Nouns
At a glance
The key differences between Early Middle English (eME) and Modern English (ModE):
- the posessive ending has no apostrophe: -(e)s (not -'s);
- the plural/possessive ending is always -es unless the noun ends in a vowel (in which case, it is simply -s);
- final <h> (/x/) in the singular becomes <g> (/ɣ/ or /ʝ/) in the plural/possessive;
- there are more irregular plurals than in ModE;
-es is the marker for plurals and possessives
Just as ModE marks plural nouns with a final -s or -es, so eME generally marked its plural nouns with -es. However, while in ModE, -es is only added to nouns that end in -s or -x, in eME -es was added to all nouns, except those which ended in a vowel. For example, where ModE has storms but foxes, eME has stormes and foxes. Note that the plurals of eME nose and scó are noses and scós. Because these end in a vowel, only -s is added.
Possessives were also generally marked with -es, rather than the ModE -'s. For example, where ModE has the man's finger, eME has þe mannes finger.
The following comparison of noun endings in ModE and eME reveals that the two barely differ:
| sg. | nom./acc./dat. | town |
|---|---|---|
| gen. (= poss.) | town's | |
| pl. | (all cases) | towns |
| sg. | nom./acc./dat. | tún |
|---|---|---|
| gen. | túnes | |
| pl. | (all cases) | túnes |
final <h>
Final <h> (/x/) in the singular becomes <g> (/ɣ/ or /ʝ/) when <es> is added in the plural/genitive, e.g. arh, bóh, burh, cróh, déh, farh, marh, sorh vs arges, bóges, burges, cróges, déges, farges, marges, sorges i.a.
Irregular plurals
ModE has a small number of irregular plurals which aren't formed by adding -(e)s: mice, lice, geese, feet, teeth, men, oxen, children, brethren, sheep, deer.
eME had these same irregular plurals, as well as a few more, which are highlighted in the table below1. There were four types of irregular plurals in eME, the first three of which are still found in ModE:
- plurals with internal vowel change;
- plurals in -(e)n;
- no plural ending (i.e. unchanged);
- plurals in -re;
| eME plural | eME singular | ModE plural | ModE singular |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. plurals with internal vowel change | |||
| mís | mús | mice | mouse |
| lís | lús | lice | louse |
| gés | gós | geese | goose |
| fét | fót | feet | foot |
| téþ | tóþ | teeth | tooth |
| men | man | men | man |
| wífmen | wífman | women | woman |
| kí | cú | cows | cow |
| gæt | gát | goats | goat |
| 2. plurals in -(e)n | |||
| oxen | oxe | oxen | ox |
| bén | bé | bees | bee |
| pisen | pise | peas | pea |
| égen | ége | eyes | eye |
| hosen | hose | hose (=tights/leggings) | hose leg |
| halgen | halge | hallows (saints) | hallow |
| beriᵹen | beriᵹ | berries | berry |
| tán | tá | toes | toe |
| (i)fán | (i)fá | foes | foe |
| 3. no plural ending (i.e. unchanged) | |||
| scép | scép | sheep | sheep |
| dér | dér | deer | deer |
| næt | næt | =beasts/oxen | =beast/ox |
| breþre2 | bróþer | brothers/brethren | brother |
| winter/wintre | winter | winters | winter |
| wunder | wunder | wonders (atrocities) | wonder |
| hors | hors | horses | horse |
| míl | míl | miles | mile |
| púnd3 | pund | pounds | pound |
| 4. plurals in -re | |||
| cildre | cíld | children | child |
| eᵹre | eᵹ | eggs | egg |
| lambre | lamb | lambs | lamb |
See also optional grammatical variations.
- for a full table with OE equivalents and examples from eME texts, see Irregular plurals at simplification of noun paradigms in eME;
- also bróþer and broþre derived from the standard OE plural forms; 3 forms?! - see the note re brōþer at the bottom of the irregular plurals table in simplification of noun paradigms in eME;
- in fact most units of measure for time or space lacked a plural marker;