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Avid learner Posted 15 years ago
Linguistics Studies
Thy vs thine
Hi,
I know that conventionally thy is used before consonant noun while thine is used before vowel noun, however I wonder is this a legal grammatical rule or just a mere convention.
Example, can I say "thine vanity" instead of "thy vanity" or "thy afflictions" instead of "thine afflictions"
I know that conventionally thy is used before consonant noun while thine is used before vowel noun, however I wonder is this a legal grammatical rule or just a mere convention.
Example, can I say "thine vanity" instead of "thy vanity" or "thy afflictions" instead of "thine afflictions"
Top answer
Hello, avid learner - and welcome to English Forums. First let me make it very clear that you cannot say any of those because neither word is used in contemporary English . These 2nd person singular familiar pronouns/adjectives were superseded by 'you' in the late 1600s.
- Hello, avid learner - and welcome to English Forums.
- First let me make it very clear that you cannot say any of those because neither word is used in contemporary English .
- These 2nd person singular familiar pronouns/adjectives were superseded by 'you' in the late 1600s.
- They lingered amongst the Quakers (a Christian sect) until almost 1900.
- However, that was the rule.
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3 Answers
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Hello, avid learner - and welcome to English Forums.
First let me make it very clear that you cannot say any of those because neither word is used in contemporary English. These 2nd person singular familiar pronouns/adjectives were superseded by 'you' in the late 1600s. They lingered amongst the Quakers (a Christian sect) until almost 1900.
However, that was the rule.
First let me make it very clear that you cannot say any of those because neither word is used in contemporary English. These 2nd person singular familiar pronouns/adjectives were superseded by 'you' in the late 1600s. They lingered amongst the Quakers (a Christian sect) until almost 1900.
However, that was the rule.
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avid learnerExample, can I say "thine vanity" instead of "thy vanity" or "thy afflictions" instead of "thine afflictions"Not if you are following the example of Shakespeare.
thine afflictions (c.f. an affliction)
thy vanity (c.f. a vanity)
Of course, you'll sound like a total nutcase if you actually say these things in
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Well, the word “legal”, is probably a bad wording.
What I mean by “legal” is really “standard”.
Standard grammatical rules are mostly written, formal, and codified; so they have a strict concept of right and wrong or permitted and unpermitted.
Example: “I are a accountant” is definitely wrong. The right auxiliary verb in this example is of-course “am” and the article is
What I mean by “legal” is really “standard”.
Standard grammatical rules are mostly written, formal, and codified; so they have a strict concept of right and wrong or permitted and unpermitted.
Example: “I are a accountant” is definitely wrong. The right auxiliary verb in this example is of-course “am” and the article is
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