Wikipedia:Tutorial on Old English

Fram Wikipedian

Innungbred

[ādihtan] Hú man sceolde wrítan

Gif þé is níed, brúc þá stafas: ǽ æ á é í ó ú ý þ ð oþþe Ǽ Æ Á É Í Ó Ú Ý Þ Ð in þínum gewritum.

Now, when writing, use the early West Saxon spellings:

  1. Use ie instead of y (sierwung instead of syrwung, his instead of hys, etc.)
  2. Use an instead of on (and instead of ond, mann instead of mon/n, etc.)

[ādihtan] 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 "bíteþ" and "biddeþ" instead of "bitt" and "bítt." And "hyngrest" not "hyngrst." However, you can probably get away with "bítst."
  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 it 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, séo, þæt; þæs, þǽre; þǽm, þǽre; þý/þon, þǽre; þone, þá, þæt; and plural: þá; þára/þǽra; þǽm; þá - don't use thaet, þat, sio, sío, þám, þáre, etc. Consistency!
  4. Use the distinctive accusative forms of pronouns (mec, þec, úsic, uncit, éowic, incit, hine, híe, 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!

[ādihtan] 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 hé is mín bróðor." Or, "Þes is sé mónaþ, þe wé 'Háligmónaþ' hátton." This makes it a bit clearer to understand.
  3. In series, place commas after each word, including one before 'and' (módor, fæder, and sweostor). This isn't British, but makes lists easier to understand.

[ādihtan] 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 translated into Runes.

[ādihtan] And as for Grammar

[ādihtan] Verbs

The verb is conjugated as follows: ic (stem)-e, þu (stem)-est, hé (stem)-eþ/aþ, wé/gé/híe (stem)-aþ

  1. Strong Verbs: ic -e, þu -(e)st, hé -(e)þ, wé/gé/híe -aþ

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

[ādihtan] Weak Verbs

[ādihtan] 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 neriaþ
þu nerest neriaþ
hé, héo, hit nereþ híe neriaþ
Weak Verb 1a Present Subjunctive: nerian
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic nerie nerien
þu nerie nerien
hé, héo, hit nerie híe nerien
Weak Verb 1a Past Indicative: nerian
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic nerede neredon
þu neredest neredon
hé, héo, hit nerede híe neredon
Weak Verb 1a Past Subjunctive: nerian
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic nerede nereden
þu nerede nereden
hé, héo, hit nerede híe nereden
Weak Verb 1a Imperative: nerian
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
(þu) nere (gé) 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 fremmaþ
þu fremest fremmaþ
hé, héo, hit fremeþ híe fremmaþ
Weak Verb 1a Present Subjunctive: fremman
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic fremme fremmen
þu fremme fremmen
hé, héo, hit fremme híe fremmen
Weak Verb 1a Past Indicative: fremman
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic fremede fremedon
þu fremedest fremedon
hé, héo, hit fremede híe fremedon
Weak Verb 1a Past Subjunctive: fremman
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic fremede fremeden
þu fremede fremeden
hé, héo, hit fremede híe fremeden
Weak Verb 1a Imperative: fremman
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
(þu) freme (gé) 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 settaþ
þu setest settaþ
hé, héo, hit seteþ híe settaþ
Weak Verb 1a Present Subjunctive: settan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic sette setten
þu sette setten
hé, héo, hit sette híe setten
Weak Verb 1a Past Indicative: settan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic sette setton
þu settest setton
hé, héo, hit sette híe setton
Weak Verb 1a Past Subjunctive: settan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic sette setten
þu sette setten
hé, héo, hit sette híe setten
Weak Verb 1a Imperative: settan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
(þu) sete (gé) settaþ
Weak Verb 1a Participles: settan
Present Past
settende geseted



[ādihtan] 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 (átreddan, cnyttan, hreddan, hwettan, lettan, spryttan, lecgan) typically have the above declension. Lecgan has (legde, geleged). You may find past forms as "setede."

[ādihtan] 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: déman, hyngran, drencan, gierwan, etc.

