Chapter XIII: Pronouns

(1) #Personal Pronouns.#

72. Paradigms of #ic#, _I_; #ðû#, _thou_. For #hê#, #hêo#, #hit#, see § 53.

_Sing. N._ ic ðû
_G._ mîn ðîn
_D._ mê ðê
_A._ mê (mec) ðê (ðec)

_Dual N._ wit (_we two_) git (_ye two_)
_G._ uncer (_of us two_) incer (_of you two_)
_D._ unc (_to_ or _for us two_) inc (_to_ or _for you two_)
_A._ unc (_us two_) inc (_you two_)

_Plur. N._ wê gê
_G._ ûser (ûre) êower
_D._ ûs êow
_A._ ûs (ûsic) êow (êowic)

NOTE 1.--The dual number was soon absorbed by the plural. No relic
of it now remains. But when two and only two are referred to, the
dual is consistently used in O.E. An example occurs in the case of
the two blind men (_Matthew_ ix. 27-31): #Gemiltsa unc, Davîdes
sunu!# _Pity us, (thou) Son of David!_ #Sîe inc æfter incrum
gelêafan#, _Be it unto you according to your faith._

NOTE 2.--Mn.E. _ye_ (< gê), the nominative proper, is fast being
displaced by _you_ (< #êow#), the old objective. The distinction
is preserved in the King James's version of the Bible: _Ye in me,
and I in you_ (_John_ xiv. 20); but not in Shakespeare and later
writers.

(2) #Demonstrative Pronouns.#

73. Paradigm of #ðês#, #ðêos#, #ðis#, _this_. For the Definite Article as a demonstrative, meaning _that_, see § 28, Note 3.

_Masculine._ _Feminine._ _Neuter._
_Sing. N._ ðês ðêos ðis
_G._ ðisses ðisse ðisses
_D._ ðissum ðisse ðissum
_A._ ðisne ðâs ðis
_I._ ðy:s ---- ðy:s

_All Genders._
_Plur. N.A._ ðâs
_G._ ðissa
_D._ ðissum

(3) #The Interrogative Pronoun.#

74. Paradigm of #hwâ#, #hwæt#, _who_, _what?_

_Masculine._ _Neuter._
_Sing. N._ hwâ hwæt
_G._ hwæs hwæs
_D._ hwæ:m hwæ:m
_A._ hwone hwæt
_I._ ---- hwy:

NOTE 1.--The derivative interrogatives, #hwæðer# (< #*hwâ-ðer#),
_which of two?_ and #hwilc# (< #*hwâ-lîc#), _which?_ are declined
as strong adjectives (§§ 79-82).

NOTE 2.--The instrumental case of #hwâ# survives in Mn.E. _why_ =
_on what account_; the instrumental of the definite article is
seen in the adverbial _the: The sooner, the better = by how much
sooner, by so much better._

NOTE 3.--How were the Mn.E. relative pronouns, _who_ and _which_,
evolved from the O.E. interrogatives? The change began in early
West Saxon with #hwæt# used in indirect questions (Wülfing, _l.c._
§ 310, [beta]): #Nû ic wât eall hwæt ðû woldest#, _Now I know all
that thou desiredst_. The direct question was, #Hwæt woldest ðû?# But
the presence of #eall# shows that in Alfred's mind #hwæt# was, in
the indirect form, more relative than interrogative.

(4) #Relative Pronouns.#

75. O.E. had no relative pronoun proper. It used instead (1) the Indeclinable Particle #ðe#, _who_, _whom_, _which_, _that_, (2) the Definite Article (§ 28), (3) the Definite Article with the Indeclinable Particle, (4) the Indeclinable Particle with a Personal Pronoun.

The Definite Article agrees in gender and number with the antecedent. The case depends upon the construction. _The bird which I have_ may, therefore, be:--

(1) #Sê fugol ðe ic hæbbe#;
(2) #Sê fugol ðone ic hæbbe#;
(3) #Sê fugol ðone ðe# (= _the which_) #ic hæbbe#;
(4) #Sê fugol ðe hine ic hæbbe#.

NOTE.--O.E. #ðe# agrees closely in construction with Mn.E.
relative _that_: (1) Both are indeclinable. (2) Both refer to
animate or inanimate objects. (3) Both may be used with phrasal
value: #ðy: ylcan dæge ðe hî hine tô ðæ:m âde beran wyllað#, _On the
same day that_ (= _on which_) _they intend to bear him to the
funeral pile_. (4) Neither can be preceded by a preposition.

(5) #Possessive Pronouns.#

76. The Possessive Pronouns are #mîn#, _mine_; #ðîn#, _thine_; #ûre#, _our_; #êower#, _your_; [#sîn#, _his_, _her_, _its_]; #uncer#, _belonging to us two_; #incer#, _belonging to you two_. They are declined as strong adjectives. The genitives of the Third Personal Pronoun, #his#, _his_, #hiere#, _her_, #hiera#, _their_, are indeclinable.

(6) #Indefinite Pronouns.#

77. These are #æ:lc#, _each_, _every_; #ân#, _a_, _an_, _one_; #æ:nig# (< #ân-ig#), _any_; #næ:nig# (< #ne-æ:nig#), _none_; #ôðer#, _other_; #sum#, _one_, _a certain one_; #swilc#, _such_. They are declined as strong adjectives.

NOTE.--O.E. had three established methods of converting an
interrogative pronoun into an indefinite: (1) By prefixing #ge#,
(2) by prefixing #æ:g#, (3) by interposing the interrogative
between #swâ ... swâ#: (1) #gehwâ#, _each_; #gehwæðer#, _either_;
#gehwilc#, _each_; (2) #æ:ghwâ#, _each_; #æ:ghwæðer#, _each_;
#æ:ghwilc#, _each_; (3) #swâ hwâ swâ#, _whosoever_; #swâ hwæðer
swâ#, _whichsoever of two_; #swâ hwilc swâ#, _whosoever_.