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To recap, Old English adjectives have inflectional endings based on their case, number, gender, and whether they are weak or strong. Adjectives can be either strong or weak, and this depends on whether the adjective follows a demonstrative pronoun or possessive adjective. Examine 'god' in these two sentences: 'Þæt wæs god cyning - That was a good king' and 'se goda cyning onfeng him - the good king received him'.
Weak adjectives are used when they are situated between a demonstrative pronoun or possessive pronoun and the noun they are modifying. For example, in the sentence 'se goda cyning onfeng him - the good king received him', the adjective 'god' is modifying 'cyning' which is modified by the demonstrative 'se'. This means 'god' is weak.
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF ADJECTIVES IN OLD, MIDDLE AND EARLY MODERN ENGLISH PERIODS
The article deals with some grammatical features of adjectives in Old, Middle and Early Modern English periods. The adjectival categories, examples of word-formation in a diachronic way are illustrated in the article.
Keywords: adjective, grammatical categories, periods, changes, development
Most historians agree that the number of adjectives in Old English is not very significant. There are primary adjectives, dating back from the very old times and derivative adjectives made by adjective-forming suffixes from nouns. The adjectives of those times are similar to Slavic adjectives. This part of speech agrees with the noun it modifies in number, gender and case [1, с.54].
The adjective in OE had the following categories:
• two numbers (singular, plural);
• three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter);
• five cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, and partly instrumental).
Besides, the adjectives had two declensions, strong and weak (cf. in Ukrainian зелений гай/ зелен клен, in Russian красная лента/красна девица). The weak form of the adjective is used after a demonstrative pronoun, a personal pronoun or a noun in the genitive case. When the adjective is not so accompanied it is declined strong.
Adjective declension
• Strong(definite):
Adj used predicatively & attributively without any determiners
• Weak (indefinite):
Adj preceded by a demonstrative pronoun, a personal pronoun or a noun in the genitive case.
The following table summarizes the adjective endings. A strong adjective for a strong noun, a weak adjective for a weak noun, the rule is as simple as that.
For example, here are two paradigms for the adjective gōd "good" with the feminine noun cwen "queen." First the strong:
Table 1. The Strong Adjective Declension
Singular Plural
nominative gōd cwen gōde cwena
accusative gōde cwene gōde cwena
genitive gōdre cwene gōdra cwena
dative gōdre cwene gōdum cwenum
Table 2. The Weak Adjective Declension
Singular Plural
nominative seo gōde cwen þa gōdan cwena
accusative þa gōdan cwene þa gōdan cwena
genitive þære gōdan cwene þara gōdra cwena
dative þære gōdan cwene þam gōdum cwenum
• Like in other IE languages, most OE adjectives are distinguished between three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, superlative.
• The typical suffixes –ra and –est/ost, e. g. earm (poor)-earmra-earmost, blæc (black) - blæcra - blacost
• Many adjectives changed the root vowel – another example of the Germanic ablaut, e.g.
• eald (old)-ieldra-ieldest,
• strong - strengra - strengest
• long - lengra - lengest
• geong (young) - gingra - gingest
• The most widespread and widely used adjectives always had their degrees formed from another stem, which is called "suppletive" in linguistics. Many of them are still seen in today's English:
Table 3.Suppletive degrees of comparison of OE adjective
Degrees of Comparison
Positive Comparative Superlative
ᵹ ōd (good) betera
sēlra betst
sēlest
yfel (bad) wiersa wierrest, wierst
lȳtel (small) lǣssa lǣst
mycel (much) māra mǣst
In the process of development a paradigm of the adjective in ME is simplified drastically. The endings become scarce. The category of gender is lost, for the nouns no longer have it.
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