Theme: syntax in oe contents I. Introduction II. Main body. Structural relations of old english

Substantive + Participle or Adjective

Such constructions also form a predicative group, e.g. ʒedep him swa ʒewealdene worolde dælas 'he will make parts of the world so subdued to him', ʒesyhð sorh-ceariʒ on his suna bare winsele westne wind-ʒereste, reote berofene 'he sees, saddened, in his son's house the wine-hall empty, the wind's resting place, bereft of glad noise'.

Occasionally an absolute participle construction is found in OE, both substantive and participle being in the dative case, e.g. forlætenre pære ceastre, he com 'the camp having been left, he came' (= leaving the camp, he came); he ʒeseah swapendum windum pone leʒ ahefenne 'he saw the flame rising, with winds blowing'.

Negation

Negative words are freely used in OE, their number in a sentence not being limited. E.g. ne mæʒ nan pinʒ his willan wiðstandan 'nothing can withstand his will'; nan man ne bude benorðan him 'no man lived north of him'; nan ne dorste nan pinʒ ascian 'nobody dared ask anything'. Occasionally the negative pronoun naht, noht (its original meaning being 'nothing', from nā + wiht) is used: ne con ic noht sinʒan 'I cannot sing (anything)'. Eventually the negative particle ne was dropped, and the negative meaning came to be expressed by noht alone.