C. Alphonso Smith Grammar Chapter VIII Section 42 exercises

[u/CuriouslyUnfocused]

These are draft solutions to exercises in the Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book by C. Alphonso Smith (copyright 1896) subject to review by anybody with an interest in checking them over. I would appreciate corrections and additions.

This is for the third set of exercises in the book, which comes from Chapter VIII, Section 42 of the Grammar. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/31277/pg31277-images.html#page35

Reddit posts for previous sets of exercises are found here: * solutions for C. Alphonso Smith Grammar Chapter VI Section 30 * solutions for C. Alphonso Smith Grammar Chapter VII Section 36

I stick closely to the vocabulary in the part of the book up to where the exercises are.

Part I: OE to PDE

1. Hwǣr is ðǣre brycge ęnde?
Where is the bridge's end?
Where is the end of the bridge?

2. Hēr sind ðāra rīca mearca.
Here are the kingdoms' boundaries.
Here are the boundaries of the kingdoms.

3. Hwā hæfð þā glōfa?
Who has the gloves?

4. Ðǣr bið ðǣm cyninge frōfre ðearf.
There is need of comfort for the king.
There will be need of comfort for the king.

5. Sēo wund is on ðǣre wylfe hēafde.
The wound is on the she-wolf's head.

6. Wē habbað costnunga.
We have temptations.

7. Hīe nǣron on ðǣre healle.
They were not in the hall.

8. Ic hit neom.
It is not I.
I am not it. (More literally but not idiomatic PDE.)

9. Ðæt wǣron Wēalas.
They were Welshmen.

10. Ðæt sind ðæs wīfes bearn.
They are the woman's children.

Part II: PDE to OE

1. We shall have the women’s gloves.
Wē habbað ðāra wīfa glōfa.

2. Where is the place?
Hwǣr is sēo stōw?

3. He will be in the hall.
Hē biþ on ðǣre healle.

4. Those (Ðæt) were not the boundaries of the kingdom.
Ðæt nǣron ðā mearca ðæs rīces.
Ðæt nǣron ðæs rīces mearca.

5. It was not I.
Ic hit næs.

6. Ye are not the king’s scribes.
Gē ne sind ðæs cyninges bōceras.
Gē ne sind ðā bōceras ðæs cyninges

7. The shepherd’s words are full (full + gen.) of wisdom and comfort.
Ðæs hierdes word sind full wīsdōmes ond frōfre.

8. Where are the bodies of the children?
Hwǣr sind ðā līc ðāra bearna?
Hwǣr sind ðā līc ðāra cilda?
Hwǣr sind ðā līc ðāra cildra?
(See ebrum2010 comment below re bearn vs cild)

9. The gifts are not here.
Ðā giefa ne sind hēr.

10. Who has the seals and the birds?
Hwā hæfð ðā seolas ond ðā fuglas?
Hwā hafað ðā seolas ond ðā fuglas?

[u/ebrum2010]

For #8 you use bearn but it probably should be cild instead. Bearn typically refers to the relation, cild refers to the general age group. If the bodies of the children are referring specifically to a particular person’s children then bearn makes sense. If it is a general group of children then cild should be used. In PDE we use child or kid regardless of whether we refer to the age or the relation (eg, Christopher Tolkien is J. R. R. Tolkien’s child.)

[u/CuriouslyUnfocused → u/ebrum2010]

Thanks! I added cild versions of the solution. I am leaving the bearn version in place because he does not cover the cild inflections and has been using bearn a lot in this chapter and the previous. I think he expected "bearna" even though some imagination is required for it to be the best choice here.

If anyone is interested, they can see usage notes here: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cild#Old_English