The _past tense plural_ of strong verbs has the same vowel as the singular: 1452 They _+ffound+_ (r. _ffand_) -- _goand_. 1458 _+began+ -- gentilman_. 1753 _tong -- +dong+_. The 3rd pers. of the present indic. of _to be_ = _ys_ or _es_: cf. 738 _blyse -- +ys+_. 2413 _+ys+ -- Raynes_. Once _+ys+_ is found as plural: 2524 _+ys+ -- iwys_. The _present subjunctive_ is _be_ through all persons: 208 _+be+ -- me_, 2nd pers. 614 _+be+ -- se_, 3rd pers. 884 _the -- +bee+_, 3rd pers. 2017 _+be+ -- me_, 2nd pers. plr. The infinitive _+be+_ and _bene_: 49 _the -- +bee+_. 483 _+be+ -- see_. 1643 _+be+ -- charite_. 903 _the -- +bee+_. 1833 _clene -- +bene+_. 2161 _quene -- +bene+_. 2613 _+bene+ -- kene_. The _past tense singular number_ is _was_ or _wes_: 247 _alas -- +wase+_. 426 _glase -- +was+_. 771 _pase -- +wase+_. 1873 _wyldernes -- +was+_ (= _wes_). The plural _were_, _ware_, _wore_, as well as _was_, _wes_: (1) l. 402 _+wer~+ -- cher_. 1047 _+were+ -- chere_. 1845 _+were+ -- ffere_. 2586 _squiere -- +were+, here -- clere_. (2) 603 _fare -- +were+_. 2494 _+ware+ -- bare_. 1384 _beffore -- there, +were+_ (= _wore_). (3) 384 _pase -- +wase+_. 1388 _passe -- +was+_. (4) 2026 _wildernes -- +was+_ (= _wes_). 2545 _wildernes -- +was+_; cf. l. 2584. The subjunctive mood of the past tense is _were_ and _ware_, in sgl. and plr.: 225 _+were+ -- clere_. 235 _here -- +were+_. 1696 _chere -- +were+_. 2476 _+were+ -- bere_. 154 _+were+_ (= _ware_) -- _fare_. 1020 _+wer+_ (= _ware_) -- _fare_. 2074 _care -- +ware+_. The past participle: 7 _bedene -- +ben+_. 172 _+byne+ -- seyn_. 2344 _+ibene+ -- kene_. 1678 _+be+ -- crystiaunte_. From this inquiry into the sounds and inflexions, the following conclusions can be drawn: The development of _ă_ is of no use in fixing the dialect. Nor is _ea_, which has become _a_, _o_, and _e_, to be deemed a characteristic either of the Midland or Northern dialect. Ags. _ea_ occurs as _o_ as early as 1250 in the _Northumbrian Psalter_, and 50 years afterwards in _Sir Tristrem_ and _Sir Perceval_; even Richard Rolle in his _Pricke of Conscience_ offers one instance of this change (cf. _Sir Tristrem_, p. lxix f.). The development of the ags. _â_, which we find in 26 passages as _a_, in 22 as _o_, is remarkable. There are only a very few instances of this change in _Sir Tristrem_, p. lxxi, and in the _Psalter_; and this almost equal number of _a_- and _o_-rhymes proves evidently that the poem cannot belong to a Northern country. At the same time, a proportion like that would be impossible in a text of Southern origin. The same negative result is to be derived from the fact that Ags. _y_ is always written _y_. As to the inflexions, the plurals of the substantives are formed by adding _-s_ or _-n_ (_en_), or by vowel change, or they have no inflexions at all. As for the inflexion _-n_, it only occurs in _slon_ and _shon_, and of this very word the plural in _n_ is to be met with even in Northern writers.