Luisa Ga cía Ga cía & Esaúl Ruiz Na bona, SELIM 19 (2012): 59–79ISSN: 1132–631X
LABILE VERBS AND WORD ORDER IN EARLY
MIDDLE ENGLISH: AN INITIAL STUDY 1
Abs ac : This pape se es as an ini ial explo a ion o he hypo hesis pu o h by Ga cía
Ga cía (2012) acco ding o which mo phological sync e ism in he exp ession o alency
in causa i e pai s may ha e a connec ion wi h syn ac ic pa ame e s, speci i cally he o e
exp ession o all e bal a gumen s and a i xed o consis en wo d o de . In his pape we
assess he ela i e posi ion o subjec - e b and e b-objec in ea ly Middle English ansi i e
and in ansi i e clauses con aining mel en, (a)quenchen, and bu nen and compa e hem
wi h hose wi h a ansi i e- and in ansi i e-only e b espec i ely. The mos ou s anding
esul shows ha labile e bs used ansi i ely seem o an icipa e he VO o de ha will
become gene alized in la e s ages o English. Keywo ds: Wo d o de , ea ly Middle English,
causa i es, labile e bs, mo phological loss, alency changes, English syn ax.
Abs ac : Es e a ículo es una in es igación inicial de la hipó esis expues a po Ga cía Ga cía
(2012) según la cual el sinc e ismo mo ológico en la exp esión de la alencia en las pa ejas
de causa i os puede es a elacionado con algunos pa áme os sin ác icos, más conc e amen e
la exp esión de odos los a gumen os e bales y un o den de palab as i jo o consis en e. En
es e a ículo e aluamos la posición ela i a de suje o y e bo y e bo y obje o en cláusulas
ansi i as e in ansi i as que con ienen los e bos mel en, (a)quenchen y bu nen en inglés
medio emp ano y ealizamos una compa ación con cláusulas con un e bo exclusi amen e
ansi i o o in ansi i o espec i amen e. El esul ado más ele an e mues a que los e bos
lábiles usados ansi i amen e pa ecen adelan a se al o den de palab as VO que se gene aliza á
en pos e io es pe iodos del inglés. Palab as cla e: O den de palab as, inglés medio emp ano,
causa i os, e bos lábiles, pé dida mo ológica, cambios de alencia, sin axis inglesa.
1 In oduc ion
P obably one o he aspec s o he his o y o English
ha has a ac ed mos in e es has been he p ocesses o
mo phological simpli i ca ion unde gone by his language
om i s o igins un il he p esen day. Special a en ion has been
paid o nominal mo phology, pa icula ly he loss o gende and
case du ing he Middle English pe iod. The possible ela ionship
1 This esea ch has been pa ly unded by he Spanish Minis y o Educa ion,
p ojec s FFI2011-29532 and FFI2011-2827⒉ We would like o hank he wo
anonymous e iewe s o hei use ul commen s. The au ho s emain, o cou se,
solely esponsible o any sho comings.
Luisa Ga cía Ga cía & Esaúl Ruiz Na bona
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SELIM 19 (2012)
be ween hese phenomena and a less ee wo d o de has been
ex ensi ely esea ched by schola s, such as Allen (2006), Fische
e al. (2006), Fische (1992), Hickey (2002), Lass (1997), Pin zuk
(2002b), T augo (1972), among many o he s.
Howe e , he mo phological simpli i ca ion unde gone by
English is no es ic ed o he a o emen ioned ins ances.
De i a ional mo phology has also been subjec o sync e ism. One
such p ocess aff ec s he exp ession o e bal alency, speci i cally o
he inchoa i e-causa i e al e na ion in he his o y o English, on
which we ocus in his pape .2 Loss o de i a ional mo phology has
no ecei ed as much a en ion as migh be expec ed. The s udy
ha we p esen he e cons i u es an a emp o s a i lling in he
gap ha o he s udies on mo phological loss ha e no ye co e ed.
The aim o his pape is o p esen he i s esul s o an on-
going esea ch p ojec on he eff ec o sync e ism in he exp ession
o e bal alency on wo d o de in English. Some o he heo e ical
ounda ions o he p ojec can be ound in Ga cía Ga cía (2012). We
will summa ize hem in Sec ions 2 and 3 below. A his s age o he
p ojec ou aim is o be as desc ip i e as possible, so ha ou esul s
may be use ul o schola s om diff e en heo e ical backg ounds.
