when did things like “thou canst” go?
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I'm reading Kim and there are many lines like "Canst thou?".
Seems this is a conjugation of verbs on the 2nd person pronoun.
Nowadays seems English only has conjugation on the 3rd person pronoun. Was there conjugation on other person pronouns? and when did such conjugation go away?
conjugation
asked Nov 25 at 3:33
athos
357419
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
I'm reading Kim and there are many lines like "Canst thou?".
Seems this is a conjugation of verbs on the 2nd person pronoun.
Nowadays seems English only has conjugation on the 3rd person pronoun. Was there conjugation on other person pronouns? and when did such conjugation go away?
conjugation
asked Nov 25 at 3:33
athos
357419
2
Thou couldst argue that we still have conjugation on the 2nd person singular (familiar) pronoun thou. We just never use thou, as it has been replaced by the 2nd person plural pronoun you.
– Peter Shor
Nov 25 at 3:35
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English#Verbs
– RegDwigнt♦
Nov 25 at 3:37
3
See What happened to the “‑est” and “‑eth” verb suffixes in English? Also closely related are Why did the old pronouns and their respective endings vanish from daily usage? and Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
– choster
2 days ago
2
@PeterShor Unfortunately, thou couldst also argue that any such lingering conjugation is broken beyond repair – most people, after all, seem to think that ‘thou doth’ and ‘thy wrecketh’ (or even more commonly, ‘thy wreck’) are perfect examples of old-timey English verb forms. :-/
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 days ago
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
I'm reading Kim and there are many lines like "Canst thou?".
Seems this is a conjugation of verbs on the 2nd person pronoun.
Nowadays seems English only has conjugation on the 3rd person pronoun. Was there conjugation on other person pronouns? and when did such conjugation go away?
conjugation
asked Nov 25 at 3:33
athos
357419
I'm reading Kim and there are many lines like "Canst thou?".
Seems this is a conjugation of verbs on the 2nd person pronoun.
Nowadays seems English only has conjugation on the 3rd person pronoun. Was there conjugation on other person pronouns? and when did such conjugation go away?
conjugation
conjugation
asked Nov 25 at 3:33
athos
357419
asked Nov 25 at 3:33
athos
357419
asked Nov 25 at 3:33
athos
357419
asked Nov 25 at 3:33
athos
357419
asked Nov 25 at 3:33
athos
357419
357419
2
Thou couldst argue that we still have conjugation on the 2nd person singular (familiar) pronoun thou. We just never use thou, as it has been replaced by the 2nd person plural pronoun you.
– Peter Shor
Nov 25 at 3:35
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English#Verbs
– RegDwigнt♦
Nov 25 at 3:37
3
See What happened to the “‑est” and “‑eth” verb suffixes in English? Also closely related are Why did the old pronouns and their respective endings vanish from daily usage? and Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
– choster
2 days ago
2
@PeterShor Unfortunately, thou couldst also argue that any such lingering conjugation is broken beyond repair – most people, after all, seem to think that ‘thou doth’ and ‘thy wrecketh’ (or even more commonly, ‘thy wreck’) are perfect examples of old-timey English verb forms. :-/
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 days ago
add a comment |
2
Thou couldst argue that we still have conjugation on the 2nd person singular (familiar) pronoun thou. We just never use thou, as it has been replaced by the 2nd person plural pronoun you.
– Peter Shor
Nov 25 at 3:35
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English#Verbs
– RegDwigнt♦
Nov 25 at 3:37
3
See What happened to the “‑est” and “‑eth” verb suffixes in English? Also closely related are Why did the old pronouns and their respective endings vanish from daily usage? and Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
– choster
2 days ago
2
@PeterShor Unfortunately, thou couldst also argue that any such lingering conjugation is broken beyond repair – most people, after all, seem to think that ‘thou doth’ and ‘thy wrecketh’ (or even more commonly, ‘thy wreck’) are perfect examples of old-timey English verb forms. :-/
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 days ago
2
2
Thou couldst argue that we still have conjugation on the 2nd person singular (familiar) pronoun thou. We just never use thou, as it has been replaced by the 2nd person plural pronoun you.
– Peter Shor
Nov 25 at 3:35
Thou couldst argue that we still have conjugation on the 2nd person singular (familiar) pronoun thou. We just never use thou, as it has been replaced by the 2nd person plural pronoun you.
– Peter Shor
Nov 25 at 3:35
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English#Verbs
– RegDwigнt♦
Nov 25 at 3:37
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English#Verbs
– RegDwigнt♦
Nov 25 at 3:37
3
3
See What happened to the “‑est” and “‑eth” verb suffixes in English? Also closely related are Why did the old pronouns and their respective endings vanish from daily usage? and Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
– choster
2 days ago
See What happened to the “‑est” and “‑eth” verb suffixes in English? Also closely related are Why did the old pronouns and their respective endings vanish from daily usage? and Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
– choster
2 days ago
2
2
@PeterShor Unfortunately, thou couldst also argue that any such lingering conjugation is broken beyond repair – most people, after all, seem to think that ‘thou doth’ and ‘thy wrecketh’ (or even more commonly, ‘thy wreck’) are perfect examples of old-timey English verb forms. :-/
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 days ago
@PeterShor Unfortunately, thou couldst also argue that any such lingering conjugation is broken beyond repair – most people, after all, seem to think that ‘thou doth’ and ‘thy wrecketh’ (or even more commonly, ‘thy wreck’) are perfect examples of old-timey English verb forms. :-/
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 days ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
4
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Kipling uses 'thee and thou' to indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular.
