sindon
The English word 'are' is translated into Old English as sindon.
sindon is the present tense plural form of the verb to be.
Which one should you use?
While sindon is the plural form, the singular forms are is (3rd person) and eom (1st person).
How does it change in a sentence?
The form sindon is used for the second person plural (you all), third person plural (they) and first person plural (we) in the present tense.
Did you know?
- While sindon is the standard plural, Old English also had a 'dual' number in some pronouns, meaning there were different ways to say 'are' depending on if there were two people or more than two.
- The verb 'to be' in Old English is 'suppletive', meaning the forms for 'am', 'is' and sindon were originally completely different verbs that merged over time.
- While sindon looks foreign to modern eyes, it is a direct ancestor of the modern German word sind, which still means 'are'.
Examples in context
- On þǣm wætere sindon fiscas.There are fish in the water.This sentence shows how to use sindon to state the presence of fish in water.Tatoeba #13901941 by rul, translation #10647760 by Apollogeist
- Hīe sindon swīþe ġītsiende menn.They are very greedy people.This sentence uses sindon to describe a quality of a group of people.Tatoeba #13899736 by rul, translation #9343943 by CK
- Þu mægst in ealle geþeodu writan. On Tatoeba sindon ealle geþeodu gelic.You may write in any language you want. On Tatoeba, all languages are equal.This sentence uses sindon to express equality between languages.Tatoeba #11217207 by SunnyMoon, translation #785667 by TRANG
- Hí synd gōde wyrhtan.They are good workers.
Example conversation
Godric and Wulfrun are discussing their friends.
- GodricHwǣr sindon þā guman?Where are the men?
- WulfrunHīe sindon on þǣre byrig.They are in the town.
- GodricSindon hīe ġehȳrsume?Are they obedient?
- WulfrunĠēa, hīe sindon swīðe ġehȳrsume.Yes, they are very obedient.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
