(ein is declined as in modern German, except that the feminine nominative and accusative is regularly ein.)
When used attributively, the adjective has two declensions, strong and weak (as in modern German). The strong declension is as follows:
Singular
Plural
The forms with a final -e after the modern Ger. endings are relatively rare.
The weak adjective declension is as follows:
In general, the weak declension is used if an attributive adjective follows a word which has a strong adjective ending, but there is much more freedom than in modern German.
E.g.: eines (str. adj. ending) guoten (wk. ending) mannes disiu (str.) edele (wk.) vrouwe daz guote kint diu guoten kint
One group of adjectives (old ja-stems) ) have the ending -e when used predicatively. They are inflected regularly, but some of them may be found with or without the -e ending. If they lack the -e ending they may also not be umlauted. E.g. scharpf or schærpfe.
Other ja-stems are: schœne, lære, dünne, grüene, niuwe, reine, senfte, wilde, ellende, rîche, mære (famous), bœse, kleine, etc.
After al(-) and demonstratives, the attributive adjective frequently has strong endings. E.g.
allem irdischen künne disiu guotiu vrouwe der edeler man
Strong endings are used if the adjective alone modifies a noun, e.g. guoter ritter, guotez kint. But weak forms may also be found with this same construction, e.g: liebe sun, ich arme mensche.
al may occur without an ending before the definite article and possessives in all cases. E.g.: al diu werelt, al mîn êre, etc.
Adjectives ending in -el, -em, -er, -en, and those with a short root vowel ending in -r or -1 drop the -e- of the ending. E.g. diu andern, michelme.
Comparison of Adjectives The comparative form has the ending -er to which adjective endings are added, except in the nominative singular of all genders, which is always -er without an additional ending. Most, but not all also umlaut: grôz, grœzer (cf. nominative: der, diu, daz grœzer); lanc, lenger (or langer); kreftig, kreftiger (Note: ein kreftiger man can mean either 'a strong man' or 'a stronger man').
If the stem of the adjective ends in -r, -l, or -n, the -er ending may also be -re. Hence the comparative of tiure is either tiurer or tiurre.
The superlative is formed by the ending -(e)st, usually with Umlaut. (The -e- is often dropped especially in the inflected forms). E.g. der grœste or der grœzeste, der kreftigste.
Some adjectives are compared irregularly:
guot, bezzer, bezzest or beste übel, wirser, wirsest or wirste lützel, minner or minre, minnest or min(ne)ste michel, mêre (mêrer, mêrre, merre), meiste ---, êrer (êrre, erre) (=earlier), êrest (êrsete) (=first)--There is no positive form.
Adverbs
Adverbs may be formed from adjectives by adding the ending -e (unless the adjective already ends in -e), and removing the Umlaut, if any is present. E.g. adjective: schœne; adverb: schône; adjective: süeze; adverb: suoze. Polysyllabic adjectives, however, keep the Umlaut in their adverbial form. (E.g. adjective: edele; adverb: edele). The comparative and superlative forms of the adverb are like these forms of the adjective without ending or Umlaut. E.g.:
Adjective: hoch, hœher, hœhest Adverb: hôhe, hôher, hôhest
Adjective: schœne, schœner, schœnest Adverb: schône, schôner, schônest
wol is the adverb to guot.
The adverbs vil, lützel, wênic, niht, genuoc (as well as other quantitative words such as waz, swaz, etwaz et al.) are quasi-nouns. They are usually followed by a genitive singular or plural and may stand as the subject or object in a sentence. Note: waz with a genitive singular means 'how much' and with a genitive plural means 'how many.'
Adjectives ending in -ec (ic), or -isch form their adverbs by adding -lîche(n). They keep their Umlaut:
Ad jective: sælec Adverb: sæleclîche or sæleclîchen Adjective: wunnec Adverb: wunneclîche or wunneclîchen
Some adverbs are compared irregularly and differently from the corresponding adjectival form:
Comparative degree Superlative degree
Adj: bezzer Adv. baz Adv. beste Adj: wirser Adv. wirs Adv. wirsest, wirste Adj: mêre Adv. mê (mêr, mêre) Adv. meist, meiste Adj. êrer Adv. ê Adv. êr(e)st, êrste
Pronouns and Demonstratives
The personal pronouns are as follows:
lst. Pers. 2nd. Pers. 3rd. Pers.
N. ich du er si(sî) ez G. mîn dîn sîn ir sîn D. mir dir im(ime) ir(ire) im(ime) A. mich dich in si(sî) ez
N. wir ir si (si) si (sî) si (sî) G. unser iuwer ir (ire) ir {ire) ir (ire) D. uns iu in in in A. uns iuch si (sî) si (sî) si (sî)
Other variant forms may be found (such as sie, siu, unsich, iuwich, etc.), but they are usually rare.
For the reflexive pronoun, sich is used (sing. & plu.) only in the accusative. For the dative im, ir, im are used in the sing. and in for the plural (all genders).
diser is inflected as follows:
Sing. Masc. Fem. Neut.
N. diser, dirre, dise disiu ditze, diz G. dises, disse, disses diser, dirre dises, disse, dises D. disem diser, dirre disem A. disen dise ditze, diz
Plu. N. dise dise disiu G. diser, dirre diser, dirre diser, dirre D. disen disen disen A. dise dise disiu
wer is declined as follows:
Masc. Fem. Neut.
N. wer wer waz G. wes wes wes D. wem wem wem A. wen wen waz
The numbers are as follows:
Cardinals Ordinals
1. ein, -er,-iu, ez êrste 2. zwêne (m.), zwô (f.), zwei (n.) ander 3. drî(e) (m.f.), driu (n.) dritte 4. vier vierde 5. fünf fünfte 6. sehs sehste 7. siben sibende (-te) 8. ahte (ähte) ahtede, ahte 9. niun niunde, -te l0. zehen zehende, -te 11. ei(n)lif ei(n)lifte, eilfte 12. zwelf zwelfte 13. drîzehen drîzehende 14. vierzehen vierzehende 15. fünfzehen fünfzehende 16. seh(s)zehen seh(s)zehende 17. sibenzehen sibenzehende 18. ah(t)zehen ah(t)zehende 19. niunzehen niunzehende 20. zweinzig,-zec zweinzigeste 21. ein und zweinzic einundzweinzigeste 30. drîzic, -ec drîzegeste 40. vierzic, -ec vierzigeste 50. fünfzic, -ec fünfzigeste 60. sehszig, -ec sehszigeste 70. sibenzig, -ec zibenzigeste 80. ah(t)zic, -ec ah(t)zigeste 90. niunzic, -ec niunzigeste 100. hundert hundertste 200. zwei hundert zweihundertste 1000. tûsent tûsentste 2000. zwei tûsent zweitüsentste
The forms zwei(g)er, and zwei(e)n are often found for the fem. gen. and dat.
The forms drî(g)er and drî(e)n are often found for the fem. gen. and dat.
hundert and tûsent are neuter nouns.