Welcome to the course!
This grammar explanation will be quite thorough, which is essential for understanding the Old Church Slavonic language. OCS is an older stage of Slavic and has more complex features than modern Slavic languages, so understanding its structure is key.
Conjugation of 'byti' (To Be)
The verb "to be" (быти) is essential for talking about existence or identity. Its present tense forms are used to say "I am," "you are," "he is," etc., or to indicate where something is located. OCS has singular, dual (for two), and plural forms.
Singular:
- Азъ ѥсмъ (I am)
- Тꙑ ѥси (You are)
- Онъ/Она/Оно ѥстъ (He/She/It is)
Dual:
- Вѣ ѥсвѣ (We two are)
- Въі ѥста (You two are)
- Онѣ/Она ѥстѣ (They two are - masc/neuter / They two are - fem)
Plural:
- Мꙑ ѥсмъ (We are)
- Вꙑ ѥсте (You are)
- Они/Она сѫтъ (They are - masc/neuter / They are - fem)
Examples: Азъ ѥсмъ рабъ (I am a servant). Она́ ѥстъ добра́ (She is good). Мꙑ ѥсмъ добри раби (We are good servants). Они́ сѫтъ сьде (They are here).
How to Determine the Gender of a Word
Old Church Slavonic nouns belong to one of three genders: Masculine, Feminine, or Neuter. Knowing the gender is crucial because it affects the endings of adjectives and other words used with the noun, as well as noun declension patterns. Generally, the gender is evident from the noun's ending in its basic form (nominative singular):
- Masculine: Most nouns ending in a hard or soft consonant are masculine (e.g., домъ - house, столъ - table, отьць - father, мѫжь - man).
- Feminine: Most nouns ending in -а or -ꙗ (after a soft consonant or vowel) are feminine (e.g., жена́ - woman, книга - book, землꙗ́ - earth/land). Some nouns ending in a consonant are feminine (e.g., нощь - night).
- Neuter: Most nouns ending in -о or -е are neuter (e.g., село́ - village, мо́ре - sea).
- Keep in mind: There are some exceptions to these rules, especially with consonant-ending feminine nouns, where gender needs to be memorized.
The Nominative Case: The Subject and Naming
The Nominative case is the basic form of a noun or adjective, primarily used for the subject of a sentence (who or what performs the action) or simply to name things. This is the form you will find words in dictionaries.
Nouns: Singular, dual, and plural forms vary based on gender and declension class.
- Hard Masculine Examples: Sg: домъ. Du: дома. Pl: доми.
- Soft Masculine Examples: Sg: мѫжь. Du: мѫжа. Pl: мѫжи.
- Feminine Examples: Sg: жена́. Du: женѣ. Pl: жены. Sg: нощь. Du: нощи. Pl: нощи.
- Neuter Examples: Sg: село́. Du: селѣ. Pl: села́.
Adjectives: Agree in gender, number (singular, dual, plural), and case with the noun they describe. Adjectives have different endings for hard (ь-stem) and soft (j-stem) stems, and also distinguish between definite and indefinite forms (which is a complex topic on its own). Here we show the simple/indefinite forms in the nominative.
- Hard Stem Examples: Sg: добръ (m), добра (f), добро (n). Du: добра (m/n), добрѣ (f). Pl: добри (m), добры (f), добра (n).
- Soft Stem Examples: Sg: синь (m), синя (f), синѥ (n). Du: синя (m/n), сини (f). Pl: сини (m), синя (f/n).
Examples: Добръ домъ ѥстъ старъ (A good house is old). Синѥ мо́ре ѥстъ велико (The blue sea is big). Краснꙑ жєнꙑ́ говоратъ (Beautiful women are speaking).
Demonstrative Pronouns (Nominative) and Why Use Them
Demonstrative pronouns help us specify particular nouns, similar to using "this" or "that." In the Nominative case, they also match the gender and number (singular, dual, plural) of the noun they refer to. Using them helps you specify exactly which item you mean from a group.
- Singular: сь (m), сьꙗ (f), си (n) - (this) / онъ (m), она́ (f), оно́ (n) - (that - referring to something already mentioned)
- Dual: сꙗ (m/n), си (f) - (these two) / она́ (m/n), онѣ (f) - (those two)
- Plural: си (m), сꙙ (f/n) - (these) / они́ (m), она́ (f/n) - (those)
- Examples: Сь домъ ѥстъ великъ (This house is big). Сьꙗ книга ѥстъ моꙗ́ (This book is mine). Си село́ ѥстъ наше (This village is ours). Си людиѥ сѫтъ весели (These people are cheerful).