Old english syntax

1. Determine the type of each of the following OE phrases:

1) sē man “that man” 2) ārās hē “arose he” 3) (full) ealað oððe wæteres “full of ale or water” 4) hē Zeseah “he saw” 5) sunu mīn “my son” 6) ārīs up and site “arise up and sit” 7) hyne bletsode “blessed him” 8) hū lonZe “how long” 9) (lið) mōnað Ze (hwīlum) twēZen “lies a month and (sometimes) two”.

2. State the type of syntactic relations between the constituents of these OE phrases:

1) from þæm slæpe “from that sleep” 2) sæZde him “said to him” 3) hām ēōde “went home” 4) cwōm eft “came again” 5) Zife onfenZ “received the gift” 6) wundrade swiðe “was greatly surprised”.

3. Examine the following sentences to determine the syntactic functions of the underlined words used in the following cases:

(1-3) Nominative; (4-6) Genitive; (7-10) Dative; (11-13) Accusative.

1) Wæs þū, HrōðZar, hāl. “May you be, Hrothgar, in good health.” 2) Ic eom HiZelaces mæZ ond maZoðeZn. “I am kinsman and retainer of HiZelac”. 3) Bēō þū þīnra brōþra hlāford … “May you be master of your brothers”. 4) Mē wearð Zrendles þinZ on mīnre eðeltyrf undyrne cūð. “The Grendel affair became manifestly known to me in my native land”. 5) Đā sceolde hē ðær bīdan ryht-norþanwindes. “He had to wait there for the direct northwind”. 6) Ond fōron ānstreces dæZes and nihtes. “And they marched continuously day and night”. 7) Ic þæm Zōdan sceal for his mōdpræce māðmas beodan. “I shall offer the good man treasures on account of his dearing”. 8) Đīnum māZum læf folc ond rice. “Bequeath people and kingdom to your kinsmen”. 9) Hēr on þysum Zēare fōr sē milca here, … “This year came here that big army, …”. 10) Worhte Ælfred cyninZ lytle werede Zeweorc. “King Alfred built a defence work with a small force”. 11) Hē ofslōZ þone aldormon. “He killed that governor”. 12) Hine nānes ðinZes ne lyste. “He desired nothing”. 13) Hē Zeseah þa hearpan him nēālcan. “He saw the harp approach him”.

4. In the following sentences pick out infinitival and participial constructions (Accusativus cum Infinitivo and Accusativus cum Participio) and state their syntactic functions.

1) Sē cyninZ hēt hīē feohtan onZēān Peohtas. “The king commanded them to fight against the Picts”. 2) Đāre cynna moniZ hē nē wiste in Zermanie wesan. “He did not know many of these tribes to be in Germany”. 3) Zeseah hē in recede rinca maniZe swefan. “He saw many a warrior sleeping in the hall”. 4) Hē sende mē þearfum bodian. “He sent me to proclaim to the poor”. 5) Hē Zeseah twā scipu standende wið þæne mere. “He saw two ships standing in the lake”. 6) … ond þā hē Zehyrde þā meneZo farende… “… and when he heard the multitude passing by…”. 7) Đā æfter þrimum daZum hīZ fundon hine on þām temple sittende on middan þām lāreowum hlystende ond hī āhsiende. “Then after three days they found him in the temple in the midst of the wise men listening and questioning them”.

5. Determine the type of word order in the following sentences and clauses.

1) Ceolwulf fenZ tō rice. “ Ceolwulf succeeded to the kingdom”. 2) … oþ hē on þone æþelinZ lōcode. “… until he looked upon the prince”. 3) Ond fenZ Cuþred tō Wesseaxna rice. “And Cuthred succeeded to the kingdom of the West Saxons”. 4) Ond he his feorh Zenerede. “And he saved his life”. 5) … ond hē him āþas swōr. “… and he swore oaths to them”.

6. Indicate word order in the sentences listed below using the following symbols: S – subject; P – predicate; O – object; Adv – adverbial modifier.

1. Ðā andswarode hē him. “He then answered him”. 2) Hæfde sē cyninZ his fierd on tū tōnumen, … “The king had divided his force into two, …”. 3) Her mon mæZ Ziet Zesīon swæð … “Here one may still see their track …”. 4) Ðā ic ðā ðis eall Zemunde … “When I then recalled all this …”.

7. Study the following examples of sentence negation in OE. How do they compare with MnE usage? Note the forms nānne, noldon, næniZ, næron, nōn and analyse their structure.

1) … þæt hīē hiora ðā nānne dæl noldon on hiora āZen Zeðiode wendan. “… that they would not translate any part of them into their own language”. 2) And ne bið ðær næniZ ealo Zebrowen mid Estum, … “And there is no ale brewn by the Ests, …”. 3) … for ðæm ðe hīē næron on hiora aZen Zeðīode āwritene. “… because they were not written down in their own language”. 4) Ne Zeherde nōn mon þā Zet nānne sciphere. “No man has heard yet about any ship army”. 5) … and nānne wæstm ne bringað. “… and they do not bring in any fruit”. 6) … for þām ne mæZ nōn man nānne cræft forþbrinZan būton wīsdom. “… therefore no man can produce any power except wisdom”.

8. State the type of each of the following sentences. Analyse the ways in which the clauses are connected. State the type of each clause.

1) On þissum Zēāre næs nān færeld to Rome būton tuēZen hlēāperas Ælfred cyninZ sende mit Zewritu. “In this year there was no expedition to Rome, but King Alfred sent two runners with letters”. 2) Hēr Æfelwulf cyninZ Zefeaht æt Carrum wiþ XXXV sciphlæsta ond þā Deniscan āhton wælstowe Zewald. “Here (in this year) King Æthelwulf fought against thirty five shiploads at Carrum and the Danes had control of the battlefield”. 3) … þā cwædon hīē þæt hīē hīē þæs ne onmundon. “… then they said that they did not wish that for themselves”. 4) Ond þā wæron miclu forslæZene ond forwundode ær hīē on hond ēōdon. “And they were greatly slain and wounded before they surrendered”. 5) Eft was papa swā hē ær wæs. “And he was Pope again, as he had been before”. 6) On þæm hrinZe wæs Zetācnad þæt on his daZum scēōlde weorþan Zebōren sē sē þe lēohtra is. “In that circle it was indicated that in his days there should be born the one who is brighter”. 7) Ðā ic ðā ðis eall Zemunde, ðā wundrade ic swīðe ðāra Zōdena wiotona, ðe Ziu wæron Ziond Angelcynn, ond ðā bēc eallæ befullan Zeliornod hæfdon, ðæt hīē hiora ðā nānne dæl noldon on hiora āZen Zeðiode wendan. “When I remembered all this, then wondered I very much at the wise men who were once throughout England and who had learned all their books fully, that they had turned no part of them into their own tongue”.