An Historical Syntax of the English Language

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Brill Archive, 2002 - Architecture - 27 pages
The aim of this study is to provide an outline of the development, from the earliest times to the present day, of all the English syntatical constructions with a verbal form as their nucleus. Professor Visser's description is based on a very extensive collection of documentary material covering every kind of writing in prose and poetry in the Old, Middle and Modern periods, drawing on quotations illustrating syntactical phenomena in Bosworth & Toller, O.E.D., M.M.E.D., E.D.D., and D.O.S.T., but also making reference to obsolete usages not found in any grammar, and to the views of English and American grammarians of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries on the various syntactical constructions. The volumes of this work originally appeared in the early sixties and seventies and were well received by readers and reviewers. Volumes 1 and 2 underwent correction in the light of these early reactions. We should like to think that this work will continue to be available to the scholarly world without great increases in the price. We are however only reprinting the individual volumes in small numbers, and so we have decided that in order to guarantee a consistent reprint and pricing policy for the future, the work should be available henceforth only as a set of four volumes.

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Contents

Old English 1151
648
Adverbial Clauses 87795
651
CHAPTER FIVE
661
B TIMESPHERE THE FUTURE
669
Futural Present 71722
676
Type Do I leave this fellow tied like that? 731
683
In adverbial clauses not opening with conjunction 751
700
have done it versus before I shall have done it 754
702
Adverbs in ungainga
1008
Type Clene religion is helpen widuwen 917
1010
Type He was not man enough to confess the tuth 962
1013
Type She made as if to hide him 966
1019
971
1026
After after at be for from into instead of of upon þurh till tofor without 976
1038
Type Brennende fyre soukynge childryn
1043
Type He find pleasure in doing good No my dear 985
1048

Present tense in narratives as a variant of the Preterite 76079
726
Type 579 B C Nebuchadnezar takes Tyre 784
732
The futural present in dependent syntactical units
737
Type It had become imperative that I vanish
743
CHAPTER
745
Type O that I had wings 8123
762
Type One that rode to his execution could never go so slow 818
769
Type sume cwædon he is crist 8212
770
Type Seiden that thes man hath not don ony thing worthi deeth 8268
779
Independent Indirect Reporting 833
785
Type Si Gode lof 841
796
Type Cume se blinda to me 846
802
Type Hwi ge swa unnytte sion? 855
810
Subject Clauses 8638
818
Type He næfde hwanon he hyt agulde 875
856
Temporal
879
Concessive clauses not opening with a conjunction 884
907
Of indifference i e opening with whatsoever who so etc 886
918
The types as who say as who saith as who should say 890
928
Of cause motive reason 894
936
CHAPTER EIGHT
942
THE INFINITIVE AS SUBJECT
948
Type She wepte that pity was to here 902
954
Modern English 11545
956
Type It is nat good for to take the breed of sonys 909
960
THE INFINITIVE AFTER A COPULA
971
Type All we can do is wish each other a Happy New Year 918
972
Type A figure of thynges to come 927
980
Type Fame did me the favour as to publish it presently 933
986
851
993
Type He bore his sword to the cutlers to grinde 947
999
Type He was a shrewed chamberlein So to beguile a worthi queene 954
1005
Type Would you not suppose Your bondage happy to be made a Queene? 956
1007
Type A desire of enlarging his Empire
1049
Type Swedish Foreign Minister To Quit 991
1054
999
1060
Development of the various endings 101931
1079
THE FORM IN ING AS SUBJECT
1098
identifying 1051a
1102
Type Knowing causes loving 10524
1125
Type The king hearing this was stupefact 1062
1132
Type They runnen to the apostle hus and carpand o that grisli crak 1071
1139
Type And knocking at the gate twas opend wide 1072
1140
Type Speaking of daughters I have seen Miss Dombey 1075
1146
After and
1157
Type His hat being blown off his head chanced to fall into the court 1085
1160
Type Her betrotheds sudden death
1163
Type Its a curious thing your saying that 10924
1168
Past participle equivalent to a conjunction or conjunctional preposition
1169
Type I hope its all right me coming in 1102
1182
Type Restrayne yow of vengence taking 110814
1190
Type Hopegiving phrases his heartpercing dart 1115
1196
Type A daye was limited for justifying of the bill 1120
1202
Type Wenches sitt in the shade singing of ballads 1121
1203
Type Pending the result I want you to remain 1125
1217
CHAPTER
1223
Type A returned soldier in search of work 1129
1230
1132
1232
Type The wishedfor day had arrived 1136
1237
Type A poore man met the bishop riding on his gelding 1072
1241
Type A mirour polisshed bright 1141
1244
Type He was worried a little 1145
1250
Type Dont speak until spoken to 1148
1257
In undersigning documents 1170
1296
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