Historical Grammar
Weak Declension of Adjectives.
The Weak Declension of adjectives, whether monosyllabic or polysyllabic does not differ from the Weak Declension of nouns, except that –ena of the genitive plural is usually replaced by –ra of the strong adjectives.
85 RULE OF SYNTAX.
Adjectives agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case; but participles, when used predicatively, may remain uninflected (§ 138, § 140).
| Case | Masculine. | Feminine. | Neuter. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | |||
| N. | gōda | gōde | gōde |
| G. | gōdan | gōdan | gōdan |
| D.I. | gōdan | gōdan | gōdan |
| A. | gōdan | gōdan | gōde |
| All Genders. | |||
| Plur. | |||
| N.A. | gōdan | ||
| G. | gōdra (gōdena) | ||
| D.I. | gōdum | ||
Explanation & Usage
The declension of adjectives conforms in general to the declension of nouns, though a few pronominal inflections have influenced certain cases. Adjectives belong either to (1) the Strong Declension or to (2) the Weak Declension. The Weak Declension is employed when the adjective is preceded by sē or ðēs the, that, or this; otherwise, the Strong Declension is employed: ðā gōdan cyningas, the good kings; ðēs gōda cynig, this good king; but gōde, cyningas, good kings.
Note.—The Weak Declension is also frequently used when the adjective is employed in direct address, or preceded by a possessive pronoun: Dryhten, ælmihtiga God . . . ic bidde ðē for ðīnre miclan mildheortnesse, Lord, almighty God, I pray thee, for thy great mercy.
Loquentes Practice Reference
Our drill practices weak adjective inflection, which Smith §84 says "does not differ from the Weak Declension of nouns, except that –ena of the genitive plural is usually replaced by –ra".