Other Scandinavian grammatical features in English include the pronouns 'both and same,' and the prepositions "'til' ('till’ or ‘to') and 'fro' ('from') and 'nay,' is also Norse in origin (nei)." Furthermore, the -s ending for the third person singular present-tense form of the verbs is believed to be a Scandinavian feature. In Old English this type of ending was usually '-ð,' as in 'hebbað' ('raises') and 'gæð' ('goes'); but in late Northumbrian texts we find an -s ending, and this too spread to become the standard.

Arizona State University

Old Norse had a significant impact on the grammar of the English language. The most important change was the introduction of a new set of English third-person plural pronouns, they, them, and their. These replaced the earlier Old English forms: "'hi or hie' ('they/them'), hira or heora ('their, of them'), and him or heom ('to them, for them')." Another grammatical influence was the use of are, as a third-person plural of the verb 'to be.' This form had already been used in northern texts during the late Old English period but in Middle English, it eventually replaced the competing plural forms ''sindon and be.' 

Old Norse Grammar Changes to Pronouns

British Library, & Crystal, D. (2018, January 31). Old English. British Library. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/articles/old-english

Learn Before

Related