The pape has i e sec ions. Fi s , we will explain he p ocess
o mo phological loss in Old English causa i e e bs ha leads o
an inc ease in he use o an in a ian e bal o m o bo h he
in ansi i e and causa i e sense o a causa i e opposi ion. This
in a ian o m is wha we call “labile e b” ( ollowing Haspelma h
1993: 90). Second, we will explain how he use o labile e bs migh
aff ec syn ac ic pa ame e s, wo d o de in pa icula . The hi d
sec ion will be de o ed o he p esen a ion o he da a and o he
me hodology ha we ollow in ou analysis. Fou h, we will show
he esul s o he analysis. In a i nal sec ion we summa ize he main
conclusions o he s udy.
2 To he inchoa i e-causa i e al e na ion in English see Le in (1993). Fo a
ypological s udy o he al e na ion see Haspelma h (1993).
Labile e bs and wo d o de in Ea ly Middle English
61SELIM 19 (2012)
2 Mo phological loss in Old English causa i es
In his sec ion o he pape we gi e a b ie o e iew o he
o ma ion o mo phological causa i es in Ge manic. Though a e
in P esen -day Eu opean languages, se e al causa i e o ma ions
ha e been econs uc ed o P o o-Indoeu opean, among hem
he Ge manic jan- o ma ion. In Ge manic, he suffi x *-(i)ja- was
gene ally a ached o he pas singula g ade o a s ong e b o
o m a de i ed causa i e, which was asc ibed o he i s class o
weak e bs. The ollowing (a e Ringe 2006: 252–253) a e some
examples om which P esen -day English d ink/ d ench, lie/ lay
and si / se s em.
(1) *d inkana s. *d ankijana
*ligjana s. *lagjana
*si jana s. *sa jana
Despi e he p oduc i i y o his o ma ion in he Ge manic
p o olanguage, i was subjec o e osion and ul ima e loss
la e on in he his o y o he language amily. Se e al aspec s,
phonological, seman ic and syn ac ic in na u e, beginning in he
p e-his o ical Old English pe iod we e in ol ed in he dissolu ion
o causa i e pai s. These a e desc ibed in Ga cía Ga cía (2012:
135–138).
In his pape we a e conce ned wi h a syn ac ic p ocess which
Ga cía Ga cía (2012: 137) calls “syn ac ic mel ing” o “ usion.”
Wi h his name she e e s o cases in which one o bo h o he
membe s o a causa i e pai ake on a u he alency alue, namely
ha o i s pa ne . This p ocess esul s in o edundancy and he
e en ual loss o one o he e bs. She explains ha his “p ocess
only aff ec s pai s in which he base is an in ansi i e e b, and i
consis s in he base adding a ansi i e-causa i e usage ( ha is,
a causing subjec ) o i s alency ame and/o he jan-de i a i e
an in ansi i e usage.” Two examples ollow (Ga cía Ga cía 2012:
137):
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SELIM 19 (2012)
(2) a) OE myl an “mel ” (caus. and in .) <Gmc
*mal ij a- “mel ” (caus.)
b) OE mel an “mel ” (in .) <Gmc *mel a- “mel ”
(in .)
(3) a) OE hwy an “go, mo e abou , e u n” (in .); “ u n,
change” (caus. and in .) <Gmc *hwa ƀij a- “ u n”
(caus.)
b) OE hweo an “go; u n, change” (mos ly in .)
<Gmc *hwe a- “ u n” (in .)
These examples show how wo Old English e bs (myl an and
hwy an), which we e o iginally used in a causa i e sense only, ha e
acqui ed an in ansi i e use; hey can be used bo h in an in ansi i e
o causa i e sense wi h no mo phological ma king, i. e. hey a e labile.
The demise o he causa i e o ma ion does no conclude in
he Old English pe iod. Causa i e e b pai s o he Ge manic
ype desc ibed abo e dec ease d ama ically in Middle English.
Whe eas in Old English 57 jan-causa i e pai s can be sa ely
aced, only 12 su i e in Middle English, when many o he
o me causa i e opposi ions ha e become labile e bs (Ga cía
Ga cía o hcoming).
3 Connec ion be ween labile e bs and syn ac ic pa ame e s
As poin ed ou in he in oduc ion, nume ous s udies ha e
connec ed he i xa ion o wo d o de in (la e) Middle English o
he loss o in l ec ions. Agains a widely held opinion, Pin zuk
(2002b) a gues ha wo d o de changes a e no ela ed o ( he loss
o ) case ma king in Old English. He conclusions a e con incing,
a leas in he scope o he co pus, which consis s o Old English
clauses wi h non- i ni e main e bs and NP objec s. As she shows in
he Table 1, V(e b)O(objec ) o de inc eases in Old English (24.3%
in ex s composed be o e 950, agains 44.8% a e 950). She shows
ha clauses wi h mo phologically ambiguous objec s do no ha e
mo e incidence o VO (389–392). She concludes ha he posi ion
o objec s is de e mined by o he ac o s, such as “hea iness and
Labile e bs and wo d o de in Ea ly Middle English
63 SELIM 19 (2012)
clause ype and s uc u e” (381). Pin zuk & Taylo (2006) endo se
Pin zuk’s iew o he change om OV o VO in Middle English as a
esul o g amma ical compe i ion be ween wo pa ame e se ings,
oge he wi h cons ain s ha aff ec cons i uen mo emen wi hin
each se ing (Pin zuk 1999, 2002a). Acco ding o hese esea che s,
bo h he changes in unde lying o de and he dec ease o possible
mo emen s ha esul in diff e en su ace posi ions a e g adual
p ocesses ha begin in Old English and esul in he loss o OV
o de in he la e Middle English pe iod.