  1. Note how the infinitive ending is always -an.
Weak Verb 1b Present Indicative: déman
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic déme démaþ
þu démst démaþ
hé, héo, hit démþ híe démaþ
Weak Verb 1b Present Subjunctive: déman
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic déme démen
þu déme démen
hé, héo, hit déme híe démen
Weak Verb 1b Past Indicative: déman
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic démde démdon
þu démdest démdon
hé, héo, hit démde híe démdon
Weak Verb 1b Past Subjunctive: déman
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic démde démden
þu démde démden
hé, héo, hit démde híe démden
Weak Verb 1b Imperative: déman
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
(þu) dém (gé) démaþ
Weak Verb 1b Participles: déman
Present Past
démende gedémed


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 drencaþ
þu drencest, drencst drencaþ
hé, héo, hit drenceþ, drencþ híe drencaþ
Weak Verb 1b Present Subjunctive: drencan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic drence drencen
þu drence drencen
hé, héo, hit drence híe drencen
Weak Verb 1b Past Indicative: drencan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic drencte drencton
þu drenctest drencton
hé, héo, hit drencte híe drencton
Weak Verb 1b Past Subjunctive: drencan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic drencte drencten
þu drencte drencten
hé, héo, hit drencte híe drencten
Weak Verb 1b Imperative: drencan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
(þu) drenc (gé) 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 hyngraþ
þu hyngrest hyngraþ
hé, héo, hit hyngreþ híe hyngraþ
Weak Verb 1b Present Subjunctive: hyngran
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic hyngre hyngren
þu hyngre hyngren
hé, héo, hit hyngre híe hyngren
Weak Verb 1b Past Indicative: hyngran
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic hyngrede hyngredon
þu hyngredest hyngredon
hé, héo, hit hyngrede híe hyngredon
Weak Verb 1b Past Subjunctive: hyngran
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic hyngrede hyngreden
þu hyngrede hyngreden
hé, héo, hit hyngrede híe hyngreden
Weak Verb 1b Imperative: hyngran
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
(þu) hyngre (gé) hyngraþ
Weak Verb 1b Participles: hyngran
Present Past
hyngrende gehyngred



And one last type, gierwan verbs (ending in -wan):

Weak Verb 1b Present Indicative: gierwan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic gierwe gierwaþ
þu gierest gierwaþ
hé, héo, hit giereþ híe gierwaþ
Weak Verb 1b Present Subjunctive: gierwan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic gierwe gierwen
þu gierwe gierwen
hé, héo, hit gierwe híe gierwen
Weak Verb 1b Past Indicative: gierwan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic gierede gieredon
þu gieredest gieredon
hé, héo, hit gierede híe gieredon
Weak Verb 1b Past Subjunctive: gierwan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic gierede giereden
þu gierede giereden
hé, héo, hit gierede híe giereden
Weak Verb 1b Imperative: gierwan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
(þu) giere (gé) gierwaþ
Weak Verb 1b Participles: gierwan
Present Past
gierwende gegierwed, gegiered



[ādihtan] 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 déman (long vowel, 1 consonant) and hyngran (short vowel, multiple consonants), in that they don't have much variation in formation like drencan and gierwan verbs.
  • Verbs having a long vowel and one consonant, like déman, don't generally have the full -est, -eþ endings. Thus, the imperative is simply the þu form without -st (dém!, not déme!).
  • Verbs like déman include verbs ending in -rn, -ng, -rg, -lg, wiernan (wiernde, gewierned), lengan (lengde, gelenged), byrgan (byrgde, gebyrged), and fylgan (fylgde, gefylged). It also includes contracted verbs like héan (héade, gehéad), rýn, týn, þéon, þýn.
  • Verbs like drencan include those ending in -nc, -sc, -p, -sp, -t, -rp. They add -te in the past tense (ácwencte, ádwæscte, 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 (bíecnede, þrysmede, symblede, ræfnede).
  • Verbs like gierwan, ending in -wan, drop the -w- in the same places as the -i- in 1a verbs (smierwan -> smierest, nierwan -> niereþ). Verbs like getríewan, lǽwan, forslǽwan, hléowan (with a long vowel/diphthong) kept the -w- in all forms, however.

