An Introduction to Old English Edinburgh University Press
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indefinite context.
This contrast between definite and indefinite contexts is at the core of Old English adjective inflection. The fundamental decision in every case is whether the adjective is definite or indefinite. This determines which set of inflections, i.e. which declension, is used. Thus the happy man is in Old English: (1) se glæd guma whereas a happy man is: (2) glæda guma Thus adjective declensions are quite different from noun ones. Firstly, all adjectives – apart from a few special cases, which are mostly explicable on syntactic grounds – decline according to both the definite declension and the indefinite declension, as shown in (1) and (2) above. Of the two declensions, the simpler is the definite declension, which closely follows the N declension discussed in Chapter 2, the principal difference being in the genitive plural, where there is, as we have seen elsewhere, an -r- immediately after the stem. Note also that there are no gender distinctions in the plural. I use the adjective blinda for exemplification: Masculine Neuter Feminine Plural Nom. blinda blinde blinde blindan Acc. blindan blinde blindan blindan Gen. blindan blindan blindan blindra Dat. blindan blindan blindan blindum Sometimes the genitive plural shows the inflection -ena, e.g. blindena. The definite declension’s closeness to the N declension makes it quite MORE NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES 33 02 pages 001-166 29/1/03 16:09 Page 33 easy to follow, but the task is harder for the indefinite declension. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, as might be expected, just as the definite declension follows the N declension, so the indefinite declension follows the three general declensions. Therefore, there are rather more different declensional endings to cope with. Secondly, there is a further compli- cation in that the endings used in the definite declension are sometimes quite different from those used in their apparent nominal counterparts. Furthermore, since each of the three nominal declensions has its own endings in the plural as well as the singular, so the indefinite adjective declension shows gender distinctions not only in the singular but also in the plural. The overall result is as follows, again using blind (note, by the way, that just as I used the nominative masculine singular form blinda as the citation form for the definite declension, now I use the corresponding indefinite citation form): Singular Masculine Neuter Feminine Nom. blind blind blind Acc. blindne blind blinde Gen. blindes blindes blindre Dat. blindum blindum blindre Instr. blinde blinde blindre Plural Nom. blinde blind blinda Acc. blinde blind blinda Gen. blindra blindra blindra Dat. blindum blindum blindum It may be obvious that we have to make a series of remarks about this paradigm, for it inadequately represents the full state of affairs as it stands. Most obviously, you will have noticed that in the masculine and neuter singular, and only there, we find a separate instrumental inflec- tion, as was seen in the demonstrative. The other point which we should note immediately is what happens if the adjective is short-stemmed, rather than long-stemmed as is the case with blind. The long-stemmed adjectives are, despite some differences, fundamentally allied to the corresponding general declensions. Therefore, just as the feminine noun Yüklə 1,93 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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