Like many other languages, English used to have a second person singular which was used in speaking to intimates and to people considered to be of lower status (and, strangely, to God). Gradually, we began to use the form 'you' for everyone. However, the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, which both use 'thee and thou', remained in use from the 17th to the mid-20th century, when they began to be replaced by modern language versions.
answered Nov 25 at 9:17
Kate Bunting
5,05421313
Is there some systematic review on the use and change of thee and thou in English?
– athos
Nov 25 at 9:19
+1 And one more for the excellent point: "indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular." Some references/ citations for the chronology would have been in order, though.
– Kris
Nov 25 at 10:25
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
4
down vote
Kipling uses 'thee and thou' to indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular.
Like many other languages, English used to have a second person singular which was used in speaking to intimates and to people considered to be of lower status (and, strangely, to God). Gradually, we began to use the form 'you' for everyone. However, the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, which both use 'thee and thou', remained in use from the 17th to the mid-20th century, when they began to be replaced by modern language versions.
answered Nov 25 at 9:17
Kate Bunting
5,05421313
Is there some systematic review on the use and change of thee and thou in English?
– athos
Nov 25 at 9:19
+1 And one more for the excellent point: "indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular." Some references/ citations for the chronology would have been in order, though.
– Kris
Nov 25 at 10:25
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
Kipling uses 'thee and thou' to indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular.
Like many other languages, English used to have a second person singular which was used in speaking to intimates and to people considered to be of lower status (and, strangely, to God). Gradually, we began to use the form 'you' for everyone. However, the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, which both use 'thee and thou', remained in use from the 17th to the mid-20th century, when they began to be replaced by modern language versions.
answered Nov 25 at 9:17
Kate Bunting
5,05421313
Is there some systematic review on the use and change of thee and thou in English?
– athos
Nov 25 at 9:19
+1 And one more for the excellent point: "indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular." Some references/ citations for the chronology would have been in order, though.
– Kris
Nov 25 at 10:25
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
up vote
4
down vote
Kipling uses 'thee and thou' to indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular.
Like many other languages, English used to have a second person singular which was used in speaking to intimates and to people considered to be of lower status (and, strangely, to God). Gradually, we began to use the form 'you' for everyone. However, the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, which both use 'thee and thou', remained in use from the 17th to the mid-20th century, when they began to be replaced by modern language versions.
answered Nov 25 at 9:17
Kate Bunting
5,05421313
Kipling uses 'thee and thou' to indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular.
Like many other languages, English used to have a second person singular which was used in speaking to intimates and to people considered to be of lower status (and, strangely, to God). Gradually, we began to use the form 'you' for everyone. However, the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, which both use 'thee and thou', remained in use from the 17th to the mid-20th century, when they began to be replaced by modern language versions.
answered Nov 25 at 9:17
Kate Bunting
5,05421313
answered Nov 25 at 9:17
Kate Bunting
5,05421313
answered Nov 25 at 9:17
Kate Bunting
5,05421313
answered Nov 25 at 9:17
Kate Bunting
5,05421313
5,05421313
Is there some systematic review on the use and change of thee and thou in English?
– athos
Nov 25 at 9:19
+1 And one more for the excellent point: "indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular." Some references/ citations for the chronology would have been in order, though.
– Kris
Nov 25 at 10:25
add a comment |
Is there some systematic review on the use and change of thee and thou in English?
– athos
Nov 25 at 9:19
+1 And one more for the excellent point: "indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular." Some references/ citations for the chronology would have been in order, though.
– Kris
Nov 25 at 10:25
Is there some systematic review on the use and change of thee and thou in English?
– athos
Nov 25 at 9:19
Is there some systematic review on the use and change of thee and thou in English?
– athos
Nov 25 at 9:19
+1 And one more for the excellent point: "indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular." Some references/ citations for the chronology would have been in order, though.
– Kris
Nov 25 at 10:25
+1 And one more for the excellent point: "indicate that the conversation would have been in an Indian language which has a second person singular." Some references/ citations for the chronology would have been in order, though.
– Kris
Nov 25 at 10:25
add a comment |
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Thou couldst argue that we still have conjugation on the 2nd person singular (familiar) pronoun thou. We just never use thou, as it has been replaced by the 2nd person plural pronoun you.
– Peter Shor
Nov 25 at 3:35
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English#Verbs
– RegDwigнt♦
Nov 25 at 3:37
3
See What happened to the “‑est” and “‑eth” verb suffixes in English? Also closely related are Why did the old pronouns and their respective endings vanish from daily usage? and Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
– choster
2 days ago
2
@PeterShor Unfortunately, thou couldst also argue that any such lingering conjugation is broken beyond repair – most people, after all, seem to think that ‘thou doth’ and ‘thy wrecketh’ (or even more commonly, ‘thy wreck’) are perfect examples of old-timey English verb forms. :-/
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 days ago