[ādihtan] 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 endiaþ
þu endast endiaþ
hé, héo, hit endaþ híe endiaþ
Weak Verb 2 Present Subjunctive: endian
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic endie endien
þu endie endien
hé, héo, hit endie híe endien
Weak Verb 2 Past Indicative: endian
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic endode endodon
þu endodest endodon
hé, héo, hit endode híe endodon
Weak Verb 2 Past Subjunctive: endian
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic endode endoden
þu endode endoden
hé, héo, hit endode híe endoden
Weak Verb 2 Imperative: endian
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
(þu) enda (gé) endiaþ
Weak Verb 2 Participles: endian
Present Past
endiende geendod


Verbs like twéogan 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 twéogan, féogan to hate, fréogan to love, make free, sméagan to ponder, consider, and þréagan to reprove, rebuke. Sometimes these verbs show up as twéon, féon, fréon, sméan, and þréan.

Weak Verb 2 Present Indicative: twéogan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic twéoge twéogaþ
þu twéost twéogaþ
hé, héo, hit twéoþ híe twéogaþ
Weak Verb 2 Present Subjunctive: twéogan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic twéoge twéogen
þu twéoge twéogen
hé, héo, hit twéoge híe twéogen
Weak Verb 2 Past Indicative: twéogan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic twéode twéodon
þu twéodest twéodon
hé, héo, hit twéode híe twéodon
Weak Verb 2 Past Subjunctive: twéogan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
ic twéode twéoden
þu twéode twéoden
hé, héo, hit twéode híe twéoden
Weak Verb 2 Imperative: twéogan
Pronoun Singular Pronoun Plural
(þu) twéo (gé) twéogaþ
Weak Verb 2 Participles: twéogan
Present Past
twéogiende, twéonde (poetical) getwéod



[ādihtan] 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 twéogan are remnants of class 3 verbs that became class 2 verbs before the written history of Old English.

[ādihtan] Pronouns

In dæftunge: nemniendlic, ágniendlic, forgifendlic, wregendlic

First Person Singular: I, We Two, We
I We two We
Nom. ic wit
Gen. mín uncer úser, úre
Dat. unc ús
Acc. mec uncit úsic
Second Person Pronouns: Thou, Ye two, Ye
Thou Ye two Ye
Nom. þu git
Gen. þín incer éower
Dat. þé inc éow
Acc. þec incit éowic
Third Person Pronouns: He, She, It, They
He She It They
Nom. héo hit híe
Gen. his hire his hira, hiera
Dat. him hire him him, heom
Acc. hine híe hit híe
Interrogative Pronoun: Who, What
Who What
Nom. hwá hwæt
Gen. hwæs hwæs
Dat. hwǽm hwǽm
Inst. hwý/hwí hwý/hwí
Acc. hwone hwæt

Notice how the Interrogative pronouns look like the pronouns and hit (hwǽm and him, hwone and hine, hwæt and hit, hwæs and his). If you compare to the Definite Article, you'll see the same similarities, mostly a difference of þ-/hw- (þone and hwone, þǽm and hwǽm, þý and hwý, þæt and hwæt, þæs and hwæs).

[ādihtan] 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 mín, þín, sín, úser, éower, 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: mín
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. mín mín mín
Gen. mínes mínes mínre
Dat. mínum mínum mínre
Inst. míne míne mínre
Acc. mínne mín míne
First Person Singular Genitive Declension: mín
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. míne mín mína
Gen. mínra mínra mínra
Dat. mínum mínum mínum
Inst. mínum mínum mínum
Acc. míne mín mína
Second Person Singular Genitive Declension: þín
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. þín þín þín
Gen. þínes þínes þínre
Dat. þínum þínum þínre
Inst. þíne þíne þínre
Acc. þínne þín þíne
Second Person Singular Genitive Declension: þín
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. þíne þín þína
Gen. þínra þínra þínra
Dat. þínum þínum þínum
Inst. þínum þínum þínum
Acc. þíne þín þína
First Person Plural Genitive Declension: úser
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. úser úser úser
Gen. úseres úseres úserre
Dat. úserum úserum úserre
Inst. úsere úsere úserre
Acc. úserne úser úsere
First Person Plural Genitive Declension: úser
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. úsere úser úsera
Gen. úserra úserra úserra
Dat. úserum úserum úserum
Inst. úserum úserum úserum
Acc. úsere úser úsera


