that → þæt – the pointing word, the joining word, and the word that opens a clause: þæt is gōd, iċ wāt þæt hē cymþ
What does "that" mean in Old English, in "that is good", "I know that he is here", "the house that I have" or "he came so that he could help"?
The Old English word is þæt (pronounced /θæt/). It is the direct ancestor of Modern English "that", and, like "that", it does three different jobs. It is a pointing word: Þæt is gōd "That is good", þæt hūs "that house". It is a joining word, a conjunction, which opens a clause: Iċ wāt þæt hē is hēr "I know that he is here". And it can stand for the thing that a clause is about: Þæt þū sægst is sōþ "What you say is true", literally "That you say is true".
The first job is the oldest. Þæt is the neuter singular form of the demonstrative sē, sēo, þæt, which Lesson 1 introduced as the Old English "the". The same three words also mean "that": the neuter nominative and accusative is þæt, the genitive þæs, the dative þǣm, and the instrumental þȳ. The plural, for every gender, is þā "those".
The second job grew out of the first. A speaker who said "I know that. He is here" could, by a small step, say "I know that he is here", and the pointing word became a hinge between two clauses. Old English has no separate spelling for the two: the pointing þæt and the joining þæt look exactly the same on the page, and only the sentence tells them apart. Modern German, which has the same split, did later write them differently: das for the pointing word and dass for the conjunction.
Modern English has one habit that Old English does not share. In English we may drop the conjunction: "I know he is here". Old English normally keeps it: Iċ wāt þæt hē is hēr. Old English also uses a different word for the relative "that" in "the house that I have": the little particle þe, which never changes: þæt hūs þe iċ hæbbe.
So Old English says:
Þæt is gōd "That is good" (pointing)
Þæt hūs is miċel "That house is big" (pointing, with a noun)
Iċ wāt þæt hē is hēr "I know that he is here" (conjunction)
Hē cōm hider þæt hē mihte helpan "He came here so that he could help" (conjunction of purpose)
Þæt hūs þe iċ hæbbe is eald "The house that I have is old" (the particle þe is the relative)
A note on spelling: as in earlier lessons, the dots in ċ and ġ are a modern teaching convention for the palatal sounds: ċ = /tʃ/ as in "church", ġ = /j/ as in "yes", and sċ = /ʃ/ as in "ship". The manuscripts write plain c, g and sc. The length marks (ā, ē, ō and so on) are also an editors' convention. The letters þ and ð are two spellings of one sound, so þæt and ðæt are the same word; quotations keep their editors' spelling, with the dots and length marks added.
FAQ: What does "that" mean in Old English?
Q: How do you say "that is good" in Old English? A: Þæt is gōd /θæt is ɡoːd/. The neuter þæt is used for "that" even when the thing pointed at has another gender: Þæt is mīn hund "That is my dog", although hund is masculine.
Q: How do you say "I know that he is here"? A: Iċ wāt þæt hē is hēr. The conjunction þæt is not left out, as "that" often is in English.
Q: How do you say "the house that I have"? A: Þæt hūs þe iċ hæbbe. The relative word is usually the particle þe, which has the same form for every gender, number and case.
Key Takeaways
✦ Þæt is the neuter form of the demonstrative sē, sēo, þæt: nominative and accusative þæt, genitive þæs, dative þǣm, instrumental þȳ, plural þā
✦ The neuter þæt also points at a thing without regard to gender: Þæt is mīn hund
✦ Þæt is the conjunction "that" after verbs of knowing, seeing and saying: Iċ wāt þæt hē is hēr
✦ Þæt also introduces purpose: Hē cōm hider þæt hē mihte helpan "He came here so that he could help"; the verb is then in the subjunctive
✦ The relative "that" is usually the particle þe: þæt hūs þe iċ hæbbe
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þæt /θæt/ — þ is the voiceless sound of "think", and æ is the short vowel of "cat". The word ends in a clear t. When it means "the" it is spoken lightly; when it means "that" and points, it is stressed.
þǣm /θæːm/ — the same vowel, held long. þone /ˈθone/ — the masculine accusative, two syllables. þȳ /θyː/ — a long ȳ, a long "ee" said with rounded lips, as in German "kühn". þā /θaː/ — a long a, as in "father".
hwæt /hwæt/, hwæs /hwæs/, hwȳ /hwyː/ — the h is sounded before the w, so these begin with a breathy /hw/.
wāt /waːt/, nāt /naːt/ — long ā. nāt is ne + wāt, "I do not know".
