The gerundial infinitive, or dative case of the infinitive (preceded by to), occasionally occurs, as to doon-e (=to don-ne), to sen-e (=to sen-ne), to do, to see. (See Kn. Ta. 177.) PARTICIPLES. I. The present participle ends usually in -ing. The A. S. suffix was -ende, which is used by Gower; but in the Southern dialect of Early English we find -indeb, which has evidently given rise to -inge, of which -ing is a shorter form; but the longer -inge is occasionally employed by Chaucer, to rhyme with an infinitive verb in -e. The suffix -ing, of nouns like morning, was -ung in the older stages of the language. 2. The past participle of weak verbs terminates in -ed, -d, and occasionally in -et, -t; that of strong verbs in -en or -e. 3. The prefix y- or i- (A. S. ge-) occurs frequently before the past participle, as y-ronne (run), i-falle (fallen), &c. ANOMALOUS VERBS. 1. Ben, been, to be:-1st sing. pres. indic. am; 2nd art; 3rd beth, is; pl. been, ben, aren, are; past, 1st and 3rd was; 2nd were. Imperative pl. beth; p.p. been, ben. 2. Conne, to know, be able :-pres. indic., 1st and 3rd can; 2nd can, canst; pl. connen, conne; past, 1st and 3rd couthe, cowthe, cowde; p.p. couth, coud. 3. Daren, dare:-pres. indic. sing., 1st and 3rd dar; 2nd darst; pl. dar, dorre; past dorste, durste. 4. May-pres. indic. sing., 1st and 3rd mow, may; 2nd mayst, maist, might; pl. mowe, mowen; pres. subjunctive mowe; past tense, 1st and 3rd mighte, moghte, 2nd mightest (Kn. Ta. 797). 5. Mot, must, may :-indic. pres. sing., 1st and 3rd mot, moot; 2nd must, moot; pl. mooten, moote; past moste. The Northern form of the participle was -ande, -and, which occasionally occurs in the Romaunt of the Rose, as lepand, leaping. The East Midland dialect had the double forms -end and -and. 6. Owen, to owe (debeo) :-pres. oweth; past oghte, oughte, aughte; pl. oghten, oughten, oughte. 7. Shal, schal, shall:-pres. indic. sing., 1st and 3rd shal; 2nd shalt; pl. shullen, shuln, shul; past shulde, sholde. (Also schal, &c.) 8. Thar, need:-pres. indic. sing., 1st and 3rd thar; past thurte; subjunctive 3rd ther. 9. Witen, to know :—pres. indic. sing., 1st and 3rd woot, wat, wot; 2nd wost; pl. witen, wite, woote; past wiste. 10. Wil, will:-pres. indic. sing., 1st wil, wol=wille, wolle; 2nd wilt, wolt; 3rd wile, wole, wol; pl. woln, wille, willen ; past wolde. NEGATIVE VERBS. Nam, nis, -am not, is not; nas, nere,=was not, were not; nath=hath not; nadde, nad, had not; nille, nil-will not; nolde=would not; nat, not, noot = knows not; nost knowest not; niste, nisten,= knew not. ADVERBS. 1. Adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding -e to the positive degree; as brighte, brightly; deepe, deeply; lowe, lowly. 2. Some few adverbs have e before ly, as boldely, needely, softely, semely, trewely. 3. Adverbs in -en and -e:—abouen, aboue; abouten, aboute; biforn, bifore; siththen, şiththe (since); withouten, withoute. Many have dropped the form in -n; as asondre, behynde, bynethe, bytwene, biyonde; henne (hence), thenne (thence). 4. Adverbs in -e :—ofte, selde (seldom), sone, soone (soon), twie (twice), thrie (thrice). 5. Adverbs in -es:—needes (A. S. néade), needs; ones (A. S. ane), once; twies (A. S. twiwa), twice; thries (A. S. thriwa), thrice. (a) -es for -e, -an or -a:—unnethes (A. S. unéathe), scarcely; whiles (A. S. hwile), whilst; bysides (A. S. besídan); togideres (A. S. to-gædere). (b) -es for -e or -en-hennes (A. S. heonan); thennes (A.S. thanon); whennes (A.S. hwanon); hence, thence, whence. (c) -es = -st:- agaynes, ayens (A. S. ongéan), against; amonges (A. S. gemang), amongst; amyddes (A. S. on middan, ámiddan), amidst. 6. Of-newe, newly (cp. of yore, of late), recently; as-now, at present; on slepe, asleep (cp. on honting, a hunting, &c.). 7. Negative Adverbs. Two or more negatives (more common than one in Chaucer) do not make an affirmative. 'He nevere yet no vileinye ne sayde, (Prol. II. 70, 71.) But (only) takes a negative before it; as, 'I nam but deed.' (Knightes Tale, l. 416.) 8. As, used before in, to, for, by, of, considering, with respect to, so far as concerns. See Prol. 1. 87. As is used before the imperative mood in supplicatory phrases. See Knightes Tale, ll. 1444, 1459. 