Neuter Nouns

 

Most neuter nouns decline like word or hof, by simply adding the endings as necessary.  This is true of about 91% of neuter nouns, including those with suffixes –en, -incel, -ett, and –lác.

 

Case / Number	the/that	this	singular	the/those	these	plural
nominative	þæt	þis	hof	þá	þás	hofu
genitive	þæs	þisses	hofes	þára	þissa	hofa
dative	þǽm	þissum	hofe	þǽm	þissum	hofum
instrumental	þý/þon	þýs/þís	hofe	þǽm	þissum	hofum
Accusative	þæt	þis	hof	þá	þás	hofu

 

NOTE: Nouns like fæt, with æ and one consonant at the end, change æ to a in the plural [fatu, fata, fatum]. 

NOTE: Nouns like word, with two consonants at the end, do not add -u in the plural [word, worda, wordum].  This covers about 68% of all neuter nouns

NOTE: Nouns like ár, which have a long vowel and one consonant, decline like word [ár, ára, árum]

NOTE: Nouns like gebed and clif, with an e or i in the stem, and a single consonant after, originally had a/o/u-umlaut in the plural [gebed:gebeodu, gebeoda, gebeodum]

NOTE: Nouns like holh drop the -h ending in inflected forms, and lengthen the vowel [hóles, holh].

NOTE: The words pleoh danger, þéoh thigh, and fláh fraud don’t add ending vowels in inflected cases.  So, in order, pleoh is [pléos, pléo; pl pléo, pléona, pléoum, pléo], þéoh is [þéos, þéo; pl þéo, þéona, þéoum, þéo], and fláh is [flás, flá; pl flá, flána, flám, flá].

NOTE: The word geat is irregular; singular [geat, geates, geate, geat]; plural [gatu, gata, gatum]

 

Grammar: Use the instrumental to tell by what something is done: he áswefede synnum his ealdorscipe he destroyed his eldership by sins.  Hé ríxað tornum he rules by grief.

 

VOCAB:

 

 

Pronouns

hit – it (nominative); pl híe – they

his – its (genitive); pl hira – their; (hiera, heora)

him – it (dative); pl him - them

hit – it (accusative); pl híe - them

 

 

Neuter Nouns that are also masculine

hord – treasure, hoard

 

Further Types of Neuter Nouns: Two-Syllable Nouns

 

Case / Number	the/that	this	singular	the/those	these	plural
nominative	þæt	þis	tungol	þá	þás	tungol
genitive	þæs	þisses	tungles	þára	þissa	tungla
dative	þǽm	þissum	tungle	þǽm	þissum	tunglum
instrumental	þý/þon	þýs/þís	tungle	þǽm	þissum	tunglum
Accusative	þæt	þis	tungol	þá	þás	tungol

 

NOTE: Nouns like tungol, ending in -ol, -en, -or with a long first syllable (short vowel + two consonants; long vowel + one consonant) syncopate (get rid of) the middle vowel in inflected cases (tungoles->tungles), and never add -u in the plural.

NOTE: Nouns like wæter, which have a short first syllable, do not syncopate and do not add -u in the plural.

NOTE: Nouns like héafod, having a long vowel and one consonant and a short second syllable add -u in the plural.  Such nouns include héafod, clíewen, mægden.

 

Further Study

-ing, -ling: Forms nouns denoting people from adjectives

-dóm: forms nouns denoting state, condition

-oð/-að: forms a gerund (-ing form) from a verb stem

 

Further Nouns to Study

 

Further Types of Neuter Nouns: Ending in U/W

 

Case / Number	the/that	this	singular	the/those	these	plural
nominative	þæt	þis	bealu	þá	þás	bealu
genitive	þæs	þisses	bealwes	þára	þissa	bealwa
dative	þǽm	þissum	bealwe	þǽm	þissum	bealwum
instrumental	þý/þon	þýs/þís	bealwe	þǽm	þissum	bealwum
Accusative	þæt	þis	bealu	þá	þás	bealu

 

NOTE: Nouns like bealu, ending in -u change it to w, then add the endings of word.  Note that the plural is uninflected like word.

NOTE: Nouns like cnéow, which end in w, act just like word.

 

Vocab:

Nature béow – barley melu – meal, flour meolu – meal, flour séaw – juice (originally masculine) stréaw – straw teoru – tar tréow - tree	Other bealu – evil gehlów – lowing, bellowing gehréow – lamentation hléow – protection, covering searu – device	Body Parts ancléow – ankle (originally masculine) cnéow – knee smeoru – fat
	Food cudu – cud cwudu  cud

 

Further Types of Neuter Nouns: Ending in E

 

Case / Number	the/that	this	singular	the/those	these	plural
nominative	þæt	þis	spere	þá	þás	speru
genitive	þæs	þisses	speres	þára	þissa	spera
dative	þǽm	þissum	spere	þǽm	þissum	sperum
instrumental	þý/þon	þýs/þís	spere	þǽm	þissum	sperum
Accusative	þæt	þis	spere	þá	þás	speru

 

Nouns like spere, which already end in e, do not add the e of the singular endings; in plural, the e is dropped, and the plural endings are added.

