Reading Strategy
Middle English Reading 1
Chapter 1 · Reading Strategy
🔍 Reading Strategy
From Chapter 2 on, every chapter reads one real text. Before that you need a routine. This chapter gives one and practises it on short examples. It assumes Middle English Grammar 1; each step names the chapter of that course it comes from.
One rule I am keeping
I do not make up Middle English sentences in this course. I wrote Old English practice sentences for the earlier reading course from forms I had verified, but Middle English Grammar 1 had gaps (no full noun, article or verb tables), and a sentence I built could contain a form I could not check. Every example below is therefore taken from a source named under it. The notes and glosses are mine.
The routine, step by step
| Step | Ask | Look back at |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Verb | Which word has a verb ending: -e, -(e)st, -eþ or -es, -en, -ed? Or is it one of the irregular verbs? | Middle English Grammar 1, Chapters 6 and 7 |
| 2. Pronouns | Which pronouns are there, and are they subject or object? Remember his can mean "its". | Middle English Grammar 1, Chapter 5 |
| 3. Little words | þe, þis, þat, a; and a final -e on the adjective that follows. | Middle English Grammar 1, Chapters 3 and 4 |
| 4. Nouns | Plural -es or -en; genitive -es, or no genitive ending. | Middle English Grammar 1, Chapter 2 |
| 5. Negatives and borrowed words | ne, not; Norse or French words. | Middle English Grammar 1, Chapters 8 and 9 |
| 6. Spelling | Thorn, yogh, the final e; say the word aloud. | Middle English Grammar 1, Chapter 1 |
| 7. Read it again | Put it into English and check that it makes sense. |
Worked example 1: verb endings
ich here
I hear
þou spekest
thou speakest
he comeþ
he cometh (comes)
Source: Wikipedia, Middle English, Morphology, Verbs (read in Middle English Grammar 1, Chapter 6). The glosses follow the article's.
- Verbs: here ends in -e (1st singular), spekest in -(e)st (2nd singular), comeþ in -eþ (3rd singular).
- Pronouns: ich and þou are subjects from the Chapter 5 table.
- The ending tells you the person even before you look at the pronoun. That is the habit to build.
Worked example 2: a negative
I ne seye not
I NEG say not
"I do not say"
Source: Wikipedia, Jespersen's cycle, English section (read in Middle English Grammar 1, Chapter 8). Gloss as given there; the translation is mine.
- Verb: seye, with the 1st singular -e.
- Negative: ne ... not around the verb, the second of the three stages in Chapter 8.
Worked example 3: a real line
1Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote
2The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
when that April with its showers sweet / the drought of March has pierced to the root
"When April with its sweet showers has pierced March's drought to the root"
Source: Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, Prologue, lines 1 and 2, Skeat's 1900 edition on Wikisource, as the page tool gave them. The gloss and translation are mine.
- Verb: hath is the 3rd singular of have (haþ in Chapter 7). perced ends in the weak -ed (Chapter 6).
- Pronouns: his stands for "its" (Chapter 5's table lists his for the neuter).
- Little words: the is the reduced article (Chapter 3).
- Nouns: shoures has the strong plural -es (Chapter 2).
- The odd one: that after Whan has no meaning of its own here. It is part of a conjunction, but I did not find that explained in the sources, so that note is mine and unverified.
Practical notes for real texts
- Look up the base form. A glossary lists verbs by the infinitive (-en) and nouns by the singular, so remove the ending before you look a word up.
- Spelling varies. The Skeat edition prints sote in line 1, where the edition quoted in The History of the English Language, Chapter 3 has soote. Editions differ, and each chapter's Watch out box points out differences.
- Dialect. The same verb ending can differ by region (Chapter 6), so each chapter says where its text comes from, as far as its source states it.
📋 Quick Reference
| Do this | Because |
|---|---|
| Find the verb ending first | It tells you the person, number and tense |
| Check the pronoun table | Subject and object forms are different |
| Look for the final -e after þe, þis, þat | Adjectives take -e there |
| Treat ne ... not as one negative | The second stage of negation |
| Say "not in my tables" when you reach a gap | The grammar sources did not cover everything |
✏️ Try It Yourself
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. In þou spekest, what does the ending tell you?
Show answer
2nd person singular, present: -(e)st.
2. What person is he comeþ?
Show answer
3rd singular, with the ending -eþ.
3. Translate ich here.
Show answer
"I hear."
4. In I ne seye not, which two words make the negative?
Show answer
ne and not, around the verb.
5. In line 2 of the Prologue, which word is the form of have?
Show answer
hath, 3rd singular.
6. Which word in line 2 ends in the weak past ending?
Show answer
perced, with -ed.
7. What does his mean in line 1?
Show answer
"Its": his is the neuter possessive in the pronoun table.
8. What ending does shoures carry, and what does it show?
Show answer
The strong plural -es: "showers".
9. Why does this course not use a verb-second step?
Show answer
The grammar sources gave no word-order rule for Middle English beyond a general move to stricter order.
10. What should you do when a form is not in your tables?
Show answer
Say so, and treat any reading as a guess, rather than filling the gap from memory.