Constructions and Environments: Copular, Passive, and Related Constructions in Old and Middle English

by Peter Petrae and Peter Petre

This monograph presents the first comprehensive diachronic account of copular and passive verb constructions in Old and Middle English. Peter Petr analyzes:

- The mysterious loss of the high-frequency verb weor an 'become' as a casualty of changing word order in narrative during Middle English.
- The merger of is 'is' and bi 'shall be, is generally' into a single suppletive verb, and how it is related to the development of a general analytic...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199373396
• ISBN13: 9780199373390
• Release Date: July 2014
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.3"