ġesēah /jeˈsæːɑx/ — the prefix ġe- is never stressed; ēa is a long diphthong, and the final h is /x/, as in Scottish "loch".
sċolde /ˈʃolde/, sċip /ʃip/ — sċ is /ʃ/ as in "ship".
brycge /ˈbrydʒe/ — cg is /dʒ/ as in "bridge", which is the same word.
The Forms: The Neuter Demonstrative
Nominative: þæt (that) · þæt hūs (that house)
Accusative: þæt · þæt hūs
Genitive: þæs · þæs hūses (of that house)
Dative: þǣm · on þǣm hūse (in that house)
Instrumental: þȳ (also þon), as in for þȳ "therefore"
Plural, all genders: þā (those) · þā hūs (those houses)
The masculine and feminine singular are sē and sēo in the nominative and þone and þā in the accusative (Lesson 1). The neuter is used for "that" in the general sense: Þæt is gōd "That is good".
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13.1a Þæt that is is gōd good
13.1b Þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES gōd /ɡoːd/ good-NOM.N.SG
13.2a Hwæt what is is þæt that
13.2b Hwæt /hwæt/ what-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG
13.3a Þæt that is is mīn my hund dog
13.3b Þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES mīn /miːn/ my-NOM.M.SG hund /hund/ dog-NOM.M.SG
13.4a Iċ I wāt know þæt that
13.4b Iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM wāt /waːt/ know-1SG.PRES þæt /θæt/ that-ACC.N.SG
13.5a Þæt that hūs house is is miċel big
13.5b Þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG hūs /huːs/ house-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES miċel /ˈmitʃel/ big-NOM.N.SG
13.6a Þæt that þū you sægst say is is sōþ true
13.6b Þæt /θæt/ that-N.SG(REL) þū /θuː/ you-NOM.SG sægst /sæjst/ say-2SG.PRES is /is/ is-3SG.PRES sōþ /soːθ/ true-NOM.N.SG
13.7a Iċ I wāt know þæt that hē he is is hēr here
13.7b Iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM wāt /waːt/ know-1SG.PRES þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ hē /heː/ he-NOM.M.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES hēr /heːr/ here
13.8a Wē we ġesāwon saw þæt that hē he cōm came
13.8b Wē /weː/ we-NOM.PL ġesāwon /jeˈsaːwon/ saw-1PL.PRET þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ hē /heː/ he-NOM.M.SG cōm /koːm/ came-3SG.PRET
13.9a Hē he sægde said þæt that hē he wolde would gān go
13.9b Hē /heː/ he-NOM.M.SG sægde /ˈsæjde/ said-3SG.PRET þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ hē /heː/ he-NOM.M.SG wolde /ˈwolde/ would-3SG.PRET.SUBJ gān /ɡaːn/ go-INF
13.10a Þæt that hūs house þe which iċ I hæbbe have is is eald old
13.10b Þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG hūs /huːs/ house-NOM.N.SG þe /θe/ which-REL iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM hæbbe /ˈhæbbe/ have-1SG.PRES is /is/ is-3SG.PRES eald /æɑld/ old-NOM.N.SG
13.11a Hē he cōm came hider hither þæt that hē he mihte could helpan help
13.11b Hē /heː/ he-NOM.M.SG cōm /koːm/ came-3SG.PRET hider /ˈhider/ hither þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ(PURP) hē /heː/ he-NOM.M.SG mihte /ˈmixte/ could-3SG.PRET.SUBJ helpan /ˈhelpɑn/ help-INF
13.12a Wē we wiston knew þæt that þæt that hūs house wæs was eald old
13.12b Wē /weː/ we-NOM.PL wiston /ˈwiston/ knew-1PL.PRET þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG(DEM) hūs /huːs/ house-NOM.N.SG wæs /wæs/ was-3SG.PRET eald /æɑld/ old-NOM.N.SG
13.13a God God ġesēah saw ðā then ðæt that hit it gōd good wæs was
