2.3.2. Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns were adjective-pronouns; like other adjectives, in OE they agreed with the noun in case, number and gender and had a well-developed morphological paradigm. The OE forms of the demonstrative pronoun (or definite article) sē, sēo were changed into þe, þēo on the analogy of the forms derived from the root þ-. In Early ME forms like and þe, þēo, þat functioned both as demonstrative pronoun and as article. Since the 14^th c., however, the form þat was only preserved as a demonstrative pronoun form.

Simultaneously, the declension system of the pronoun was undergoing changes. The form þōs (from OE þās, Nom. and Acc. pl. of the OE demonstrative pronoun þes) became the plural of þat.

Table 8.4

Declension of the pronoun þe ‘that’ in Early me

Singular				Plural
Case	masc.	fem.	neut.
Nom.	þe	þeo	þat, þet	þeo, þe
Gen.	þes, þe	þer	þes, þe	þer, þe
Dat.	þen, þan	þer	þen, þan, þe	þen, þe
Acc.	þene, þe	þeo	þat, þet, þe	þeo, þe

Table 8.5

Declension of the pronoun þes ‘this’ in Early me

Singular				Plural
Case	masc.	fem.	neut.
Nom.	þes	þeos	þis	þeos
Gen.	þisses	þisse	þisses	þisse
Dat.	þisse	þisse	þisse	þissen
Acc.	þesne	þeos	þis	þeos

In the 13^th c. declension of the definite article tends to disappear, and in Late ME the definite article finally becomes invariable. The definite article the and the demonstrative pronoun that, which developed from the pronouns þe, þēo, þat, were no longer declined and had no gender forms.

The other demonstrative pronoun, OE þes, developed in the following way in ME: sg. this (from the OE Nom. and Acc. sg. þis ), plural thise/thes(e); sg. that (from the OE Nom. and Acc. sg. neut. þæt), plural thō, thōs:

Sg this Pl thise/thes(e) (NE this – these)

that tho/thos(e) (NE that – those)

Number distinctions in demonstrative pronouns have survived as an archaic trait in the modern grammatical system, for no other noun modifier agrees now with the noun in number.

2.3.3. Other classes of pronouns (interrogative, indefinite, relative, reflexive)

The other classes of OE pronouns were subjected to the same simplifying changes as all nominal parts of speech.

The OE interrogative pronouns hwā, hwæt > who, what have three cases in ME:

Nom. whō what > ‘who, what’

Gen. whōs, whōs(e) whōs, whōs(e) > ‘whose’

Obj. whōm what > ‘whom’

The form of the OE Instr. case hwy developed into an adverb why ‘why’.

OE hwelc, ME which, formerly used only with relation to person widened its application and began to be used with relation to things. ME whether (from OE hwæþer) was used as an interrogative pronoun in the meaning 'which of the two' but later was mainly preserved as a conjunction.

Most indefinite pronouns of the OE period simplified their morphological structure and some pronouns fell out of use. For instance, man died out as an indefinite pronoun; OE derived pronouns with the prefixes ā -, æ-, ne- were replaced by phrases or simplified: OE æ-hwelc, āhwilc, ælc yielded ME eech, NE each; OE þyslic, þuslic, þullic, swelc were replaced by such; nān-þin, (from ne+ān+þin) became nothing, etc. Eventually new types of compound indefinite pronouns came into use – with the component -thing, -body, -one, etc; in NE they developed a two-case paradigm like nouns: the Comm. and the Poss. or Gen. case: anybody – anybody's.

Reflexive pronouns appeared as a result of combining the form of the objective case of personal pronouns with the form self: himself, themselves, herself, myself, thyself, ourselves, yourselves. However, there were two interpretations as far as the formation of reflexive pronouns is concerned: 1) objective case + self; 2) possessive case + self. The second point of view could arise due to ambiguity of the form herself whose first component might be interpreted as the possessive pronoun. As a result the component self was understood as a noun modified by a possessive pronoun; on this pattern new reflexive pronouns were derived by means of the corresponding possessive ones: myself, thyself, ourself, yourself.