Lecture 7 changes in the nominal system in middle english and new english

Sē mann (the mann), sēo sǽ (the sea), þæt lond (the land)
However, we may not speak of any category if it is not represented by an opposition of at least two units. Such opposition arose only in Middle English, when the indefinite article an appeared.
The form of the definite article the can be traced back to the old English demonstrative pronoun sē (that, masculine, singular), which in the course of history came to be used on analogy with the forms of the same pronoun having the initial consonant [θ] and began to be used with all nouns, irrespective of their gender or number.
The indefinite article developed from the Old English numeral ān. In Middle English ān split into two words: the definite pronoun an, losing a separate stress and undergoing reduction of its vowel, and the numeral one, remaining stressed as only other notional word. Later the indefinite pronoun an grew into the indefinite article a/an, and together with the definite article the formed a new grammatical category – the category of determination, or the category of article.
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Summary

The system of the declinable parts of speech underwent considerable simplification, at the same time developing new analytical features:

1. 
   Reduction in the number of the declinable parts of speech.
   
2. 
   Reduction in the number of declensions (whatever is preserved follows the a-stem masculine).
   
3. 
   Reduction in the number of grammatical categories.
   
4. 
   Reduction in the number of the categorical forms (the category of number of personal pronouns and case – all nominal parts of speech).
   
5. 
   Formation of the new class of words – article.