Did there exist any analytical forms in OE?

The OE was a synthetical language, though some analytical forms already

started to come into use. There existed the following prototypes of future analytical

formations:

(1) sculan + infinitive, willan + infinitive

These constructions were occasionally used to convey future meaning. As you

remember, there was no special future tense in OE, the hypothetical future

meaning could be expressed by lexical means (context, adverbs etc.) or by

compound modal predicate. Sculon and willan used to be pure modal verbs, sculan

expressed obligation and willan – volition, for example:

Þonne sculan hīe Þās helle sēcan (they must seek that hell).

By the end of OE period these verbs started to lose their modal meaning.

(2) habban + Participle II (with transitive verbs), bēon + Participle II

(with intransitive verbs)

These combinations mean that the subject had some thing or quality as a

result of some action, for example:

hīe hæfdon hiera cyning āworpenne (they had their king deposed).

The Participle II usually agrees with the object in gender, number and case.

Later such constructions started to convey the meaning of completion and

result of the action, which could be viewed as beginning of analytical perfective

aspect. Occasionally completion of an action was expressed by means of ge-

prefix. It also approaches in a way the meaning of he perfective aspect, dōn –

gedōn.

(3) wesan/ bēon/weorÞan + Participle II.

This construction had a passive meaning and showed, that the subject aquired

a feature as a result of an action performed, for example:

hē wearÞ ofslægen (he became a killed one).

Indo-European had three voices: active, passive and middle (reflexive); Germanic

languages lost inflected passive and middle. The above construction could not be

considered as expressing passive as it exists now, as the verbs wesan/

bēon/weorÞan retained their full meaning yet.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 833