig maniga
Strong Adjective Singular Declension: hālig Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. hālig hālig hāligu Gen. hālges hālges hāligre Dat. hālgum hālgum hāligre Inst. hālge hālge hāligre Acc. hāligne blind hālge	Strong Adjective Plural Declension: hālig Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. hālge hālig hālga Gen. hāligra hāligra hāligra Dat. hālgum hālgum hālgum Inst. hālgum hālgum hālgum Acc. hālge hālig hālga
Strong Adjective Singular Declension: ƿilde Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. ƿilde ƿilde ƿildu Gen. ƿildes ƿildes ƿildre Dat. ƿildum ƿildum ƿildre Inst. ƿilde ƿilde ƿildre Acc. ƿildne ƿilde ƿilde	Strong Plural Adjective Declension: ƿilde Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. ƿilde ƿildu ƿilda Gen. ƿildra ƿildra ƿildra Dat. ƿildum ƿildum ƿildum Inst. ƿildum ƿildum ƿildum Acc. ƿilde ƿildu ƿilda

Variations in Declension

1. Adjectives like manig, with a short stem (one short vowel and one consonant, plus an ending with one short vowel and one consonant, -ig, -od, -en, -or, -ol, -oþ, -er), simply add the endings to the adjective, but never add the -u ending.
2. Adjectives like hālig, with a long stem (one short vowel and two consonants, or a long vowel with one consonant, plus an ending with one short vowel and one consonant, -ig, -od, -en, -or, -ol, -oþ, -er), will syncopate the second stem vowel (hālges, ēacne, hǣðna) in endings beginning with vowels. These adjectives will always add the -u ending (but won't syncopate in that case).
3. Adjectives ending in -e, such as ƿilde, will always have the u-ending in the feminine singular and neuter plural. They simply drop the -e, and add endings as necessary.

U-Ending and Weak Adjectives

Strong Adjective Singular Declension: gearu Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. gearu gearu gearu Gen. gearƿes gearƿes gearore Dat. gearƿum gearƿum gearore Inst. gearƿe gearƿe gearore Acc. gearone gearu gearƿe	Strong Plural Adjective Declension: gearu Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. gearƿe gearu gearƿa Gen. gearora gearora gearora Dat. gearƿum gearƿum gearƿum Inst. gearƿum gearƿum gearƿum Acc. gearƿe gearu gearƿa
Weak Adjective Singular Declension: blind Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. blinda blinde blinde Gen. blindan blindan blindan Dat. blindan blindan blindan Inst. blindan blindan blindan Acc. blindan blinde blindan	Weak Plural Adjective Declension: blind Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. blindan blindan blindan Gen. blindra blindra blindra Dat. blindum blindum blindum Inst. blindum blindum blindum Acc. blindan blindan blindan

Weak Declension with definite article and possessive pronoun:

Weak Adjective Singular Declension: blind Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. se blinda þæt blinde sēo blinde Gen. þæs blindan þæs blindan þǣre blindan Dat. þǣm blindan þǣm blindan þǣre blindan Inst. þȳ blindan þȳ blindan þǣre blindan Acc. þone blindan þæt blinde þā blindan	Strong Plural Adjective Declension: blind Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. þā blindan þā blindan þā blindan Gen. þāra blindra þāra blindra þāra blindra Dat. þǣm blindum þǣm blindum þǣm blindum Inst. þǣm blindum þǣm blindum þǣm blindum Acc. þā blindan þā blindan þā blindan
Weak Adjective Singular Declension: blind Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. mīn blinda mīn blinde mīn blinde Gen. mīnes blindan mīnes blindan mīnre blindan Dat. mīnum blindan mīnum blindan mīnre blindan Inst. mīne blindan mīne blindan mīnre blindan Acc. mīnne blindan mīn blinde mīne blindan	Strong Plural Adjective Declension: blind Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. mīne blindan mīn blindan mīna blindan Gen. mīnra blindra mīnra blindra mīnra blindra Dat. mīnum blindum mīnum blindum mīnum blindum Inst. mīnum blindum mīnum blindum mīnum blindum Acc. mīne blindan mīn blindan mīna blindan

Variations in Declension

1. Adjectives ending in -u change it to -o- before -re, -ra, -ne. The -u changes to -ƿ- before endings beginning with a vowel.
2. Adjectives occur in the weak declension after se, sēo, þæt, þes, þēos, þis, mīn, þīn, sīn, etc.
3. Adjectives like glæd will have -a- throughout the weak declension.

Numbers

We did not have Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0) in Old English. Rather, they used Roman numerals (i, v, x, c, d, m...). For the purposes of this website, it is requested that all pages use Arabic numerals for ease of reading.

Cardinal Numbers

The cardinal numbers are:

1. ān; forma
2. tƿēgen, tƿā, tū; ōðer
3. þrīe, þrēo; þridda
4. fēoƿer; fēorða
5. fīf; fīfta
6. six; sixta
7. seofon; seofoða
8. eahta; eahtoða
9. nigon; nigoða
10. tīene; tēoða
11. endleofan; endleofta
12. tƿelf; tƿelfta
13. þrēotīene; þrēotēoða
14. fēoƿertīene; fēoƿertēoða
15. fīftīene; fīftēoða
16. sixtīene; sixtēoða
17. seofontīene; seofontēoða
18. eahtatīene; eahtatēoða
19. nigontīene; nigontēoða
20. tƿentig; tƿentigoða
21. ān and tƿentig; ān and tƿentigoða

30. þrītig; þrītigoða

40. fēoƿertig; fēoƿertigoða

50. fīftig; fīftigoða

60. sixtig; sixtigoða

70. hundseofontig; hundseofontigoða

80. hundeahtatig; hundeahtatigoða

90. hundnigontig; hundnigontigoða

100. hund, hundred, hundtēontig; hundtēontigoða

110. hundendleofantig; hundendleofantigoða

120. hundtƿelftig; hundtƿelftigoða

200. tū hund

300. þrēo hund

1000. þūsend

Simply use the Arabic numbers when writing a number. In regards to declension, only the numbers 1, 2, and 3 decline with the noun. The others do not decline except when acting as a noun themselves (mid 4 manna, but mid fēoƿerum).

