Middle English Syntax

1. English syntax and morphology changed drastically during the Middle English period (1066-1500). The changes in syntax were hastened by the aftermath of the Norman Conquest, but they were NOT a result of contact with the French language, and they did not happen overnight.



2. Decay of Inflectional Endings
1. m > n in inflectional endings (e.g., muðum > muðun, godum > godun)
2. The new (and old) -n ending dropped (e.g., muðu, godu)
3. inflectional -a, -u, -e, changed to the // sound, which was usually spelled -e (e.g., muðe, gode).



3. The Noun.
1. By the end of the ME period, the only remaining inflections for nouns were the plural and possessive markers
2. Plurals:
3. Possessives: generally -s or -es becomes the genitive ending except in cases when the /s/ is already phonologically present



4. Adjectives



5. Pronouns
1. Of the many forms of se, seo, þæt, etc., only the and that remain in use today. Of the group þes, þeos, þis, only those and this survive.
2. Decline of the dual personal pronouns



6. Verbs
1. The strong conjugation dwindled. As new verbs entered the language, they were conjugated like weak verbs.
2. Survival of Strong Participles (e.g., hew, hewed, hewn; melt, melted, molten; mow, mowed, mown)



7. Loss of Grammatical Gender