ADVERB. PRONOUN.

NUMERAL. ARTICLE
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
THE ADVERB

They can be either primary (original

adverbs) or derived from the
adjectives.
THE ADVERB
The basic primary adverbs:
þa (then), þonne (then), þǣr (there), nū
(now), hēr (here), sōna (soon),
oft (often), eft (again), swā (so) etc
THE ADVERB
Secondary adverbs added the suffix -e
e.g. wīde (widely), fæste (fast)
or the suffix –līc/-līce
e.g. freondlīce (in a friendly way)
THE ADVERB
Adverbs had their degrees of comparison:
wīde – wīdor – wīdost
wel (well) – betre – best
yfele (badly) –wiers, wyrs – wierst
micelle (much) – māre – mǣst
THE PRONOUN:
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
3 genders (m, f, n)
4 cases (N, G, D, A)
3 persons (1, 2, 3)
3 numbers (singular, plural, dual in the 1st
and 2nd persons) and 2 numbers in the 3d
person
A lot of suppletive forms
PERSONAL PRONOUNS

1st person
 
Singular Plural Dual
N ic wē wit
G mīn ūre uncer
D mē ūs unc
A mec, mē ūsic, ūs uncit, unc
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
2nd person

N Þū ʒē ʒit

G Þīn ēower incer

D Þē ēow inc

A þēc, þē ēowic, ēow incit, inc

PERSONAL PRONOUNS
3d person
N hē (masc.), hīe (masc.,  
hēo (fem.), hit (neut.) neut.),
hēo (fem.)
G his, hire, his hiera, heora  
D him, hire, him him  
A hine, hīe, hit hīe, hēo  
PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN ME

 Dual number was lost

 Dative and Accusative cases united into
Objective Case (mostly the form of the
Dative case was preserved but in the 3d
person neuter – Accusative case form)
 Genitive Case developed into Possessive
PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN ME

 ic > ich (palatalization of velar consonants)

>i (ending was lost and I was lengthened)> I
(in spelling) and [ai] in pronunciation
 mīn was preserved ( so the form mine is
older than my)
PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN ME

 The form she appeared (Where from?)

 The pronouns they, them, their were
borrowed from Scandinavian
PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN NE

 The pronoun hit lоst its initial h

 The pronoun you (Objective Case)ousted the
Nominative case form ye and was used as a
singular form as well
 The pronouns thou, thee, thine were
preserved only in dialects and poetry
PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN E

 The difference between my – mine (originally

purely phonetic) becomes syntactically meaningful
 By analogy different forms of possessive
appeared: her-hers, your – yours, our – ours, it –
its, their – theirs
 his remained used in both functions
NUMERAL

 There were and still exist 2 classes of

numerals: cardinal and ordinal.
 Only three numerals were declined: ān, twā,
þrīe (had the categories of gender and case)
NUMERAL

Numerals from 13 added ending suffix –tīene (teens).

Numerals 20, 30, 40 added ending
–tiʒ
 Numerals from 70 to 100 added hund before them:
hundseofontiʒ
NUMERAL

 Ordinal numerals used the suffix –ta or –þa

 1st – forma, fyrest;
 2nd – ōþer;
 3d - þridda
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE
NUMERAL
 The categories of case and gender
disappeared in cardinal numerals
 Suffix – tīene >- teen
 Suffix - tiʒ > -ty
 Suffix –þa > -th
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE
NUMERAL

 other as a numeral is ousted by the form

second borrowed from French
 Þridda > third (metathesis)
 hund disappeared in the numerals before
hundred
ARTICLE

 OLD ENGLISH did not use the article. It

appeared later, coming for the demonstrative
pronoun.
ARTICLE

 Only in MIDDLE ENGLISH the articles

were isolated into a separate group of words.
The definite article developed from the Old
English demonstrative pronoun masculine
singular sē (this).
ARTICLE

 The indefinite article developed from Old

English numeral ān (one).