I want to form a sentence which says"I am yours" in a way that I replace "yours" with thy/thine, but I have no idea which one is correct. I've read that each one of these is used depending on what word comes after thy/thine, but in this case "yours" is the last word in the sentence, therefore it isn't followed by anything. I also have the same question for the sentence "I am hers". What word is going to be a proper replacement for "hers", given the fact that it is also the last word?
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9I suggest using them in the same way as "my" and "mine". – Weather Vane Aug 18 '17 at 18:32
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1I don't understand the second part of your question about a 'replacement for "hers"'. You seem to believe that there was a form of "hers" similar to "thy/thine"? – Mark Beadles Aug 18 '17 at 18:34
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In a way that thy/thine are used for possessive form of "your". What word would be used for "hers" is what I meant. – KK JKL Aug 18 '17 at 18:37
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hers-thine; her-thy – Mike Harris Aug 18 '17 at 18:46
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4There's no alternative to 'hers' that I am aware of, the way that 'thy/thine' is an archaic alternative for 'your/yours'. One says "It is her thing" or "The thing is hers". – Jeff Zeitlin Aug 18 '17 at 18:47
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2Possible duplicate of What does "thy" mean? – Laurel Aug 18 '17 at 18:56
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@JeffZeitlin Yes there is. Thy/thine = her/hers. In full I/me/my/mine = thou/thee/thy/thine = she/her/her/hers. – WS2 Aug 18 '17 at 19:03
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Thanks @WS2 - that's what I was trying to say, but you said it better (and more completely). – Mike Harris Aug 18 '17 at 19:06
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2@WS2 - You misunderstand me. "thy/thine" is an archaic alternative for "your/yours", not "my/mine". There is no alternative for using "her/hers" that refers to the third person singular feminine, the way that both "you/yours" and "thy/thine" refer to the second person singular. – Jeff Zeitlin Aug 18 '17 at 19:07
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@JeffZeitlin I'm supposing that WS2 is indicating that these are the corresponding forms, not that they are interchangeable. – SNLacy Aug 18 '17 at 20:16
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@SNLacy Yes that is what I was attempting to do. – WS2 Aug 18 '17 at 20:30
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@JeffZeitlin My apologies for misunderstanding you. – WS2 Aug 18 '17 at 20:31
2 Answers
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Thy and thine are archaic forms corresponding to your and yours respectively. Use thy where you would use your (but see note at end of answer) and thine where you would use yours.
Her and hers do not have alternate/archaic forms. Her is used as a possessive the same way my or your is, and hers is used like mine or yours.
(Note: if the noun placed after thy begins with a vowel sound, use thine instead: thy book, but thine eyes. Archaically, the same was done with my and mine, but this is no longer common usage outside of some poetic use.)
Jeff Zeitlin
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Wikipedia has an article that explains to you the grammar of thou and all its forms, and what clarifies your query is that thine can be used:
as an adjective before a vowel or as a possessive pronoun
Here are a few examples which will free you from any hesitation to us thine in that position:
- I am thine, save me (Ps. 119:94 KJV)
- My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. (1 Kings 20:4 KJV)
- for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine (1 Chr. 29:11 KJV)
And the biblical examples are many.
Let's look at Shakespeare:
- This is the palace of the fearful king,
And this the regal seat: possess it, York;
For this is thine and not King Henry's heirs. (Henry VI (Pt 3), Act I)
Old lad, I am thine own. (Titus Andronicus, Act 4, Scene 2)
Shelley uses it too:
- Till the sinking of the world,
I am thine and thou art mine,
'Till in ruin death is hurled.
fev
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