Old Church Slavonic

Old Church Slavonic

Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...

is an inflectional language with moderately complex verbal and nominal systems.

Phonology

For Old Church Slavonic the following segments are reconstructible:

Old Church Slavonic vowel segments Front unrounded Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... Back unrounded Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... Back rounded Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... Oral Nasal Oral Oral Nasal i y u ь ъ e ę o ǫ ě a

Old Church Slavonic consonant segments Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... Dental Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... Plosive p b t d k g Affricate Affricate consonant Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :... c dz č Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... v s z š ž x Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... m n n' Lateral Lateral consonant A lateral is an el-like consonant, in which airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth.... l l' Trill Trill consonant In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the place of articulation. Standard Spanish <rr> as in perro is an alveolar trill, while in Parisian French it is almost always uvular.... r r' Semi-vowel j

Several notable constraints on the distribution of the phonemes can be identified, mostly resulting from the tendencies occurring within the Common Slavic period, such as intrasyllabic synharmony and the law of open syllables. For consonant and vowel clusters and for sequences of a consonant and a vowel, the following constraints can be ascertained:

• two adjacent consonants tend not to share identical features of manner of articulation
  Manner of articulation
  In linguistics, manner of articulation describes how the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs are involved in making a sound. Often the concept is only used for the production of consonants, even though the movement of the articulars will also greatly alter the resonant properties of the...
  
  
• no syllable ends in a consonant
• every obstruent other than /v/ agrees in voicing with the following obstruent
• velars do not occur before front vowels
• phonetically palatalized consonants do not occur before certain back vowels
• the back vowels /y/ and /ъ/ as well as front vowels other than /i/ do not occur word-initially: the two back vowels take prothetic /v/ and the front vowels prothetic /j/
• vowel sequences are attested in only one lexeme (paǫčina 'spider's web') and in the suffixes /aa/ and /aě/ of the imperfect
• at morpheme boundaries, the following vowel sequences occur: /ai/, /au/, /ao/, /oi/, /ou/, /oo/, /ěi/, /ěo/

Morphophonemic alternations

As a result of the first

Slavic first palatalization

Slavic first palatalization is a Proto-Slavic sound change, that manifested as regressive palatalization of inherited Balto-Slavic velars and velar fricative.- Motivation :...

 and the second

Slavic second palatalization

Slavic second palatalization is a Proto-Slavic sound change, that manifested as a regressive palatalization of inherited Balto-Slavic velars and velar fricative, chronologically occurring after the first and the third palatalization.-Motivation:...

 Slavic palatalizations, velars alternate with dentals and palatals:

Consonant alternations resulting from Proto-Slavic palatalizations

Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum)....	/k/	/g/	/x/	/sk/	/zg/	/sx/
Dental	/c/	/dz/	/s/	/sc/, /st/	/zd/	/sc/
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate...	/č/	/ž/	/š/	/št/	/žd/	/š/

In some forms the alternations of /c/ with /č/ and of /dz/ with /ž/ occur, in which the corresponding velar is missing. The dental alternants of velars occur regularly before /ě/ and /i/ in the declension and in the imperative, and somewhat less regularly in various forms after /i/, /ę/, /ь/ and /r^ь/. The palatal alternants of velars occur before front vowels in all other environments, where dental alternants do not occur, as well as in various places in inflection and word formation described below.

Consonant alternations resulting from Proto-Slavic */j/

Dental	/d/	/zd/	/t/	/st/	/z/	/s/	/r/	/tr/	/dr/	/n/	/sn/	/zn/	/l/	/sl/
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate...	/žd/	/žd/	/št/	/št/	/ž/	/š/	/r'/	/štr'/	/ždr'/	/n'/	/šn'/	/žn'/	/l'/	/šl'/

As a result of a process usually termed Common Slavic iotation (or iodization), dentals alternate with palatals in various inflected forms and in word formation.

As a result of earlier alternations between short and long vowels in roots in Proto-Indo-European

Indo-European ablaut

In linguistics, ablaut is a system of apophony in Proto-Indo-European and its far-reaching consequences in all of the modern Indo-European languages...

, Proto-Balto-Slavic and Proto-Slavic times, and of the fronting of vowels after palatalized consonants, the following vowel alternations are attested in OCS: /ь/ : /i/;   /ъ/ : /y/ : /u/;   /e/ : /ě/ : /i/;   /o/ : /a/;   /o/ : /e/;   /ě/ : /a/;   /ъ/ : /ь/;   /y/ : /i/;   /ě/ : /i/;   /y/ : /ę/.

Vowel:∅ alternations sometimes occurred as a result of sporadic loss of weak yer

Havlík's law

Havlík's law is a Slavic rhythmic law dealing with the reduced vowels in Proto-Slavic. It is named for the Czech scholar Antonín Havlík , who determined the pattern in 1889. While Havlík's law was a precursor to the loss of the jers, that process is part of the individual history of the various...

, which later occurred in almost all Slavic dialects. The phonetic value of the corresponding vocalized strong jer is dialect-specific.

o-stems

Masculine gender - Singular Dual Plural N grad-ъ grad-a grad-i G grad-a grad-u grad-ъ D grad-u grad-oma grad-omъ A grad-ъ grad-a grad-y V grad-e grad-a grad-i L grad-ě grad-u grad-ěxъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... grad-omь grad-oma grad-y

Nouns belonging to this declension class are generally masculines ending in -ъ in the nominative singular (bogъ, gradъ, rodъ). The only exception are the nouns in -ъ that inflect as u-stem masculines. Sometimes in the accusative singular the difference between animate and inanimate subgender can be seen, the accusative exhibiting the ending of the genitive for animate objects (raba). Nouns with the suffix -(j)an-in-ъ (graždaninъ) also belong to this declension class in the singular, but in the plural they lose the -in- interfix and conform to the consonantal paradigm (graždane, graždanъ, graždanem, graždany, graždane, graždanexъ, graždany).