13.13b God /ɡod/ God-NOM.M.SG ġesēah /jeˈsæːɑx/ saw-3SG.PRET ðā /θaː/ then ðæt /θæt/ that-CONJ hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG gōd /ɡoːd/ good-NOM.N.SG wæs /wæs/ was-3SG.PRET
13.14a Waciaþ watch and and ġebiddaþ pray þæt that ġē you on into costnunge temptation ne not gān go
13.14b Waciaþ /ˈwɑkiɑθ/ watch-2PL.IMP and /ɑnd/ and ġebiddaþ /jeˈbiddɑθ/ pray-2PL.IMP þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ(PURP) ġē /jeː/ you-NOM.PL on /on/ into costnunge /ˈkostnunge/ temptation-ACC.F.SG ne /ne/ not gān /ɡaːn/ go-2PL.PRES.SUBJ
13.15a Ðǣm to-him ēafera heir wæs was æfter afterwards cenned born ġeong young in in ġeardum courts þone whom God God sende sent folce to-the-people tō for frōfre comfort
13.15b Ðǣm /θæːm/ him-DAT.M.SG(DEM) ēafera /ˈæːɑvera/ heir-NOM.M.SG wæs /wæs/ was-3SG.PRET æfter /ˈæfter/ afterwards cenned /ˈkenned/ born-PAST.PTCP ġeong /jæɑŋɡ/ young-NOM.M.SG in /in/ in ġeardum /ˈjæɑrdum/ courts-DAT.M.PL þone /ˈθone/ whom-ACC.M.SG(REL) God /ɡod/ God-NOM.M.SG sende /ˈsende/ sent-3SG.PRET folce /ˈfolke/ people-DAT.N.SG tō /toː/ to-PREP frōfre /ˈfroːvre/ comfort-DAT.F.SG
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13.1 Þæt is gōd. → "That is good."
13.2 Hwæt is þæt? → "What is that?"
13.3 Þæt is mīn hund. → "That is my dog."
13.4 Iċ wāt þæt. → "I know that."
13.5 Þæt hūs is miċel. → "That house is big."
13.6 Þæt þū sægst is sōþ. → "What you say is true."
13.7 Iċ wāt þæt hē is hēr. → "I know that he is here."
13.8 Wē ġesāwon þæt hē cōm. → "We saw that he came."
13.9 Hē sægde þæt hē wolde gān. → "He said that he would go."
13.10 Þæt hūs þe iċ hæbbe is eald. → "The house that I have is old."
13.11 Hē cōm hider þæt hē mihte helpan. → "He came here so that he could help."
13.12 Wē wiston þæt þæt hūs wæs eald. → "We knew that that house was old."
13.13 God ġesēah ðā ðæt hit gōd wæs. → "God then saw that it was good." (Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 1:4)
13.14 Waciaþ and ġebiddaþ þæt ġē on costnunge ne gān. → "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation." (West Saxon Gospels, Mark 14:38, as quoted in Bosworth–Toller)
13.15 Ðǣm ēafera wæs æfter cenned ġeong in ġeardum, þone God sende folce tō frōfre. → "To him an heir was born afterwards, young in the courts, whom God sent to the people as a comfort." (Beowulf, lines 12–14)
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13.1 Þæt is gōd.
13.2 Hwæt is þæt?
13.3 Þæt is mīn hund.
13.4 Iċ wāt þæt.
13.5 Þæt hūs is miċel.
13.6 Þæt þū sægst is sōþ.
13.7 Iċ wāt þæt hē is hēr.
13.8 Wē ġesāwon þæt hē cōm.
13.9 Hē sægde þæt hē wolde gān.
13.10 Þæt hūs þe iċ hæbbe is eald.
13.11 Hē cōm hider þæt hē mihte helpan.
13.12 Wē wiston þæt þæt hūs wæs eald.
13.13 God ġesēah ðā ðæt hit gōd wæs.
13.14 Waciaþ and ġebiddaþ þæt ġē on costnunge ne gān.
13.15 Ðǣm ēafera wæs æfter cenned ġeong in ġeardum, þone God sende folce tō frōfre.
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These are the grammar rules for þæt (that) in Old English:
1. Three Jobs
Þæt points: Þæt is gōd (13.1), Hwæt is þæt? (13.2), Þæt hūs is miċel (13.5). Þæt joins: Iċ wāt þæt hē is hēr (13.7), Wē ġesāwon þæt hē cōm (13.8). And þæt can be the antecedent of a relative clause, "that which, what": Þæt þū sægst is sōþ (13.6). Old English does not mark the difference by spelling; the sentence does.
