Chapter VI: (a) #Masculine a-Stems.#

[O.E., M.E., and Mn.E. will henceforth be used for Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. Other abbreviations employed are self-explaining.]

25. The a-Declension, corresponding to the Second or _o_-Declension of Latin and Greek, contains only (_a_) masculine and (_b_) neuter nouns. To this declension belong most of the O.E. masculine and neuter nouns of the Strong Declension. At a very early period, many of the nouns belonging properly to the i- and u-Declensions began to pass over to the a-Declension. This declension may therefore be considered the _normal declension_ for all masculine and neuter nouns belonging to the Strong Declension.

26. Paradigms of #sê mûð#, _mouth_; #sê fiscere#, _fisherman_; #sê hwæl#, _whale_; #sê mearh#, _horse_; #sê finger#, _finger_:

_Sing. N.A._ mûð fiscer-e hwæl mearh finger
_G._ mûð-es fiscer-es hwæl-es mêar-es fingr-es
_D.I._ mûð-e fiscer-e hwæl-e mêar-e fingr-e

_Plur. N.A._ mûð-as fiscer-as hwal-as mêar-as fingr-as
_G._ mûð-a fiscer-a hwal-a mêar-a fingr-a
_D.I._ mûð-um fiscer-um hwal-um mêar-um fingr-um

NOTE.--For meanings of the cases, see § 12. The dative and
instrumental are alike in all nouns.

27. The student will observe (1) that nouns whose nominative ends in -e (#fiscere#) drop this letter before adding the case endings; (2) that æ before a consonant (#hwæl#) changes to a in the plural;[1] (3) that h, preceded by r (#mearh#) or l (#seolh#, _seal_), is dropped before an inflectional vowel, the stem diphthong being then lengthened by way of compensation; (4) that dissyllables (#finger#) having the first syllable long, usually syncopate the vowel of the second syllable before adding the case endings.[2]

[Footnote 1: Adjectives usually retain æ in closed syllables,
changing it to a in open syllables: #hwæt# (_active_), #glæd#
(_glad_), #wær# (_wary_) have G. #hwates#, #glades#, #wares#; D.
#hwatum#, #gladum#, #warum#; but A. #hwætne#, #glædne#, #wærne#.
Nouns, however, change to a only in open syllables followed by a
guttural vowel, a or u. The æ in the open syllables of the
singular is doubtless due to the analogy of the N.A. singular,
both being closed syllables.]

[Footnote 2: _Cf._ Mn.E. _drizz'ling_, _rememb'ring_, _abysmal_
(_abysm_ = _abiz^{u}m_), _sick'ning_, in which the principle of
syncopation is precisely the same.]

28. Paradigm of the Definite Article[3] #sê#, #sêo#, #ðæt# = _the_:

_Masculine._ _Feminine._ _Neuter._

_Sing. N._ sê (se) sêo ðæt
_G._ ðæs ðæ:re ðæs
_D._ ðæ:m (ðâm) ðæ:re ðæ:m (ðâm)
_A._ ðone ðâ ðæt
_I._ ðy:, ðon ---- ðy:, ðon

_All Genders._

_Plur. N.A._ ðâ
_G._ ðâra
_D._ ðæ:m (ðâm)

[Footnote 3: This may mean four things: (1) _The_, (2) _That_
(demonstrative), (3) _He_, _she_, _it_, (4) _Who_, _which_,
_that_ (relative pronoun). Mn.E. demonstrative _that_ is, of
course, the survival of O.E. neuter #ðæt# in its demonstrative
sense. Professor Victor Henry (_Comparative Grammar of English
and German_, § 160, 3) sees a survival of dative plural
demonstrative #ðæ:m# in such an expression as _in them days_. It
seems more probable, however, that _them_ so used has followed
the lead of _this_ and _these_, _that_ and _those_, in their
double function of pronoun and adjective. There was doubtless
some such evolution as, _I saw them. Them what? Them boys._

An unquestioned survival of the dative singular feminine of the
article is seen in the _-ter_ of _Atterbury_ (= #æt ðæ:re byrig#,
_at the town_); and #ðæ:m# survives in the _-ten_ of
_Attenborough_, the word _borough_ having become an uninflected
neuter. Skeat, _Principles_, First Series, § 185.]

29. VOCABULARY.[4]

sê bôcere, _scribe_ [bôc].
sê cyning, _king_.
sê dæg, _day_.
sê ende, _end_.
sê engel, _angel_ [angelus].
sê frêodôm, _freedom_.
sê fugol (G. sometimes #fugles#), _bird_ [fowl].
sê gâr, _spear_ [gore, gar-fish].
sê heofon, _heaven_.
sê hierde, _herdsman_ [shep-herd].
ond (and), _and_.
sê secg, _man, warrior_.
sê seolh, _seal_.
sê stân, _stone_.
sê wealh, _foreigner, Welshman_ [wal-nut].
sê weall, _wall_.
sê wîsdôm, _wisdom_.
sê wulf, _wolf_.

[Footnote 4: The brackets contain etymological hints that may
help the student to discern relationships otherwise overlooked.
The genitive is given only when not perfectly regular.]

30. EXERCISES.

I. 1. Ðâra wulfa mûðas. 2. Ðæs fisceres fingras. 3. Ðâra Wêala cyninge. 4. Ðæ:m englum ond ðæ:m hierdum. 5. Ðâra daga ende. 6. Ðæ:m bôcerum ond ðæ:m secgum ðæs cyninges. 7. Ðæ:m sêole ond ðæ:m fuglum. 8. Ðâ stânas ond ðâ gâras. 9. Hwala ond mêara. 10. Ðâra engla wîsdôm. 11. Ðæs cyninges bôceres frêodôm. 12. Ðâra hierda fuglum. 13. Ðy: stâne. 14. Ðæ:m wealle.

II. 1. For the horses and the seals. 2. For the Welshmen's freedom. 3. Of the king's birds. 4. By the wisdom of men and angels. 5. With the spear and the stone. 6. The herdsman's seal and the warriors' spears. 7. To the king of heaven. 8. By means of the scribe's wisdom. 9. The whale's mouth and the foreigner's spear. 10. For the bird belonging to (= of) the king's scribe. 11. Of that finger.