General Linguistics

Selected Subfields

Much Ado About Nothing, Act II, Scene 3, example 5

Benedick and Beatrice often quarrel, nevertheless their friends and family try to convince them that they are in love with each other. Benedick has already been told that Beatrice is in love with him; there is still a certain distance between them.

Benedick: Here comes Beatrice. By this day! she's a fair lady: I do spy some marks of love in her.
Beatrice: Against my will I am sent to bid [A] come in to dinner.
Benedick: Fair Beatrice, I thank [B] for [C] pains.
Beatrice: I took no more pains for those thanks than [D] take pains to thank me: if it had been painful, I would not have come.
Benedick: [E] take pleasure then in the message?
Beatrice: Yea, just so much as [F] may take upon a knife's point. [G] have no stomach, signior: fare [H] well.

Position A has to be:

thee
your
you

Position B has to be:

thy
you
thee

Position C has to be:

thy
your
thou

Position D has to be:

you
your
thou

Position E has to be:

thou
your
you

Positions F, G and H have to be:

you
your
thou

watch example 5, Much Ado About Nothing II,3