2. The Neuter Demonstrative
The forms are þæt (nominative and accusative), þæs (genitive), þǣm (dative), þȳ or þon (instrumental). They are used in the first job as pronoun or adjective: þæt hūs (13.5), þæt sċip (13.18), þæs cyninges sċip "the king's ship" (13.19), on þǣm wætere "on that water" (13.16), on þǣm sċipe (13.27). The masculine accusative is þone: þone mann "that man" (13.27). The same words are also the definite article (Lesson 1): "the" and "that" are one system, and which English word is meant depends on the stress and the sentence.
3. Þæt Points at a Thing, Not at a Noun
The neuter singular is the general "that". It points at a thing, a situation or a person not yet named, and so it need not agree with the noun that follows: Þæt is mīn hund (13.3), with the masculine hund, and, in Section F, Þæt wæs gōd cyning, with the masculine cyning. Modern English does the same with "that is my dog".
4. The Conjunction: Statements
After verbs of knowing, seeing, saying, hearing and thinking, þæt opens a clause that stands as the object of the verb: Iċ wāt þæt hē is hēr (13.7), Wē ġesāwon þæt hē cōm (13.8), Hē sægde þæt hē wolde gān (13.9), Iċ ġehȳre þæt hē ūs sēċan wile (13.21), Iċ ġesēo þæt hē is miċel and ġeong (13.28). A clause can also be the subject: Hit is sōþ þæt hē cymþ "It is true that he comes". The conjunction is normally kept.
5. Mood
When the speaker states a fact, the verb after þæt is indicative: þæt hē is hēr (13.7), þæt hit gōd wæs (13.13). When the clause reports what someone said or wanted, or says what a thing is for, it is often subjunctive: þæt hē wolde gān (13.9, 13.11 mihte, 13.14 gān, 13.25 ġesēon). Modern English has kept this only in a few phrases, such as "I wish it were true".
6. The Conjunction: Purpose
After a main clause that tells of an action, þæt can mean "so that, in order that", with the subjunctive: Hē cōm hider þæt hē mihte helpan (13.11), Wē gāþ tō þǣre brycge, þæt wē hine ġesēon (13.25). Mark 14:38 (13.14) is the same: Waciaþ and ġebiddaþ þæt ġē… ne gān.
7. Þæt þæt
When the conjunction and the pointing word meet, Old English simply writes þæt twice: Wē wiston þæt þæt hūs wæs eald (13.12) "We knew that that house was old". The first is the conjunction, the second points at the house. Old English also has the compound conjunction þætte (from þæt + þe), "that", which is common in Alfred's prose.
8. The Relative Clause
The commonest relative word is the particle þe, the same for every gender, number and case: þæt hūs þe iċ hæbbe (13.10). It may follow the demonstrative, as in sē þe "he who" (Lesson 12). The demonstrative itself can also work as the relative: þone God sende "whom God sent" (13.15, Beowulf), where þone agrees with ēafera; and Þæt þū sægst, þæt dō iċ "What you say, I do" (13.30), in which þæt… þæt answer each other.
9. Other Words in the Family
Hwæt "what" (13.2, 13.16), hwæs "whose" (13.18), hwȳ "why" (13.20). The negative nāt (13.21) is ne + wāt, "I do not know", as nis is ne + is (Lesson 12). Wāt is the present of witan "know", an old past form used as a present: iċ wāt, þū wāst, hē wāt.
Common Mistakes
✦ Leaving out the conjunction by English habit: "Iċ wāt hē is hēr" is unusual. Write "Iċ wāt þæt hē is hēr".
✦ Reaching for þæt as the relative by English habit: "þæt hūs þæt iċ hæbbe" is possible, but the usual form is "þæt hūs þe iċ hæbbe".
✦ Using þæt for "than" or "then": þonne is "than" and "then". Þæt never means "than".
✦ Dropping the dative after on: Incorrect "*on þæt wætere". Correct "on þǣm wætere" (13.16), because the thing is in the place.
✦ Using the plural for "that" with a singular noun: þā means "those"; "that house" is þæt hūs, "those houses" is þā hūs.
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Frequency and Register
Þæt is one of the commonest words in Old English, in prose and verse alike, because it has so many jobs: demonstrative, article, conjunction and relative. In a long prose sentence such as King Alfred's (Lesson 12, Section F) it occurs three times, twice as a conjunction (the second time to resume the clause after a long interruption) and once as the article before ġeðīode.
From þæt to "that"
Modern English "that" is the same word. It kept all three jobs: the pointing "that book", the conjunction "I know that he is here", and the relative "the house that I have". The little particle þe disappeared, and the relative "that" took over its work. The article had a different fate: the nominative forms sē and sēo were lost, and a new "the" was made from the other forms, which began with þ-. Only the neuter þæt was left to mean "that".
