English Grammar Evolution: Old to Middle English Transformations

Nouns: From Old English to Middle English

Gender Evolution in Nouns

The shift from grammatical gender, as in Old English (OE), to natural gender was a significant change. OE had three genders (feminine, masculine, neuter). In Middle English (ME), there was a reclassification of originally masculine and feminine inanimate nouns as neuter.

Plural Markers and Inflectional Changes

• -as: A strong masculine noun ending in OE, which developed into the Present Day English (PDE) -s plural marker.
• -an: A weak noun ending in OE, which developed into the PDE -en plural marker (e.g., oxen).
• R-plurals: Developed into two markers: -en and -r.
• O/E Vowel Umlaut: A process of vowel change in the root.

In ME, five main plural markers emerged: zero, root vowel change (umlaut), and -r. Additionally, -es and -en had two variants each. For example, "north -es" and "south -en." The -es ending began to be used with words that were already plural. Endings with /I/ and /j/ caused umlaut.

Old English (OE) used different markers according to the type of noun. The genitive -s and OE -es were used for strong masculine and neuter nouns.

Adjectives: Simplification of Declensions

In Old English (OE), adjectives were variable for case, number, and gender. With definite Noun Phrases (NP), the weak declension was used. With an indefinite NP or in a predicative position, the strong declension was used.

OE Adjective Plural Forms

• Nominative/Accusative: Masculine -e, feminine -a, neuter -u.
• Genitive: -ra (for all three genders).
• Dative: -um (for all three genders).

Middle English Adjective Simplification

During the Middle English (ME) period, there was a strong simplification of the adjectival system. ME witnessed a gradual loss of the OE system of adjectival inflection. This occurred partly as a result of sound changes, partly as a consequence of the loss of grammatical gender in nouns, and partly by extensive work of analogy. Consequently, all inflections conflated into a final -e.

Degrees of Adjectives in ME

The OE comparative marker -ra became -er, and -est was adopted for the superlative. Most umlaut forms became regularized.

Pronouns: Evolution and Regional Variation

OE Pronouns and Social Distinction

In Middle English (ME), 'thou' (from OE þu) was used for those socially inferior to the speaker, while 'ye' (from OE ge) was used for those socially superior.

Third Person Singular Pronouns

The OE 'he' and 'heo' merged. This led to the rise of the new feminine pronoun, Present Day English (PDE) 'she' / 'her'. Regional variations included:

• South: 'he' / 'heo' but also 'sche'.
• North: 'sche' and 'she'.
• Midlands: A combination of forms.

Changes from 'heo' to 'she'

1. Yod Insertion: The insertion of a yod within the word: heo > hjeo. The 'j' was inserted between 'h' and 'e'.
2. Diphthong Monophthongization: Hjeo monophthongized, keeping only the second element but lengthening it.
3. Assimilation: From /hj/ to /ç/ (a palatal fricative). This new consonant /ç/ then transformed to /ʒ/ (as in 'measure').
4. Further Sound Change: From initial /ʒ/ to /ʃ/ (as in 'she').

Third Person Plural Pronouns

In ME, there was a rise of new plural pronouns, leading to the PDE 'th-' forms (they, them, their). These forms first appeared in the North in the 12th century and spread a century later to the Midlands and South.

Verbs: Inflectional Changes and Auxiliaries

Key Verb Transformations

• Beon / Wesan → Be
• Willan → Will
• Gan → Go

Strong Verbs

Strong verbs are characterized by umlaut alternation. Old English strong verbs had four principal parts: infinitive, preterite 1, preterite 2, and past participle. During Middle English, strong verbs experienced a reduction in their category; many were lost, and the number of forms was also reduced.

Weak Verbs

Weak verbs used affixes to mark tense, a process originating from Germanic languages. Examples include:

• Class 1: Infinitive (-an), Preterite (-ede), Past Participle (-ed).
• Class 2: Infinitive (-ian), Preterite (-ode), Past Participle (-od).

Finite Forms: Simplification and New Endings

Levelling of inflections led to a simplification of endings. The merger of unstressed vowels (originally -(e)st, -eþ, -aþ, -en, -on) resulted in five main endings: Ø (zero), -e, -(e)st, -eþ, and -en. Additionally, a new inflection, -(e)s, emerged in the North.

Non-Finite Forms

Infinitives and Present Participles

Old English (OE) inflectional markers for infinitives were -an and -ian. For the present participle, OE used -ende. In Middle English (ME), regional variations appeared:

• North: -ande
• Midlands: -ende
• South: -inde

Past Participles

• Old English Strong Verbs: Typically formed with ge- prefix + lexical verb stem + -en suffix.
• Old English Weak Verbs: Typically formed with ge- prefix + lexical verb stem + -ede or -ode suffix.

In Middle English:

• Strong Verbs: Showed variation, often with a final -en or just -n.
• Weak Verbs: Levelled into -ed, derived from the earlier -ede or -ode suffixes.

Preterite-Present Verbs

In the third person singular, preterite-present verbs often had a zero ending. The past tense was formed by adding -d.

Auxiliary Verbs: 'Will' and 'Be'

The verb 'will' comes from OE willan, and 'would' comes from OE walde. The negative form 'won't' began to appear in the Midlands.

The verb 'be': PDE 'are' derives from OE (e)aron (North and Midlands). In ME, be(n) and aren alternated. In the South, forms like sindon and ben were common.

The verb 'go': PDE 'go' derives from OE gan. PDE 'went' derives from ME wente (which was originally the past tense of wendan, 'to turn').

Perfect Tense: Auxiliary Redistribution

Perfect Tense in Old English

The default variant for perfective actions or actions referring to a simple past was often the simple past tense. If verbs were transitive, the construction habban ('to have') + past participle of the lexical verb was used. If verbs were intransitive, beon / wesan ('to be') + past participle was used.

Perfect Tense in Middle English

Middle English witnessed a redistribution of auxiliaries. 'Be' began to be used more frequently in passive and progressive constructions, while 'have' became freer in its usage. There was a reduced frequency of mutative intransitive verbs (those taking 'be' as an auxiliary) and reduced form of -s.