Verb types and word order in Old and Middle English non-coordinate and coordinate clauses
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Kristin Bech
Abstract
This paper focuses on the relation between word order, verb types and clause types in Old and Middle English, with reference to the change of English from a language with a verb-second constraint to a verb-medial language. The word order patterns dicussed are the XVS, SVX and XSV patterns, and the verb categories operated with are verbs with complement, verbs without complement, copulas and existential verbs. A distinction is made between coordinate clauses; i.e., clauses introduced by a coordinating conjunction, and non-coordinate clauses. The results show that there is a difference between the two clause types and between the word order patterns in the distribution of verbs. Furthermore, there is a clear development from Old and Middle English as regards verb distribution in the clause types and word order patterns, and this development is especially noticeable in the XVS pattern. It may thus be deduced that word order is not only determined on the basis of syntactic rules, but is also related to the information content of the sentence. Consequently, studying word order and word order change from a functional perspective is highly relevant.
Abstract
This paper focuses on the relation between word order, verb types and clause types in Old and Middle English, with reference to the change of English from a language with a verb-second constraint to a verb-medial language. The word order patterns dicussed are the XVS, SVX and XSV patterns, and the verb categories operated with are verbs with complement, verbs without complement, copulas and existential verbs. A distinction is made between coordinate clauses; i.e., clauses introduced by a coordinating conjunction, and non-coordinate clauses. The results show that there is a difference between the two clause types and between the word order patterns in the distribution of verbs. Furthermore, there is a clear development from Old and Middle English as regards verb distribution in the clause types and word order patterns, and this development is especially noticeable in the XVS pattern. It may thus be deduced that word order is not only determined on the basis of syntactic rules, but is also related to the information content of the sentence. Consequently, studying word order and word order change from a functional perspective is highly relevant.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction ix
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Part I. Old and Middle English
- The balance between syntax and discourse in Old English 3
- The Old English copula weorðan and its replacement in Middle English 23
- Verb types and word order in Old and Middle English non-coordinate and coordinate clauses 49
- From locative to durative to focalized? The English progressive and 'PROG imperfective drift' 69
- Gender assignment in Old English 89
- On the position of the OE quantifier e all and PDE a ll 109
- On the Post-Finite Misagreement phenomenon in Late Middle English 125
- Syntactic dialectal variation in Middle English 141
- Particles as grammaticalized complex predicates 157
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Part II. Early and Late Modern English
- Adverb-marking patterns in Earlier Modern English coordinate constructions 183
- 'Tis he, 'tis she, 'tis me, 'tis – I don't know who … cleft and identificational constructions in 16th to 18th century English plays 203
- Emotion verbs with to -infinitive complements: From specific to general predication 223
- Subjective progressives in seventeenth and eighteenth century English 241
- Index of subjects & terms 257
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction ix
-
Part I. Old and Middle English
- The balance between syntax and discourse in Old English 3
- The Old English copula weorðan and its replacement in Middle English 23
- Verb types and word order in Old and Middle English non-coordinate and coordinate clauses 49
- From locative to durative to focalized? The English progressive and 'PROG imperfective drift' 69
- Gender assignment in Old English 89
- On the position of the OE quantifier e all and PDE a ll 109
- On the Post-Finite Misagreement phenomenon in Late Middle English 125
- Syntactic dialectal variation in Middle English 141
- Particles as grammaticalized complex predicates 157
-
Part II. Early and Late Modern English
- Adverb-marking patterns in Earlier Modern English coordinate constructions 183
- 'Tis he, 'tis she, 'tis me, 'tis – I don't know who … cleft and identificational constructions in 16th to 18th century English plays 203
- Emotion verbs with to -infinitive complements: From specific to general predication 223
- Subjective progressives in seventeenth and eighteenth century English 241
- Index of subjects & terms 257
