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

3.2. The Composite Sentence

The Compound Sentence

Both asyndetic and syndetic compound sentences are found in OE texts. The asyndetic type may be illustrated by the following example from Beowulf: fand pa pær-inne æpetinʒa ʒedriht swefan sefter symble; sorʒe ne cupon, wonsceaft wera '(he) found in there a troop of warriors sleeping after the feast; they did not know any trouble, misery of men'. In a syndetic compound sentence clauses may be connected by one of the conjunctions: and 'and', oppe 'or', ac 'but': wæs he, se mon, In weoruldhade ʒeseted op pa tide, pe he wæs ʒelefedre yldo, ond he næfre næniʒ leop ʒeleornade 'he, that man, was a layman until he reached an elderly age, and he had never learnt any song'; ic me mid Hruntinʒe dom ʒewyrce, oppe mec deap nimep 'I will acquire glory with Hrunting (a sword), or death shall take me'; pa JBeormas hæfdon swipe wel ʒebun hira land; ac hie ne dorston pæron cuman 'the Permians had had their land very well cultivated; but they (the travellers) did not dare to disembark there': Her AEpelwulf cyninʒ ʒefeaht æt Carrum wip. XXXV. sciphlæst and pd Deniscan ahton wælstowe ʒewald 'here (= in this year) king AEthelwuef fought at Charmouth with 35 shiploads, and the Danes kept the battlefield in their power'; pa was ðonne Leo papa on Rome, and he hine to cyninʒe ʒehalʒode 'then was Leo pope in Rome, and he invested him as king'; næfde se here,'Codes ponces, Onʒelcyn for swðie ʒebrocod; ac hie wæron micle swipor ʒebrocode on pæm prim ʒearum mid ceapes cwilde and monna 'the (enemy) army had not, thank God, utterly destroyed England; but they were much more afflicted by deaths of cattle and human beings'.

 The Complex Sentence In treating complex sentences, we shall give our main attention to separate types of subordinate clauses, and then briefly indicate possibilities of several subordinate clauses of different types and degrees occurring within the same complex sentence. As to the separate types of subordinate clauses, we will classify them as parallel to parts of a simple sentence.

Subject Clauses

These are not often found in OE texts. We can quote an example from King Alfred's preface to his translation of Pope Gregory I's Pastoral Care: me com swiðe oft on ʒemynd, hwylce wiotan iu wæron ʒiond Anʒelcynn 'it often came to my mind what scholars there formerly were in England’. Another example is from the same text: uncuð, hu lonʒe ðær swæʒelærede biscepas sien '(it is) unknown, how long there will be such learned bishops'. Predicative clauses do not seem to occur in OE texts.

Object Clauses

These are mainly found in indirect speech, that is, in connection with verbs meaning 'say', 'announce', 'ask', 'think', and the like. They may be introduced by the conjunction pæt or ʒif, by an interrogative pronoun or adverb, or, occasionally, be joined on asyndetically. Here are some examples of each variety: Ohthere sæde his hlaforde, AElfrede cyninʒe, pæt he ealra Norpmonna norpmest bude. He sæde pæt he bude, on pæm lande norpweardum wip pa Westsæ 'Ohthere told his lord, king Alfred, that he lived northernmost of all Northmen. He said that he lived in the land northward along the Atlantic Ocean'; axode ʒif him wære niht ʒetæse 'asked if the night had been quiet for him (i.e. if he had spent a quiet night)'; men ne cunnon secʒan to soðe, sele-rædende, hæleð under heofonum; hwa pæm hlæste onfenʒ men cannot say for sooth, counsellors in hall, heroes under heaven, who received the load'.