Neuter gender - Singular Dual Plural N vin-o vin-ě vin-a G vin-a vin-u vin-ъ D vin-u vin-oma vin-omъ A vin-o vin-ě vin-a V vin-o vin-ě vin-a L vin-ě vin-u vin-ěxъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... vin-omь vin-oma vin-y

Nouns belonging to this declension class are neuters ending in -o in the nominative singular (selo, lěto, město). The only exception are the few neuters that are inflected as s-stems.

jo-stems

Masculine gender - Singular Dual Plural N nož-ь nož-a nož-i G nož-a nož-u nož-ь D nož-u nož-ema nož-emь A nož-ь nož-a nož-ę V nož-u nož-a nož-i L nož-i nož-u nož-ixъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... nož-emь nož-ema nož-i

Nouns belonging to this declension class are masculines ending in -ь preceded by a palatal in the nominative singular (vračь, kralь, košь). This paradigm encompasses nouns such as krai that don't appear to be ending in a palatal, but are in fact underlyingly combinations like krajь and so undergo this declension (kraj -ь, kraj -a). Nouns ending in agentive suffixes -tel-ь and -ar-ь also belong to this class (učitelь, učitelja, učitelju..., mytarь, mytarja, mytarju...).

Neuter gender - Singular Dual Plural N mor-e mor-i mor-a G mor-a mor-u mor-ь D mor-u mor-ema mor-emь A mor-e mor-i mor-a V mor-e mor-i mor-a L mor-i mor-u mor-ixъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... mor-emь mor-ema mor-i

The jo-stem declension class encompasses neuters ending in -e (lože, polje, molenьe).

a-stems

Feminine gender - Singular Dual Plural N G D A V L I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...

Nouns belonging to this declension class are feminines ending in -a preceded by a hard, non-palatal consonant (žena). Also belonging to this paradigm are the rare masculines ending in -a (sluga, vojevoda).

ja-stems

Feminine gender - Singular Dual Plural N duš-a duš-i duš-ę G duš-ę duš-u duš-ь D duš-i duš-ama duš-amъ A duš-i duš-ę V duš-e duš-i duš-ę L duš-i duš-u duš-axъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... duš-ama duš-ami

Noun belonging to this declension class are feminines ending in -a preceded by a soft, palatal consonant (straža, svešta, mrěža). This paradigm also encompasses feminines ending in -i (rabyni, bogyni), -ica (děvica) and -ьni- (rizьnica), and also masculines ending in -a preceded by a palatal (junoša).

i-stems

Masculine gender - Singular Dual Plural N gost-ь gost-i gost-ьje G gost-i gost-ьju gost-ьi D gost-i gost-ьma gost-ьmъ A gost-ь gost-i gost-i V gost-i gost-i gost-ьje L gost-i gost-ьju gost-ьxъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... gost-ьmь gost-ьma gost-ьmi

Nouns belonging to this declension class are masculines ending in -ь preceded by a hard, non-palatal consonant (črьvь, gospodь, pǫtь). The only exception are a limited number of such nouns belonging to the n-stem paradigm.

Feminine gender - Singular Dual Plural N kost-ь kost-i kost-i G kost-i kost-ьju kost-ьi D kost-i kost-ьma kost-ьmъ A kost-ь kost-i kost-i V kost-i kost-i kost-i L kost-i kost-ьju kost-ьxъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... kost-ьma kost-ьmi

Nouns belonging to the i-stem feminine declension are feminines ending in -ь in the nominative singular (rěčь, noštь, tvarь). The only exception is the noun krъvь which undergoes ъv-stem (ū-stem) declension.

u-stems

Masculine gender - Singular Dual Plural N dom-ъ dom-y dom-ove G dom-u dom-ovu dom-ovь D dom-ovi dom-ъma dom-ъmъ A dom-ъ dom-y dom-y V dom-u dom-y dom-ove L dom-u dom-ovu dom-ъxъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... dom-ъmь dom-ъma dom-ъmi

Nouns belonging to this declension are a rather small group of masculines: činъ, domъ, ledъ, medъ, mirъ, polъ, sanъ, synъ, volъ, vrъxъ.

ū-stems

Feminine gender - Singular Dual Plural N tik-y tikъv-i tikъv-i G tikъv-e tikъv-u tikъv-ъ D tikъv-i tikъv-ama tikъv-amъ A tikъv-ь tikъv-i tikъv-i V tikъv-y tikъv-i tikъv-i L tikъv-e tikъv-u tikъv-axъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... tikъv-ama tikъv-ami

Nouns belonging to the ū-stem declension (also known as -ъv- declension, or v-stem declension) are: buky, brady, cěly, crьky, , loky, ljuby, neplody, prěljuby, smoky, svekry, žrьny, kry (this last form is attested in Psalterium Sinaiticum Psalterium Sinaiticum The Psalterium Sinaiticum is a 209-folio Glagolitic Old Church Slavonic canon manuscript, the earliest Slavic psalter, dated to the 11th century... ; older sources list the accusative form krъvь as a lemma).

n-stems

Masculine gender - Singular Dual Plural N kam-y kamen-i kamen-e G kamen-e kamen-u kamen-ъ D kamen-i kamen-ьma kamen-ьmъ A kamen-ь kamen-i kamen-i V kamen-y kamen-i kamen-e L kamen-e kamen-u kamen-ьxъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... kamen-ьmь kamen-ьma kamen-ьmi

Nouns belonging to this declension class are the following masculines: dьnь, jelenь, jęčьmenь, kamy, korenь, plamy, remenь, sęženь, stepenь.

Neuter gender - Singular Dual Plural N plem-ę plemen-i plemen-a G plemen-e plemen-u plemen-ъ D plemen-i plemen-ьma plemen-ьmъ A plem-ę plemen-i plemen-a V plem-ę plemen-i plemen-a L plemen-e plemen-u plemen-ьxъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... plemen-ьmь plemen-ьma plemen-y

Nouns belonging to this declension class are the following neuters: brěmę, čismę, imę, pismę, plemę, sěmę, slěmę, těmę, vrěmę.

s-stems

Neuter gender - Singular Dual Plural N neb-o nebes-ě nebes-a G nebes-e nebes-u nebes-ъ D nebes-i nebes-ьma nebes-ьmъ A neb-o nebes-ě nebes-a V neb-o nebes-ě nebes-a L nebes-e nebes-u nebes-ьxъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... nebes-ьmь nebes-ьma nebes-y

Nouns belonging to this declension class are the following neuters: čudo, divo, drěvo, kolo, nebo, tělo, slovo and also uxo and oko which have dual forms like i-stems.

t-stems

Neuter gender - Singular Dual Plural N tel-ę telęt-ě telęt-e G telęt-e telęt-u telęt-ъ D telęt-i telęt-ьma telęt-ьmъ A tel-ę telęt-ě telęt-a V tel-ę telęt-ě telęt-a L telęt-e telęt-u telęt-ьxъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... telęt-ьmь telęt-ьma telęt-y

The t-stem (also known as nt-stem) paradigm encompasses neuters denoting a young of an animal or human: otročę, agnę, kozьlę, kljusę, osьlę, ovьčę, telę, žrěbę etc.

r-stems

Feminine gender - Singular Dual Plural N mat-i mater-i mater-i G mater-e mater-u mater-ъ D mater-i mater-ьma mater-ьmъ A mater-ь mater-i mater-i V mater-i mater-i mater-i L mater-i mater-u mater-ьxъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... mater-ьma mater-ьmi

r-stem feminines are the nouns mati and dъšti.

