Translating Shakespeare
anheropl0x at GMAIL.COM
anheropl0x at GMAIL.COM
Tue Oct 22 21:10:32 UTC 2013
I know the conjugation and meaning. I was just wondering if they really were interchangeable or if there are instances where one is preferred over the other.
---In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, <gothic-l at yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Old English had two verbs which correspond to ModE 'to be', to wit, 'beon' and 'wesan'. 'Bith' is the third person sg. present indicative form of 'beon'. The latter verb was used especially to indicate a universal truth or habitual condition, or also futurity. The 'wesan'-counterpart here is 'is' (whence ModE 'is'). The full paradigm for the present indicative is:
beon:
ic beo
thu bist
he bith
we beoth
ge beoth
hi beoth
wesan:
ic eom
thu eart
he is
we sind(on)
ge sind(on)
hi sind(on)
In the example sent, 'bith' could easily be replaced with 'is', as the two forms are not mutually exclusive.
Edmund
---In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, <gothic-l at yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Is biþ the exact same as is, or is it subjunctive or something? I admit, I know next to nothing about OE.
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