Guide to the Renaissance 4

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Learning Thy King’s Contractions

When you incorporate a few of these variations of simple contractions, almost any imaginable sentence can be formed with a few words provided here.

The following is a list of modern words and their Old English contractions.

It is = 'tis	Have you? = Hast thou?	Will you? = Whilt thou?
It's = 'tis	Can you? = Canst thou?	Could you? = Couldst thou?
It will = 'twill	Do you? = Dost thou?	Did you? = Didst thou?
It would = 'twould	Are you? = Art thou?	Would you? = Wouldst thou?

If you are unsure how to use these contractions in a sentence, here are a few examples to help guide you on your way.

'Tis time for My Lady to take her bath!

Dost thou like my new stallion?

Wouldst thou like to escort me to court this eve?

I am much pleased with thine glorious face!

It may help you to write out a sentence or two first, and then see if you can translate some of the words, if not all of them.

For example, write... Watch how I punish bad behavior!

When rewritten, it could go like this... See thee how I punish such insolence!

Try it, and have fun!