Degrees of Comparison

Like adjectives in other languages, most OE adjectives distinguished between three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative. The regular means used to form the comparative and the superlative from the positive were the suffixes -ra and -est/ost: heard – heardra – heardost (NE hard). Sometimes suffixation was accompanied by the root-vowel interchange, e.g.: long – lengra – lengest, eald – yldra – yldest, eald – ieldra – ieldest (NE old).

The adjective god had suppletive forms. Suppletion was a very old way of building the degrees of comparison: god – bettra – bet(e)st, lytel – læssa – læst.

Answer the following questions:

1. What were the main classes of OE pronouns?

2. What grammatical categories did OE pronoun have?

3. What was the difference between genders of OE pronouns?

4. What grammatical categories did OE adjective have?

5. What was the difference between weak and strong declension of OE adjective?

6. What did number, gender and case of OE adjective depend on?

7. What features determined the choice of a particular declension of OE adjective?

8. What suffixes were used to form the degrees of comparison?

Practical task

1. Give the comparative and superlative form of such OE adjectives: cræftig, dēop, dīere, dimlic, dohtig, dollic, dræstig, dryge, dryhtlic, egeful, egeslic, egle, ellenlic, fāh, fals, fæcne, færst, fætt, fēalōg, full, hlūd, hēah, mycel, reþe, rihtwis, rīce, spēdig, sarig, scand, scir, selcuþn, sid, smoð, þoncol, ðearmod, yfel.

2. Decline the following ajectives: lang, heard, full, hlūd, hēah, sid, smoð.

3. Find ajectives in the poem Seafarer.

4. Translate the extract from the poem Seafarer into Ukrainian.

Mæg ic be me sylfum         soðgied wrecan, siþas secgan,         hu ic geswincdagum earfoðhwile         oft þrowade, bitre breostceare         gebiden hæbbe,

5 gecunnad in ceole         cearselda fela, atol yþa gewealc,         þær mec oft bigeat nearo nihtwaco         æt nacan stefnan, þonne he be clifum cnossað.         Calde geþrungen wæron mine fet,         forste gebunden,

10 caldum clommum,         þær þa ceare seofedun hat ymb heortan;         hungor innan slat merewerges mod.         þæt se mon ne wat þe him on foldan         fægrost limpeð, hu ic earmcearig         iscealdne sæ

15 winter wunade         wræccan lastum, winemægum bidroren,         bihongen hrimgicelum;         hægl scurum fleag. þær ic ne gehyrde         butan hlimman sæ, iscaldne wæg.         Hwilum ylfete song

20 dyde ic me to gomene,         ganetes hleoþor ond huilpan sweg         fore hleahtor wera, mæw singende         fore medodrince. Stormas þær stanclifu beotan,         þær him stearn oncwæð isigfeþera;         ful oft þæt earn bigeal,

25 urigfeþra;         ne ænig hleomæga feasceaftig ferð         frefran meahte. Forþon him gelyfeð lyt,         se þe ah lifes wyn gebiden in burgum,         bealosiþa hwon, wlonc ond wingal,         hu ic werig oft

30 in brimlade         bidan sceolde. Nap nihtscua,         norþan sniwde, hrim hrusan bond,         hægl feol on eorþan, corna caldast.         Forþon cnyssað nu heortan geþohtas,         þæt ic hean streamas,

35 sealtyþa gelac         sylf cunnige; monað modes lust         mæla gehwylce ferð to feran,         þæt ic feor heonan elþeodigra         eard gesece. Forþon nis þæs modwlonc         mon ofer eorþan,

40 ne his gifena þæs god,         ne in geoguþe to þæs hwæt, ne in his dædum to þæs deor,         ne him his dryhten to þæs hold, þæt he a his sæfore         sorge næbbe, to hwon hine dryhten         gedon wille. Ne biþ him to hearpan hyge         ne to hringþege,

45 ne to wife wyn         ne to worulde hyht, ne ymbe owiht elles,         nefne ymb yða gewealc, ac a hafað longunge         se þe on lagu fundað.

Topic: Old English Grammar

Unit 7. Old English Verb

Though the verb had few grammatical categories, its paradigm had a very complicated structure: verbs fell into numerous morphological classes and employed a variety of form-building means. All the forms of the verb were synthetic, as analytical forms were only beginning to appear. The non-finite forms had little in common with the finite forms but shared many features with the nominal parts of speech.