Gen. Dat. Acc. Kriemhilde, Kriemhilt Uoten

CHAPTER IV

ADJECTIVES

A. THE DECLENSION OF ADJECTIVES.

1. {The Strong Declension.}

Sec. 55.

The MHG. adjectives are declined as strong or weak. They have three
genders, and the same cases as nouns. The endings of the strong
declension are partly nominal and partly pronominal. The nominal endings
are: the accusative feminine singular, as {blinde} like {g[e:]be} (Sec. 48);
and the genitive singular masculine and neuter, as {blindes} like
{tages}, {wortes} (Secs. 43, 46). All the other endings are pronominal. The
so-called uninflected form of adjectives in the nom. singular masculine
and feminine and the nom. acc. neuter is a remnant of the time when
adjectives and nouns were declined alike, see the Author's Hist. Germ.
Grammar, Secs. 399-400. The strong declension includes three different types
of adjectives, all of which are declined alike: (a) The old {a-}stems,
as {blint}, infl. form {blinter}, _blind_; {bar}, _bare_, {guot},
_good_, {heilec}, _holy_, {hol}, _hollow_, {michel}, _great_, {vinster},
_dark_, and similarly with a very large number of adjectives, including
the past participles of strong and weak verbs. (b) The old {ja-}stems,
as {l[ae]re} (OHG. {l[a]ri}), infl. {l[ae]rer}, _empty_; {d[u:]nne}, _thin_,
{enge}, _narrow_, {gr[u:]ene}, _green_, {niuwe}, _new_, {reine}, _pure_,
{sch[oe]ne}, _beautiful_, {senfte}, _soft_, {wilde}, _wild_, and many
others, including the present participles of strong and weak verbs. The
{ja-}stems only differ from the {a-}stems in having {-e} in the
uninflected form and umlaut in the stem-syllable when it is capable of
it. (c) The old {wa-}stems, as {bl[a]} (OHG. {bl[a]o}, {bl[a]}), infl. form
{bl[a]wer}, _blue_; {gar} (OHG. {garo}), infl. form {garwer} (see Secs. 9,1,
36), _ready_; {gr[a]}, _grey_, {val}, _fallow_, {g[e:]l}, _yellow_, {kal},
_bald_, &c., all of which have {w} in the inflected forms.

The adjectival {i-} and {u-}stems had come to be declined like the
{ja-}stems in the prehistoric period of the language, but a few remnants
of such adjectives have survived in MHG. in forms without the final {-e}
beside those with it, as {bereit}, {bereite}, _ready_, {dic}, {dicke},
_thick_, {g[a]ch}, {g[ae]he}, _quick_, {gr[i]s}, {gr[i]se}, _old_, _grey_,
{h[e]r}, {h[e]re}, _high_, _noble_, {rasch}, {resche}, _quick_, {r[i]ch},
{r[i]che}, _noble_, {sw[a]}, {sw[ae]re}, _heavy_, {was}, {wasse}, _sharp_.