A Liturgical English Guide for Eastern Orthodox Worship Services

Rules for using traditional English 2nd-person forms

Thee/Thou	"Thou" is the nominative, or the form used where you would say "I" or "we" or "he" in spoken English: "I see *thee*, but *thou* seest me".
Ye/you	"Ye" is the plural nominative, "you" is the plural accusative: "We see *you*, but *ye* see us".
-est	The ending -est is used for the 2nd person singular: Thou giv-est.
-th	The ending -eth or -th is for 3rd person singular: He giv-eth.
Many people do not realize is that we can also use the modern "-es" for the 3rd person singular and not be going against what was accepted in the 17th century. Shakespeare uses both forms; "-es" was the Southern form, "-eth" was the Northern. Eventually the southern form won out in printed books and in the spoken language, but in the North of England the "-eth" ending survived in dialects up to modern times, and perhaps a few villagers still use it. In some places "-eth" does not sound right, even in church books. Thus for example Isobel Hapgood was in the habit of writing "the deacon goeth and taketh...", but for rubrics this sounds strange. Older and more "idiomatic" English texts would have said rather, "The deacon *shall go* and and *take*..." If we say "goes and takes" we are not guilty of modernism! Provided by Fr John Shaw

Personal Pronouns

 	case	First Person	Second Person	Third Person
Singular	Nominative	I	Thou	He,She,It
Singular	Accusative	Me	Thee	Him,Her,It
Plural	Nominative	We	Ye	They
Plural	Accusative	Us	You	Them

Possessive Pronouns

Singular

Position	First Person	Second Person	Third Person
Before a consonant	My	Thy	His,Hers,Its
Before a vowel	Mine	Thine	His,Hers,Its

Verb Conjugation Sample Conjugation: Infinitive: To work

Indicative: Present
Person	Singular	Plural
First	I work	We Work
Second	Thou workest	Ye work
Third	He worketh	They work
Past
First	I worked	We worked
Second	Thou workedst	Ye worked
Third	He worked	They worked
Future
First	I shall/will work	We shall/will work
Second	Thou wilt/shalt work	Ye will/shall work
Third	He will/shall work	They will/shall work
Imperative:
First	Let me work	Let us work
Second	Work thou	Work ye
Third	Let him work	Let them work

Note: Subjunctive mood and the participles coincide with modern English. The following verbs are completely irregular.

Infinitive: To have

Person	Singular	Plural
Indicative: Present
First	I have	We have
Second	Thou hast	Ye have
Third	He hath	They have
Past
First	I had	We had
Second	Thou hadst	Ye had
Third	He had	They had
Future
First	I shall/will have	We shall/will have
Second	Thou wilt/shalt have	Ye will/shall have
Third	He will/shall have	They will/shall have
Imperative:
First	Let me have	Let us have
Second	Have thou	Have ye
Third	Let him have	Let them have

Infinitive: To be

Indicative: Present
First	I am	We are
Second	Thou art	Ye are
Third	He is	They are
Past
First	I was	We were
Second	Thou wast	Ye were
Third	He was	They were
Future
First	I shall/will be	We shall/will be
Second	Thou wilt/shalt be	Ye will/shall be
Third	He will/shall be	They will/shall be
Imperative:
First	Let me be	Let us be
Second	Be thou	Be ye
Third	Let him be	Let them be
Subjunctive: Present
First	If I be	If we be
Second	If thou be	If ye be
Third	If he be	If they be
Past
First	If I were	If we were
Second	If thou wert	If ye were
Third	If he were	If they were

Based on William Cobbett, _Grammar of the English Language_, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1984 (first published 1819), and other sources. Provided by Stephen Shott