Chapter XVI: Adverbs, Prepositions, and Conjunctions

#Adverbs.#

93. (1) Adverbs are formed by adding -e or #-lîce# to the corresponding adjectives: #sôð#, _true_; #sôðe# or #sôðlîce#, _truly_; #earmlîc#, _wretched_; #earmlîce#, _wretchedly_; #wîd#, _wide_; #wîde#, _widely_; #micel#, _great_; #micle# (#micele#), _greatly, much_.

(2) The terminations -e and #-lîce# are replaced in some adverbs by #-(l)unga# or #-(l)inga#: #eallunga#, _entirely_; #fæ:ringa#, _suddenly_; #grundlunga#, _from the ground, completely_.

NOTE 1.--In Mn.E. _headlong_, _darkling_, and _groveling_,
originally adverbs, we have survivals of these endings.

(3) The genitive case is frequently used adverbially: #sûðeweardes#, _southwards_; #ealles#, _altogether, entirely_; #dæges#, _by day_; #nihtes#, _by night_; #ðæs#, _from that time, afterwards_. _Cf._ #hys# (= #his#) #weges# in #Ðonne rîdeð æ:lc hys weges#, _Then rides each his way_.

NOTE 2.--The adverbial genitive is abundantly preserved in Mn.E.
_Always_, _crossways_, _sideways_, _needs_ (= _necessarily_),
_sometimes_, etc., are not plurals, but old genitive singulars.
The same construction is seen in _of course_, _of a truth_, _of an
evening_, _of old_, _of late_, and similar phrases.

(4) Dative and instrumental plurals may be used as adverbs: #hwîlum#, _at times, sometimes_ [whilom]; #stundum# (#stund# = _period_), _from time to time_; #miclum#, _greatly_. Especially common is the suffix #-mæ:lum# (#mæ:l# = _time_, #measure# [meal]), preserved adverbially in Mn.E. _piecemeal_: #dropmæ:lum#, _drop by drop_; #styccemæ:lum# (#stycce# = _piece_), _piecemeal, here and there_.

(5) The suffix -an usually denotes motion from:

hêr, _here_. hider, _hither_. heonan, _hence_.
ðæ:r, _there_. ðider, _thither_. ðonan, _thence_.
hwæ:r, _where?_ hwider, _whither?_ hwonan, _whence?_
norðan, _from the north_.
êastan, _from the east_.
hindan, _from behind_.
feorran, _from far_.
ûtan, _from without_.

(6) The adverb #rihte# (#riht# = _right, straight_) denotes _motion toward_ in #norðrihte#, _northward, due north_; #êastrihte#, _due east_; #sûðrihte#, _due south_; #westrihte#, _due west_.

#Prepositions.#

94. The nominative is the only case in O.E. that is never governed by a preposition. Of the other cases, the dative and accusative occur most frequently with prepositions.

(1) The prepositions that are most frequently found with the dative are:

æfter, _after_.
æ:t, _at_.
be (bî), _by, near, about_.
betwêonan (betuh), _between_.
bûtan (bûton), _except_.
for, _for_.
from (fram), _from, by_.
mid, _with_.
of, _of, from_.
tô, _to_.
tôforan, _before_.
tôweard, _toward_.

(2) The following prepositions require the accusative:

geond, _throughout_ [be-yond].
ofer, _over, upon_.
oð, _until, up to_.
ðurh, _through_.
ymbe, _about, around_ [um-while, ember-days].

(3) The preposition #on# (rarely #in#), meaning _into_, is usually followed by the accusative; but meaning _in_, _on_, or _during_, it takes the dative or instrumental. The preposition #wið#, meaning _toward_, may be followed by the genitive, dative, or accusative; but meaning _against_, and implying _motion_ or _hostility_, the accusative is more common.

(4) The following phrases are used prepositionally with the dative:

be norðan, _north of_.
be êastan, _east of_.
be sûðan, _south of._
be westan, _west of_.
tô êacan, _in addition to_.
on emnlange (efn-lang = _evenly long_), _along_.
tô emnes, _along_.

(5) Prepositions regularly precede the noun or pronoun that they introduce; but by their adverbial nature they are sometimes drawn in front of the verb: #And him wæs mycel menegu tô gegaderod#, _And there was gathered unto him a great multitude_. In relative clauses introduced by #ðe#, the preceding position is very common: #sêo scîr ... ðe hê on bûde#, _the district, ... which he dwelt in_ (= _which he in-habited_); #Hê wæs swy:ðe spêdig man on ðæ:m æ:htum ðe hiera spêda on bêoð#, _He was a very rich man in those possessions which their riches consist in_; #ny:hst ðæ:m tûne ðe sê dêada man on lîð#, _nearest the town that the dead man lies in_.

#Conjunctions.#

95. (1) The most frequently occurring conjunctions are:

#ac, _but_.
æ:r, _before, ere_.
bûtan (bûton), _except that, unless_.
êac, _also_ [eke].
for ðæ:m, }
for ðæ:m ðe, } _because_.
for ðon, }
for ðon ðe, }
for ðy:, _therefore_.
gif, _if_.
hwæðer, _whether_.
ond (and), _and_.
oððe, _or_.
ðæt, _that, so that_.
ðêah, _though, however_.

(2) The correlative conjunctions are:

æ:gðer ge ... ge, _both ...... and_.
æ:gðer ...... ôðer } _either .... or_.
oððe ....... oððe }
nê ......... nê, _neither ... nor_.
sam ........ sam, _whether ... or_.
swâ ........ swâ { _the ....... the_.
{ _as ........ as_.
ðâ ......... ðâ } _when ...... then_.
ðonne ...... ðonne }