Verbs in Medieval English: Differences in Verb Choice in Verse and Prose

✍ Scribed by Michiko Ogura

• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 284
• Series: Topics in English Linguistics [TiEL]; 17
• Edition: Reprint 2013
• Category: Library

✦ Table of Contents

Preface
Table of abbreviations
Texts examined
Chapter 1. Introduction to verbal syntax
1. Inflections
1.1. Strong verbs
1.2. Weak verbs
1.3. Preterit-present verbs
1.4. Anomalous verbs
2. Distinct forms of verbs
2.1. Present forms
2.2. Preterit forms
2.3. Infinitives — simple and inflected
2.4. Participles
2.5. Imperatives
2.6. Subjunctives
3. Morphological ambiguity
3.1. The ending -e
3.2. The endings -an, -on, and -en
3.3. The endings -aþ, -iaþ, and -eþ (Late Old English and Middle English pl.)
4. Distinctive features of verbs
4.1. Intransitive and transitive
4.2. Copulas
4.3. ‘Impersonal’ verbs
4.4. Verbs with genitive (including reflexive)
4.5. Verbs with dative (including ‘impersonal’ and reflexive)
4.6. Verbs with accusative (including ‘impersonal’ and reflexive)
4.7. Verbs with genitive and dative (including ‘impersonal’ and reflexive)
4.8. Verbs with genitive and accusative (including ‘impersonal’ and reflexive)
4.9. Verbs with dative and accusative (including ‘impersonal’ and reflexive)
4.10. Verbs with accusative and accusative (including ‘impersonal’ and reflexive)
4.11. Verbs with accusative and adverbial dative
4.12. Verbs with prepositional object
4.13. Verbs with infinitive
4.14. Verbs with dependent clause
Chapter 2. Conflicts between native verbs
1. Be- verbs (beon, wesan, [ge]weorðan)
2. Verbs of motion (gan,faran,feran, gewitan)
3. Verbs of saying, commanding, bidding and asking (cweðan, secgan, tellan; [be]beodan, hatan, uton; biddan, acsian, frignan)
4. Verbs of thinking and believing (hycgan, þencan, geþencan, wenan; fultruwian, geliefan, geortruwian, truwian, beliefan)
5. Verbs of knowing ([ge]cnawan, ongitan, witan, oncnawan, understandan)
6. Verbs of seeing ([ge]seon, locian, behealdan, [ge]sceawian, hawian, wlitan)
7. Verbs of causing, making and allowing (don, lœtan, macian,fremman, wyrcan)
8. Verbs of getting and possessing (onfon, niman, [ge]healdan; habban, [n]agan)
9. Verbs of obligation and necessity (gedafenian, gerisan, sculan; þurfan, beþurfan, neodian)
10. Verbs of helping (fylstan,fultumian, helpan)
11. Verbs of teaching (lœran, tœcan)
12. Verbs of giving (syllan, giefan)
13. Verbs of killing and dying ([a]cwellan, [of]slean; beon dead, deadian, sweltan)
14. Verbs of living and dwelling (libban, wunian, eardian,buan, dwellen)
15. Other verbs that show conflicts
15.1 Verbs of esteeming, praising, worshipping (weorðian, [ge]eadmian, gebiddan, lofian, herg[i]an)
15.2 Gemetan and findan
15.3 Verbs of gathering ([ge]somnian, [ge]gadrian)
15.4 Verbs of opening (ontynan, openian)
15.5 Verbs of refusing, opposing, forbidding (forsacan, wiðsacan, forbeodan, werian)
15.6 Verbs of hating (laðian, feogan, hatian)
15.7 Verbs of deceiving (beswican, geswican, leogan)
15.8 Verbs of fearing (ondrœdan, drœdan, fylhtan)
15.9 Verbs of leading and bringing ([ge]lœdan, [a-, ge-]teon, bringan)
15.10 Verbs of working (winnan, wyrcan, swincan)
15.11 Verbs of taking care and being anxious about (gieman, carian, behealdan, sorgian, beon gemyndig, ymbhycgan)
15.12 Verbs of building (tymbrian, arœran)
15.13 Verbs of listening, hearkening, hearing (hlystan, heorcnian, hieran)
Chapter 3. Conflicts between native verbs and loan verbs
A. Native verbs vs. Old Norse loans
1. Verbs of happening (gelimpan, becuman, happen)
2. Verbs of saying (cleopian, callen)
3. Verbs of thinking (þyncan, semen)
4. Verbs of getting (niman, taken)
5. Verbs of dreaming (mœtan, dremen)
6. Other verbs that show conflicts
6.1 Verbs of throwing (sendan, [ge]weorþan, casten)
6.2 Auxiliary verbs (gøra, can/con/gan, do, make)
B. Native verbs vs. Anglo-French or Old French loans
1. Verbs of liking and disliking (cwemen, lician, lystan, plesen)
2. Verbs of doubting (tweo[ga]n, tweonian, douten)
3. Verbs of judgment (deman, juggen)
4. Verbs of remembering ([ge]myndi[g]an, mynegian, remembren)
5. Verbs of serving (þegnian, geembehtan, serven, ministren)
6. Other verbs that show conflicts
6.1 Verbs of entering (entren, comen/gon)
6.2 Verbs of curing (gieman, lecnian, [ge]hœlan)
6.3 Verbs of crying (cleopian, crien)
6.4 Verbs of catching (cach[i]er, lahte,claurede, clahte)
Chapter 4. Verbs that became obsolete and archaic by the end of Middle English
1. The loss of prefixed verbs
2. The loss of poetic words
3. The influx of loan words
Chapter 5. Resulting syntactic changes in Old and Middle English
1. Passive vs. man-periphrasis and active
2. Transitive vs. reflexive and/or intransitive
3. ‘Impersonal’ vs. personal
4. Simple vs. periphrasis
4.1. Simple or prefixed verb vs. phrasal verb
4.2. Simple verb vs. ‘verb + adjective/noun/participle’
4.3. Simple verb vs. ‘auxiliary + infinitive’
Chapter 6. Conclusion
Notes
Select bibliography
Appendix
Index of Old English verbs