In his s udy we aim o assess whe he he loss o o e alency
ma king migh ha e in l uenced he inc ease and i nal i xa ion o
VO o de in ea ly English. We ocus on he possible connec ions
be ween he abundance o labile e bs in English (al eady no ed by
Poppe 2009 o Haspelma h 1993) and he loss o mo phological
dis inc ions in causa i e opposi ions on he one hand, and syn ac ic
de elopmen s on he o he , mo e speci i cally he obliga o y
exp ession o all e bal a gumen s and a i xed o a leas consis en
wo d o de , in which a ce ain elemen o de is expec ed. This need
no be (S)VO, bu i is in he case o English (see Fische & an
de Wu ff 2006: 188) on he diff e ence be ween English and Du ch
in his espec .
We can illus a e ha bo h migh be connec ed i we con as
English wi h a language wi h ew labile e bs, such as Spanish. The
inchoa i e-causa i e al e na ion exp essed in English by he labile
e b mel is exp essed in Spanish by means o an an i-causa i e
opposi ion, de e i (“mel (some hing),” causa i e) and de e i se
(“mel ,” in ansi i e). In (4) and (5) we ha e included an in ansi i e
⒜ and a causa i e ⒝ clause wi h he e b “mel ” in Spanish and
English espec i ely; he subjec s ha e been unde lined and a wo d-
by-wo d ansla ion o he Spanish o iginal is gi en in i alics:
(4) a) Después del amanece , se de i ió el muñeco de
nie e.
A e dawn, mel ed he snowman.
“A e dawn, he snowman mel ed.”

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b) Después del amanece , ø de i ió el muñeco de
nie e.
A e dawn, ø mel ed he snowman.
“A e dawn, he/she/i mel ed he snowman.”
(5) a) A e dawn, he snowman mel ed.
b) A e dawn, he/she/i mel ed he snowman.
Examples (4a) and (4b) in end o make clea ha he alency
al e na ion needs o be mo phologically ma ked in Spanish (de e i
s. de e i se) so as no o ende he sen ence ambiguous. This is
so o wo easons. O e subjec s can be omi ed in Spanish as i
is a p o-d op language. Fu he , subjec s may p ecede o ollow
he e b. Hence, bo h (4a) and (4b) could be in e p e ed as ei he
“ he snowman mel ed” o “someone/some hing (jus men ioned)
mel ed he snowman,” i alency (in ansi i e s. causa i e) was no
ma ked in he e b i sel . The case o English is diff e en , hough.
Ma king he alency in he e b i sel is no indispensable because
English makes use o syn ac ic esou ces a clause le el o a oid
ambigui y be ween sen ences in (5), namely o e subjec s and a
i xed wo d o de . I is plausible hen o expec he su ge in he
eplacemen o causa i e by labile opposi ions in ea ly English o
ha e had some eff ec s in he consolida ion o he wo syn ac ic
pa ame e s jus men ioned. This connec ion may shed some ligh
on he assessmen o he i xa ion o wo d o de in English om a
pe spec i e diff e en o ha p o ided by loss o o e case ma king
men ioned a he beginning o his sec ion.
4 Me hodology o he s udy
In he p esen sec ion we will in oduce he c i e ia aken in o
accoun in he selec ion o da a, oge he wi h an explana ion o
he me hodology applied in his s udy. We ha e chosen he ea ly
Middle English pe iod as he ocus o ou s udy. E en i , as has
been poin ed ou , se e al o he changes we ha e discussed, such as
he educ ion in nominal mo phology o he sync e ism unde gone
Labile e bs and wo d o de in Ea ly Middle English
65SELIM 19 (2012)
by de i a ional mo phology in he inchoa i e-causa i e al e na ion,
begin o ake place du ing he Old English pe iod, i is du ing ea ly
Middle English when hese changes begin o su ace in he ex s
mo e consis en ly and sp ead a a as e a e. In ac , as men ioned
in he in oduc ion, no e en a i h o Old English jan-pai s su i e
in Middle English ex s.