[ādihtan] 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 - þá -as
Gen. þæs -es þára -a
Dat. þǽm -e þǽm -um
Inst. þý/þon -e þǽm -um
Acc. þone - þá -as
The Weak Masculine Noun Declension
Article Singular Article Plural
Nom. se -a þá -an
Gen. þæs -an þára -ena
Dat. þǽm -an þǽm -um
Inst. þý/þon -an þǽm -um
Acc. þone -an þá -an
The Strong Feminine Noun Declension
Article Singular Article Plural
Nom. séo -/-u þá -a
Gen. þǽre -e þára -a
Dat. þǽre -e þǽm -um
Inst. þǽre -e þǽm -um
Acc. þá -e þá -a
The Weak Feminine Noun Declension
Article Singular Article Plural
Nom. séo -e þá -an
Gen. þǽre -an þára -ena
Dat. þǽre -an þǽm -um
Inst. þǽre -an þǽm -um
Acc. þá -an þá -an
The Strong Neuter Noun Declension
Article Singular Article Plural
Nom. þæt - -/-u -/-u
Gen. þæs -es þára -a
Dat. þǽm -e þǽm -um
Inst. þý/þon -e þǽm -um
Acc. þæt - þá -/-u
The Weak Neuter Noun Declension
Article Singular Article Plural
Nom. þæt -e þá -an
Gen. þæs -an þára -ena
Dat. þǽm -an þǽm -um
Inst. þý/þon -an þǽm -um
Acc. þæt -e þá -an

[ādihtan] Masculine Nouns

[ādihtan] Strong Masculine
Strong Masculine Noun: stán
Article Singular Article Plural
Nom. se stán þá stánas
Gen. þæs stánes þára stána
Dat. þǽm stáne þǽm stánum
Inst. þý/þon stáne þǽm stánum
Acc. þone stán þá stánas

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 stán, gang, and ǽl all decline alike. Nouns ending in a double consonant, like bucc, hnæpp, and cropp, also decline like stán. 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 þá dagas
Gen. þæs dæges þára daga
Dat. þǽm dæge þǽm dagum
Inst. þý/þon dæge þǽm dagum
Acc. þone dæg þá dagas

Nouns like dæg include: pæþ, stæf, hwæl, etc. One noun, mǽg, has both mágas and mǽgas for plural.

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

Strong Masculine Noun: mearh
Article Singular Article Plural
Nom. se mearh þá méaras
Gen. þæs méares þára méara
Dat. þǽm méare þǽm méarum
Inst. þý/þon méare þǽm méarum
Acc. þone mearh þá méaras

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

Strong Masculine Noun: scóh
Article Singular Article Plural
Nom. se scóh þá scós
Gen. þæs scós þára scóna
Dat. þǽm scó þǽm scóm, scóum
Inst. þý/þon scó þǽm scóm, scóum
Acc. þone scóh þá scós


[ādihtan] Case Usage

[ādihtan] 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, þǽm níwan foresittende." John and "the new president" are both in the dative case.

[ādihtan] Nominative

Subject of a sentence, or the object of copula verbs (béon, wesan, weorðan). This is the dictionary form of a noun.

[ādihtan] 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."

[ādihtan] 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.

[ādihtan] 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 - þý or þon). E.g., þý hamore slóg hé þone cyning - with the hammer he hit the king.

[ādihtan] Accusative

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

[ādihtan] 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/séo/þæt, mín/þín, etc.


  • NOTE: eall, genóg, manig, and óðer are always declined strong. You may find "Se óðer mann" instead of *"Se óðera mann."

