The Syntax of Early English - Cryptm.org

268 The syntax of early Englishthis analysis is the fact that the subject position of easy-adjectives can remainempty in Old English, as shown by examples like (38). This suggests that theseadjectives do not theta-mark their subject because, apart from some specialcases, Old English only allows a null subject if it has no theta-role (see also2.2.1). Some examples of such non-thematic empty subjects are given in(43)–(45).(43) us ne gebyra to ameldigenne a scyldiganus not befits to betray the guilty‘it does not befit us to betray the guilty ones’ (ÆCHom II, 38.284.167)(44) Wel ys gelyfed æt hyt æt yfel gehælewell is believed that it the evil heals‘It is truly believed that it heals the malady’ (Lch I (Herb) 40.1.3)(45) fram ysum weorcum is to gelyfanne æt Godfrom these works is to believe that GodZosimus on æt mynster gelæddeZosimus into the monastery led‘because of these things it can be believed that God led Zosimus into themonastery’ (LS23 (MaryofEgypt) 2.107)In (43) gebyra is a so-called impersonal verb. It is usually thought that verbsof this type do not theta-mark their subject position, either generally or atleast when no overt NP occurs in that position. The advantages of assumingthis are described in detail in Fischer and van der Leek (1983); compare alsosection 2.2.2. In (44), (ys) gelyfed is a passive, which is standardly taken notto theta-mark its subject, and if to gelyfanne in (45) is also regarded as passivein nature (see below), the main clause subject position in that sentence is nottheta-marked either. The theoretical ramifications of this correlation betweenlack of a theta-role and occurrence of a null subject (or expletive pro-drop) arefurther explored by Bennis (1986: 275 ff.) and Hulk and van Kemenade (1993);in line with the general approach described in 1.3.3, these studies also comparethe Old English facts with modern Dutch, which is quite similar in this areaof grammar.If easy-adjectives do not theta-mark their subject in Old English, it mightbe the case that a NP such as ælc ehtnys in the ‘easy-to-please’ construction(28) has undergone NP-movement.(28) ælc ehtnys bi earfoe to olienne‘each persecution is hard to endure’Movement of ælc ehtnys must then have taken place from the object-position ofthe infinitive, making the movement concerned very much like that in passives,which also have movement from object to subject position. Such an analysisindeed appears to be feasible for Old English and in fact may even be preferable