Verb Endings (Inflectional Suffixes)
In contemporary English there is only one verbal inflectional suffix (at least as far as the present tense is concerned), namely the "-s" that marks third person singular, e.g. he sits, she eats etc.
During the Early Modern English Period, though, there were some more verb endings.
Task
Can you spot them in the following text passages?
With her, that hateth thee and hates vs all. (HenryVl II.iv.52)
He rowseth vp himself, and makes a pause. (The Rape of Lucretia 541)
Most of our English words (as they are commonly pronounc't) are monosyllables: for howsoever wee use to write thus, "leadeth" it, "maketh" it, ... &c Yet in our ordinary speech… wee say, "leads" it, "makes" it… Yea, custom hat so far prevailed in this kinde, not onely with the Learned in their Writings, but also, with the Pres: as it may plainly appear by mand wel-Printed Books … Therefore, whensoever "eth", cometh, in the end of any word, wee may pronounce it sometimes as "s" & sometimes like "z" as in these words, namely in "bolteth" it and "holdeth" it, which are commonly pronounc't, as if they were written thus, "bolts" it, "bolds" it …
(The passage is taken from Richard Hodges's Special Help to Orthography (1643))
(The passage is taken from Richard Hodges's Special Help to Orthography (1643))