LL-L: "Grammar" LOWLANDS-L, 18.JAN.2001 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 18.JAN.2001 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: john feather [johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk]
Subject: Grammar

Stefan wrote:

>!  "heaven" (heofon) had been masculine.  Did it become feminine
later?  But certainly all nouns have eventually taken genitive
-s (even in the plural of words without the -s plural: the mens'
stuff, the hippopotomi's dance).<

OE had "heofon" (masc.) and "heofone" (fem.). The ME text I quoted from (The
Ormulum - about the earliest ME we have) had "hefne", marked in the glossary
as fem., with genitive "hefness".

So that list members who don't have English as their mother tongue don't
start climbing the walls in despair at more irregularities in our grammar
and spelling, Stefan meant "men's" and "hippopotami's".

John Feather johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk

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