Personal pronouns

First-person pronoun - Singular Dual Plural N azъ vě my G mene naju nasъ D mьně (mi) nama (na) namъ (ny) A mene (mę) na (ny) ny L mьně naju nasъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... mъnojǫ nama nami

Second-person pronoun - Singular Dual Plural N ty va (vy) vy G tebe vaju vasъ D tebě (ti) vama (va) vamъ A tebe (tę) va (vy) vasъ (vy) L tebě vaju vasъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... tobojǫ vama vami

The nominative forms of the first and second person pronouns are only used for emphasis, and are otherwise unnecessary because the subject is implicit in the verb's inflection. The oblique forms, however, are quite commonly used. The parenthesized forms are enclitic alternatives, usually standing after the first accented word of a clause.

Third-person pronoun - Singular Dual Plural - Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter N *i (jь) *ja *je ja i (ji) i (ji) i (ji) ję ja G jego jeję jego jeju jeju jeju (j)ixъ (j)ixъ (j)ixъ D jemu jei jemu (j)ima (j)ima (j)ima (j)imъ (j)imъ (j)imъ A i (jь), nь jǫ je ja ji ji ję ję ja L jemь jei jemь jeju jeju jeju (j)ixъ (j)ixъ (j)ixъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... imь jejǫ (j)imь (j)ima (j)ima (j)ima (j)imi (j)imi (j)imi

Just as the first and second person pronouns, the third person pronoun is commonly used only in oblique cases. Nominative singular forms are not attested in the OCS corpus, and are reconstructed. In the East South Slavic dialectal area where OCS originated, a suppletive nominative singular stem of the demonstrative tъ ('that') is used, elsewhere onъ ('that one there, yon'), or very rarely sь ('this'). By attaching the enclitic particle že to the forms of *i one obtains the relative pronoun: iže ('he who'), ježe ('the (female) one to whom'), jejuže ('the two of whom'), etc. When following prepositions, these pronouns take a prothetic n-, hence kъ n'imъ ('to them') instead of *imъ, na n'emь ('on him'), etc. This is a remnant of final -m/n in the PIE prepositions *kom (cf. Latin cum, Sanskrit kám), (cf. Sanskrit sám) and that yielded the OCS prepositions kъ, sъ, and vъ and then spread analogically to all the other prepositions.

Reflexive pronoun - Singular N - G sebe D sebě (si) A sę L sebě I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... sobojǫ

The reflexive pronoun has only singular oblique forms, which is the state of affairs inherited from PIE *swé. The reflexive pronoun refers to the subject as a whole, and can be translated as English -self (myself, yourself, himself etc.)

Relative pronoun

Relative pronoun - Singular Dual Plural - Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter N iže jaže ježe jaže iže iže iže jęže jaže G jegože jejęže jegože jejuže jejuže jejuže ixъže ixъže ixъže D jemuže jeiže jemuže imaže imaže imaže imъže imъže imъže A iže jǫže ježe jaže iže iže jęže jęže jaže L jemьže jeiže jemьže jejuže jejuže jejuže ixъže ixъže ixъže I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... imьže jejǫže imьže imaže imaže imaže imiže imiže imiže

As mentioned, the third person pronoun *i participates in the formation of the relative pronoun by appending the indeclinable enclitic že. Unlike the third person pronoun, however, the nominative case forms do occur. Similarly, a prothetic n- occurs when following prepositions, e.g. vъ n'ьže ('in which').

Interrogative pronoun and adjective

Interrogative pronoun - Masculine/Feminine Neuter N kъto čьto G kogo česo (česogo, čьso, čьsogo) D komu česomu (čьsomu, čemu) A kogo čьto L komь čemь (česomь) I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... cěmь čimь

The interrogative pronoun ('who?, what?') has singular-only forms, with the masculine and feminine forms syncretized. Variant forms of čьto occurring in some of the oblique cases have been listed in parentheses.

Interrogative adjective (pronoun) - Singular Dual Plural - Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter N kyi (ky) kaja koje (kaja) - - cii kyję kaja G kojego kojeję (koję) kojego (kojeju) (kojeju (kojeju kyixъ (koixъ) kyixъ (koixъ) kyixъ (koixъ) D kojemu kojei (koi) kojemu kyima kyima kyima kyimъ kyimъ kyimъ A kyi kǫjǫ (kojǫ) koje (kaja) - - kyję kyję kaja L kojemь kojei kojemь (kojeju) (kojeju) (kojeju) kyixъ kyixъ kyixъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... kyimь kojejǫ (kojǫ) kyimь kyima kyima kyima kyimi kyimi kyimi

The interrogative adjective, sometimes also labelled as the interrogative pronoun ('which?, what sort of?'), also has some variant forms listed in parentheses.

Possessive interrogative adjective (pronoun) - Singular Dual Plural - Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter N čii (ky) čija čije (čija) - - čii čiję čija G čijego čijeję (koję) čijego (čijeju) (čijeju (čijeju čiixъ (koixъ) čiixъ (koixъ) čiixъ (koixъ) D čijemu čijei (koi) čijemu čiima čiima čiima čiimъ čiimъ čiimъ A čii čijǫ (kojǫ) čije (čija) - - čiję čiję čija L čijemь čijei čijemь (čijeju) (čijeju) (čijeju) čiixъ čiixъ čiixъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... čiimь čijejǫ (kojǫ) čiimь čiima čiima čiima čiimi čiimi čiimi

The possessive interrogative adjective, sometimes also labelled as the possessive interrogative pronoun ('whose?'), follows the same declension.

