The Syntax of Objects in Old English

Abstract

Abstract This chapter presents evidence against three commonly held views of Old English syntax and verb-object order: (1) the increase in verb-object order during the Old English period can be attributed to a gradual increase in the frequency of extraposition, an increase which is not necessarily tied to internal grammatical factors; (2) all object types (negative, quantified, and nonnegative non-quantiWed) have the same syntax in Old English; and (3) Old English can be analysed as a head-initial language, with head-final order derived by the leftward movement of various constituents. The chapter argues that in diachronic syntax studies, much of the historical data are structurally ambiguous and open to a number of different interpretations.

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