CHAPTER XIV.

ADJECTIVES, STRONG AND WEAK.

78. The declension of adjectives conforms in general to the declension of nouns, though a few pronominal inflections have influenced certain cases. Adjectives belong either to (1) the Strong Declension or to (2) the Weak Declension. The Weak Declension is employed when the adjective is preceded by #sē# or #ðēs#, _the_, _that_, or _this_; otherwise, the Strong Declension is employed: #ðā gōdan cyningas#, _the good kings_; #ðēs gōda cyning#, _this good king_; but #gōde cyningas#, _good kings_.

NOTE.--The Weak Declension is also frequently used when the adjective is employed in direct address, or preceded by a possessive pronoun: #Dryhten, ælmihtiga God ... ic bidde ðē for ðīnre miclan mildheortnesse#, _Lord, almighty God, I pray thee, for thy great mercy_.

(1) #Strong Declension of Adjectives.#

(a) _Monosyllables._

79. The strong adjectives are chiefly monosyllabic with long stems: #gōd#, _good_; #eald#, _old_; #lǫng#, _long_; #swift#, _swift_. They are declined as follows.

80. Paradigm of #gōd#, _good_:

_Masculine._ _Feminine._ _Neuter._

_Sing. N._ gōd gōd gōd _G._ gōdes gōdre gōdes _D._ gōdum gōdre gōdum _A._ gōdne gōde gōd _I._ gōde ---- gōde

_Plur. N.A._ gōde gōda gōd _G._ gōdra gōdra gōdra _D.I._ gōdum gōdum gōdum

81. If the stem is short, -u is retained as in #giefu# (§ 39, (1)) and #hofu# (§ 33, (1)). Thus #glæd# (§ 27, Note 1), _glad_, and #til#, _useful_, are inflected:

_Masculine._ _Feminine._ _Neuter._ _Sing. N._ { glæd gladu glæd { til tilu til

_Plur. N.A._ { glade glada gladu { tile tila tilu

(b) _Polysyllables._

82. Polysyllables follow the declension of short monosyllables. The most common terminations are #-en#, _-en_; #-fæst#, _-fast_; #-full#, _-ful_; #-lēas#, _-less_; #-līc#, _-ly_; #-ig#, _-y_: #hǣð-en# (#hǣð# = _heath_), _heathen_; #stęde-fæst# (#stęde# = _place_), _steadfast_; #sorg-full# (#sorg# = _sorrow_), _sorrowful_; #cyst-lēas# (#cyst# = _worth_), _worthless_; #eorð-līc# (#eorðe# = _earth_), _earthly_; #blōd-ig# (#blōd# = _blood_), _bloody_. The present and past participles, when inflected and not as weak adjectives, may be classed with the polysyllabic adjectives, their inflection being the same.

Syncopation occurs as in a-stems (§ 27, (4)). Thus #hālig#, _holy_, #blīðe#, _blithe_, #berende#, _bearing_, #geboren#, _born_, are thus inflected:

_Masculine._ _Feminine._ _Neuter._ _Sing. N._ { hālig hālgu hālig { blīðe blīðu blīðe { berende berendu berende { geboren geborenu geboren

_Plur. N.A._ { hālge hālga hālgu { blīðe blīða blīðu { berende berenda berendu { geborene geborena geborenu

(2) #Weak Declension of Adjectives.#

83. The Weak Declension of adjectives, whether monosyllabic or polysyllabic, does not differ from the Weak Declension of nouns, except that -ena of the genitive plural is usually replaced by -ra of the strong adjectives.

_Masculine._ _Feminine._ _Neuter._ 84. _Sing. N._ gōda gōde gōde _G._ gōdan gōdan gōdan _D.I._ gōdan gōdan gōdan _A._ gōdan gōdan gōde

_All Genders._ _Plur. N.A._ gōdan _G._ gōdra (gōdena) _D.I._ gōdum

85. RULE OF SYNTAX.

_Adjectives agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case; but participles, when used predicatively, may remain uninflected_ (§ 139, § 140).

86. VOCABULARY.

dēad, _dead_. eall, _all_. hāl,[1] _whole, hale_. heard, _hard_. ðæt hors, _horse_. lēof, _dear_ [as lief]. lȳtel, _little_. micel, _great, large_. mǫnig, _many_. niman, _to take_ [nimble, numb]. nīwe, _new_. rīce, _rich, powerful_. sōð, _true_ [sooth-sayer]. stælwierðe,[2] _serviceable_ [stalwart]. swīðe, _very_. sē tūn, _town, village_. sē ðegn, _servant, thane, warrior_. ðæt ðing, _thing_. sē weg, _way_. wīs, _wise_. wið (with acc.), _against_, in a hostile sense [with-stand]. sē ilca, _the same_ [of that ilk].

[Footnote 1: #Hālig#, _holy_, contains, of course, the same root. “I find,” says Carlyle, “that you could not get any better definition of what ‘holy’ really is than ‘healthy--completely healthy.’”]

[Footnote 2: This word has been much discussed. The older etymologists explained it as meaning _worth stealing_. A more improbable conjecture is that it means _worth a stall_ or _place_. It is used of ships in the _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_. As applied to men, Skeat thinks it meant _good_ or _worthy at stealing_; but the etymology is still unsettled.]

87. EXERCISES.

I. 1. Ðās scipu ne sind swīðe swift, ac hīe sind swīðe stælwierðu. 2. Sēo gōde cwēn giefð ǣlcum ðegne mǫniga giefa. 3. Ðēs wīsa cyning hæfð mǫnige micele tūnas on his rīce. 4. Nǣnig mǫn is wīs on eallum ðingum. 5. Ðȳ ilcan dæge (§ 98, (2)) mǫn fǫnd (found) ðone ðegn ðe mīnes wines bēc hæfde. 6. Ealle ðā sęcgas ðā ðe swift hors habbað rīdað wið ðone bǫnan. 7. Ðīne fīend sind mīne frīend. 8. Sē micela stān ðone ðe ic on mīnum hǫndum hæbbe is swīðe heard. 9. Hīe scęððað ðǣm ealdum horsum. 10. Uton niman ðās tilan giefa ǫnd hīe beran tō ūrum lēofum bearnum.

II. 1. These holy men are wise and good. 2. Are the little children very dear to the servants (dat. without #tō#)? 3. Gifts are not given (§ 70, Note 1) to rich men. 4. All the horses that are in the king’s fields are swift. 5. These stones are very large and hard. 6. He takes the dead man’s spear and fights against the large army. 7. This new house has many doors. 8. My ways are not your ways. 9. Whosoever chooses me, him I also (#ēac#) choose. 10. Every man has many friends that are not wise.