HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

OF ENGLISH SYNTAX
OE SYNTAX
 OE was largely a synthetic language; it
possessed a system of grammatical forms
which could indicate the connection
between words.
 Itwas primarily a spoken language,
consequently, the syntax of the sentence
was relatively simple.
OE SYNTAX

 The order of words in the OE sentence was

relatively free. The position of words in the
sentence was often determined by logical
and stylistic factors.
 Therewere several most frequent patterns
of word order.
Patterns of word order in OE
Subject
 – Predicate
Ōhthēre sǣde his hlāforde…
(E Ohthere (name) said to his lord…)
Predicate – Subject

þā ʒeascode hē þone cyninʒ
(E Then he discovered the king)
Framing: Subject … … … … Predicate

Hē ealra Norþmonna norþmest būde
He lived father north than all northmen.
Patterns of word order in OE

 Object– Subject – Predicate

… hiene þa Cynewulf on Andred adræfde.
(E Cynewulf then drove him into Andred).
 Predicate – Object – Subject
ða on morʒenne ʒehierdun þæt þæs cynin ʒes þe ʒnas.
(E Then in the morning the king’s warriors heard
that).
Word order in OE
Prepositions
 and modifiers often followed
their nouns instead of preceding them,
sometimes at a considerable distance:
Him māra faltum tō com
(E More help came to him).
þæs cyninʒes þeʒnas þe him beæftan wærun…
(E The king's warriors who were behind him..)
OE SYNTAX

 Neitherin questions nor in negative sentences

does Old English make use of
auxiliary do:
Hwȳ didest þū þæt? (E Why did you do that?)
ic ne ʒā…
(E I do not go…)
OE SYNTAX
 Negation is achieved by use of the particle
ne (usually before the verb):
ic ne dyde.
(E I did not (do it)).
 Multiple
negation was common
hē ne mihte nān þinʒ ʒesēon
(E He could see nothing)
OE SYNTAX
 TheSubject of a sentence or clause was
frequently unexpressed (impersonal verbs).
Norþan snīwde.
E From the North snowed.
Buʒon tō bence.
E [They] bent to the bench.
CHANGES IN ME SYNTAX

 Subjectbegan to be expressed even in

impersonal sentences:
Me thinketh it
 (E It seemed to me)
Changes in ME Syntax

 Widespread use of prepositions, some of

them still occasionally followed the object:

after þe lawes of oure londe …

E … according to the laws of our land.
he seyd him to…
E …he said to him…
Changes in ME Syntax
 Though single negation began to be used in
the 14th century, multiple
negation was still widely spread:

Ne schal non werien no linnene cloth

E No one shall wear any linen clothes
Changes in NE Syntax

 Directword order was finally established

by the 17th century:
‘I know not how to tell thee who I am:
My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,
Because it is an enemy to thee…’
(Romeo & Juliet).
Changes in NE Syntax

 Untilabout 1700 do had no emphatic

function in the context:
If they do see thee, they will murder thee
(Romeo & Juliet)
Changes in NE Syntax

 Negatives could be formed either with or

without do (an auxiliary verb)
I doubt it not (Romeo & Juliet)
I do not doubt you (Henry IV)
Changes in NE Syntax
 Yes– No and Wh – questions could be formed
either by Subject – Verb
inversion, or by Subject – Auxiliary Verb
inversion:
Came he not home tonight? (Romeo & Juliet)
Do you not love me? (Much Ado about
Nothing)
What sayde he? (As You Like It)
Changes in NE Syntax

 Multiple negation in Shakespeare:

Is’t not enough, young man,
That I did never, no nor never can
(A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

I am not valiant neither (Othello)

Changes in NE Syntax

 Structural substitutes developed:

There’s a man there.

It is pleasant to dance.
The work is a remarkable one.
They married just as your father did.
Changes in NE Syntax
 Predicative constructions developed:

She had no desire for me to stay.

I saw her dancing.

They could not go anywhere without his

seeing how all the men were attracted by
her.