What Are Archaic Pronouns?
When reading the Bible, works of Shakespeare, or other classic works, we come across an almost completely different language. It's new to us, but it's actually old! A set of different pronouns, verbs, and names is used throughout the texts which we haven't heard or written before. Nowadays they are called 'archaic pronouns'. In this article, we'll learn about them.
Pronouns Change Over Time
Like every other word, personal pronouns, mainly the second person, have gone through changes over time. Along with the standard, non-standard, and informal personal pronouns in English, there are also archaic pronouns which were used in the old times and are now mostly replaced with the standard pronouns.
Archaic Pronouns
The archaic personal pronouns are as follows:
Thou
'Thou' is an archaic pronoun meaning 'you.' It's used when talking to only one person who is the subject of the verb.
Thee
'Thee' is an archaic pronoun meaning 'you.' It's used when talking to only one person who is the object of the verb.
We beseech
With this ring, I
Using the Archaic Pronouns 'Thee' in a Sentence
Ye
'Ye' is an archaic pronoun meaning 'you' and is used when talking to more than one person. 'Ye' can be used as the subject of the sentence.
Gather
O Come, All
Thy
'Thy' is a word meaning 'your' and it's used when talking to only one person. 'Thy' is a possessive determiner form of 'you.'
Honor
When the word after 'thy' starts with a vowel or the letter 'h,' 'thine' is used instead of 'thy.'
Thine
'Thine' is a word meaning 'yours' (possessive form of you) and it's used when talking to only one person.
His spirit will take courage from
Thyself
'Thyself' is an archaic pronoun meaning 'yourself' and it's used when talking to only one person.
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
History: Formal or Informal (The Omnipresent You)
In Old English, like most other European languages, there were two different words for the second-person singular and plural; 'thou' as the singular and 'ye' as the plural form, i.e. 'thou' addressed one person, and 'ye' more than one.
The singular pronouns 'thou' and 'thee' indicated 'familiarity or intimacy.' Therefore, they were used among close friends and family. When addressing a stranger or someone outside the friend circle, using 'thou' or 'thee' was considered impolite and condescending.
But gradually, 'thou' and 'thee' were replaced by 'ye' and 'you' as the polite form of address for an equal or a superior person.
And eventually, 'you' drove out 'thou,' 'thee,' and 'ye' and 'you' became the only second-person pronoun, for both singular, plural and formal. Finally, in some parts of England, however, people still use these archaic pronouns in everyday talk.
Review
| Subject | Object | Reflexive | Possessive Pronoun | Possessive Determiner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular Standard | you | you | yourself | yours | your |
| Singular Archaic informal | thou | thee | thyself | thine | thy/thine (before vowel) |
| Plural Standard | you | you | yourselves | yours | your |
| Plural Archaic | ye | you | yourselves | yours | your |
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