9. Ther, tho, occasionally signify where, when. PREPOSITIONS. Occasionally til=to, unto=until, up=upon, up-on=on. CONJUNCTIONS. Ne... ne neither... nor; other=or; other... other = either ..or; what... and both... and c. METRE AND VERSIFICATION. 1. Except the Tale of Melibeus and the Persones Tale, the Canterbury Tales are written in rhyming verse; but this system of versification did not come into general use in England until after the Norman Conquest. The poetry of the AngloSaxons, like that of the Scandinavian and old Germanic races, c For a more detailed account of Chaucer's grammar, see Professor Child's Essay on Chaucer, from which I have derived much assistance. was rhythmical and alliterative. Their poems are written in couplets, in such a manner that in each couplet there are three (or two) emphatic syllables, two (or one) in the first line and one in the second, commencing with the same letter; and this letter is also the initial of the chief emphatic syllable in the second line. 'Gelic was he tham leohtum steorrum, lof sceolde he drihtnes wyrcean, dyran sceolde he his dreamas on heofonum, thas leanes the he him on tham leohte gescerede, ac he awende hit him to wyrsan thinge, with thone hehstan heofnes wealdend, the siteth on tham halgan stoled.' (Cadmon, ed. Thorpe, p. 17, ll. 7–16.) Langland's Vision of Piers Ploughman, partly written in 1362, presents all the peculiarities of this form of verse :'I was weori of wandringe, And wente me to reste Undur a brod banke Bi a bourne syde; And as lay and leonede And lokede on the watres, Hit sownede so murie.' (11. 7-10, A-text.) In the North and West of England alliteration was employed as late as the end of the fifteenth century, but it appears to have gone out of use in the Southern and Eastern parts of the country, which early in the thirteenth century adopted the classical and Romance forms of versification. d Like was he (Satan) to the light stars; The laud (praise) of the Ruler ought he to have wrought, Dear should he hold his delights (joys) in heaven, And thank should he his Director (Lord) For the loan (gift) he had bestowed on him in that light (heaven), Then would he have let him long possess it; But he did wend (turn) it for himself to a worse purpose, Began, for his part, to raise up war Against the highest Ruler of heaven Who sitteth on the holy stool (seat). 2. The greater part of the Canterbury Tales is written in heroic couplets, or lines containing five accents. In this metre we have ten syllables; but we often find eleven, and occasionally nine. Of these variations the former is obtained by the addition of an unaccented syllable at the end of a line. 'Him wolde | he snib | ben sharp | ly for | the nones. (Prol. 11. 523-4.) 'Th' answere of this | I le | të to | divynis, So in lines 1 and 2 of the Prologue : I Whan that | April | le with his shou | res sootë The droght' of Marche | hath per | ced to | the rootë.' In the second variation, the first foot consists of a single accented syllable. See Prol. 170, 247, 294, 371, 391; Kn. Ta. 156, 324, 368, 652, 677, 1072, 1073, 1171, 1172, 1269, 1631, 1653, 1855, 1979, 1996, 2094. E. g. :— 'Now | it shyneth, now it reyneth fastë.' (Knightes Tale, 1. 677.) 3. Chaucer frequently contracts two syllables into one; as nam, nis, nath, nadde= =ne am, ne is, ne hath, ne hadde, am not, is not, hath not, had not; thasse, theffect, tabide=the ass, the effect, to abide, &c. In Troilus and Criseyde we find ny=ne I, not I, nor I; mathinketh=me athinketh, it seems to me. this contraction is not always so expressed in writing, though observed in reading : 'And cer | tes lord | to aby | den your presencë.' But (Knightes Tale, 1. 69.) 'By eterne word | to dy | en in | prisoun.' (Ib. 1. 251.) 4. The syllables -en, -er, -eth, -el, -ow (-we, -ewe), are often said to be contracted, but properly speaking they are slurred over and nearly, but not quite, absorbed by the syllable preceding : For fuller information the reader is referred to Prof. Child's exhaustive Essay on Chaucer, and to the Introd. to Chaucer's Prioresses Tale, &c., ed. Skeat; also to Mr. A. J. Ellis' valuable work on Early English Pronunciation, with special reference to Chaucer and Shakespeare (Chaucer Soc.). For the pronunciation, see Introd. to Man of Lawes Tale. |