Indefinite pronouns and adjectives

The interrogative pronouns kъto, čьto can also have the indefinite meanings of 'anybody', 'anything' respectively.

The prefix ně- imparts an indefinite meaning to the word to which it is attached: thus kъto ('who?') becomes někъto ('someone'), and čьto ('what?') becomes něčьto ('something'). Similarly, the prefix ni- imparts a negative meaning: nikъto ('no one'), ničьto ('nothing'). A prepositions may come between prefix and base word:

ně u kogo — with someone

ni o komьže nerodiši — you care for no one

Adjectives

OCS adjectives can be in two forms: short and long, corresponding to indefinite and definite meaning respectively. The long form is generally used only attributively, whereas the short form is predicative in nature. So e.g. člověkъ dobrъ "a good man, man is good" whilst člověkъ dobryi "the good man, the man who is good".

Indefinite adjectives are inflected as the corresponding nouns of the primary declension, e.g. novъ as rabъ, nova as žena, novo as selo, ništь as vračь, ništa as duša, nište as polje.

Definite adjectives (also known as compound, long, or pronominal forms of adjective) are formed by suffixing to the indefinite form the anaphoric third-person pronoun jь (spelled as i in OCS orthography), ja, je as shown in the table.

N novъ + i (jь) = novъjь > novyi nova + ja = novaja G nova + jego = novajego novy + jeję = novyję D novu + jemu = novujemu nově + jei = nověi A novъ + i (jь) = novъjь > novyi + = L nově + jemь = novějemь nově + jei = nověi I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... novomь + imь = novъimь > novyimь + = ,

N, A nova + ja = novaja nově + i = nověi G, L novu + jeju = novuju novu + jeju = novuju D, I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... novoma + ima = novyima novoma + ima = novyima

N novi + (j)i = novii novy + ję = novyję G novъ + ixъ = novyixъ novъ + ixъ = novyixъ D novomъ + imъ = novyimъ novamъ + imъ = novyimъ A novy + ję = novyję novy + ję = novyję L nověxъ + ixъ = novyixъ novaxъ + ixъ = novyixъ I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action... novy + imi = novyimi novami + imi = novyimi

Adjective gradation

There are three levels of adjective gradation in OCS:

• positive, stating an absolute property of an object;
• comparative, stating a relative property of an object;
• superlative, stating a property of an object in relation to any other object it may be compared to.

Comparative

1. Adjectives with falling tone on the root syllable:

   dragъ − draž-ii (m), draž-e (n), draž-ьši (f);

   tęžьkъ − tęžii, tęže, tęžьši;

   grǫbъ − grǫblii, grǫble, grǫblьši.

2. Adjectives with rising tone on the root syllable:

   novъ − nov-ěi, nov-ěje, nov-ěiši;

   starъ − star-ěi, star-ěje, star-ěiši;

   junъ − jun-ěi, jun-ěje, jun-ěiši.

Declension of the comparative

N

dražii

draže

dražьši

juněi

juněje

juněiši

G

dražьša

dražьša

dražьšę

juněiša

juněiša

juněišę

D

dražьšu

dražьšu

dražьši

juněišu

juněišu

juněiši

A

dražьšii

draže

dražьšǫ

juněi

juněje

juněišǫ

L

dražьši

dražьši

dražьši

juněiši

junějiši

juněiši

I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...

dražьšemь

dražьšemь

dražьšejǫ

juněišemь

juněišemь

juněišejǫ

N, A

dražьša

dražьši

dražьši

juněiša

juněiši

juněiši

G, L

dražьšu

dražьšu

dražьšu

juněišu

juněišu

juněišu

D, I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...

dražьšema

dražьšema

dražьšama

juněišema

juněišema

juněišama

N

dražьše

dražьša

dražьšę

juněiše

juněiša

juněišę

G

dražьšь

dražьšь

dražьšь

juněišь

juněišь

juněišь

D

dražьšemъ

dražьšemъ

dražьšamъ

juněišemъ

juněišemъ

juněišamъ

A

dražьšę

dražьša

dražьšę

juněišę

juněiša

juněišę

L

dražьšixь

dražьšixь

dražьšaxь

juněišixь

juněišixь

juněišaxь

I Instrumental case The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...

dražьši

dražьši

dražьšami

juněiši

juněiši

juněišami

Superlative

The superlative is formed:

1. by adding the prefix nai- to the comparative base: naidražii, naitęžьši, naigrǫble;
2. by combining the comparative form with the pronoun vьsego/vьsěxъ: nověi vьsego, dražii vьsěxъ.

The absolute superlative is formed:

1. by adding the prefix prě- to the positive: prědragъ, prěnova, prěstaro;
2. by using the adverb Ʒělo with the positive: Ʒělo dragъ, Ʒělo nova, Ʒělo staro.

Cardinals

1		jedinъ (m), jedina (f), jedino (n)
2		dъva (m), dъvě (f and n)
3		tri (m), trьje (f and n)
4		četyri (m), četyre (f and n)
5		pętь
6		šestь
7		sedmь
8		osmь
9		devętь
10		desętь
11		jedin-ъ/a/o na desęte
12		dъv-a/ě na desęte
20		dъva desęti
21		dъva desęti i jedin-ъ/a/o
22		dъva desęti i dъv-a/ě
30		trije desęte
40		četyre desęte
50		pętь desętь
60		šestь desętь
70		sedmь desętь
80		osmь desętь
90		devętь desętь
100		sъto
200		dъvě sъtě
300		tri sъta
400		četyre sъta
500		pętь sъtъ
1 000		tysęšti, tysǫšti
2 000		dъvě tysǫšti
5 000		pętь tysǫštь
10 000		desętь tysǫštь or tьma
20 000		dъvadesęti tysǫštь or dъvě tьmě
100 000		sъto tysǫštь or leĝeonъ

Declension of cardinal numbers

1		pronominal declension jedinъ − jedinogo, jedina − jedinoję
2		pronominal declension, only in dual
3		undergoes i-stem declension, plural forms only
4		exactly like trьje, tri, except for the nominative and genitive which undergo consonant-stem declension
5−10		undergoes i-stem declension, only in singular, except for desętь which also has dual and plural forms
11−19		only the first component is inflected, e.g. jedinomu na desęte
20, 30, 40		both components are inflected, e.g. dъvěma desętьma, trьmь desętьmь
50−90		only the first component is inflected, e.g. pętijǫ desętь

sъto is declined as selo, tysęšti as bogyni, tьma as žena, leĝeonъ as rabъ

Ordinals

1		prъvyi, prъvaja, prъvoje
2		vъtoryi, vъtoraja, vъtoroje
3		tretii, tretijaja, tretijeje
4		četvrъyi, četvrъaja, četvrъoje
5		pętyi, pętaja, pętoje
11		prъvyi / prъvaja / prъvoje na desęte
20		dъvadesętьn-yi/aja/oje
21		dъvadesętьn-yi/aja/oje prъv-yi/aja/oje
60		šestьdesętьn-yi/aja/oje
100		sъtъn-yi/aja/oje
1 000		tysǫĉьn-yi/aja/oje

All ordinals are inflected like the corresponding adjectives.