The Germanic Family
German das (the, that) and dass (the conjunction), Dutch dat (both), Old Norse þat, and Gothic þata are the same word. The spelling split in German between das and dass is a late and written convention. In Old English there was none.
The Formula "Þæt wæs…"
The poet of Beowulf uses þæt as an exclamation in praise: after the account of Scyld Scefing, the first king of the Danes, who rose from a foundling to rule all the peoples across the whale-road, the poet adds Þæt wæs gōd cyning! "That was a good king!" (Section F). Scholars of the poem's formulaic style have noted the pattern Þæt wæs with a noun. It is a way to sum up what has just been said in one neuter word.
A Note on Quotations
The Genesis sentence (13.13) is from the Old English Hexateuch, which is the work of Ælfric and others around the year 1000. Bosworth–Toller prints the same sentence without ðā: God ġesēah þæt hit gōd wæs. Mark 14:38 (13.14) is quoted as Bosworth–Toller prints it from the West Saxon Gospels, with the dots and length marks added by this course.
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From the opening of Beowulf, the poem's prologue, lines 8–11. The poet has told how Scyld Scefing was found, a destitute child, and how he took the mead-benches from many tribes. Here the poem says what became of him. The text follows the Tha Engliscan Gesithas and Jack Lynch web editions, which agree, in West Saxon spelling, with dotted letters and length marks added for the learner. (The Fordham Sourcebooks text leaves out þāra.)
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a wēox grew under under wolcnum clouds weorðmyndum in-honours þāh throve
F.1b wēox /weːoks/ grew-3SG.PRET under /ˈunder/ under wolcnum /ˈwolknum/ clouds-DAT.N.PL weorðmyndum /ˈweorðmyndum/ honours-DAT.F.PL þāh /θaːx/ throve-3SG.PRET
F.2a oð until þæt that him to-him æġhwylc each þāra of-those ymbsittendra neighbours
F.2b oð /oθ/ until þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ him /him/ him-DAT.M.SG æġhwylc /ˈæjhwylk/ each-NOM.M.SG þāra /ˈθaːrɑ/ the-GEN.PL ymbsittendra /ˈymbsitendrɑ/ neighbours-GEN.M.PL
F.3a ofer over hronrāde whale-road hȳran obey sċolde had-to
F.3b ofer /ˈover/ over hronrāde /ˈhronraːde/ whale-road-DAT.M.SG hȳran /ˈhyːrɑn/ obey-INF sċolde /ˈʃolde/ had-to-3SG.PRET
F.4a gomban tribute gyldan pay þæt that wæs was gōd good cyning king
F.4b gomban /ˈɡombɑn/ tribute-ACC.F.SG gyldan /ˈɡyldɑn/ pay-INF þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG(DEM) wæs /wæs/ was-3SG.PRET gōd /ɡoːd/ good-NOM.M.SG cyning /ˈkyniŋɡ/ king-NOM.M.SG
F-B: Full Text with Translation
Wēox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þāh, oð þæt him æġhwylc þāra ymbsittendra ofer hronrāde hȳran sċolde, gomban gyldan. Þæt wæs gōd cyning! → "He grew under the clouds, and throve in honours, until each of the neighbouring peoples over the whale-road had to obey him and pay tribute. That was a good king!"
— Beowulf, lines 8–11
F-C: Old English Text Only
Wēox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þāh, oð þæt him æġhwylc þāra ymbsittendra ofer hronrāde hȳran sċolde, gomban gyldan. Þæt wæs gōd cyning!
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
oð þæt: "until". The conjunction oð (until) is followed by þæt, which opens the clause: "until that…". Old English builds longer conjunctions in this way, such as oð þæt here and for þǣm þe "because" (Lesson 12, 12.28). Here the verb of the clause is hȳran sċolde, with sċolde in the past: "had to obey".
him… hȳran: hȳran "to obey, to hear" takes the dative, so the king is him. The people are æġhwylc þāra ymbsittendra, "each of those who sit around", the neighbouring nations; þāra is the genitive plural of the demonstrative, the plural þā of the Forms.
gomban gyldan: "to pay tribute". The two infinitives follow sċolde without tō (Lesson 12, rule 6).
