Imperative constructions in old English

77 Pages·1971·4.719 MB·English

by  Celia M. Millward

JANUA LINGUARUM
STUDIA MEMORIAE
NICOLAI VAN WIJK DEDICATA
edenda curai
C. H. VAN SCHOONEVELD
Indiana University
Series Practica, 124

IMPERATIVE
CONSTRUCTIONS
IN OLD ENGLISH
by
CELIA M. MILLWARD
El
1971
MOUTON
THE HAGUE . PARIS
© Copyright 1971 in The Netherlands.
Mouton & Co. N. V., Publishers, The Hague.
No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, micro-
film, or any other means, without toritten permission from the publishers.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 74-154529
Printed in Hungary
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I should like to express my thanks to Professor W. Nelson Francis, under
whom this study, in its original form, was undertaken, and to Professor Yngve
Olsson and W. Freeman Twaddell, who also gave me valuable advice and
criticism. To the students of English grammar who have preceded me I owe
a debt of gratitude greater than can be expressed by the inclusion of their
names in the Bibliography. The financial aid provided by the National Science
Foundation allowed me to devote most of my time for a year to this research.
Finally, my warmest thanks go to my husband and my son, who have for
several years graciously tolerated a part-time wife and mother.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments 5
List of Tables 9
0. Introduction 11
0.1 The Corpus 12
1. Definition of the Grammatical Imperative in Old English 15
1.1 First-Person Plural Imperatives 17
1.2 Second-Person Singular Imperatives 19
1.8 Second-Person Plural Imperatives 19
1.3.1 Imperatives with -n 19
1.3.2 Imperatives with -ap 20
1.4 Third-Person Imperatives 20
2. Imperatives in Negative Constructions 23
2.1 First-Person Plural Negative Imperatives 24
2.2 Second-Person Negative Imperatives 24
2.2.1 Second-Person Singular 24
2.2.2 Second-Person Plural 25
2.2.2.1 Imperatives with -n 25
2.2.2.2 Imperatives with -ap 25
2.2.3 Constructions with Nelle(n) 26
2.2.4 Second-Person Imperatives in the Vespasian Psalter 27
2.3 Third-Person Negative Imperatives 28
3. Imperatives in Coordinate Constructions 29
3.1 Constructions with the Same Subject 30
3.2 Constructions with Different Subjects 32
4. Nominal Complements in Imperative Clauses 34
8 TABLE OF CONTENTS
4.1 Pronominal Objects 37
4.1.1 Objects with Sylf 39
5. Neutralization and Imperative Constructions 41
6. Problems of Particular Verbs 43
6.1 Lœtan 43
6.2 Oe-witan 45
6.3 Don 45
6.4 Beon-Wesan 46
7. Conclusions 48
Appendix A. Imperative Verbs Appearing in the Corpus 52
Appendix B. Index of Imperative Porms Cited in the Text 65
Bibliography 69
Index 74
LIST OF TABLES
1. Second-Person Singular Imperative and Subjunctive Forms 16
2. Verb and Pronoun Forms in Imperative Clauses 17
3. Word-Order in Affirmative Imperative Constructions 22
4. Word-Order in Negative Imperative Constructions 24
5. Coordinators in Imperative Constructions 29
6. Sylf-Forms in Old English 39