Editing Middle Dutch (section)

==Grammar==

===Nouns===
Middle Dutch nouns inflected for number as well as [[Grammatical case|case]]. The weakening of unstressed syllables merged many different Old Dutch classes of nominal declension. The result was a general distinction between strong and weak nouns. Eventually even these started to become confused, with the strong and weak endings slowly beginning to merge into a single declension class by the beginning of the modern Dutch period.

====Strong nouns====

The strong nouns generally originated from the Old Dutch a-stem, i-stem and u-stem inflections. They mostly had a nominative singular with no ending, and a nominative plural in ''-e'' or, for some neuter nouns, with no ending. Most strong nouns were masculine or neuter. Feminines in this class were former i-stems, and could lack an ending in the dative singular, a remnant of the late Old Dutch inflection. In some rare occasions, the genitive singular was also endingless. Some nouns ended in ''-e'' in the singular also; these were primarily former ja-stems, which were masculine or neuter. A few were former i-stems with short stems. Nouns of this type tended to be drawn into the weak inflection by analogy.

The following table shows the inflection of the masculine noun {{wikt-lang|dum|dach}} "day", feminine {{wikt-lang|dum|daet|dâet}} "deed" and neuter {{wikt-lang|dum|broot|brôot}} "bread".

{| class="wikitable"
|
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative, Accusative
| dach
| dāge
| dâet
| dâde
| brôot
| brôot, brôde
|-
! Genitive
| dāechs, dāges
| dāge
| dâets, dâdes
| dâde
| brôots, brôdes
| brôde
|-
! Dative
| dāge
| dāgen
| dâet, dâde
| dâden
| brôde
| brôden
|}

====Weak nouns====

Weak nouns were characterised by the ending ''-en'' throughout the plural. The singular ended in ''-e''.

The following table shows the inflection of the masculine noun {{wikt-lang|dum|bōge}} "bow, arc".

{| class="wikitable"
|
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative, Accusative
| bōge
| bōgen
|-
! Genitive
| bōgen
| bōgen
|-
! Dative
| bōge
| bōgen
|}

===Adjectives===

Middle Dutch adjectives inflected according to the gender, case and number of the noun they modified.

The Germanic distinction between strong and weak, or indefinite and definite inflection, was fairly minimal in Middle Dutch, appearing only in the masculine and neuter nominative singular. These forms received an ''-e'' ending when a definite word (demonstrative, article) preceded, and had no ending otherwise. Adjectives were uninflected when connected through a copula. Thus, even for feminine nouns, no ending appeared: ''die vrouwe is goet'' "the lady is good".

Some adjectives, namely the former ja-stems, had an ''-e'' even in the strong and copular form, e.g. ''die vrouwe is clein'''e''''' "the lady is small".

{| class="wikitable"
|
! Masculine
! Feminine
! Neuter
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| goet (indef)<br/>goede (defn)
|rowspan=2| goede
|rowspan=2| goet (indef)<br/>goede (defn)
|rowspan=2| goede
|-
! Accusative
| goeden
|-
! Genitive
| goets
|rowspan=2| goeder
| goets
| goeder
|-
! Dative
| goeden
| goeden
| goeden
|}

===Pronouns===
Middle Dutch pronouns differed little from their modern counterparts. The main differences were in the second person with the development of a [[T-V distinction]]. The second-person plural pronoun ''ghi'' slowly gained use as a respectful second-person singular form. The original singular pronoun ''du'' gradually fell out of use during the Middle Dutch period. A new second person plural pronoun was created by contraction of ''gij/jij'' and ''lui'' ('people') forming ''gullie/jullie'' (literally, 'you people').

{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="3"| || colspan="5"| Singular || colspan="3" | Plural
|-
! rowspan="2"| 1st || rowspan="2"| 2nd || colspan="3"| 3rd || rowspan="2"| 1st || rowspan="2"| 2nd || rowspan="2"| 3rd
|-
! Masc. || Fem. || Neut.
|-
! Nominative
| ic, icke || du || hi || si || rowspan="2"| het/'t || wi || ghi || si
|-
! Accusative
| rowspan="2"| mi || rowspan="2"| di || rowspan="2"| hem/hen/'n || haer/se || rowspan="2"| ons || rowspan="2"| u || rowspan="2"| hem/hen/'n
|-
! Dative
| haer || hem
|-
! Genitive
| mijns || dijns || sijns || harer || 'es || onser || uwer || haer/'re
|}
Note: There are several other forms.