Present

The present tense is formed by adding present-tense endings onto the present tense stem, which itself is sometimes hidden due to sound change

Sound change

Sound change includes any processes of language change that affect pronunciation or sound system structures...

s that have occurred in the past (more common verbs are listed):

• bosti (bod-), vesti (ved- or vez-), krasti (krad-), iti (id-)
• plesti (plet-), mesti (met-), greti (greb-), krasti (krad-)
• rešti (rek-), pešti (pek-), mošti (mog-), tešti (tek-)

There are several classes of verbs:

1. e-type verbs add the interfix -e- to the present stem (except in front of ) and the endings:

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
bosti (bod-)	1. bod - 2. bod -e + -ši 3. bod -e + -tъ	1. bod -e + -mъ 2. bod -e + -te 3. bod	1. bod -e + -vě 2. bod -e + -ta 3. bod -e + -te
rešti (rek-)	1. rek 2. reč -e + -ši 3. reč -e + -tъ	1. reč -e + -mъ 2. reč -e + -te 3. rek	1. reč -e + -vě 2. reč -e + -ta 3. reč -e + -te

2. i-type verbs exhibit the same set of endings, but this time the interfix is -i- (except in front of and ). In the first person singular one finds the processes of iotation

Iotation

Iotation is a linguistic phenomenon very characteristic of the Slavic languages. It should not be confused with palatalization, which is an entirely different process....

 (k/c + j > č, g/z + j > ž, x/s + j > š, l + j > lj, n + j > nj, t + j > št, d + j > žd) and epenthesis

Epenthesis

In phonology, epenthesis is the addition of one or more sounds to a word, especially to the interior of a word. Epenthesis may be divided into two types: excrescence, for the addition of a consonant, and anaptyxis for the addition of a vowel....

 (bj > blj, pj > plj, mj > mlj, vj > vlj):

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
xvaliti (xval-)	1. xval + -j + 2. xval -i + -ši 3. xval -i + -tъ	1. xval -i + -mъ 2. xval -i + -te 3. xval -ętъ	1. xval -i + -vě 2. xval -i + -ta 3. xval -i + -te
ljubiti (ljub-)	1. ljub + -lj + 2. ljub -i + -ši 3. ljub -i + -tъ	1. ljub -i + -mъ 2. ljub -i + -te 3. ljub -ętъ	1. ljub -i + -vě 2. ljub -i + -ta 3. ljub -i + -te

3. The athematic verbs byti, dati, věděti, iměti and jasti form the present tense irregularly:

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
byti	1. jesmь 2. jesi 3. jestъ	1. jesmъ 2. jeste 3.	1. jesvě 2. jesta 3. jeste
věděti	1. věmь 2. věsi 3. věstъ	1. věmъ 2. věste 3. vědętъ	1. věvě 2. věsta 3. věste
iměti	1. imamь 2. imaši 3. imatъ	1. imamъ 2. imate 3.	1. imavě 2. imata 3. imate
jasti	1. jamь 2. jasi 3. jastъ	1. jamъ 2. jaste 3. jadętъ	1. javě 2. jasta 3. jaste

One should distinguish the verbs iměti (imamь, imaši, imatъ), imati and jęti . Exceptional is also the verb xotěti which exhibits iotation even though it's not an i-type verb .

Asigmatic aorist

The asigmatic aorist (also called root or simple aorist) was named after the loss of the phoneme /s/ in the inflection (AGr. sigma

Sigma

Sigma is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and carries the 'S' sound. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 200. When used at the end of a word, and the word is not all upper case, the final form is used, e.g...

), i.e. there is no VsV > VxV change (intervocalic /s/ yielding /x/). Over time, the asigmatic aorist became increasingly marked as an archaic language feature and was eventually replaced by the other two aorist

Aorist

Aorist is a philological term originally from Indo-European studies, referring to verb forms of various languages that are not necessarily related or similar in meaning...

 formations.

The asigmatic aorist was formed by adding to the infinitive stem of e-type verbs with stem ending in a consonant (i.e. verbs with the infix , which is dropped before the aorist endings, and verbs with the null infix) the following endings: -ъ, -e, -e; -omъ, -ete, ; -ově, -eta, -ete.

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
pasti (pad-)	1. pad -ъ 2. pad -e 3. pad -e	1. pad -omъ 2. pad -ete 3. pad	1. pad -ově 2. pad -eta 3. pad -ete
tešti (tek-)	1. tek -ъ 2. teč -e 3. teč -e	1. tek -omъ 2. teč -ete 3. tek	1. tek -ově 2. teč -eta 3. teč -ete
mošti (mog-)	1. mog -ъ 2. mož -e 3. mož -e	1. mog -omъ 2. mož -ete 3. mog	1. mog -ově 2. mož -eta 3. mož -ete
(dvig-)	1. dvig -ъ 2. dviž -e 3. dviž -e	1. dvig -omъ 2. dviž -ete 3. dvig	1. dvig -ově 2. dviž -eta 3. dviž -ete

Sigmatic aorist

The sigmatic or s-aorist was formed in the following ways:

• Verbs whose stem ends in b, p, d, t, z, s form this aorist by dropping the final consonant and adding the interfix -s- plus the endings -ъ, -, -; -omъ, -te, -ę; -ově, -ta, -te. Intervocalic sigma
  Sigma
  Sigma is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and carries the 'S' sound. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 200. When used at the end of a word, and the word is not all upper case, the final form is used, e.g...
  
