Third person verb inflection

Question

Where does the -s inflection on third person verbs come from? I know that in Middle English it was -th, so how did it change to -s?

Linguistically it seems improbable that th could be reduced to s; after all, th is one of the few sounds that hasn't changed much in the history of English. I don't know of any cases where th has become s, so there must be some other reason why we have this inflection.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Where does the -s inflection on third person verbs come from? I know that in Middle English it was -th, ... of any cases where th has become s, so there must be some other reason why we have this inflection.[/nq]
I think I read once that it started in the north of England, where it was picked up from the Dane colonists. Eventually -s spread south and -th disappeared around 1600.

Dean Tiegs, NEÂ¼-20-52-25-W4
â??Confortare et esto robustusâ?
http://telusplanet.net/public/dctiegs/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I think I read once that it started in the north of England, where it was picked up from the Dane colonists. Eventually -s spread south and -th disappeared around 1600.[/nq]
The Dane "colonists"?
Oy yoy yoy!

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]The Dane "colonists"? Oy yoy yoy![/nq]
"Invaders" if you prefer. But I think you'll have to start oying nearly every instance of the word "colonist" in a historical context.

Dean Tiegs, NEÂ¼-20-52-25-W4
â??Confortare et esto robustusâ?
http://telusplanet.net/public/dctiegs/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Where does the -s inflection on third person verbs come from? I know that in Middle English it was -th, ... of any cases where th has become s, so there must be some other reason why we have this inflection.[/nq]
It seems to have been a Northern feature moving south, although it's not clear how or why. Baugh and Cable say

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It dropp eth as a gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd;
It bless eth him that giv es and him that tak es : ...

It is worth noting, however, that in the trial scene as a whole, forms in -s outnumber those in -eth two to one. Certainly, during the first half of the next century -s had become universal in the spoken language. This is beyond doubt, even though ~~eth continued to be quite commonly written. A writer toward the middle of the century observes that "howsoever wee use to Write thus, leadeth it, maketh i, noteth it, raketh i, per~~ fumeth i, &c. Yet in our ordinary speech (which is best to bee understood) wee say, leads it, makes it, notes it, rakes it, per- fumes it." It is altogether probable that during Shakespeare's lifetime -s became the usual ending for this part of the verb in the spoken language.
A History of the English Language , 3e, p. 246

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Third person verb inflection

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