Grammar

Question 1

Present participle in ME

Answer 1

Ends on -yng

Question 2

When is a verb strong in ME?

Answer 2

When it has a stem vowel change in past tense.

Strong past participles might end in -en like in Dutch.

Question 3

When is a verb weak in ME?

Answer 3

When it has a -t or -d suffix (even if it had a stemvowel change) in past tense

Question 4

When is an adjective strong in ME?

Answer 4

Do not add -e. All adjectives add -e in the plural form. Can be modified by an indefinite article (a).

Question 5

When is an adjective weak in ME?

Answer 5

Add -e after definite articles, genitives, and before nouns in the vocative case

Vocative case = direct address; “O blinde world!”)

All adjectives add -e in the plural form.

Question 6

Long closed e

Answer 6

PDE words spekt either e or ee (he, see, speech, meet).

Question 7

Long open e

Answer 7

PDE words spelt either like break, learned, or either words that contain ‘ea’ in PDE translation.

Question 8

Long closed o

Answer 8

Look at the pronunciation in PDE; mood /u:/, good /hoef/, blood /^/.

Question 9

Long open o

Answer 9

Words such as boat, goat, holy.

Question 10

Demonstratives

Answer 10

That = that
Tho = those
This = this
Thise/these = these
Ilke/thilke = ‘the same’ but best translated as ‘that’
Yon = yonder
Hym = that (that Darys)

Question 11

What is a context in which this/thise may be used by Chaucer?

Answer 11

Instances where the demonstrative is used to refer to a person/group who have not been previously mentioned.

Question 12

Three noun inflexions in ME

Answer 12

-es and -s

Sometimes used -is and -ys

Plurals are formed by adding -z

Question 13

When is it common to find nouns without inflexions?

Answer 13

After number

Question 14

Mutated plural

Answer 14

Goose > geese
Foot > feet

Question 15

Cases and their grammatical function

Answer 15

Nominative = subject
Accusative = direct object
Genitive = possessive (‘s)
Dative = indirect object

Question 16

Monotransitive

Answer 16

Only a direct object in a sentence.

Question 17

Direct object

Answer 17

Direct object and indirect in a sentence.

Question 18

What is the subclass of weak verbs?

Answer 18

When you thinks verb is both weak and strong, it is weak. So if it ends in a dental suffix in both ways.

Question 19

What kind of moods are there for verbs?

Answer 19

1. Subjunctive mood
2. Imperative mood
3. Indicative mood

Question 20

Subjunctive mood and inflexions

Answer 20

Used when expressing;
1. Doubt
2. Desire
3. Hypothetical situations (not necessarily real)

But also appears in subordinate clauses introduced by words such as; if, though, lest, whether.

Inflexions: base of the verb, similar to present tense, so a final -e or -en

Question 21

Imperative mood and inflexions

Answer 21

Used when;
1. Commands
2. Request
3. Offer advice
4. To address someone directly

Inflexions: uses whole form of the verb for affirmative commands, such as “love me!”. In plural, add -th.

Question 22

(Third person singular of the present) indicative mood

Answer 22

1. He, she, it
2. Verbs in third p. singular often end in -eth, -th, -es (loveth, maketh)

Facts!

Question 23

Dangerous

Answer 23

Difficult, aloof (distant)

Question 24

Therto

Answer 24

Moreover

Question 25

Er

Answer 25

Before

Question 26

How can the emphasis on the negative particle (ne…) be enlarged?

Answer 26

Through its position: 1. Before a verb 2. Adding stress through metre

Question 27

What is a phrasal verb?

Answer 27

A verb that consists of two elements E.g. **sit down**, **stand up**

Question 28

Possible verb types in ME

Answer 28

1. Strong: speken, spak 2. Weak: kissen, kisste 3. Irregular: be, was

Question 29

Possible cases in ME

Answer 29

1. Nominative (Subject) 2. Accusative (DO) 3. Genitive (Possessive) 4. Dative (IO)

Question 30

Possible verb forms in ME

Answer 30

Infinitive, participle

Question 31

When is ‘who’ used in Chaucer?

Answer 31

Only used as interrogative questions.

Question 32

What inflexions did Chaucer use for his adverbs?

Answer 32

-ly -e -liche(e)

Question 33

What functions does the discourse marker *lo* have in Chaucer’s language?

Answer 33

Used to draw attention to what’s going to be said next.

Question 34

Nam (negation)

Answer 34

Ne + am Am not

Question 35

Nas (negation)

Answer 35

Ne + was Was not

Question 36

Nyste (negation)

Answer 36

Ne + wiste Knew not, did not know

Question 37

Nolde (negation)

Answer 37

Ne + Wolde Would not, did not want to

Question 38

How are questions formed in ME compared to PDE?

Answer 38

ME questions are typically formed using a combination of word order, verb inflection and context. At times, the verb comes before the subject to indicate a question. PDE relies on auxiliary verbs (“do”) and specific word order.

Question 39

Impersonal verb construction

Answer 39

Lacks a subject

Question 40

Most common word order in ME

Answer 40

S-O-V But can also be S-V O-V-S V-S-O

Question 41

Relative pronouns difference PDE and ME (who, which, that)

Answer 41

PDE Who: humans Which: inanimate objects That: neutral, both humans and inanimate objects ME Who: only functions as interrogative pronoun Which: both inanimate and animate objects (most common) That: also for both

Question 42

Why is <-e> a problem when distinguishing a weak verb or an adverb?

Answer 42

It confuses whether a word is an adjective or adverb, so then look at context.

Question 43

When does the inversion of the subject and verb occur in ME? And which word class triggers inversion? Examples?

Answer 43

In questions, negation and negative sentences. Adverbs trigger inversion, such as “thus” and “now”.

Question 44

-eth

Answer 44

Characteristic of the third person singular in the present tense (in ME).

Question 45

Infinitive / Participle

Answer 45

The infinitive is the base form of a verb with to. A participle is a verb that ends in -ing (present participle) or -ed, -d, -t, -en, -n (past participle).

Question 46

Parsing

Answer 46

Person, number, participle/infinitive, tense, mood, strong/weak/irregular

Question 47

Thou vs. ye

Answer 47

**Thou**: Informal pronoun, used in friendly relationships; Lord to servant, old to young. Expresses lack of respect, also used for addressing God because he is a friend! **Ye**: Formal pronoun, to show respect, to keep distance, common pronoun between spouses. Used for and by Pagan gods.

Question 48

Linguistic variation

Answer 48

Coexistence of different spelling variants in the Chaucer’s London dialect, which was a result of massive immigration. Because of that, the London dialect was influenced by speech patterns, morphology and phonology from other regional dialects. • Rhyming purposes • Spelling variants can be used to fit rhyme pattern • Typifying some characters (Reeve’s Tale)

Question 49

Direct object - indirect object

Answer 49

**DO** Received action, effect of the verb. What or whom? **IO** For what or whom?