   (s) exhibits no change. As a side effect, e is lengthened to ě, and o to a.
• Verbs whose stem ends in r or k form this aorist in the same way as previously mentioned, except that intervocalic sigma (s) changes into x, the same set of endings being suffixed to the interfix. As a side effect, e is lengthened to ě, and o to a.

The 2nd and 3rd person singular forms of these verbs are not attested, so the sigmatic aorist forms are used as a replacement.

• Verbs whose stem ends in a vowel form this aorist by suffixing exactly the same set of endings to the infinitive stem, and intervocalic -s- changes into -x-.

The 2nd and 3rd person singular forms of these verbs match the infinitive due to the elision of word-final sigma.

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
xvaliti (xvali-)	1. xvali -x -ъ 2. xvali 3. xvali	1. xvali -x -omъ 2. xvali -s -te 3. xvali -š -ę	1. xvali -x -ově 2. xvali -s -ta 3. xvali -s -te
tešti (tek-)	1. těxъ (tek -s -ъ) 2. teče 3. teče	1. těxomъ (tek -s -omъ) 2. těste 3. těšę	1. těxově (tek -s -ově) 2. těsta 3. těste
greti (greb-)	1. grěsъ 2. grebe 3. grebe	1. grěsomъ 2. grěste 3. grěsę	1. grěsově 2. grěsta 3. grěste
bosti (bod-)	1. basъ 2. bode 3. bode	1. basomъ 2. baste 3. basę	1. basově 2. basta 3. baste

New aorist

The new aorist (also known as ox-aorist) is formed by suffixing to the infinitive stem of e-type verbs ending in a consonant (verbs with the interfix and verbs with the null interfix) the interfix -os- (-ox) and onto it the endings -ъ, -, -; -omъ, -te, -ę; -ově, -ta, -te. Intervocalic sigma s changes into x.

The 2nd and the 3rd person singular forms are not attested and thus the asigmatic aorist forms are taken as a replacement.

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
krasti (krad-)	1. krad -ox -ъ 2. (krad -e) 3. (krad -e)	1. krad -ox -omъ 2. krad -os -te 3. krad -oš -ę	1. krad -ox -ově 2. krad -os -ta 3. krad -os -te
rešti (rek-)	1. rek -ox -ъ 2. (reč -e) 3. (reč -e)	1. rek -ox -omъ 2. rek -os -te 3. rek -oš -ę	1. rek -ox -ově 2. rek -os -ta 3. rek -os -te
iti (id-)	1. id -ox -ъ 2. (id -e) 3. (id -e)	1. id -ox -omъ 2. id -os -te 3. id -oš -ę	1. id -ox -ově 2. id -os -ta 3. id -os -te

Imperfect

There are two ways of forming the imperfect:

1. If the infinitive stems ends in -a or -ě, the interfix -ax- is appended (which changes to -aš- according to the first palatalization in front of e) and onto it, the endings of the asigmatic aorist: -ъ, -e, -e; -omъ, -ete, ; -ově, -eta, -ete.

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
glagolati (glagola-)	1. glagola -ax -ъ 2. glagola -aš -e 3. glagola -aš -e	1. glagola -ax -omъ 2. glagola -aš -ete 3. glagola -ax	1. glagola -ax -ově 2. glagola -aš -eta 3. glagola -aš -ete
viděti (vidě-)	1. vidě -ax -ъ 2. vidě -aš -e 3. vidě -aš -e	1. vidě -ax -omъ 2. vidě -aš -ete 3. vidě -ax	1. vidě -ax -ově 2. vidě -aš -eta 3. vidě -aš -ete

2. The other way of forming the imperfect, applying to all other verbal stems, is by adding onto the present stem the interfix -ax- (which, in accordance with the first palatalization, is changed to -aš- in front of e) and onto it the endings of asigmatic aorist: -ъ, -e, -e; -omъ, -ete, ; -ově, -eta, -ete.

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
zъvati (zov-)	1. zov -ě -ax -ъ 2. zov -ě -aš -e 3. zov -ě -aš -e	1. zov -ě -ax -omъ 2. zov -ě -aš -ete 3. zov -ě -ax	1. zov -ě -ax -ově 2. zov -ě -aš -eta 3. zov -ě -aš -ete
bosti (bod-)	1. bod -ě -ax -ъ 2. bod -ě -aš -e 3. bod -ě -aš -e	1. bod -ě -ax -omъ 2. bod -ě -aš -ete 3. bod -ě -ax	1. bod -ě -ax -ově 2. bod -ě -aš -eta 3. bod -ě -aš -ete

Both of these imperfect formations often occur side by side in verbs with stem alternation:

• bъrati (bъra-; ber-) > bъraaxъ or berěaxъ
• gъnati (gъna-; žen-) > gъnaaxъ or ženěaxъ
• plьvati (plьva-; pljuj-) > plьvaaxъ or pljujěaxъ
• zъvati (zъva-; zov-) > zъvaaxъ or zověaxъ

In the texts of the OCS canon the forms are often contracted, so that ěax becomes ěx and aax becomes ax. An illustrating example is in Chernorizets Hrabar

Chernorizets Hrabar

Chernorizets Hrabar was a Bulgarian monk, scholar and writer who worked at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century, developing Medieval Bulgarian literature and spreading Old Church Slavonic.- Name :...

's famous work O pismenex "An Account of Letters":

Prěžde ubo slověne ne knigъ, črъtami i rězami i , pogani .

Some forms exhibit sound change

Sound change

Sound change includes any processes of language change that affect pronunciation or sound system structures...

s, namely palatalization

Palatalization

In linguistics, palatalization , also palatization, may refer to two different processes by which a sound, usually a consonant, comes to be produced with the tongue in a position in the mouth near the palate....

 or iotation

Iotation

Iotation is a linguistic phenomenon very characteristic of the Slavic languages. It should not be confused with palatalization, which is an entirely different process....

 in front of ě, yat

Yat

Yat or Jat is the thirty-second letter of the old Cyrillic alphabet. Its name in Old Church Slavonic is jěd’ or iad’ . In the common scientific Latin transliteration for old Slavic languages, the letter is represented by e with caron: .The yat represented a Common Slavic long vowel...

 thus turning into a. The same applies if the stem ends in j which is then reduced in front of yat and yat again changes into a:

