The Syntax of Early English - Cryptm.org

270 The syntax of early EnglishThe same reasoning can be applied to the corresponding Old Englishconstruction in (47). This sentence type is attested plentifully in texts, but noneof the many examples has preposition stranding. Just like the ‘easy-to-please’construction and passives with an overt subject, it only occurs with a traceadjacent to a verb that assigns accusative case if it has an overt object, i.e. itcan be regarded as one more instance of pattern (36).Given the fundamental distinction between NP-movement and wh-movement(or A-movement and A-bar movement), and using the (im)possibility ofpreposition stranding as a diagnostic to distinguish between instances of thesetwo types of movement in Old English, we are led to the conclusion that allthree constructions listed in (50) are cases of NP-movement, with a lexical NP,base-generated as the object of a non-finite verb form and moving from thatposition, via several intermediate steps, into the subject position.(50) NP-movement in OE‘easy-to-please’ (example (28))personal passive (example (46))modal passive (example (47))On this view, the to-infinitive in the OE ‘easy-to-please’ construction haspassive properties, even though it does not have passive morphology. We areaware that this suggestion is not uncontroversial, since there is widespread disagreementin the literature on the general question of whether the to-infinitivein Old English could ever be passive in nature; a review of the opinions is givenin Fischer (1991). Our position here is that, within the theoretical frameworkadopted in this book, both the modal passive and the ‘easy-to-please’construction must be analysed as involving a movement process, and thatthere are some facts that appear to point in the direction of NP-movementrather than wh-movement, while there are none to suggest wh-movement. Inthe present state of the overall theory and our knowledge of the Old Englishfacts, we therefore think that the classification of (50) is a reasonable one.As far as the technical details are concerned, in the case of ‘easy-to-please’at least one intermediate landing-site in the operation of NP-movement canbe assumed. If the to-infinitive in (28) is passive-like, it will not assign a thetaroleto its own subject position, and ælc ehtnys could touch down there on itsway to the main clause subject position. The structure of (28) could thereforebe as in (51), in which we simply use the label IP for the infinitival clause, disregardingthe possible presence of further functional projections.(51) ælc ehtnys ibi earfoe [ IPt i[ VPto olienne t i]]Here, ælc ehtnys starts out as object of to olienne, and receives a theta-rolefrom this verb, but no case since the verb is passive in nature. It therefore