2. Grammatical categories of the finite forms of the verb

As we have already said the system of conjugation mainly embraced the finite forms of the verb as the non-finite forms were not conjugated but declined. The system of conjugation of the Old English verb was built up by four grammatical categories, those of person, number, tense and mood.

2.1. Person

There were three person forms in Old English: first, second and third. For example:

First person – Ic wrīte

Second person – þu writes

Third person – hē wrīteð

But we have distinct person forms only in the Indicative mood, the Imperative and the Oblique mood forms reflecting no person differences and even the Indicative mood forms changing for person only in the Singular, the plural forms being the same irrespective of person, for example:

Present tense Indicative Past tense Indicative

Wē

Зē } wrītað } wrīton

Hīe

2.2. Number

The grammatical category of number was built up by the opposition of two number forms – singular and Plural

Ic wrīte (singular)

Wē wrītað (plural)

2.3. Tense

The grammatical category of tense was represented by two forms: Present tense and Past tense, for example:

Present Past

Indicative Ic wrīte Ic wrāt

Oblique ic wrīte Ic write

There was no Future tense in Old English, future events were expressed with the help of a present tense verb+ an adverb denoting futurity or a combination of a modal verb (generally) sculan (shall) or willan (will)+ an Infinitive, for example:

Wille ic āsecзan mǽrum þeodne ǽrende.

(I want to tell the glorious prince my mission)

2.4. Mood

There were three mood forms in Old English: Indicative, Imperative and Oblique, for example:

Indicative Imperative Oblique

Þu cepst cēp cēpe

The Indicative Mood and the Imperative Mood were used in cases similar to those in which they are used now but the Oblique mood in Old English differed greatly from the corresponding mood in New English. There was only one mood form in Old English that was used both to express events that are thought of as unreal or as problematic – today there are two mood forms to denote those two different kinds of events, conventionally called the Subjunctive and the Conjunctive.

The forms of the Oblique Mood were also sometimes used in contexts for which now the Indicative Mood would be more suitable – to present events in the so-called “Indirect speech”:

Hē sǽde þæt land sie swiþe lanз.

(He said that that land is very long/large).

3. Morphological classification of verbs lecture 6 changes in the phonetic system in middle english and new english

1. Changes in the phonetic system in Middle English

   1. Vowels in the unstressed position

   2. Vowels under stress

      1. Qualitative changes

      2. Quantitative changes

   3. Consonants

2. Changes in the phonetic system in New English

   1. Vowels in the unstressed position

   2. Vowels under stress

      1. Qualitative change

      2. Quantitative changes

   3. Consonants

3. Changes in alphabet and spelling in Middle and New English

Literature

1. R.V. Reznik, T.C. Sorokina, I.V. Reznik A History of the English language. M., 2003.

2. T.A. Rastorguyeva History of English. M., 1983.

3. А.И. Смирницкий Лекции по истории английского языка. М., 2000.

4. К. Бруннер История английского языка. Т.2 М., 2001.

5. И. Чахоян, Л. Иванова, Т. Беляева. История английского языка. СПб., 1998.

6. А.И. Смирницкий Древнеанглийский язык. М., 1955.