Usage with nouns

• Numbers 1, 2, 3 decline with the noun, just like any other adjective (in þrim dagum).
• Numbers 4 - 12 simply precede the noun, just like modern English (fēoƿer þegnas, seofon mōnþas).
• Decades (20, 30,...90) take a noun in the genitive, or in agreement (fīftig manna, on fēoƿertigum gēarum).

Declension of 1, 2, 3 in Old English

• Note that the numeral 1 could decline strong or weak, and in the weak declension, could be plural.

Strong Singular Declension of Numeral: One Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. ān ān ān Gen. ānes ānes ānre Dat. ānum ānum ānre Inst. āne āne ānre Acc. ǣnne ān āne	Weak Plural Declension of Numeral: ān Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. ānan ānan ānan Gen. ānra ānra ānra Dat. ānum ānum ānum Inst. ānum ānum ānum Acc. ānan ānan ānan
Declension of Numeral: 2 Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. tƿēgen tū tƿā Gen. tƿēga tƿēga tƿēga Dat. tƿǣm tƿǣm tƿǣm Inst. tƿǣm tƿǣm tƿǣm Acc. tƿēgen tū tƿā
Declension of Numeral: 3 Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. þrīe þrēo þrēo Gen. þrēora þrēora þrēora Dat. þrim þrim þrim Inst. þrim þrim þrim Acc. þrīe þrēo þrēo

Ordinal Numbers

For ordinal numbers, simply write the number and the declension afterwards: se 6a mann, þǣm 3an mann, etc.

The ordinal numbers, for the purposes of the wiki, are:

forma, ōðer, þridda, fēorþa, fīfta, sixta, seofoða, eahtoða, nigoða, tēoða, endleofoða, tƿelfta, þrēotēoða (fēoƿer~, etc.), tƿentigoða (þrītigoða, etc.), hundtēontigoða (100th), hundendleofontigoða (110th), hundtƿelftigoða (120th).

Sentence Construction

Main Clauses

Typically, sentences have normal modern word order (called SVO, subject-verb-object). The exception is with pronoun objects, which are typically placed before the verb.

1. Ic hine geseah - I saw him.
2. Hīe mē gēafon þæt hūs - they gave me the house.

Verb Agreement

Verbs agree with their subject in number and person.

1. Ic hine geseah (singular, 1st person)
2. Ƿē tȳdon þā leorneras (plural, 1st person)

Subordinate Clauses

Subordinate clauses are introduced with þe, or sē (sēo, þæt) with/without þe.

1. Þonne is ān port on sūðeƿeardum þǣm lande, þone man hǣteþ Sciringes heal - Then is one port in the south of that country, which is called Skringssalr. (þone is a relative pronoun, referring to "se port", and taking the accusative case, which is the correct case in the clause).

The type of relative pronoun "sē þe," "sēo þe," and "þæt þe" are more common when the antecedent has no demonstrative/qualifier.

1. þæt þu onfō his gelēafan and his bebodu healde, sē þe þē fram ƿilƿendlicum earfeðum generede - that thou may receive the trust of the one who has saved thee from earthly hardships, and obey his commands.

Complex Sentences

Verbs with þæt-complements

• The verbs forbeodan forbid, forberan refrain from, gesƿīcan stop, ƿiþcƿeðan deny, refuse, and several others, take a þæt-clause as objects.

1. ...and forbead þæt hine man God hēte - and forbade anyone to call him God (literally, "and forbade that one called him God").
2. and forbead þæt man nā þǣr eft ne timbrode - and forbade anyone to build there afterward (literally, "and forbade that one never there after not built").

• Also, verbs like tƿēonan doubt, tƿēo bēon to be in doubt

1. ...forþon nis nān tƿēo, þæt hē forgifnesse sellan nelle, þǣm þe hīe geearnian ƿillaþ - ...therefore there is no doubt that he will give forgiveness to those who want to earn it. (literally, "therefore is not no doubt that he will not give forgiveness, to them that want to earn it").

Questions

Questions are formed in 2 ways: with verb-subject word order, or with question words.

Method 1: Verb-subject order

• Simply place the verb first, then the subject. This is one of the ways we ask questions in modern English.
• Example: hæfst þu ænigne geferan? (Hast thou any companion?)

Method 2: Question Words

• Hƿæt, hƿā, hƿǣr, hƿilc, hū, hū fela, etc.

1. Hƿā eart þu? Who are you?

• Using hƿæðer-subject-verb is used to express doubt or incredulity, or even when expecting the answer 'no.' The verb is most often in the subjunctive, but may be indicative with impersonal verbs.

1. Example: hƿæðer gē nū sēcen gold of trēoƿum? (Surely you aren't looking for gold in trees?, Are you looking for gold in trees?, literally, "whether ye may seek gold in trees?").
2. Example: hƿæðer Rōmāne hit ƿiten nū ænigum menn tō secgenne, hƿæt hiera folces forƿurde? (Do the Romans now know enough to say how many of their people perished?, Surely the Romans know enough now to say how many of their people perished?)