FREE ESSAY ON THE GENRE OF MUSIC

THE GENRE OF MUSIC

Lecture 4-11.1
Early Modern English Continued
Verbs:
Strong Verb Classes
1. Of the original seven classes of strong verbs - the number is greatly reduced, but
some of the classes remain remarkably stable; class I and III stand out as survivors.
2. The double past tense forms of strong verbs are leveled to one:
Thus old I sang and we sungen become I,we sang (have sung)
I rood, we riden become I,we rode (have riden)
2. The -en is used unevenly: hence forgotten but got and gotten
Weak Verb Classes
Great increase in the number of weak verbs, although some weak verbs took on strong forms
by analogy
dive - dived - dived --* dive - dove - dived
Personal Endings
The endings of -est and -eth become just -s for 3rd per pres ind by the end of the
period. Although in some sophisticated circle, such as Thomas Hobbes' philosophical text
Leviathan the -est endings remain. 
The thou forms reamin -est, -st in the present and -est, st in the past.
Conjugation of Irregular Verbs (to be and modals)
Always irregular, in Early Modern English, the forms of to be differed from contemporary
use only in the th- forms (thou art, thou wast and thou wert) and in the odd use of be
for plural present.
Rub a dub dub / Three men in a tub / And who do you think they be?
The powers that be.
2. The modals cause trouble: would and should are past tense version of will (variants of
will are wull and woll) and shall. Could was developed by adding an l on analogy with
would and should; otherwise, it should be coud.