The Syntax of Early English - Cryptm.org

some representative examples taken from the work of Margery Kempe (alate Middle English writer), as well as from Hiltunen’s early Middle Englishcorpus:(42) a. e æt swuch fule spete ut in ani encre earewho that such filth spews out in any anchoress’s ear‘who spews out such filth in the ear of any anchoress’ (Ancr (Nero)35.29)b. at he neure mare sculde cuman utthat he never more should come out‘that he should not come out anymore’ (ChronE (Plummer) 1140.48)c. He onkede him & heo wes icleopet for‘He thanked him and she was called forth’ (St Juliana (Bod) 9.93)d. ah, whuch se ha euer beo, let bringen hire forbut, who so she ever be, let bring her forth‘but whoever she is, let her be brought forth’ (St Kath.(1) 30.5)e. at ei wold gan awey ...that they would go away‘that they would go away . . .’ (MKempe 19.31)f. Margery, yf here come a man wyth a swerd & wold smyte ofMargery, if here come a man with a sword and would smite offmyn hedmyn head‘Margery, if a man would come here with a sword and cut off my head’(MKempe 23.14)Hiltunen’s corpus consists exclusively of prose texts, but his findings are alsoconfirmed by the distribution of particles in the Ormulum, an early text fromthe North-East Midlands of mechanical metrical regularity (c. 1180). Thefigures are quoted from Denison (1981: 180).Table 6.7. Verb and particleposition in OrmulumVerb–particles in Old and Middle English 203part (. . .) VV (. . .) part28 (5%) 184 (95%)In this text too, the norm is V (. . .) part.6.7.1 Material between verb and particle (V . . . part)As we have seen in the previous section, V . . . part becomes the normin Middle English. This is also one of the surface patterns found in OldEnglish (see sections 6.3.1–6.3.3). The distribution of pronominal objects andnominal objects in this pattern show some important differences. Pronominal