Chapter 6 Personal Pronouns

 6.1. The personal pronoun in OE like that of MnE, has singular and plural forms. It also preserves the IE dual forms. The dual is especially effective for showing close association between two people -- as two men fighting side by side, or or husband and wife, or lovers. (See, for example, Selection 22/21a - 3a.) The dual forms, however, disappeared early in the ME period.

6.2. Like MnE, OE has forms for the three persons, with masculine, feminine, and neuter genders in the third person. As against the three case forms of MnE, however, OE has four, since it distinguishes dative from accusative. (In ME these fell together under the dative form to produce the MnE "object case".)

First PersonSgDualPl
Nomic, Iwit, we twowē, we
Genmīnuncerūser, ūre1
Datmēuncūs
Accmec, mēuncit, uncūsic, ūs
Second Personthouyou twoyou
Nomðūgitgē
Genðinincerēower
Datðēincēow
Accðec, ðēincit, incēowic, ēow
Third PersonMasc.Neut.Fem.All Genders
Nomhē, hehit, ithēo, hīe, shehēo, hīe, they
Genhishishirehira
Dathimhimhirehim, heom
Acchinehithēo, hīehēo, hīe

6.3. The Genitive forms of the first and second persons, all numbers, are also used as strong adjectives. (See Chap. 10.8.)

Reflexive Use

6.4. OE has no special reflexive pronoun forms; the personal pronoun forms are used to perform this grammatical function. For example: Ic sceal mec hȳdan. Standard MnE requires a form with -self in such situations, but the simple form is still found in archaic and folk speech: I'll hide me.

Exercise 1. Read the following sentences aloud. Translate them (no use of the glossary should be necessary). Identify person, number, case, and gender of each personal pronoun.

  1. Hē is his brōðor.
  2. Þǣr wæs hire bōc.
  3. Ic þancie hum.
  4. Wē sungon monige songas.
  5. Fīf menn sōhton uncit.
  6. Hīe wǣron blīðe.
  7. Gief hit mē.
  8. Hit is hire horn.
  9. Hēo ne lufiað ēowic.
  10. "Ælfred" is ðīn nama.

Interrogative Pronouns

6.5. Though the interrogative has no distinctive feminine, it has five different case forms: N, G, D, A and I (Instruental2).

Masc.Neut
Sg Nhwā, whohwæt, what
Ghwæshwæs
Dhwǣm, hwāmhwǣm,hwām
Ahwonehwæt
Ihwī, hwonhwī, hwon

Exercise 2. Read the following sentences aloud. Translate them. Identify the number and case of the interrogative pronouns.

  1. Hwæs is ðæt cild?
  2. Hwā cumað hēr?
  3. Hwæt sægde hē?
  4. Hwī singeð ðes monn?
  5. Hwæðer wæs þīn brōðor?
FOOTNOTES

1These and other multiple forms are alternates, sometimes one, sometimes the other being found in the MSS.

2The Instrumental case, used to show means by which or thing with which something is done, is translated with the prepositions with or by. Examples: Ic hine cwealde ðȳ spere, I killed him with the spear. Hwī stearf hē? Why (by what cause) did he die?

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