The Simple Sentence

Main Parts:

The Subject is usually expressed by a substantive or a pronoun. (he: sae:de, Ohthere sae:de)

The Predicate: simple verbal, expressed by the form of one verb or in some cases analytical: Ne con ic noht singan. Hwaethre thu: canst singan (But thou canst sing) Hwaeat sceal ic singan? A nominal predicate is always compound: He: waes swy:the spe:dig man.

Secondary parts:

The object: can be expressed by substantives or pronouns in the accusative, dative or genitive case. There are 2 objects: direct and indirect. Direct object with so called transitive verbs is expressed by a substantive in the accusative case: saegdon sum ha:lig spell (told some holy story). There may 2 objects, the indirect object, unlike the direct, is in the dative case: sin¯ me: hwxDwu¯u

The Attribute: (addjective, pronoun or numeral or by a substantive in the genitive case), or by a phrase: preposition + substantive: he: waes swy:the spedig man

The Apposition: is found in many OE texts ( King Alfred)

The Adverbial Modifier may be expressed either by an adverb or by a phrase “preposition + substantive”.:Tha: e:ode he: ha:m. (then he went home)

The Direct Address: can be represented by a single word or a phrase Cedmon, sing me: hwaethwugu. Sunu mi:n, hlyste mi:nre la:re (my son, listen to my teaching)

Paranthesis are not frequent in OE texts. They are represnted either by adverbs or by phrases” preposition + substantive”: hwaethre thu: meaht singan. (however, thou canst sing.)

Compound and Complex Sentences

They existed in OE, and there are numerous instances of coordination and subordination. In Complex sentences there are such subordinate clauses as subject clauses, object clauses, attributive clauses, adverbial clauses( of place, time, of cause, purpose, result,conditional, of concession, of mannare and comparison; and paranethetical clauses.

In the compound sentences clauses were mainly connected either asyndetically or syndetically. The most comon type of syndetic connection was represented by the conjunction and, oDDe(or) or ac(but).

ic me: mid Hruntin¯е do:m ¯ewyrce, oDDe mec de:aþ nimeþ.

OE texts displayed parenthetical clauses, combined clauses and sentences with coordination and subordination mixed.

The Middle and New English Periods

The evolution of syntax was closel connected with the decline of the inflectional system, hence MdE and ModE sentences got more emphasis on the syntactical means of word connection: the word order became more strict and the use of prepositions more extensive.

The following changes took place:

Agreement: was considerably reduced

4. agreement in noun phrases practically disappeared, except for some instances in number, which were lost in the 15^th century when the inflection – e was dropped.

…this holy mayden, that requeste , A good man was ther of religioun. …goode men, etc.

5. nouns used attributeively had forms of the genitive case or were joined to the head

word by a preposition: fadres sone, men of armes

6. In Shakespere’s time noun patterns became more fixed: nouns used attributively were enclosed between a determiner and the head word:

Jog on, jog on, the footpath way; the darling buds of May; the master mistress of my passion….

Government: has not undergone essential changes.

Joining: it sphere widened by the reduction of agreement; agreement in gender and case

was lost: his schoures sote (his sweet showers).

The sentence

Parts of the sentence

The Subject: noun, pronoun, infinitive: to beholde it was gret joye

The Predicate: simple verbal: he sende writes sone anon

compound verbal= modal verb + infinitive: wel coude he singe

nominal predicate: Hauelok was a ful god gome.

The Object: 2 direct and indirect: anoint thi ship with pik and tar; him louede yung, him

louede olde

The Attribute: adjectives, pronouns, nouns in the Gen. case, nouns between the

determiner and the head word.

The Adverbial Modifier: adverbs, prepositional phrases.

Modern English

Agreement: goes on decreasing: this, that agree in number with the head words.

Government: disappeared, only the personal pronouns and the interrogative and relative pronoun who are governed. Shakespeare: …between you and I…

Joining: since agreement and government decline, the role of joining grows.