===Determiners===

'''Definite Article'''<BR>
(''die'', ''dat'' = the)

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Grammatical Case'''
! '''Male'''
! '''Female'''
! '''Neuter'''
|-
! colspan="4" align="center"|'''[[Grammatical number|Singular]]'''
|-
! '''[[Nominative]]'''
| align="center"|die
| rowspan="2" align="center"|die
| rowspan="2" align="center"|dat
|-
! '''[[Accusative]]'''
| rowspan="2" align="center"|den
|-
! '''[[Dative]]'''
| rowspan="2" align="center"|der
| align="center"|den
|-
! '''[[Genitive]]'''
| align="center"|des
| align="center"|des
|-
!colspan="4" align="center"|'''[[Plural]]'''
|-
! '''[[Nominative]]'''
| rowspan="2" colspan="3" align="center"|die
|-
! '''[[Accusative]]'''
|-
! '''[[Dative]]'''
| colspan="3" align="center"|den
|-
! '''[[Genitive]]'''
| colspan="3" align="center"|der
|-
|}

===Verbs===
{{expand section|date=November 2010}}
Middle Dutch mostly retained the Old Dutch verb system. Like all Germanic languages, it distinguished [[Germanic strong verb|strong]], [[Germanic weak verb|weak]] and [[Preterite-present verb|preterite-present]] verbs as the three main inflectional classes. Verbs were inflected in present and past tense, and in three moods: indicative, subjunctive and imperative.

The weakening of unstressed vowels affected the distinction between the [[Indicative mood|indicative]] and [[Subjunctive mood|subjunctive]] moods, which had largely been determined by the vowel of the inflectional suffix in Old Dutch. In Middle Dutch, with all unstressed vowels merging into one, the subjunctive became distinguished from the indicative only in the singular but was identical to it in the plural, and also in the past tense of weak verbs. That led to a gradual decline in the use of the subjunctive, and it has been all but lost entirely in modern Dutch.

====Strong verbs====
The seven classes of strong verb common to the Germanic languages were retained. The four principal parts were the present tense, first- and third-person singular past tense, remaining past tense, and the past participle.

{| class="wikitable"
! Class
! Present
! Past<br/>1/3 sg
! Past<br/>rest
! Ptcp.
! Example verbs
|-
! 1
| î
| ê
| ē
| ē
| {{wikt-lang|dum|bliven}}
|-
! 2
| {{notatypo|ie}}, û
| ô
| ō
| ō
| {{wikt-lang|dum|bieden}}, {{wikt-lang|dum|bugen}}
|-
! 3
| e, i
| a
| o
| o
| {{wikt-lang|dum|helpen}}, {{wikt-lang|dum|binden}}
|-
! 4
| ē
| a
| â
| ō
| {{wikt-lang|dum|stelen}}
|-
! 5
| ē, i
| a
| â
| ē
| {{wikt-lang|dum|lesen}}, {{wikt-lang|dum|liggen}}
|-
! 6
| ā
| oe
| oe
| â
| {{wikt-lang|dum|dragen}}
|-
! 7
| (any)
| {{notatypo|ie}}
| {{notatypo|ie}}
| (any)
| {{wikt-lang|dum|slapen}}
|}

In classes 6 and 7, there was no distinction between the two different vowels of the past tense. In classes 4 and 5, the difference was primarily one of length, since ''ā'' and ''â'' were not distinguished in most dialects. The difference between ''ê'' and ''ē'', and between ''ô'' and ''ō'', found in classes 1 and 2, was a bit more robust, but also eventually waned in the development to modern Dutch. Consequently, the distinction was mostly lost. Class 3, which retained a clear distinction that did not rely on vowel length, was levelled in favour of the ''o'' of the plural.

In classes with a lengthened vowel in the present, the singular imperative often appears with a short vowel instead, e.g. ''les'', ''drach''. An alternative form, with final ''-e'' by analogy with the weak verbs, also occurs.

The eastern dialects occasionally show ''i'' in the second- and third-person singular present indicative forms, instead of ''e''. This is a remnant of older i-mutation in these forms. Umlaut is also sometimes found in the past subjunctive in the east.

