Declension of adjectives in Late Middle English

This paradigm included only monosyllabic adjectives ending in a consonant, such as ME bad, good, long. Adjectives ending in vowels and polysyllabic adjectives took no endings and could not show the difference between singular and plural forms or strong and weak forms: ME able, swete, bisy, thredbare and the like were uninflected.

The distinctions between the singular and plural forms, and the weak and strong forms, could not be preserved for long, as they were not shown by all the adjectives; besides, the reduced ending -e was very unstable even in the 14th c. English. In Chaucer's poems, for instance, it is always missed out in accordance with the requirements of the rhythm.

Degrees of comparison

The degrees of comparison are the only set of forms which the adjective has preserved through all historical periods. However, the means employed to build up the forms of the degrees of comparison have considerably altered.

In OE the forms of the comparative and the superlative degree, like all the grammatical forms, were synthetic: they were built by means of 1) adding the suffixes –raand-est/-ost, to the form of the positive degree; 2) interchange of the root-vowel (palatal mutation); 3) suppletion.

In ME the degrees of comparison could be built in the same way, only the suffixes had been weakened to -er, -est and the interchange of the root-vowel was less common than before. Since most adjectives with the sound alternation had parallel forms without it, the forms with an interchange soon fell into disuse. Cf. ME long, lenger, lengest and long, longer, longest (the latter set replaced the former).

In ME the fourth way of making degrees of comparison appeared – by means of using more and most in the comparative and superlative degrees: interesting – more interesting – most interesting.

Thus, the most important innovation in the adjective system in the ME period was the growth of analytical forms of the degrees of comparison.

The new system of comparisons emerged in ME, but the ground for it had already been prepared by the use of the OE adverbs mā, bet, betst, swīþor – 'more', 'better', 'to a greater degree' with adjectives and participles. In ME, when the phrases with ME more and most became more and more common, they were used with all kinds of adjectives, regardless of the number of syllables and were even preferred with mono- and disyllabic words.

2.3. The pronoun

In ME the number of classes of pronouns increased: reflexive and relative pronouns appeared and joined the already existing personal, demonstrative, interrogative and indefinite pronouns. Besides, substantial changes were under way within the classes of personal and demonstrative pronouns; the indefinite-personal pronoun men was replaced by a new pronoun one.

In OE all pronouns were declined, and the pronominal paradigm was very complicated. In ME the system was greatly simplified and nowadays what remained of the pronominal declension is mainly represented by the declension of the personal pronoun and on a small scale – demonstrative and interrogative (relative).

Case. The four-case system that existed in OE gave way to a two-case system. The genitive case as a form of a personal pronoun disappeared and merged with the possessive pronouns, retaining only its ability to express possessive meaning in the function of an attribute. The dative and accusative cases merged in one objective case. The development may be illustrated by the following scheme:

Personal pronouns

OE ME NE

Nom. Ic Nom. I Nom. I

Acc. me

Dat. mē Objective me Objective me

Gen. mīn

Possessive pronounsmine mine

Gender.As a grammatical phenomenon gender disappeared already in Middle English, the pronounshe andshe referring only to animate notions andit – to inanimate.

Number.The three number system that existed in Early Old English (singular, dual, plural) was substituted by a two number system already in Late Old English.

2.3.1. Personal and possessive pronouns

Personal pronouns had the following forms in ME:

Table 8.2