[ādihtan] 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: héah
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. héah héah héa
Gen. héas héas héare
Dat. héa(u)m héa(u)m héare
Inst. héa héa héare
Acc. héane héah héa
Strong Plural Adjective Declension: héah
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. héa héa héa
Gen. héara héara héara
Dat. héa(u)m héa(u)m héa(u)m
Inst. héa(u)m héa(u)m héa(u)m
Acc. héa héa héa


[ādihtan] 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 (swift, scearp), or a long vowel followed by one consonant (wác, fród). Also declined like blind are all adjectives ending in -cund, -feald, -fæst, and -léas. The possessives mín, þín, sín, úser, uncer, éower, incer are declined like blind also.
  3. Adjectives like héah, ending in -h, drop the -h before any ending beginning in a vowel, and drop that vowel. Thus, where glæd has gladu, glades, héah will have héa, héas.

[ādihtan] 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: hálig
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. hálig hálig háligu
Gen. hálges hálges háligre
Dat. hálgum hálgum háligre
Inst. hálge hálge háligre
Acc. háligne blind hálge
Strong Adjective Plural Declension: hálig
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. hálge hálig hálga
Gen. háligra háligra háligra
Dat. hálgum hálgum hálgum
Inst. hálgum hálgum hálgum
Acc. hálge hálig hálga
Strong Adjective Singular Declension: wilde
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. wilde wilde wildu
Gen. wildes wildes wildre
Dat. wildum wildum wildre
Inst. wilde wilde wildre
Acc. wildne wilde wilde
Strong Plural Adjective Declension: wilde
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. wilde wildu wilda
Gen. wildra wildra wildra
Dat. wildum wildum wildum
Inst. wildum wildum wildum
Acc. wilde wildu wilda


[ādihtan] 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 hálig, 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 (hálges, éacne, hǽðna) 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 wilde, will always have the u-ending in the feminine singular and neuter plural. They simply drop the -e, and add endings as necessary.

[ādihtan] U-Ending and Weak Adjectives

Strong Adjective Singular Declension: gearu
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. gearu gearu gearu
Gen. gearwes gearwes gearore
Dat. gearwum gearwum gearore
Inst. gearwe gearwe gearore
Acc. gearone gearu gearwe
Strong Plural Adjective Declension: gearu
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. gearwe gearu gearwa
Gen. gearora gearora gearora
Dat. gearwum gearwum gearwum
Inst. gearwum gearwum gearwum
Acc. gearwe gearu gearwa
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 séo blinde
Gen. þæs blindan þæs blindan þǽre blindan
Dat. þǽm blindan þǽm blindan þǽre blindan
Inst. þý blindan þý blindan þǽre blindan
Acc. þone blindan þæt blinde þá blindan
Strong Plural Adjective Declension: blind
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. þá blindan þá blindan þá blindan
Gen. þára blindra þára blindra þára blindra
Dat. þǽm blindum þǽm blindum þǽm blindum
Inst. þǽm blindum þǽm blindum þǽm blindum
Acc. þá blindan þá blindan þá blindan
Weak Adjective Singular Declension: blind
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. mín blinda mín blinde mín blinde
Gen. mínes blindan mínes blindan mínre blindan
Dat. mínum blindan mínum blindan mínre blindan
Inst. míne blindan míne blindan mínre blindan
Acc. mínne blindan mín blinde míne blindan
Strong Plural Adjective Declension: blind
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. míne blindan mín blindan mína blindan
Gen. mínra blindra mínra blindra mínra blindra
Dat. mínum blindum mínum blindum mínum blindum
Inst. mínum blindum mínum blindum mínum blindum
Acc. míne blindan mín blindan mína blindan


[ādihtan] Variations in Declension
  1. Adjectives ending in -u change it to -o- before -re, -ra, -ne. The -u changes to -w- before endings beginning with a vowel.
  2. Adjectives occur in the weak declension after se, séo, þæt, þes, þéos, þis, mín, þín, sín, etc.
  3. Adjectives like glæd will have -a- throughout the weak declension.

[ādihtan] 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.