• xvaliti (xval-) > xval + ě + axъ > xvaljaaxъ
• nositi (nos-) > nos + ě + axъ > nošaaxъ
• pešti (pek-) > pek + ě + axъ > pečaaxъ
• čuti (čuj-) > čuj + ě + axъ > čujaaxъ

That the second form and not the first is the original one (the first being formed by the change of yat to a) is confirmed by the imperfect paradigm of the verb byti:

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
byti	1. běaxъ 2. běaše 3. běaše	1. běaxomъ 2. běašete 3.	1. běaxově 2. běašeta 3. běašete

Present active participle

The present active participle is formed by adding the following endings to the present stem:

1. e-type verbs and athematic verbs:

• present stem + -y (masculine and neuter) and (feminine) > greby; )

2. e-type verbs whose present stem ends in a palatal:

• present stem + -ę (masculine and neuter) and (feminine) > kupuję)

3. i-type verbs:

• present stem + -ę (masculine and neuter) and (feminine) > ljubę, ljubęšti)

Present passive participle

The present passive participle is formed by suffixing to the present stem the endings -o/e/i + m + ъ/a/o (masculine, feminine, neuter):

1. e-type verbs and athematic verbs:

• present stem + o + m + ъ/a/o > pekomъ, pekoma, pekomo)

2. e-type verbs whose stem ends in a palatal:

• present stem + e + m + ъ/a/o > željemъ, željema, željemo)

3. i-type verbs:

• present stem + i + m + ъ/a/o > xvalimъ, xvalima, xvalimo)

Past active participle

The past active participle is formed by suffixing to the infinitive stem the following endings:

1. e-type verbs and athematic verbs:

• infinitive stem + -ъ (masculine and neuter) or -ъši (feminine) > bodъ, bodъši)

2. i-type verbs exhibit epenthetic v, which eliminates hiatus

Hiatus (linguistics)

In phonology, hiatus or diaeresis refers to two vowel sounds occurring in adjacent syllables, with no intervening consonant. When two adjacent vowel sounds occur in the same syllable, the result is instead described as a diphthong....

:

• infinitive stem + -vъ (masculine and neuter) or -vъši (feminine) > xvalъ, xvalъši)

The latter i-type verbs have twofold forms of this participle - the mentioned one of older origin, and a newer one which arose due to analogical leveling:

• nositi (nosi-) > nošъ, nošъši (by iotation
  Iotation
  Iotation is a linguistic phenomenon very characteristic of the Slavic languages. It should not be confused with palatalization, which is an entirely different process....
  
   from + jъ, jъši) or nosivъ, nosivъši
• roditi (rod-) > roždъ, roždъši (by iotation
  Iotation
  Iotation is a linguistic phenomenon very characteristic of the Slavic languages. It should not be confused with palatalization, which is an entirely different process....
  
   from + jъ, jъši) or rodivъ, rodivъši

3. Verbs with liquid metathesis form this participle from its older stem form:

• mrěti (< *merti) > mьrъ, mьrъši (and not mrěvъ, mrěvъši)
• prostrěti (< *prosterti) > prostьrъ, prostьrъši (and not prostrěvъ, prostrěvъši)

4. Irregular participles:

• iti > šьdъ, šьdъši
• jaxati > javъ, javъši

l-participle

The l-participle (also known as the resultative participle or second past active participle) is formed by adding to the infinitive stem the interfix -l- and the endings ъ/a/o. If the stem ends in -t or -d, this consonant is dropped.

• xvaliti (xvali) > xvalilъ, xvalila, xvalilo
• plesti (plet-) > plelъ, plela, plelo

Past passive participle

The past passive participle is formed by suffixing to the infinitive stem the following endings:

1. Verbs with stem ending in a consonant, -y or -i:

• infinitive stem + en + ъ/a/o > bodenъ, bodena, bodeno) > nošenъ, nošena, nošeno - by iotation
  Iotation
  Iotation is a linguistic phenomenon very characteristic of the Slavic languages. It should not be confused with palatalization, which is an entirely different process....
  
   from nosi + enъ > nosjenъ > nošenъ)

2. Verbs with stem ending in -a or -ě:

• infinitive stem + n + ъ/a/o > glagolanъ, glagolana, glagolano) > vižden, viždena, viždeno - by iotation
  Iotation
  Iotation is a linguistic phenomenon very characteristic of the Slavic languages. It should not be confused with palatalization, which is an entirely different process....
  
   from viděn, viděna, viděno)

3. Verbs with stem ending in -ę, -u, -i and -ě (obtained by liquid metathesis):

• infinitive stem + t + ъ/a/o > klętъ, klęta, klęto) > obutъ, obuta, obuto) > mrětъ, mrěta, mrěto) > vitъ, vita, vito)

Of the latter verbs, those with stem ending in -i (viti, biti etc.) can also form the past passive participle like the verbs in the first group: bitъ or bijenъ, vitъ or vijenъ etc.).

Perfect

The perfect is formed by combining the l-participle with the imperfective present forms of the auxiliary verb byti.

• nosilъ/a/o jesmь, jesi, jestъ
• nosili/y/a jesmъ, jeste,
• nosila/ě/ě jesvě, jesta, jeste

Pluperfect

The pluperfect can be formed in multiple ways, by combining the l-participle with the perfect, imperfect or aorist formation of the auxiliary verb byti.

• nosilъ/a/o bylъ/a/o jesmь or běaxъ or běxъ
• nosili/y/a byli/y/a jesmъ or běaxomъ or běxomъ
• nosila/ě/ě byla/ě/ě jesvě or běaxově or běxově

Future

The future tense is usually expressed using the present tense form of the perfective verb. Imperfective verbs form the future tense by combining the auxiliary verb (byti, xotěti, načęti, iměti) and the infinitive. / / / imamь xvaliti

Future perfect

The future perfect is formed by combining the l-participle with the with the perfective present of the auxiliary verb byti.

• nosilъ/a/o , ,
• nosili/y/a , ,
• nosila/ě/ě , ,

Conditional

The conditional (or conditional-optative) modal formation is formed by combining the l-participle with special modal forms of the auxiliary verb byti (with unattested dual forms).

• nosilъ/a/o bimь, bi, bi
• nosili/y/a bimъ (bixomъ), biste, (byšę)

The alternate forms in the plural are formed by analogy with the aorist.

Primary adverbs

These are original adverbs with difficult to guess etymology and origin.

