Chapter 11

(_b_) #Neuter _a-_Stems.#

31. The neuter nouns of the a-Declension differ from the masculines only in the N.A. plural.

32. Paradigms of #ðæt hof#, _court, dwelling_; #ðaet bearn#, _child_; #ðæt bān#, _bone_; #ðæt rīce#, _kingdom_; #ðæt spere#, _spear_; #ðæt werod#, _band of men_; #ðæt tungol#, _star_:

_Sing. N.A._ hof bearn bān rīc-e _G._ hof-es bearn-es bān-es rīc-es _D.I._ hof-e bearn-e bān-e rīc-e

_Plur. N.A._ hof-u bearn bān rīc-u _G._ hof-a bearn-a bān-a rīc-a _D.I._ hof-um bearn-um bān-um rīc-um

_Sing. N.A._ sper-e werod tungol _G._ sper-es werod-es tungl-es _D.I._ sper-e werod-e tungl-e

_Plur. N.A._ sper-u werod tungl-u _G._ sper-a werod-a tungl-a _D.I._ sper-um werod-um tungl-um

33. The paradigms show (1) that monosyllables with short stems (#hof#) take -u in the N.A. plural; (2) that monosyllables with long stems (#bearn#, #bān#) do not distinguish the N.A. plural from the N.A. singular;[1] (3) that dissyllables in -e, whether the stem be long or short (#rīce#, #spere#), have -u in the N.A. plural; (4) that dissyllables ending in a consonant and having the first syllable short[2] (#werod#) do not usually distinguish the N.A. plural from the N.A. singular; (5) that dissyllables ending in a consonant and having the first syllable long (#tungol#) more frequently take -u in the N.A. plural.

NOTE.--Syncopation occurs as in the masculine a-stems. See § 27, (4).

[Footnote 1: Note the many nouns in Mn.E. that are unchanged in the plural. These are either survivals of O.E. long stems, _swine_, _sheep_, _deer_, _folk_, or analogical forms, _fish_, _trout_, _mackerel_, _salmon_, etc.]

[Footnote 2: Dissyllables whose first syllable is a prefix are, of course, excluded. They follow the declension of their last member: #gebed#, _prayer_, #gebedu#, _prayers_; #gefeoht#, _battle_, #gefeoht#, _battles_.]

34. Present and Preterit Indicative of #habban#, _to have_:

PRESENT.

_Sing._ 1. Ic hæbbe, _I have_, or _shall have_.[3] 2. ðū hæfst (hafast), _thou hast_, or _wilt have_. 3. hē, hēo, hit hæfð (hafað), _he, she, it has_, or _will have_.

_Plur._ 1. wē habbað, _we have_, or _shall have_. 2. gē habbað, _ye have_, or _will have_. 3. hīe habbað, _they have_, or _will have_.

PRETERIT.

_Sing._ 1. Ic hæfde _I had_. 2. ðū hæfdest, _thou hadst_. 3. hē, hēo, hit hæfde, _he, she, it had_.

_Plur._ 1. wē hæfdon, _we had_. 2. gē hæfdon, _ye had_. 3. hīe hæfdon, _they had_.

NOTE.--The negative #ne#, _not_, which always precedes its verb, contracts with all the forms of #habban#. The negative loses its e, #habban# its h. #Ne# + #habban# = #nabban#; #Ic ne hæbbe = Ic næbbe#; #Ic ne hæfde = Ic næfde#, etc. The negative forms may be got, therefore, by simply substituting in each case n for h.

[Footnote 3: See § 17, Note 1. Note that (as in #hwæl#, § 27, (2)) æ changes to a when the following syllable contains a: #hæbbe#, but #hafast#.]

35. VOCABULARY.

ðæt dæl, _dale_. ðæt dēor, _animal_ [deer[4]]. ðæt dor, _door_. ðæt fæt, _vessel_ [vat]. ðæt fȳr, _fire_. ðæt gēar, _year_. ðæt geoc, _yoke_. ðæt geset, _habitation_ [settlement]. ðæt hēafod, _head_. ðæt hūs, _house_. ðæt līc, _body_ [lich-gate]. ðæt lim, _limb_. on (with dat.) _in_. ðæt spor, _track_. ðæt wǣpen, _weapon_. ðæt wīf, _wife, woman_. ðæt wīte, _punishment_. ðæt word, _word_.

[Footnote 4: The old meaning survives in Shakespeare’s “Rats and mice and such small deer,” _King Lear_, III, iv, 144.]

36. EXERCISES.

I. 1. Hē hafað ðæs cyninges bearn. 2. Ðā Wēalas habbað ðā speru. 3. Ðā wīf habbað ðāra sęcga wǣpnu. 4. Ðū hæfst ðone fugol ǫnd ðæt hūs ðæs hierdes. 5. Hæfð[5] hēo ðā fatu[6]? 6. Hæfde hē ðæs wīfes līc on ðǣm hofe? 7. Hē næfde ðæs wīfes līc; hē hæfde ðæs dēores hēafod. 8. Hæfð sē cyning gesetu on ðǣm dæle? 9. Sē bōcere hæfð ðā sēolas on ðǣm hūse. 10. Gē habbað frēodōm.

II. 1. They have yokes and spears. 2. We have not the vessels in the house. 3. He had fire in the vessel. 4. Did the woman have (= Had the woman) the children? 5. The animal has the body of the woman’s child. 6. I shall have the heads of the wolves. 7. He and she have the king’s houses. 8. Have not (= #Nabbað#) the children the warrior’s weapons?

[Footnote 5: See § 20, (2), (b).]

[Footnote 6: See § 27, (2).]