A few common words may be noted, in which the final _-e_ is usually suppressed, and often not written. Such are _hire_, _here_, her; _oure_, _youre_, _myne_, _thyne_; _swiche_, _whiche_, _eche_; _were_; _here_, _there_; _have_, _hadde_; _wolde_, _sholde_ (less frequently); and some others. Even here accent still plays its part. If _here_, her, is emphatic, as at the end of a line, it is dissyllabic; see _Here_ in the Glossary. If _hadde_ is emphatic, meaning 'he possessed,' it is usually dissyllabic; we even find _had-d[:e] he_ (A 298, 386). _Thise_ (dhiiz) is written as the pl. of _this_; but is always monosyllabic. Similarly, the Ellesmere MS. usually has _hise_ (hiiz) as the plural of the possessive pronoun _his_; but I have altered this to _his_, except in the prose pieces. The pl. of _som_ is written _some_ and _somme_, but is usually monosyllabic (sum). A good example of the power of accent is in the phrase _At th['a]t tym'_, A 102; where _tym[:e]_ becomes enclitic, and loses its accent and its final _-e_. In the endings _-ed_, _-el_, _-en_, _-er_, _-es_, as has been already noted, the _e_ may be suppressed, when the final _-l_, _-n_, _-r_ practically become vocalic. But observe, that the _e_ is also dropped, not unfrequently, even in _-est_, _-eth_; hence _seyst_ for _seyest_, and the like. This requires care, because the final _-eth_ is usually written _in full_, though seldom sounded. In A 1641, _her-eth_ is dissyllabic, and so also is _brek-eth_ in 1642; but in 1643, we have _think'th_ for _thinketh_, and _com'th_ for _cometh_. This is the more remarkable, because it is contrary to modern usage; but note the old habit of contracting the _third person singular_; as in _rit_ for _rydeth_. Note the dissyllabic _b['a]nish'd_ in A 1725, with the accent on the first syllable; as contrasted with the trisyllabic _des['e]rv-ed_ in A 1726, with the accent on the second. s. 115. CONTRACTION. Certain contractions need special notice. _This is_ was pronounced as _one_ word, and often written _this_. Whether written _this_ or _this is_, the sense is the same, but the usual pronunciation was _this_ (dhis); see A 1091, E 56, &c. _Whether_ is usually cut down to _whe'r_, and is frequently written _wher_. _Benedicite_ once occurs as a word of five syllables, where Theseus drawls it out to express his wonder, A 1785. where else (I believe) it is _ben'cite_, in three syllables only. So also _By'r_ for _by our_, Book Duch. 544; _A godd's halfe_, id. 370. The phrase _I ne_ at the beginning of a line was very rapidly pronounced, almost as _I n'_ (iin); as in _I n' saugh_, A 764; _I n' seye_, B 1139; so also _Me n'_ (meen) for _Me ne_, Pitee, 105 (see the note).