Comparison
The following table demonstrates the relation of modern West Germanic languages to each other, showing some closely related word-forms, as descended from the Proto-Germanic roots *se/*þe, *hwa, and *he, within the three main West Germanic languages (English, Dutch, and High German). (Note: the Proto-Germanic roots given here are simplifications of three sets of related roots that were similar in form, in that they either shared the same initial consonant sound or, in the case of *Se/*þe, alternated between two consonants.)
| Description | From *Se/*þe | From *Hwa | From *He | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Dutch | German | English | Dutch | German | English | Dutch | German | ||
| Nominative | Masc. | the | de | der | who | wie | wer | he | hij, ie | er |
| Neuter | that | dat | das | what | wat | was | it | het | es | |
| Fem. | she | zij, ze | sie, die | (who) | (wie) | (wer) | ME/Dial. hoo | |||
| Plural | they | zij, ze | sie, die | (who) | (wie) | (wer) | ||||
| Demonstrative | this | dit, deze | dies- | |||||||
| Adverbial/Nominal | so, thus | zo, dus | so | while | wijl | Weile | ||||
| Relative | such | zulk | solch- | which | welke | welch- | each | elk | MHG elch- | |
| Dual | whether | weder | ||||||||
| Description | From *Se/*þe | From *Hwa | From *He | |||||||
| Dative | Masc./Neuter | den | dem | whom | wien (obsolete) | wem | him | hem | ihm | |
| Fem. | der | der | (whom) | (wie) | (wem) | her | haar | ihr | ||
| Plural | them | den | den | (whom) | (wie) | (wem) | 'em | hen/hun | ihnen | |
| Genitive | Masc./Neut. | diens, zijn | des(sen), sein- | whose | wiens | wessen | his | |||
| Fem./Plural | their | dier | der(en) | wier | her | haar | ihr- | |||
| Locative | there | daar | da, dar- | where | waar | wo, war- | here | hier | hier | |
| Allative | thither | der | hin | whither | wer(waarts) | wohin | hither | her, heen | her | |
| Ablative | thence | (van) daan | (von) dannen | whence | woher | hence | ||||
| Instrumental | why, how | hoe | wie | |||||||
| Temporal/ Conjunctive | I | then | dan | dann | when | wanneer | wann | |||
| II | than | (dan) | denn | (when) | wen | wenn | ||||
| Description | English | Dutch | German | English | Dutch | German | English | Dutch | German | |
| From *Se/*þe | From *Hwa | From *He | ||||||||
Read more about this topic: West Germanic Languages
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