0 INTRODUCTION

6. FINDINGS
(194) (...) so gentle medicines taken in due time, doe great good to the
sight: which I doe leaue to the appointment and direction of a
learned Phisition. (E2 1616 Bailey Preseruation of eie-sight
Academic)
(195) One is very regeneration, which is very reformation of the member
in the selfe same substaunce, forme, qualytie and quantitie: and
other such accidents properly as it was afore the corruption and
alteration. (E2 1579 Chauliac Qvydos qyestions Surgery)
In other words, the most remarkable increases relate to those patterns closer to
nominal syntax. Interestingly, nominalizations having only post-head dependents, which as
already said are strongly reminiscent of a verbal pattern, show the greatest decrease (from
16.9% in E1 to 8.9% in E3). A few examples with of-PP[object]s (cf. [196] and [197]) and
of-PP[subject]s (cf. [198]) follow here:
(196) I will set downe the diversities of ruptures, and the meanes of
curing of each: which are either incision, or trusse, or application
of medicaments, sometimes used solitary, sometimes concurring
most or all together. (E2 1630 Bonham Chyrvrgians closet
Surgery)
(197) (...) for here Nature will truly act her part, by application of bloud
and nourishment to both sides indifferently, and finish the
Coalitus without your farther assistence. (E3 1676 Wiseman Of
wounds Surgery)
(198) For which reason they are us’d not only in stoppages of the Urine,
and in Gonorrhea’s, but also in Inflammations of the Natural parts
of those that are troubl’d with Venereal Distempers. (E3 1678
Royal pharmacopoea Remedy)
Thus it seems that through the EModE period a kind of specialization of both
Romance and –ing nominals takes place. At the beginning of the period, the pattern with
only post-head dependents was already the most frequent for –ing nominals, while this
pattern was the less frequently used by Romance nominals. However, it must be conceded
197