• abьje (abije) = right away
• jedъva = hardly, barely
• ješte = yet, still
• nyně = now, today
• paky = again, back
• (j)uže = already

Pronominal adverbs

Pronominal adverbs are derived by suffixing pronouns (e.g. ov + amo = ovamo, kъ + de = kъde):

• -amo = direction of movement (tamo, kamo, onamo)
• -ako / -ače = way, mode, manner (tako, inako, inače)
• -de = place (sьde, onude, vьsьde)
• -gda = time (tъgda, kъgda, egda)
• -lь / -li / / -lě / -lьma / -lьmi = measure, amount (kolь, kolě, kolьmi)

Nominal adverbs

Nominal adverbs are derived from nominals or turn by conversion to adverbs which are in fact inflective lexemes with adverbial semantics.

Modal adverbs are created with the suffixes -o or -ě (the endings of accusative and locative singular neuter gender respectively), with no difference in meanings between suffixes, although some adverbs have only the forms in -o (veselo), and some in -ě (javě).

Modal adverbs could also be formed deadjectivally by means of the interfix -ьsk- and the ending -y (by origin, the instrumental plural ending; e.g. slověnьsky).

Adverbs could also be formed with the suffix -ь (pravь, različь) and are by origin probably inherited Proto-Slavic accusative forms.

Frequently occurring are the adverbialized a-stem instrumentals such as and also adverbially used oblique cases.

Locative adverbs are by origin mostly petrified locative case forms of nouns: gorě, dolě, nizu, and the same can be said for temporal adverbs: zimě, polu dьne.

Primary prepositions

The primary and non-derived prepositions are of PIE

Proto-Indo-European language

The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...

 and PSl.

Proto-Slavic language

Proto-Slavic is the proto-language from which Slavic languages later emerged. It was spoken before the seventh century AD. As with most other proto-languages, no attested writings have been found; the language has been reconstructed by applying the comparative method to all the attested Slavic...

 heritage:

• bez "without" + G
• iz or is "from, out" + G

  izdrǫky < iz rǫky — from the hand

• kъ "to, for, unto" + D

  ..reče že Marθa kъ Iisusu.. — and Martha said unto Jesus

• na "on, to, upon" + A (denoting direction) or L (denoting place)

  zlijašę ognь na zemьjǫ — they poured fire on earth

• nadъ "on, upon, over" + A (denoting direction) or I
  Instrumental case
  The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...
  
   (denoting place)

  nadъ glavǫ — over the head

• o or ob "over, round, about" + A (denoting direction) or L (denoting place)

  ob noštь vьsǫ — the whole night through

• otъ "from, away" + G

  otъ nebese — from heaven

• po originally "under, below" + D (extension in space), A (extension in space or time) or L (temporal and local)

  po vьsę grady — through all towns

  po tomь že — after that

  po morjǫ xodę — walking over the sea

• podъ "under, beneath" + A (denoting direction) or I
  Instrumental case
  The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...
  
   (denoting situation, location)

  podъ nogy, podъ nogama — under the feet

• pri "at, at the time" + L

  pri vraƷěxъ — among the heathen

• prědъ "in front of, before" + A (denoting direction) or I
  Instrumental case
  The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...
  
   (denoting situation)

  prědъ gradomь — in the vicinity of the city

• sъ "for the extent of" + A, "from, off, away" + G, "with" + I
  Instrumental case
  The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...
  
   (denoting association, not instrument)

  sъ lakъtь — a cubit long

  sъ nebese — down from heaven

  sъ nimь — with him

• u "at, in" + G

  u dvьrьcь — at the doors

• vъ "in" + A (denoting direction) or L (denoting place)

  vъ tъ dьnь — that day

  vъ kupě — together

• vъz or vъs "for, in exchange for" + A

  vъs kǫjǫ — why?

• za "for, after, behind" + A (denoting direction), I
  Instrumental case
  The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...
  
   (denoting place) or G (in the sense "because")

  ęti za vlasy — to seize by the hair

Secondary prepositions

The secondary prepositions are derived from adverbial expressions: vьslědъ from vь slědъ, prěžde is a comparative form of prědъ etc.

Conjunctions and particles

Conjunctions and particles are not easily separable because they sometimes function as an intensifier

Intensifier

Intensifier is a linguistic term for a modifier that amplifies the meaning of the word it modifies. Examples are "very," "quite," "extremely," "highly," and "greatly." An intensifier is the opposite of a qualifier, a modifier that weakens the word modified: "fairly," "somewhat," "rather," "a...

, and sometimes as a conjunction.

• a, ali "but" - (proclitic), setting two parts of a statement in opposition
• ako, jako, ěko "that, so that, how, when, as" - (proclitic) introducing indirect or direct speech; highly context-dependent
• ašte "if, whether" - (proclitic) a conditional particle, also used to generalize relative pronouns
• bo "for, because" - (enclitic) denoting caustive relationships (i + bo = ibo, u + bo = ubo)
• da "in order that" - (proclitic) introducing final result
• i "and; even, too" - (proclitic) connecting clauses or used as an adverb within a clause
• ide "for, since" - (proclitic)
• jegda, jegdaže "when, if" - (proclitic)
• jeda "surely not" - (proclitic), introducing a question expecting a negative answer
• li "or", li...li "either... or" - (proclitic or enclitic) generally when forming a question; when enclitic, usually a direct question, when proclitic, taking the meaning "or"
• ne "not", ne...ni "neither... nor" - ne generally occurs before the negated item, occurring usually once in the main clause, but ni may occur several times in the same clause
• nъ "but" - (proclitic) connecting two clauses
• to "then, so" - (proclitic) correlative to ašte
• že "on the other hand, or, and" - (enclitic) the commonest particle functioning both as an intensifier and a conjunction; often bound to pronouns and adverbs (jakože, nikъto že)

External links

Gramatika jezika hèrvatskoga: Osnovana na starobugarskoj slověnštini, Vatroslav Jagić

Vatroslav Jagic

Vatroslav Jagić was a Croatian language researcher and a famous expert in Slavic languages in the second half of the 19th century.-Life:...

, 1864 Old Church Slavonic Online, University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

Abecedarium Palaeoslovenicum in usum glagolitarum, Josip Vajs, Veglae 1909. Кульбакин С. М. Древнецерковнославянский язык. I. Введение. Фонетика. — Kharkiv, 1911 Research Guide to Old Church Slavonic