Closure: the always-wind-obeying deep

Simple sentence: the freedom of word order becomes more restricted, but: Hamlet:

Mother, you have my father much offended

Вопросы

к зачету по истории английского языка

1. Language as a socio-cultural phenomenon. Language as a system. Different approaches to language studying.

2. General information about the Germanic languages. Their distribution and classification.

3. Ancient Germanic tribes, their social structure, culture and writings.

4. The Old Germanic Alphabets. Most important relics of Old Germanic writings.

5. Periods in the History of English. Early English tribes and dialects. Old English writings.

6. OE phonetic system. Grimm’s Law. Verner’s Law.

7. OE system of vowels. Changes in the vocalic system.

8. OE morphology. General characteristics.

9. OE nominal system.

10. OE system of the Verb.

11. OE syntax. Types of sentences. The word order in sentence.

12. OE vocabulary and ways of its replenishment.

13. ME changes in the phonetic system.

14. ME morphology and its changes.

15. ME nominal system

16. ME adjective.

17. ME. Declension of personal pronouns

18. ME Сhanges in the system of the verb.

19. ME verb. Development of continuous, perfect, future and passive forms.

20. ME syntax. New tendencies in the sentence structure.

21. ME vocabulary as a reflection of socio-economic changes in the country.

22. The rise of the national language. Development of the literary language.

23. Spread of English beyond the country’s borders.

24. MnE phonetics. The Great Vowel Shift.

25. MnE changes in the consonant system.

26. MnE morphology. The Substantive. The Possessive Case.

27. MnE pronominal changes.

28. MnE adjective and its degrees of comparison.

29. MnE system of the verb.

30. MnE syntactical changes.

31. MnE vocabulary and ways of its replenishment.

32. World expansion of the English language.

33. English as a lingua franca.

34. Other Englishes and their peculiarities.

35. The English language: problems and perspectives of its development.

Practical tasks for the seminar

1. Read aloud the following words.

• Habban, macian, wascan, faran, caru, glxd, hwxt, sprxcon, mann, cann

• Helpan, stelan, beran, cëpan, dëman, bendan, sen¯ean,sprecan

• Monn, hond, curon, bundon, hulpon, wurdon, sunu, hüs, tün, lücan, bü¯an

• ¯ylden, wyllen, mÿs, fÿr, bëam, cëas, steora, feohtan, hëah, ëare

• Siofon, scield, dëop, lëoht, cïese, wrïtan, hï, bindan, niman, ¯rïpan

2. Read aloud the numerals

• än, twä (twe¯en), þrïo( þrëo),fëower, fïf, siex (six,syx), seofon (siofon, syofon), eahta, ni¯on, tïen (tÿn, tën)

• endlefan, twelf, þrïotïene, fëowertïene, 16, 17, 18, 19, twenti¯, ), þrïti¯, fëowertï¯, …………………………………………………………………………….. ……….. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• hundtëonti¯ (hund, hundred), hundtwelfti¯, etc.

• twä and twenti¯, eahta and fëowertï¯, …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

• forma( fyresta), öþer (xfterra), þridda (þirdda), fëorþa, fifta, siexta (sixta, syxta), siofoþa, eahtoþa,

ni¯oþa, tëoþa, etc.

3. Identify the phonetic changes in the following words and explain them.

• xhta- eahta, xld – eald, sxh – seah

• melcan – meolcan,feh –feoh

• rïsan- räs, bëodan – bëad- budon, faran – för, rïdan -räd

• ¯xf-¯eaf, ¯xt- -¯eat, cxster-ceaster, scxl-sceal, scort=sceort

• Sandian-sendan, txlian-tellan, sxtian-settan,lx¯ian-lec¯an

• Lärian-lxran, wöpian- wëpan, fullian-fyllan

• Herot-heorot, hefon-heofon, efor-eofor (boar)

• Meahte-miehte,mihte, myhte (may)

• Dwahan- Dweahan- Dwëan

• Cild – cïld, wild –wïld, , climban – clïmban

4. Read aloud a piece from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle dating 1013 .

Þa wxs së cynin¯ Æþelrëdsume hwile mid þäm flotan

Þë on Temese lx¯, and sëo hlafdi¯e ¯ewende þä ofer sx

tö hire breDer Ricarde and së cynin¯ ¯ewenda þä fram

Däm flotan tö þäm middanwintra tö Wihtlande, and wxs

Dxr Þä tïd;

The extract below is taken from Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales written in London dialect. The

poem begins with The Prologue.

Read it aloud and pay attention to the phonetic changes that took place during the ME period.

Mind the changes in spelling.

ou=[u:] ow = [u:] o = [u:]

gh = [x] wh[hv]