 

Nouns like flǽsc, which don't have a -u ending, are still declined like spere.

 

 

Vocab

 

 

Further Types of Neuter Nouns: Weak nouns

 

Case / Number	the/that	this	singular	the/those	these	plural
nominative	þæt	þis	éage	þá	þás	éagan
genitive	þæs	þisses	éagan	þára	þissa	éagena
dative	þǽm	þissum	éagan	þǽm	þissum	éagum
instrumental	þý/þon	þýs/þís	éagan	þǽm	þissum	éagum
Accusative	þæt	þis	éage	þá	þás	éagan

 

There are only 3 nouns like éage eye, including wange cheek, and éare ear.

 

Further Types of Neuter Nouns: Umlaut

 

Case / Number	the/that	this	singular	the/those	these	plural
nominative	þæt	þis	scrúd	þá	þás	scrúd
genitive	þæs	þisses	scrúdes	þára	þissa	scrúda
dative	þǽm	þissum	scrýd	þǽm	þissum	scrúdum
instrumental	þý/þon	þýs/þís	scrýd	þǽm	þissum	scrúdum
Accusative	þæt	þis	scrúd	þá	þás	scrúd

 

Only scrúd declines like this.  In late Old English, the dative became scrúde, making this noun like word in declension.

 

 

 

Further Types of Neuter Nouns: Ending in Þ

 

Case / Number	the/that	this	singular	the/those	these	plural
nominative	þæt	þis	ealu	þá	þás	ealoþ
genitive	þæs	þisses	ealoþ	þára	þissa	ealeða
dative	þǽm	þissum	ealoþ	þǽm	þissum	ealeðum
instrumental	þý/þon	þýs/þís	ealoþ	þǽm	þissum	ealeðum
Accusative	þæt	þis	ealu	þá	þás	ealoþ

 

Only ealu ale remains in this declension.  Only the genitive plural is recorded, but it would seem logical to have the above dative and nominative/accusative forms.

 

Further Types of Neuter Nouns: RU Plural

 

Case / Number	the/that	this	singular	the/those	these	plural
nominative	þæt	þis	cild	þá	þás	cildru
genitive	þæs	þisses	cildes	þára	þissa	cildra
dative	þǽm	þissum	cilde	þǽm	þissum	cildrum
instrumental	þý/þon	þýs/þís	cilde	þǽm	þissum	cildrum
Accusative	þæt	þis	cild	þá	þás	cildru

 

Nouns like cild child are: lamb lamb, cealf calf, ǽg egg, speld splinter, torch, and the plural bréadru crumbs.

 

 

Neuter Adjectives

 

There are two types of adjective declension: strong and weak.  Strong forms look like the endings of the definite article, and are used when there is no definite article to determine case.  Strong forms are used in the predicate (after wesan, weorðan) in the positive and superlative, and before a noun not preceded by þæt, þis, or mín.

Weak forms are used after þæt, þis, and possessive pronouns (mín, þín, his, hire, user, ure, etc.)

 

Case / Number	Singular		Plural
	strong	weak	strong	weak
nominative	blind	blinde	blind	blindan
genitive	blindes	blindan	blindra	blindra, blindena
dative	blindum	blindan	blindum	blindum
instrumental	blinde	blindan	blindum	blindum
Accusative	blind	blinde	blind	blindan

 

Adjectives declined for neuter nouns have no ending in the nominative and accusative, just like nouns.  The rest of the endings match almost exactly the endings of the article.  Notice the dative is always um, and the weak forms are always –an in the singular if the noun is not the subject.

Adjectives like blind are normal long-stems (those with a short vowel and more than one consonant, or a long vowel and one consonant), and include adjectives ending in the suffixes -cund, -feald, -fæst and -léas.

Adjectives ending in doubled consonants, like eall or dynn, simplify before other consonants (ealne, etc.)

Adjectives like glæd change æ to a before vowel endings (singular glæd, glades, gladum, glade, glædne; pl gladu, glædra, gladum, gladu), and keep the æ before consonant endings. Adjectives like glæd are bær, blæc, hræd, hwæt, læt, smæl, sæd, wær, any short stem adjective, and those ending in the suffixes –lic, -sum.  For adjectives, see the adjective lesson, lesson 4.

Adjectives ending in -e like wilde add -u in the plural

Adjectives ending in -u like gearu change the -u to w in inflected cases [gearu, gearwes, gearwe, gearu; gearu, gearora, gearwum, gearu]

Adjectives in two syllables act like manig act just like blind; adjectives like hálig add -u in the plural and syncopate in inflected cases.

 

Complete Vocabulary for Neuter Nouns:

VOCAB: