it → hit – the third person neuter pronoun: "it", "its" and the "it" of weather and happening
What does "it" mean in Old English, in "it is good", "I see it", "it rained" or "the house did not fall, for it was built on stone"?
The Old English word is hit (pronounced /hit/, like Modern English "hit"). It is the neuter member of the third person pronoun, the sister of hē (he) and hēo (she). Modern English "it" is the same word: the initial h- was lost in unstressed speech during the Middle English period, and the form without it became the standard.
But Old English hit does not do quite the same job as Modern English "it". Modern English chooses its pronoun by natural gender: people are "he" or "she", and almost everything else is "it". Old English chooses by grammatical gender. Every noun is masculine, feminine or neuter, and the pronoun follows the noun, not the thing. Hit stands for a neuter noun: þæt hūs (the house), þæt sċip (the ship), þæt land (the land), þæt word (the word), þæt gold (the gold), þæt ǣġ (the egg). It also stands for the neuter nouns for young people and some words for women — þæt ċild (the child), þæt bearn (the child), þæt wīf (the woman) — where Modern English would never say "it". And the masculine noun se stān (the stone) or the feminine noun sēo bōc (the book) is not hit at all, but hē and hēo.
Like the other personal pronouns, hit declines for case. Its forms are hit (nominative and accusative), his (genitive) and him (dative). The genitive his is the Old English for "its": the word "its" did not exist until the late sixteenth century, which is why the King James Bible still writes "if the salt have lost his savour".
Finally, hit serves as an empty subject, as "it" does in Modern English: Þā rīnde hit "then it rained" (West Saxon Gospels, Matthew 7:27), Hit ġelamp þæt… "it happened that…". This use, already established in Old English, is the direct ancestor of "it is raining" and "it happened that".
A note on spelling: the dots in ċ and ġ are a modern teaching convention, not part of the manuscripts. They mark the palatal sounds: ċ = /tʃ/ as in "church", ġ = /j/ as in "yes". The manuscripts write plain c and g. Late West Saxon texts often spell the word hyt.
FAQ: What does "it" mean in Old English?
Q: How do you say "it" in Old English? A: "It" is hit /hit/. It refers to neuter nouns and is used as the empty subject of weather and happening ("hit rīnde", "it rained"). Its genitive his means "its", and its dative him means "to it" or, after a preposition, "it".
Q: Is everything that is "it" in Modern English "hit" in Old English? A: No. Only a neuter noun takes hit. A masculine noun takes hē (se stān… hē "the stone… it"), a feminine noun takes hēo (sēo sunne… hēo "the sun… it").
Key Takeaways
✦ Hit is the neuter third person pronoun, the ancestor of Modern English "it"
✦ Its forms are hit (NOM and ACC), his (GEN, "its") and him (DAT)
✦ Hit follows grammatical gender: it replaces neuter nouns such as hūs, sċip, ċild and wīf, but not masculine or feminine ones
✦ Hit is the empty subject of weather and events: Þā rīnde hit, Hit ġelamp þæt…
✦ The modern "its" did not yet exist: Old English says his
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hit /hit/ — h as in Modern English "hat", short i as in "sit". Always pronounce the h: it is a full consonant.
his /his/ — rhymes with Modern English "kiss". The final s is voiceless /s/, never /z/ as in Modern English "his".
him /him/ — exactly like Modern English "him".
hē /heː/ — long e, like "hay" held without the glide. hēo /heːo/ — long e gliding to o.
hīe /hiːe/ — the plural "they / them", for all three genders.
The Third Person Pronoun
Singular masculine: Nominative hē (he) · Accusative hine (him) · Genitive his (his) · Dative him (to him)
Singular feminine: Nominative hēo (she) · Accusative hīe (her) · Genitive hire (her) · Dative hire (to her)
Singular neuter: Nominative hit (it) · Accusative hit (it) · Genitive his (its) · Dative him (to it)
Plural, all genders: Nominative hīe (they) · Accusative hīe (them) · Genitive hiera / heora (their) · Dative him / heom (to them)
Note that the neuter differs from the masculine only in the nominative and the accusative: his and him are shared.
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10.1a Hit it is is gōd good
10.1b Hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES gōd /ɡoːd/ good
10.2a Hit it is is mīn mine
10.2b Hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES mīn /miːn/ mine
10.3a Iċ I ġesēo see hit it
10.3b Iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM ġesēo /jeˈseːo/ see-1SG.PRES hit /hit/ it-ACC.N.SG
10.4a Hit it rīnde rained
10.4b Hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG(EMPTY) rīnde /ˈriːnde/ rained-3SG.PRET
10.5a Hwǣr where is is hit it
10.5b Hwǣr /hwæːr/ where is /is/ is-3SG.PRES hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG
10.6a Þæt the sċip ship is is miċel big and and hit it is is strang strong
10.6b Þæt /θæt/ the-NOM.N.SG sċip /ʃip/ ship-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES miċel /ˈmitʃel/ big and /ɑnd/ and hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES strang /strɑŋɡ/ strong
10.7a Þæt the ċild child slǣpþ sleeps and and hit it is is stille quiet
10.7b Þæt /θæt/ the-NOM.N.SG ċild /tʃild/ child-NOM.N.SG slǣpþ /slæːpθ/ sleeps-3SG.PRES and /ɑnd/ and hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES stille /ˈstille/ quiet
10.8a Iċ I hæbbe have þæt the sweord sword and and iċ I lufie love hit it
10.8b Iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM hæbbe /ˈhæbbe/ have-1SG.PRES þæt /θæt/ the-ACC.N.SG sweord /sweord/ sword-ACC.N.SG and /ɑnd/ and iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM lufie /ˈluvie/ love-1SG.PRES hit /hit/ it-ACC.N.SG
10.9a Þæt the hors horse is is snell swift his its fēt feet sind are strange strong
10.9b Þæt /θæt/ the-NOM.N.SG hors /hors/ horse-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES snell /snell/ swift his /his/ its-GEN.N.SG fēt /feːt/ feet-NOM.PL.M sind /sind/ are-3PL.PRES strange /ˈstrɑŋɡe/ strong-NOM.PL
10.10a Þæt the ċild child wēpþ weeps and and sēo the mōdor mother singþ sings him to-it
10.10b Þæt /θæt/ the-NOM.N.SG ċild /tʃild/ child-NOM.N.SG wēpþ /weːpθ/ weeps-3SG.PRES and /ɑnd/ and sēo /seːo/ the-NOM.F.SG mōdor /ˈmoːdor/ mother-NOM.F.SG singþ /siŋɡθ/ sings-3SG.PRES him /him/ it-DAT.N.SG
10.11a Hit it ġelamp happened þæt that se the cyning king cōm came
10.11b Hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG(EMPTY) ġelamp /jeˈlɑmp/ happened-3SG.PRET þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ se /se/ the-NOM.M.SG cyning /ˈkyniŋɡ/ king-NOM.M.SG cōm /koːm/ came-3SG.PRET
10.12a Þæt the word word is is sōþ true for for þǣm that þe which hit it cōm came of from Gode God
10.12b Þæt /θæt/ the-NOM.N.SG word /word/ word-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES sōþ /soːθ/ true for /for/ for þǣm /θæːm/ that-DAT.N.SG þe /θe/ which-REL hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG cōm /koːm/ came-3SG.PRET of /of/ from Gode /ˈɡode/ God-DAT.M.SG
10.13a God God ġeseah saw þā then þæt that hit it gōd good wæs was
10.13b God /ɡod/ God-NOM.M.SG ġeseah /jeˈsæɑx/ saw-3SG.PRET þā /θaː/ then þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG gōd /ɡoːd/ good wæs /wæs/ was-3SG.PRET
10.14a Nān no mann man ne not mæġ can hit it ġebētan mend
10.14b Nān /naːn/ no-NOM.M.SG mann /mɑnn/ man-NOM.M.SG ne /ne/ not mæġ /mæj/ can-3SG.PRES hit /hit/ it-ACC.N.SG ġebētan /jeˈbeːtɑn/ mend-INF
10.15a Ġif if þū you þæt the gold gold findest find bring bring hit it mē to-me
10.15b Ġif /jif/ if þū /θuː/ you-NOM.SG þæt /θæt/ the-ACC.N.SG gold /ɡold/ gold-ACC.N.SG findest /ˈfindest/ find-2SG.PRES bring /briŋɡ/ bring-IMP.SG hit /hit/ it-ACC.N.SG mē /meː/ me-DAT.SG
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10.1 Hit is gōd. → "It is good."
10.2 Hit is mīn. → "It is mine."
10.3 Iċ ġesēo hit. → "I see it."
10.4 Hit rīnde. → "It rained."
10.5 Hwǣr is hit? → "Where is it?"
10.6 Þæt sċip is miċel, and hit is strang. → "The ship is big, and it is strong."
10.7 Þæt ċild slǣpþ, and hit is stille. → "The child is sleeping, and it is quiet."
10.8 Iċ hæbbe þæt sweord, and iċ lufie hit. → "I have the sword, and I love it."
10.9 Þæt hors is snell; his fēt sind strange. → "The horse is swift; its feet are strong."
10.10 Þæt ċild wēpþ, and sēo mōdor singþ him. → "The child is crying, and the mother sings to it."
10.11 Hit ġelamp þæt se cyning cōm. → "It happened that the king came."
10.12 Þæt word is sōþ, for þǣm þe hit cōm of Gode. → "The word is true, because it came from God."
10.13 God ġeseah þā þæt hit gōd wæs. → "God saw then that it was good." (Old English Heptateuch, Genesis 1)
10.14 Nān mann ne mæġ hit ġebētan. → "No one can mend it."
10.15 Ġif þū þæt gold findest, bring hit mē. → "If you find the gold, bring it to me."
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10.1 Hit is gōd.
10.2 Hit is mīn.
10.3 Iċ ġesēo hit.
10.4 Hit rīnde.
10.5 Hwǣr is hit?
10.6 Þæt sċip is miċel, and hit is strang.
10.7 Þæt ċild slǣpþ, and hit is stille.
10.8 Iċ hæbbe þæt sweord, and iċ lufie hit.
10.9 Þæt hors is snell; his fēt sind strange.
10.10 Þæt ċild wēpþ, and sēo mōdor singþ him.
10.11 Hit ġelamp þæt se cyning cōm.
10.12 Þæt word is sōþ, for þǣm þe hit cōm of Gode.
10.13 God ġeseah þā þæt hit gōd wæs.
10.14 Nān mann ne mæġ hit ġebētan.
10.15 Ġif þū þæt gold findest, bring hit mē.
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These are the grammar rules for hit (it) in Old English:
1. The Forms of hit
Nominative: hit — the subject: "Hit is gōd" (10.1).
Accusative: hit — the direct object, the same form as the nominative: "Iċ ġesēo hit" (10.3), "Iċ lufie hit" (10.8).
Genitive: his — "its": "his fēt" (10.9), "his hryre" (Section F). The neuter genitive is identical with the masculine his.
Dative: him — "to it", "for it", and the object of prepositions such as mid (with) and of (from): "sēo mōdor singþ him" (10.10), "mid him" (10.29). The neuter dative is identical with the masculine him and with the plural him.
The plural of hit is the plural of the whole pronoun: hīe (they, them), hiera / heora (their), him / heom (to them). Old English has no separate neuter plural pronoun.
2. Grammatical Gender Decides the Pronoun
The pronoun repeats the gender of the noun it replaces:
Neuter noun → hit: "Þæt sċip is miċel, and hit is strang" (10.6). "Þæt ċild slǣpþ, and hit is stille" (10.7).
Masculine noun → hē: "Se stān is heard, and hē is grēat" — "The stone is hard, and it is big."
Feminine noun → hēo: "Sēo bōc is eald, and hēo is hālig" — "The book is old, and it is holy."
The quickest guide is the article: a noun used with þæt takes hit, a noun used with se takes hē, a noun used with sēo takes hēo. The neuter nouns ċild, bearn (child) and wīf (woman) take hit by grammar, although in the texts natural gender sometimes wins and a woman is hēo.
3. The Empty hit
With verbs of weather and of happening, hit is a grammatical subject with no meaning of its own: "Hit rīnde" (10.4), "Þā rīnde hit" (Matthew 7:27), "Hit ġelamp þæt se cyning cōm" (10.11). Here hit looks forward to the event or the clause that follows. Old English can also leave such verbs without any subject at all, but the construction with hit is the one that survived into Modern English.
4. Word Order
As an object, hit often stands before the verb that governs it: "Nān mann ne mæġ hit ġebētan" (10.14), literally "no man not can it mend". After þā (then) and in questions, the verb comes before the subject: "Þā rīnde hit", "Lifaþ hit?" (10.21).
Common Mistakes
✦ Using hit for every thing: Incorrect "Se stān… hit is heard." Correct "Se stān… hē is heard." The stone is masculine.
✦ Writing a Modern English "its": there is no such word. Incorrect "*its fēt". Correct "his fēt" (10.9).
✦ Using hit after a preposition that takes the dative: Incorrect "mid hit". Correct "mid him" (10.29).
✦ Dropping the h: the form is hit /hit/, not it; the h is always pronounced.
✦ Using hit for a plural: Incorrect "Þā sċipu… hit sind strang." Correct "Þā sċipu… hīe sind strange."
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Frequency and Register
Hit is among the commonest words in Old English prose, in every register: law, homily, chronicle and Gospel translation. Its forms carry no stylistic colour; they are part of the bare machinery of the language.
The Loss of h-
In Old English the h of hit was a full consonant. In unstressed speech it was easily lost, and by the end of the Middle English period the form "it" had become standard in the written language, though "hit" survived in Scots and in some English dialects. Modern English "hit" (to strike) is an unrelated word, borrowed from Old Norse hitta.
The Arrival of "its"
Because Old English his served for both "his" and "its", English writers continued to use "his" of things for centuries. The Wycliffite Bible, the Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible all use "his" where we say "its". The form "its" first appears at the very end of the sixteenth century and spreads in the seventeenth. A learner who reads his after a neuter noun in an Old English text should translate "its".
From Grammatical to Natural Gender
The great change in English pronouns between the Old and Middle English periods is that hē, hēo and hit stopped following grammatical gender and began to follow natural gender. A Saxon called the sun hēo and the moon hē, because sunne is feminine and mōna masculine. When the endings that showed gender wore away, the pronouns were reassigned by sense, and "it" became the pronoun of all things.
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From the West Saxon Gospels, Matthew 7:25 and 7:27: the parable of the wise and foolish builders. The text is normalized, with macrons and dotted letters added for the learner.
The parable begins (7:24): "Ǣlċ þǣra þe þās mīne word ġehȳrþ, and þā wyrcþ, biþ ġelīċ þām wīsan were, se his hūs ofer stān ġetimbrode." — "Each of those who hears these words of mine and does them is like the wise man who built his house on stone." The neuter noun hūs is then picked up by hit.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
7:25a Þā then cōm came þǣr there rēn rain and and myċel great flōd flood and and þǣr there blēowon blew windas winds and and āhruron fell on on þæt the hūs house and and hit it nā never ne not fēoll fell sōþlīċe truly hit it wæs was ofer on stān stone ġetimbrod built
7:25b Þā /θaː/ then cōm /koːm/ came-3SG.PRET þǣr /θæːr/ there rēn /reːn/ rain-NOM.M.SG and /ɑnd/ and myċel /ˈmytʃel/ great-NOM.SG flōd /floːd/ flood-NOM.SG and /ɑnd/ and þǣr /θæːr/ there blēowon /ˈbleːowon/ blew-3PL.PRET windas /ˈwindɑs/ winds-NOM.PL.M and /ɑnd/ and āhruron /aːˈhruron/ fell-upon-3PL.PRET on /on/ on þæt /θæt/ the-ACC.N.SG hūs /huːs/ house-ACC.N.SG and /ɑnd/ and hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG nā /naː/ never ne /ne/ not fēoll /feːoll/ fell-3SG.PRET sōþlīċe /ˈsoːθliːtʃe/ truly hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG wæs /wæs/ was-3SG.PRET ofer /ˈover/ on stān /staːn/ stone-ACC.M.SG ġetimbrod /jeˈtimbrod/ built-PAST.PTCP
7:27a Þā then rīnde rained hit it and and þǣr there cōm came flōd flood and and blēowon blew windas winds and and āhruron fell on on þæt the hūs house and and þæt the hūs house fēoll fell and and his its hryre fall wæs was myċel great
7:27b Þā /θaː/ then rīnde /ˈriːnde/ rained-3SG.PRET hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG(EMPTY) and /ɑnd/ and þǣr /θæːr/ there cōm /koːm/ came-3SG.PRET flōd /floːd/ flood-NOM.SG and /ɑnd/ and blēowon /ˈbleːowon/ blew-3PL.PRET windas /ˈwindɑs/ winds-NOM.PL.M and /ɑnd/ and āhruron /aːˈhruron/ fell-upon-3PL.PRET on /on/ on þæt /θæt/ the-ACC.N.SG hūs /huːs/ house-ACC.N.SG and /ɑnd/ and þæt /θæt/ the-NOM.N.SG hūs /huːs/ house-NOM.N.SG fēoll /feːoll/ fell-3SG.PRET and /ɑnd/ and his /his/ its-GEN.N.SG hryre /ˈhryre/ fall-NOM.M.SG wæs /wæs/ was-3SG.PRET myċel /ˈmytʃel/ great-NOM.SG
F-B: Full Text with Translation
Þā cōm þǣr rēn and myċel flōd, and þǣr blēowon windas, and āhruron on þæt hūs, and hit nā ne fēoll: sōþlīċe hit wæs ofer stān ġetimbrod. → "Then rain came there and a great flood, and winds blew there and fell upon the house, and it did not fall at all: truly, it was built on stone."
Þā rīnde hit, and þǣr cōm flōd, and blēowon windas, and āhruron on þæt hūs, and þæt hūs fēoll; and his hryre wæs myċel. → "Then it rained, and a flood came there, and winds blew and fell upon the house, and the house fell; and its fall was great."
— West Saxon Gospels (c. 990), Matthew 7:25 and 7:27
F-C: Old English Text Only
Þā cōm þǣr rēn and myċel flōd, and þǣr blēowon windas, and āhruron on þæt hūs, and hit nā ne fēoll: sōþlīċe hit wæs ofer stān ġetimbrod.
Þā rīnde hit, and þǣr cōm flōd, and blēowon windas, and āhruron on þæt hūs, and þæt hūs fēoll; and his hryre wæs myċel.
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
These two verses show all three main uses of the neuter pronoun in a few lines.
hit as a pronoun of reference: "and hit nā ne fēoll… sōþlīċe hit wæs ofer stān ġetimbrod". Hit stands for þæt hūs, a neuter noun. Had the translator been speaking of a tower (se stīepel, masculine) the pronoun would have been hē.
hit as an empty subject: "Þā rīnde hit". The verb rīnan (to rain) needs no real subject; hit fills the place, and after þā (then) it follows the verb.
his as "its": "his hryre wæs myċel", "its fall was great". The King James Bible, six centuries later, still writes "and great was the fall of it", avoiding "his" of a house; Old English has no hesitation.
nā ne: the double negative is regular in Old English and strengthens the denial: "it did not fall at all".
The translator balances the two verses. In the first the house survives and is referred to as hit; in the second it falls and is named again in full, þæt hūs fēoll, before the pronoun his returns for its ruin. The pronoun carries the thread of the story from storm to storm.
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Two companions, Lēofwine and Ǣlfgifu, play a guessing game. Lēofwine holds something in his hand; Ǣlfgifu must find out what it is. The game turns on grammar: because the hidden thing is neuter, he calls it hit, and that is her first clue. (A constructed dialogue for teaching, not a quotation.)
Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
10.16a Iċ I hæbbe have ān a þing thing on in mīnre my handa hand
10.16b Iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM hæbbe /ˈhæbbe/ have-1SG.PRES ān /aːn/ a-ACC.N.SG þing /θiŋɡ/ thing-ACC.N.SG on /on/ in mīnre /ˈmiːnre/ my-DAT.F.SG handa /ˈhɑndɑ/ hand-DAT.F.SG
10.17a Hwæt what is is hit it
10.17b Hwæt /hwæt/ what-NOM.N is /is/ is-3SG.PRES hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG
10.18a Hit it is is lȳtel small and and hwīt white
10.18b Hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES lȳtel /ˈlyːtel/ small and /ɑnd/ and hwīt /hwiːt/ white
10.19a Is is hit it stān stone
10.19b Is /is/ is-3SG.PRES hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG stān /staːn/ stone-NOM.M.SG
10.20a Nese no Ġif if hit it stān stone wǣre were iċ I cwǣde would-say hē he
10.20b Nese /ˈnese/ no Ġif /jif/ if hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG stān /staːn/ stone-NOM.M.SG wǣre /ˈwæːre/ were-3SG.PRET.SUBJ iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM cwǣde /ˈkwæːde/ say-1SG.PRET.SUBJ hē /heː/ he-NOM.M.SG
10.21a Lifaþ lives hit it
10.21b Lifaþ /ˈlivɑθ/ lives-3SG.PRES hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG
10.22a Hit it ne not lifaþ lives ġīet yet ac but hit it sċeal shall libban live
10.22b Hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG ne /ne/ not lifaþ /ˈlivɑθ/ lives-3SG.PRES ġīet /jiːet/ yet ac /ɑk/ but hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG sċeal /ʃæɑl/ shall-3SG.PRES libban /ˈlibbɑn/ live-INF
10.23a Of from hwǣm what cōm came hit it
10.23b Of /of/ from hwǣm /hwæːm/ what-DAT cōm /koːm/ came-3SG.PRET hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG
10.24a Hit it cōm came of from henne hen
10.24b Hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG cōm /koːm/ came-3SG.PRET of /of/ from henne /ˈhenne/ hen-DAT.F.SG
10.25a Þonne then is is hit it ǣġ egg
10.25b Þonne /ˈθonne/ then is /is/ is-3SG.PRES hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG ǣġ /æːj/ egg-NOM.N.SG
10.26a Ġēa yes Heald hold hit it wel well hit it is is tēdre fragile
10.26b Ġēa /jæːɑ/ yes Heald /hæɑld/ hold-IMP.SG hit /hit/ it-ACC.N.SG wel /wel/ well hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES tēdre /ˈteːdre/ fragile
10.27a Iċ I healde hold hit it mid with bām both handum hands
10.27b Iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM healde /ˈhæɑlde/ hold-1SG.PRES hit /hit/ it-ACC.N.SG mid /mid/ with bām /baːm/ both-DAT.PL handum /ˈhɑndum/ hands-DAT.PL.F
10.28a His its sċiell shell is is þynne thin
10.28b His /his/ its-GEN.N.SG sċiell /ʃiell/ shell-NOM.F.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES þynne /ˈθynne/ thin
10.29a Hwæt what sċeal shall iċ I dōn do mid with him it
10.29b Hwæt /hwæt/ what-ACC.N sċeal /ʃæɑl/ shall-1SG.PRES iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM dōn /doːn/ do-INF mid /mid/ with him /him/ it-DAT.N.SG
10.30a Lǣt let hit it restan rest under under þǣre the henne hen
10.30b Lǣt /læːt/ let-IMP.SG hit /hit/ it-ACC.N.SG restan /ˈrestɑn/ rest-INF under /ˈunder/ under þǣre /ˈθæːre/ the-DAT.F.SG henne /ˈhenne/ hen-DAT.F.SG
Part B: Natural Sentences
10.16 Lēofwine: Iċ hæbbe ān þing on mīnre handa. → "I have a thing in my hand."
10.17 Ǣlfgifu: Hwæt is hit? → "What is it?"
10.18 Lēofwine: Hit is lȳtel and hwīt. → "It is small and white."
10.19 Ǣlfgifu: Is hit stān? → "Is it a stone?"
10.20 Lēofwine: Nese. Ġif hit stān wǣre, iċ cwǣde "hē". → "No. If it were a stone, I would say 'he'."
10.21 Ǣlfgifu: Lifaþ hit? → "Is it alive?"
10.22 Lēofwine: Hit ne lifaþ ġīet, ac hit sċeal libban. → "It is not alive yet, but it will live."
10.23 Ǣlfgifu: Of hwǣm cōm hit? → "What did it come from?"
10.24 Lēofwine: Hit cōm of henne. → "It came from a hen."
10.25 Ǣlfgifu: Þonne is hit ǣġ! → "Then it is an egg!"
10.26 Lēofwine: Ġēa. Heald hit wel; hit is tēdre. → "Yes. Hold it carefully; it is fragile."
10.27 Ǣlfgifu: Iċ healde hit mid bām handum. → "I am holding it with both hands."
10.28 Lēofwine: His sċiell is þynne. → "Its shell is thin."
10.29 Ǣlfgifu: Hwæt sċeal iċ dōn mid him? → "What shall I do with it?"
10.30 Lēofwine: Lǣt hit restan under þǣre henne. → "Let it rest under the hen."
Part C: Old English Text Only
10.16 Iċ hæbbe ān þing on mīnre handa.
10.17 Hwæt is hit?
10.18 Hit is lȳtel and hwīt.
10.19 Is hit stān?
10.20 Nese. Ġif hit stān wǣre, iċ cwǣde "hē".
10.21 Lifaþ hit?
10.22 Hit ne lifaþ ġīet, ac hit sċeal libban.
10.23 Of hwǣm cōm hit?
10.24 Hit cōm of henne.
10.25 Þonne is hit ǣġ!
10.26 Ġēa. Heald hit wel; hit is tēdre.
10.27 Iċ healde hit mid bām handum.
10.28 His sċiell is þynne.
10.29 Hwæt sċeal iċ dōn mid him?
10.30 Lǣt hit restan under þǣre henne.
Part D: Grammar Notes for Genre Section
The riddle is built on the gender rule. Lēofwine's first word for the hidden object is þing (thing), a neuter noun, so every pronoun after it is hit. When Ǣlfgifu guesses stān (10.19), Lēofwine answers with grammar (10.20): a stone is masculine, and if it had been a stone he would have said hē. The answer, ǣġ (egg), is neuter, as the pronoun promised from the start.
Nominative hit: the subject in 10.17, 10.18, 10.21, 10.22, 10.23, 10.24 and 10.25. In questions the verb comes first: Lifaþ hit? (10.21), Is hit stān? (10.19).
Accusative hit: the object of heald (10.26), healde (10.27) and lǣt (10.30). In 10.30 hit is the object of lǣt and the doer of restan: "let it rest".
Genitive his: "its" in 10.28, his sċiell. Note that sċiell is feminine, but his agrees with the owner (the neuter egg), not with the thing owned.
Dative him: after mid (with) in 10.29, mid him "with it". Compare mid bām handum in 10.27, where mid also takes the dative.
The subjunctive: Ġif hit stān wǣre, iċ cwǣde (10.20) uses the past subjunctive in both halves for an unreal condition, "if it were…, I would say…".
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h at the start of a word: always pronounced /h/, in hit, his, him, hē, hēo, hūs. Before another consonant it is also pronounced: hwæt /hwæt/, hwīt /hwiːt/, hryre /ˈhryre/.
h after a vowel: the sound /x/ of Scottish "loch" or German "Bach": ġeseah /jeˈsæɑx/.
f between vowels: voiced /v/: lifaþ /ˈlivɑθ/, lufie /ˈluvie/, ofer /ˈover/.
ċ and ġ: the dots are a modern teaching aid. ċ is /tʃ/ (iċ, ċild, myċel); ġ is /j/ (ġif, ġēa, ġesēo); sċ is /ʃ/ (sċip, sċeal, sċiell).
y: a rounded front vowel /y/, as in German "über" or French "tu": cyning /ˈkyniŋɡ/, þynne /ˈθynne/; long ȳ /yː/ in lȳtel.
Long vowels: the macron marks length, which changes meaning: is (is) has a short vowel, hīe (they) a long one.
Variant spellings: in late West Saxon manuscripts hit is often written hyt, and hiera appears as heora or hyra. These are the same words.
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