[ādihtan] Cardinal Numbers

The cardinal numbers are:

  1. án; forma
  2. twégen, twá, tú; óðer
  3. þríe, þréo; þridda
  4. féower; féorða
  5. fíf; fífta
  6. six; sixta
  7. seofon; seofoða
  8. eahta; eahtoða
  9. nigon; nigoða
  10. tíene; téoða
  11. endleofan; endleofta
  12. twelf; twelfta
  13. þréotíene; þréotéoða
  14. féowertíene; féowertéoða
  15. fíftíene; fíftéoða
  16. sixtíene; sixtéoða
  17. seofontíene; seofontéoða
  18. eahtatíene; eahtatéoða
  19. nigontíene; nigontéoða
  20. twentig; twentigoða
  21. án and twentig; án and twentigoða

30. þrítig; þrítigoða 40. féowertig; féowertigoða 50. fíftig; fíftigoða 60. sixtig; sixtigoða 70. hundseofontig; hundseofontigoða 80. hundeahtatig; hundeahtatigoða 90. hundnigontig; hundnigontigoða 100. hund, hundred, hundtéontig; hundtéontigoða 110. hundendleofantig; hundendleofantigoða 120. hundtwelftig; hundtwelftigoða 200. tú hund 300. þréo hund 1000. þúsend

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 féowerum).

[ādihtan] 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 (féower þegnas, seofon mónþas).
  • Decades (20, 30,...90) take a noun in the genitive, or in agreement (fíftig manna, on féowertigum géarum).

[ādihtan] 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. án án án
Gen. ánes ánes ánre
Dat. ánum ánum ánre
Inst. áne áne ánre
Acc. ǽnne án áne
Weak Plural Declension of Numeral: án
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. ánan ánan ánan
Gen. ánra ánra ánra
Dat. ánum ánum ánum
Inst. ánum ánum ánum
Acc. ánan ánan ánan
Declension of Numeral: 2
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. twégen twá
Gen. twéga twéga twéga
Dat. twǽm twǽm twǽm
Inst. twǽm twǽm twǽm
Acc. twégen twá
Declension of Numeral: 3
Masculine Neuter Feminine
Nom. þríe þréo þréo
Gen. þréora þréora þréora
Dat. þrim þrim þrim
Inst. þrim þrim þrim
Acc. þríe þréo þréo


[ādihtan] Ordinal Numbers

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

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

forma, óðer, þridda, féorþa, fífta, sixta, seofoða, eahtoða, nigoða, téoða, endleofoða, twelfta, þréotéoða (féower~, etc.), twentigoða (þrítigoða, etc.), hundtéontigoða (100th), hundendleofontigoða (110th), hundtwelftigoða (120th).

[ādihtan] Sentence Construction

[ādihtan] 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. Híe mé géafon þæt hús - they gave me the house.

[ādihtan] Verb Agreement

Verbs agree with their subject in number and person.

  1. Ic hine geseah (singular, 1st person)
  2. Wé týdon þá leorneras (plural, 1st person)

[ādihtan] Subordinate Clauses

Subordinate clauses are introduced with þe, or sé (séo, þæt) with/without þe.

  1. Þonne is án port on súðeweardum þǽm lande, þone man hǽteþ 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 "sé þe," "séo þe," and "þæt þe" are more common when the antecedent has no demonstrative/qualifier.

  1. þæt þu onfó his geléafan and his bebodu healde, sé þe þé fram wilwendlicum earfeðum generede - that thou may receive the trust of the one who has saved thee from earthly hardships, and obey his commands.

[ādihtan] Complex Sentences

[ādihtan] Verbs with þæt-complements

  • The verbs forbeodan forbid, forberan refrain from, geswícan stop, wiþcweðan deny, refuse, and several others, take a þæt-clauses as objects.
  1. ...and forbead þæt hine man God héte - and forbade anyone to call him God (literally, "and forbade that one called him God").
  2. and forbead þæt man ná þǽr eft ne timbrode - and forbade anyone to build there afterward (literally, "and forbade that one never there after not built").
  • Also, verbs like twéonan doubt, twéo béon to be in doubt
  1. ...forþon nis nán twéo, þæt hé forgifnesse sellan nelle, þǽm þe híe geearnian willaþ - ...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").

[ādihtan] Questions

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

[ādihtan] 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?)

[ādihtan] Method 2: Question Words

  • Hwæt, hwá, hwǽr, hwilc, hú, hú fela, etc.
  1. Hwá eart þu? Who are you?
  • Using hwæðer-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: hwæðer gé nú sécen gold of tréowum? (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: hwæðer Rómáne hit witen nú ænigum menn tó secgenne, hwæt hiera folces forwurde? (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?)