Hit (pronoun)

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This article is about the Old English personal pronoun. For other uses, see Hit (disambiguation).

Hit (IPA: /hɪt/) was the neuter, third-person, singular, personal pronoun (subject case) in Old English.

This word would probably have sounded something like Modern English heat. Dutch and Afrikaans 'het' are closely related.[1]

Personal pronouns in Old English
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
1st Singular ic me(c) me min
Dual wit unc uncer
Plural we us ure
2nd Singular þu þe þin
Dual git inc incer
Plural ge eow eower
3rd Singular Masculine he hine him his
Neuter hit hit him his
Feminine heo hie hire hire
Plural hie hie him hira
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive

[edit] Etymology

Personal pronouns in Middle English
Singular Plural
Subject Object Possessive Subject Object Possessive
First I me mi(n) we us ure
Second thou thee thy ye you your
Third Impersonal hit it/him his he
they		 hem
them		 hir
their
Masculine he him his
Feminine sche hire hir

[edit] References

  1. ^ See Dutch and Afrikaans phonology.

[edit] External links

  • Peter S. Baker. 'Pronouns'. In Peter S. Baker. The Electronic Introduction to Old English. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003, c. 5.