Þæt wæs gōd cyning!: the neuter þæt points at everything that has just been said about Scyld, and does not agree with the masculine noun cyning. It stands in the first position of the clause for emphasis, as English "That was a king!". This is rule 3 of Section D. The word gōd here has no article, as English says "a good king" and Old English has no indefinite article.
wēox… þāh: two past tenses side by side, of weaxan "grow" and þēon "thrive". The poet gives the first king his early life in a single line and a half, then lets the conjunction oð þæt carry him forward to the point where the neighbouring peoples obey him. That is þæt at work as a hinge: everything before it is the growing, everything after it is the result.
The prologue goes on at once to Scyld's heir (13.15), whom God sent as a comfort to the people. There þone is a relative: the demonstrative serving as "whom".
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A mother and her son stand by a river and watch a ship come in. The son asks what he sees, and the mother tells him: a dialogue of the pointing word, as it is used every day in speech. (A constructed dialogue for teaching, not a quotation.)
Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
13.16a Sunu son Mōdor mother hwæt what is is þæt that on on þǣm the wætere water
13.16b Sunu /ˈsunu/ son-NOM.M.SG Mōdor /ˈmoːdor/ mother-VOC.F.SG hwæt /hwæt/ what-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG on /on/ on þǣm /θæːm/ the-DAT.N.SG wætere /ˈwætere/ water-DAT.N.SG
13.17a Mōdor mother Þæt that is is sċip ship
13.17b Mōdor /ˈmoːdor/ mother-NOM.F.SG Þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES sċip /ʃip/ ship-NOM.N.SG
13.18a Sunu son Hwæs whose is is þæt that sċip ship
13.18b Sunu /ˈsunu/ son-NOM.M.SG Hwæs /hwæs/ whose-GEN.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG sċip /ʃip/ ship-NOM.N.SG
13.19a Mōdor mother Iċ I wāt know þæt that hit it is is þæs the cyninges king's sċip ship
13.19b Mōdor /ˈmoːdor/ mother-NOM.F.SG Iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM wāt /waːt/ know-1SG.PRES þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES þæs /θæs/ the-GEN.M.SG cyninges /ˈkyniŋɡes/ king-GEN.M.SG sċip /ʃip/ ship-NOM.N.SG
13.20a Sunu son Hwȳ why is is hē he hēr here
13.20b Sunu /ˈsunu/ son-NOM.M.SG Hwȳ /hwyː/ why is /is/ is-3SG.PRES hē /heː/ he-NOM.M.SG hēr /heːr/ here
13.21a Mōdor mother Iċ I nāt not-know ac but iċ I ġehȳre hear þæt that hē he ūs us sēċan seek wile wants
13.21b Mōdor /ˈmoːdor/ mother-NOM.F.SG Iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM nāt /naːt/ not-know-1SG.PRES ac /ɑk/ but iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM ġehȳre /jeˈhyːre/ hear-1SG.PRES þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ hē /heː/ he-NOM.M.SG ūs /uːs/ us-ACC.PL sēċan /ˈseːtʃɑn/ seek-INF wile /ˈwile/ wants-3SG.PRES
13.22a Sunu son Is is þæt that gōd good
13.22b Sunu /ˈsunu/ son-NOM.M.SG Is /is/ is-3SG.PRES þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG gōd /ɡoːd/ good-NOM.N.SG
13.23a Mōdor mother Hit it is is gōd good ġif if hē he is is ūre our frēond friend
