English: Archaic Conjugations and Proper Usage

[Gryphon Avocatio]

This is to be a one time class in which i hope to convey the proper usage of older english conjugations, such as those used in Shakespeare.A few hundred years ago, english did not work in quite the same ways it does now. Sentences like, "Thou dost give willingly," are not common parlance amongst most modern speakers. I am often times presented with badly done mockeries of this old way of speaking, and to be honest, it bugs me. When you have somebody say to you, "I gaveth ye old booketh to you youeth," well, it just sounds dumb.It is really easy to use proper conjugations. The past tense is generally the same as in modern english, except a few odd irregular verbs that you will probably never use.The present tense is somewhat different, but it is easily done. The primary differences are the following: 1) the endings in the second- and third-person singular are different, and 2) the second person is a little more complex than it is now.A chart, using the regular verb "give":Singular1st: I give2nd*: Thou givest3rd: He/She/It givethPlural1st: We give2nd*: Ye give3rd: They giveAs you can see, the second person posseses a plural, something that has dropped from modern usage. Modern equivelants to "Ye" range from "You guys" to "Y'all." It also posesses a second purpose: It functions as the formal variation to the 2nd singular. You would address the kaiser with Ye, not Thou.Also note that Thou and Ye have different forms as objectsModern: William gave you the flowers.Archaic (singular): William gave thee the flowers.Archaic (plural): William gave you the flowers.That is all for now. I will return to discuss possesives and irregular verbs in time. -Gryphon Avocatio- Lord Governor and Duke of all Yardistan - Minister of Research and Education, Shireroth - Shirerothian Elder - SAVE THE KIWI!! - Lover of Llamas Give me your child, and by the age of five, I can make him a priest or a thief or a scholar. - SCOTT: You know, I always joke about how nothing will ever be able to get me out of micronations...but...I think if my mother got into micronations that would get me out in a hurry. - GUILDENSTERN:We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.

[Zirandorthel]

Irish people still say ye, as a matter of fact. Anglo-Irish is one of the few dialects of English which uses a different pronoun for the second-person plural. In Bray, for example, the usual colloquialism is "yous" pronounced yooz. I say "yee" because that's what my mam and all the people in the country say. Sun Bless, Earth KeepZirandorthel I of TreesiaThe Golden DarknessNiirus Tinenetuwar, Tivitha e'Taras

[Gryphon Avocatio]

yeah...scots say ye as well...although thats often times because ye and you sound the same in a scottish accent when talking quickly...parts of england still use this conjugation system too...in Yorkshire i believe... -Gryphon Avocatio- Lord Governor and Duke of all Yardistan - Minister of Research and Education, Shireroth - Shirerothian Elder - SAVE THE KIWI!! - Lover of Llamas Give me your child, and by the age of five, I can make him a priest or a thief or a scholar. - SCOTT: You know, I always joke about how nothing will ever be able to get me out of micronations...but...I think if my mother got into micronations that would get me out in a hurry. - GUILDENSTERN:We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.

[Scott Alexander]

Quote:Irish people still say ye, as a matter of fact. Anglo-Irish is one of the few dialects of English which uses a different pronoun for the second-person plural.Don't forget Southern, which uses a different second person plural pronoun as well:"You never done tole me that roadkill ain't edible" (singular) vs."Y'all never done tole me that roadkill ain't edible" (plural) Edited by: Scott Siskind  at: 2/9/04 8:54 am