{|
|
{| class="wikitable"
! Infinitive
| colspan="2" | bliven
|-
! Gerund
| colspan="2" | blivene
|-
! colspan="3" | Indicative mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| blive
| blêef
|-
! 2nd sing.
| blijfs, blives
| blēefs, blēves
|-
! 3rd sing.
| blijft, blivet
| blêef
|-
! 1st plur.
| bliven
| blēven
|-
! 2nd plur.
| blijft, blivet
| blēeft, blēvet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| bliven
| blēven
|-
! colspan="3" | Subjunctive mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| blive
| blēve
|-
! 2nd sing.
| blijfs, blives
| blēefs, blēves
|-
! 3rd sing.
| blive
| blēve
|-
! 1st plur.
| bliven
| blēven
|-
! 2nd plur.
| blijft, blivet
| blēeft, blēvet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| bliven
| blēven
|-
! colspan="3" | Imperative mood
|-
! Sing.
| colspan="2" | blijf, blive
|-
! Plur.
| colspan="2" | blijft, blivet
|-
! colspan="3" | Participle
|-
!
| blivende
| geblēven
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
! Infinitive
| colspan="2" | binden
|-
! Gerund
| colspan="2" | bindene
|-
! colspan="3" | Indicative mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| binde
| bant
|-
! 2nd sing.
| bints, bindes
| bonts, bondes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| bint, bindet
| bant
|-
! 1st plur.
| binden
| bonden
|-
! 2nd plur.
| bint, bindet
| bont, bondet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| binden
| bonden
|-
! colspan="3" | Subjunctive mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| binde
| bonde
|-
! 2nd sing.
| bints, bindes
| bonts, bondes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| binde
| bonde
|-
! 1st plur.
| binden
| bonden
|-
! 2nd plur.
| bint, bindet
| bont, bondet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| binden
| bonden
|-
! colspan="3" | Imperative mood
|-
! Sing.
| colspan="2" | bint, binde
|-
! Plur.
| colspan="2" | bint, bindet
|-
! colspan="3" | Participle
|-
!
| bindende
| gebonden
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
! Infinitive
| colspan="2" | drāgen
|-
! Gerund
| colspan="2" | drāgene
|-
! colspan="3" | Indicative mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| drāge
| droech
|-
! 2nd sing.
| drāechs, drāges
| droechs, droeges
|-
! 3rd sing.
| drāecht, drāget
| droech
|-
! 1st plur.
| drāgen
| droegen
|-
! 2nd plur.
| drāecht, drāget
| droecht, droeget
|-
! 3rd plur.
| drāgen
| droegen
|-
! colspan="3" | Subjunctive mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| drāge
| droege
|-
! 2nd sing.
| drāechs, drāges
| droechs, droeges
|-
! 3rd sing.
| drāge
| droege
|-
! 1st plur.
| drāgen
| droegen
|-
! 2nd plur.
| drāecht, drāget
| droecht, droeget
|-
! 3rd plur.
| drāgen
| droegen
|-
! colspan="3" | Imperative mood
|-
! Sing.
| colspan="2" | drach, drāge
|-
! Plur.
| colspan="2" | drāecht, drāget
|-
! colspan="3" | Participle
|-
!
| drāgende
| gedrāgen
|}
|}

====Weak verbs====
Middle Dutch retained weak verbs as the only productive class of verbs. While Old Dutch still had two different classes of weak verbs (and remnants of a third), this distinction was lost in Middle Dutch with the weakening of unstressed syllables.

The past tense was formed with a suffix ''-ed-'', which generally lost its ''e'' through syncope and thus came to be directly attached to the preceding stem. This triggered voicing assimilation, so that ''t'' appeared whenever the preceding stem ended in a voiceless consonant. This phenomenon remains in modern Dutch. Unsyncopated forms, which retain the fuller suffix ''-ed-'', are sometimes found, especially with stems ending in a labial or velar consonant.

Some former class 1 weak verbs retained so-called ''[[Rückumlaut]]''. These verbs had undergone umlaut in the present tense, but the umlaut-triggering vowel was syncopated in the past tense already in Old Dutch, preventing umlaut from taking hold there. Thus, ''senden'' had the first- and third-person singular past tense ''sande''. These verbs tended to be reinterpreted as strong verbs in later Middle Dutch; ''sande'' itself gave rise to the modern ''zond'', mirroring strong class 3.

{|
|
{| class="wikitable"
! Infinitive
| colspan="2" | māken
|-
! Gerund
| colspan="2" | mākene
|-
! colspan="3" | Indicative mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| māke
| māecte
|-
! 2nd sing.
| māecs, mākes
| māectes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| māect, māket
| māecte
|-
! 1st plur.
| māken
| māecten
|-
! 2nd plur.
| māect, māket
| māectet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| māken
| māecten
|-
! colspan="3" | Subjunctive mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| māke
| māecte
|-
! 2nd sing.
| māecs, mākes
| māectes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| māke
| māecte
|-
! 1st plur.
| māken
| māecten
|-
! 2nd plur.
| māect, māket
| māectet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| māken
| māecten
|-
! colspan="3" | Imperative mood
|-
! Sing.
| colspan="2" | māke
|-
! Plur.
| colspan="2" | māect, māket
|-
! colspan="3" | Participle
|-
!
| mākende
| gemāect, gemāket
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
! Infinitive
| colspan="2" | senden
|-
! Gerund
| colspan="2" | sendene
|-
! colspan="3" | Indicative mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| sende
| sende, sande
|-
! 2nd sing.
| sents, sendes
| sendes, sandes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| sent, sendet
| sende, sande
|-
! 1st plur.
| senden
| senden, sanden
|-
! 2nd plur.
| sent, sendet
| sendet, sandet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| senden
| senden, sanden
|-
! colspan="3" | Subjunctive mood
|-
!
! Present
! Past
|-
! 1st sing.
| sende
| sende
|-
! 2nd sing.
| sents, sendes
| sendes
|-
! 3rd sing.
| sende
| sende
|-
! 1st plur.
| senden
| senden
|-
! 2nd plur.
| sent, sendet
| sendet
|-
! 3rd plur.
| senden
| senden
|-
! colspan="3" | Imperative mood
|-
! Sing.
| colspan="2" | sende
|-
! Plur.
| colspan="2" | sent, sendet
|-
! colspan="3" | Participle
|-
!
| sendende
| gesent, gesendet, gesant
|}
|}