13.23b Mōdor /ˈmoːdor/ mother-NOM.F.SG Hit /hit/ it-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES gōd /ɡoːd/ good-NOM.N.SG ġif /jif/ if hē /heː/ he-NOM.M.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES ūre /ˈuːre/ our-NOM.M.SG frēond /ˈfreːond/ friend-NOM.M.SG
13.24a Sunu son Iċ I wolde would þæt that witan know
13.24b Sunu /ˈsunu/ son-NOM.M.SG Iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM wolde /ˈwolde/ would-1SG.PRET.SUBJ þæt /θæt/ that-ACC.N.SG witan /ˈwitɑn/ know-INF
13.25a Mōdor mother Wē we gāþ go tō to þǣre the brycge bridge þæt that wē we hine him ġesēon see
13.25b Mōdor /ˈmoːdor/ mother-NOM.F.SG Wē /weː/ we-NOM.PL gāþ /ɡaːθ/ go-1PL.PRES tō /toː/ to-PREP þǣre /ˈθæːre/ the-DAT.F.SG brycge /ˈbrydʒe/ bridge-DAT.F.SG þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ(PURP) wē /weː/ we-NOM.PL hine /ˈhine/ him-ACC.M.SG ġesēon /jeˈseːon/ see-1PL.PRES.SUBJ
13.26a Sunu son Þæt that sċip ship is is nū now hēr here mōdor mother
13.26b Sunu /ˈsunu/ son-NOM.M.SG Þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG sċip /ʃip/ ship-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES nū /nuː/ now hēr /heːr/ here mōdor /ˈmoːdor/ mother-VOC.F.SG
13.27a Mōdor mother Ġesihst see þū you þone the mann man on on þǣm the sċipe ship
13.27b Mōdor /ˈmoːdor/ mother-NOM.F.SG Ġesihst /jeˈsixst/ see-2SG.PRES þū /θuː/ you-NOM.SG þone /ˈθone/ the-ACC.M.SG mann /mɑnn/ man-ACC.M.SG on /on/ on þǣm /θæːm/ the-DAT.N.SG sċipe /ˈʃipe/ ship-DAT.N.SG
13.28a Sunu son Iċ I ġesēo see þæt that hē he is is miċel big and and ġeong young
13.28b Sunu /ˈsunu/ son-NOM.M.SG Iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM ġesēo /jeˈseːo/ see-1SG.PRES þæt /θæt/ that-CONJ hē /heː/ he-NOM.M.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES miċel /ˈmitʃel/ big-NOM.M.SG and /ɑnd/ and ġeong /jæɑŋɡ/ young-NOM.M.SG
13.29a Mōdor mother Þæt that is is wel well wē we willaþ will hine him grētan greet
13.29b Mōdor /ˈmoːdor/ mother-NOM.F.SG Þæt /θæt/ that-NOM.N.SG is /is/ is-3SG.PRES wel /wel/ well wē /weː/ we-NOM.PL willaþ /ˈwillɑθ/ will-1PL.PRES hine /ˈhine/ him-ACC.M.SG grētan /ˈɡreːtɑn/ greet-INF
13.30a Sunu son Þæt that þū you sægst say þæt that dō do iċ I
13.30b Sunu /ˈsunu/ son-NOM.M.SG Þæt /θæt/ that-ACC.N.SG(REL) þū /θuː/ you-NOM.SG sægst /sæjst/ say-2SG.PRES þæt /θæt/ that-ACC.N.SG(DEM) dō /doː/ do-1SG.PRES iċ /itʃ/ I-NOM
Part B: Natural Sentences
13.16 Sunu: "Mōdor, hwæt is þæt on þǣm wætere?" → Son: "Mother, what is that on the water?"
13.17 Mōdor: "Þæt is sċip." → Mother: "That is a ship."
13.18 Sunu: "Hwæs is þæt sċip?" → Son: "Whose ship is that?"
13.19 Mōdor: "Iċ wāt þæt hit is þæs cyninges sċip." → Mother: "I know that it is the king's ship."
13.20 Sunu: "Hwȳ is hē hēr?" → Son: "Why is he here?"
13.21 Mōdor: "Iċ nāt, ac iċ ġehȳre þæt hē ūs sēċan wile." → Mother: "I do not know, but I hear that he wants to visit us."
13.22 Sunu: "Is þæt gōd?" → Son: "Is that good?"
13.23 Mōdor: "Hit is gōd, ġif hē is ūre frēond." → Mother: "It is good, if he is our friend."
13.24 Sunu: "Iċ wolde þæt witan." → Son: "I would like to know that."
13.25 Mōdor: "Wē gāþ tō þǣre brycge, þæt wē hine ġesēon." → Mother: "We are going to the bridge, so that we may see him."
