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
