Old English to Early Middle English

at a glance

Comparing Early Middle English (eME) to Old English (OE), we notice three key differences:

1. old Norse words have entered the vocabulary;
2. the noun and adjective paradigms have been drastically reduced, and differ little from those of ModE;
3. assimilation of present tense forms has taken place in the verb paradigms.

• Sound and spelling changes
• Simplification of Noun paradigms
• Simplification of Verb paradigms
• Reduction of Adjectival declension