13.26 Sunu: "Þæt sċip is nū hēr, mōdor." → Son: "The ship is here now, mother."
13.27 Mōdor: "Ġesihst þū þone mann on þǣm sċipe?" → Mother: "Do you see the man on the ship?"
13.28 Sunu: "Iċ ġesēo þæt hē is miċel and ġeong." → Son: "I see that he is big and young."
13.29 Mōdor: "Þæt is wel; wē willaþ hine grētan." → Mother: "That is well; we will greet him."
13.30 Sunu: "Þæt þū sægst, þæt dō iċ." → Son: "What you say, that I do."
Part C: Old English Text Only
13.16 Sunu: "Mōdor, hwæt is þæt on þǣm wætere?"
13.17 Mōdor: "Þæt is sċip."
13.18 Sunu: "Hwæs is þæt sċip?"
13.19 Mōdor: "Iċ wāt þæt hit is þæs cyninges sċip."
13.20 Sunu: "Hwȳ is hē hēr?"
13.21 Mōdor: "Iċ nāt, ac iċ ġehȳre þæt hē ūs sēċan wile."
13.22 Sunu: "Is þæt gōd?"
13.23 Mōdor: "Hit is gōd, ġif hē is ūre frēond."
13.24 Sunu: "Iċ wolde þæt witan."
13.25 Mōdor: "Wē gāþ tō þǣre brycge, þæt wē hine ġesēon."
13.26 Sunu: "Þæt sċip is nū hēr, mōdor."
13.27 Mōdor: "Ġesihst þū þone mann on þǣm sċipe?"
13.28 Sunu: "Iċ ġesēo þæt hē is miċel and ġeong."
13.29 Mōdor: "Þæt is wel; wē willaþ hine grētan."
13.30 Sunu: "Þæt þū sægst, þæt dō iċ."
Part D: Grammar Notes for Genre Section
The speakers are named before their words, as in Lesson 12: Sunu "son" and Mōdor "mother". When the same speaker continues, the name is not repeated.
The pointing word: the son's questions use it in the commonest way, hwæt is þæt (13.16), hwæs is þæt sċip (13.18), is þæt gōd (13.22). The mother's answers use the same neuter þæt: Þæt is sċip (13.17), Þæt is wel (13.29). In 13.18 and 13.26 þæt is an adjective with its noun, þæt sċip, and agrees with it in the neuter. The genitive and dative forms of the same word are in þæs cyninges sċip (13.19), on þǣm wætere (13.16) and on þǣm sċipe (13.27), with þone mann (13.27) the masculine accusative.
The joining word: Iċ wāt þæt (13.19), iċ ġehȳre þæt (13.21), iċ ġesēo þæt (13.28) open a statement. Wē gāþ tō þǣre brycge, þæt wē hine ġesēon (13.25) is purpose, with the subjunctive ġesēon, which has the same form as the infinitive. In 13.24 þæt is the object of witan: "to know that", the pointing word standing for what has just been said.
The relative word: Þæt þū sægst, þæt dō iċ (13.30) is a proverb in shape. The first þæt is the object of sægst and the second is the object of dō; the clause comes first and is picked up by the second þæt. In English we say "What you say, I do"; Old English says "That you say, that do I", with the verb before its subject because the object came first.
Verbs of knowing: Iċ nāt (13.21) is the negative of iċ wāt, ne + wāt. Wile (13.21) is the third person present of willan; Lesson 12 has the same form. Sēċan "seek" can also mean "go to see, visit". The question Ġesihst þū…? (13.27) puts the verb first and the pronoun after it, as a yes-or-no question does. Hit (13.19) refers to sċip, a neuter noun; hē (13.20, 13.21) refers to the king, who is a man.
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þ and ð: both are written for the same sound. At the start of a word, as in þæt /θæt/ and ðæt, it is voiceless /θ/. Between voiced sounds it is voiced /ð/, as in weorðmyndum /ˈweorðmyndum/; at the end of a word it is voiceless again, as in sōþ /soːθ/ and gāþ /ɡaːθ/.
Long and short vowels: þæt has a short æ /æ/, þǣm a long ǣ /æːm/. God /ɡod/ (the name) has a short vowel, and gōd /ɡoːd/ (good) a long one. Wæs /wæs/ is short, wāt /waːt/ long.
Palatal and hard consonants: ġesēah, ġeong, ġeardum, ġē, ġif, ġehȳre, ġesihst: ġ is /j/. Gān, gāþ, God, gōd, gomban, gyldan: g is a hard /ɡ/, with no dot. Miċel, iċ: ċ is /tʃ/. Sēċan /ˈseːtʃɑn/. Sċip, sċolde: sċ is /ʃ/.
cg: brycge /ˈbrydʒe/ is written with cg for /dʒ/.
h: hwæt, hwæs and hwȳ begin with /hw/; ġesēah and ġesihst have /x/ for the h after a vowel.
Spellings in the quotations: ðæt and ðā (13.13) with ð, the spelling of the Hexateuch edition; wēox and þāh (Section F) as in the Beowulf editions; æġhwylc, with the dot added; Ðǣm (13.15) with ð at the head of the line.
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