What were the separate dative forms before they merged with the accusative forms? Or would that take you too far back (like Old English)?
It might take you back further than that. My source indicates that in OE, the accusative forms of 'thou' and 'ye' were
e/
ec and
eow/
eowic, respectively, while the dative forms were limited to being only
e and
eow. This appears to follow the pattern for the dual number of these pronouns (
inc/
incit) as well as for all three numbers of the first person pronouns.
ABE:
My source further states:
quote:
C. M. Millward in A Biography of the English Language 2nd. ed. (1996):
The first distinction, between dative and accusative, was collapsing even in OE, where it was clearly and consistently retained only in the third person. (pp. 98—99)
Edited by Jon, : Edited to include further information...
Edited by Jon, : No reason given.
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