SPEAKING THE

QUEENS
ENGLISH
A Quick Primer on Elizabethan grammar

SUBJECT PRONOUNS
PERSON

SINGULAR

PLURAL

1ST

WE

2ND

THOU

YOU, YE

3RD

HE, SHE, IT

THEY

OBJECT PRONOUNS
PERSON

SINGULAR

PLURAL

1ST

ME

US

2ND

THEE

YOU, YE

3RD

HIM, HER, IT

THEM

POSSESSIVE
PRONOUNS
PERSON

SINGULAR

PLURAL

1ST

MY, MINE

OUR, OURS

2ND

THY, THINE

YOUR, YOURS

3RD

HIS, HER,
HERS, IT, ITS

THEY

Use Thy /Thine and

My / Mine as you
would a and an, with
vowels and consonants.
A peach, Thy peach, My peach
An apple, Thine apple, Mine apple

A NOTE ON VERBS
Most verb forms look just like more modern
English verbs, except for these few cases:
Second person singular verbs end in ST or EST
Thou runnest quickly, my friend!

Third person singular verbs end in ETH

He runneth to the schoolhouse

MORE ON VERBS
Add DO or DID before most
any verb for effect:
I do believe thou art a knave!
He did wonder over the joy of it!

JUST FOR FUN

Change Do to Dost and
combine both verb rules!:
I think thou dost finally
understand!

CONTRACTIONS
Forget the modern forms: wont, cant and so
on. Speak the whole term: will not, can not.
Go ahead and add would or wouldst to the
mix.

I would that thou didst not whine so!

ELIZABETHAN CONTRACTIONS
Of course there are dozens of examples,
but here are some of the most common.
TIS = IT IS

TWERE = IT
WERE

TWAS = IT
WAS

IST = IS IT

IN SHORT:
Once you develop an ear for the
pronouns and the verb changes,
Elizabethan English is not so
different from Modern English
in fact, they are (technically) the
same language!