Thou is the subject form (nominative), thee is the object form, and thy/thine is the possessive form. The interesting question here is why the thee / thou forms are used in the kjv, and why they are so often still used in christian contexts Was the plural / respectful form you considered inappropriate for theological reasons (because the god of the kjv is very much a singular, not a plural)? Thee and you as object Ye and you used alongside thou and thee as polite singular forms Distinction between ye as subject and you as object disappeared, you being used almost universally
Ye restricted to archaic, religious or literary contexts by the end of the 16th century The is pronounced thee when it precedes a word that begins with a vowel (the apple, the overtone series, etc.) or (sometimes) an aspirated consonant (the historic occasion of his birth) or when the speaker wishes to differentiate a noun by calling it out for special dramatic emphasis He was the heavyweight boxing champion. he was the heavyweight boxing champion. the first. However, i can't imagine a typical yorkshireman who would use thee and thou being sufficiently delicate as to use the word thine I do agree with janus though, that art is the verb required in who art thou? Is there a modern equivalent to the archaic expression fie on thee
21 what is the meaning of thou thee from the quotation below referenced in this quora answer For i thou thee, thou traitor. How would shakespeare have said thank you Can't decide if it is thee or thou, since it isn't really a sentence. Thee and you were used as object During the middle english period, ye/you came to be used as a polite singular form alongside thou/thee
During early modern english, the distinction between subject and object uses of ye and you gradually disappeared. Fare thee well means ‘may things go well for you’ See ‘to progress, or be in a certain condition’.
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