The main sou ce o da a o ou s udy is he Linguis ic A las
o Ea ly Middle English (LAEME ) o wo easons: o da e i is
he mos comp ehensi e co pus o he pe iod we a e concen a ing
on and i aims a a diploma ic edi ion o he ex s, ollowing he
manusc ip ai h ully. The da a o ou s udy a e wo diff e en
se s o e bs, whose clausal beha iou we will compa e. Fi s , we
ha e chosen h ee diff e en labile e bs, namely bu nen, mel en
and (a)quenchen (in i ni i e o ms ollowing he Middle English
Compendium). These h ee e bs we e selec ed because o hei
equency o use in Ea ly Middle English and he high numbe
o okens ound in LAEME compa ed o o he labile e bs. This
is especially ue in he case o bu nen. Second, we ha e chosen
wo non-labile e bs, one in ansi i e-only e b, isen, and one
ansi i e-only one, (a) quellen. The main c i e ion o selec ing
hese wo e bs was he numbe o okens in ou da a sou ce.
Ou objec i e was o include e bs whose numbe o okens was
as simila as possible o he numbe o examples o labile e bs
used ansi i ely and in ansi i ely espec i ely, so ha he esul s
ob ained om ou analysis could be mo e easily compa ed.
We ha e analyzed 285 examples al oge he , di ided in he
ollowing way: 83 examples o labile e bs used in ansi i ely and
55 examples o labile e bs used ansi i ely. The sample o he
in ansi i e-only e b isen consis s o 92 i ems and he ansi i e-
only e b (a)quellen has 55 examples.
As o he p ocedu e used in ou analysis o he da a, we ha e
included he whole clause in which each o he okens is inse ed.
The ela i e posi ion o he e b and all clausal a gumen s ha e been
assessed and quan i i ed. In he case o in ansi i e cons uc ions,
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we ha e compa ed he ela i e posi ion o subjec and e b in he
examples o labile e bs unc ioning as an in ansi i e e b wi h
ha o isen. In he case o he ansi i e use o labile e bs, we
ha e quan i i ed he ela i e posi ion o subjec and objec , on he
one hand, and ha o e b and objec , on he o he , in all clauses
con aining a ansi i e labile e b, and compa ed hem wi h hose
o clauses con aining (a)quellen.
When quan i y ing he esul s, we ha e aken in o accoun
wo pa ame e s which in l uence wo d o de in ea ly English.3
The i s one is ype o subjec : we no e whe he he diff e en
subjec s in ou sample a e ull noun ph ases o p onouns (see o
ins ance an Be gen 2003, Fische e al. 2006). This is ele an
o assessing wo d o de since p onoun subjec s end o be less
p one o in e sion han ull noun ph ases (NP hence o h). The
second pa ame e is ype o clause. We ha e conside ed ou
ypes o clauses, i.e. main, coo dina ed, embedded and in i ni i al
modal clauses, wi h an in i ni i e main e b and a i ni e modal
e b.4 The la e do no show any signi i can diff e ences when
used as main o embedded clauses, and build a dis inc g oup.
The e a e no cons uc ions wi h analy ic pe ec in ou sample.
Passi e clauses ha e been excluded o ob ious easons. The case
o coo dina ed clauses poses a special diffi cul y. This ype o
clause p esen s a high numbe o examples in which he subjec
has been omi ed. In he case o in ansi i e e bs, hese examples
ha e been excluded om ou s udy, due o he impossibili y o
es ablishing he ela i e o de o e b and subjec . Wi h espec
o ansi i e clauses, howe e , hese examples ha e been included
when he ela i e posi ion o e b and objec was being assessed,
since he omission o he subjec need no aff ec he o de o
3 Discou se pa ame e s ha e been le aside. They migh be aken in o
conside a ion in a u he s udy.
4 The classi i ca ion o he diff e en ypes o clause included in ou s udy is simila
o he ones used in Fische & an de Wu ff (2006) and Pin zuk & Taylo (2006).
Labile e bs and wo d o de in Ea ly Middle English
67SELIM 19 (2012)
hese elemen s. Examples (6) o (9) illus a e each o he clause
ypes included; he ele an e bs a e w i en in bold le e s and
he clause included in he sample has been unde lined when pa
o a la ge sequence.
(6) Main clauses
a) So mal ða me e in hem o nog (LAEME ex 155)
So mel ed he mea in hem o no hing
“So he mea in hem mel ed o no hing”
b) Swilc niþ & ha e os hem on (LAEME ex 155)
Such en y & ha e ose hem in
“Such en y and ha e ose in hem”
(7) Coo dina ed clauses
a) Fo men þo sinnen unkinde deden, so o sanc and
b en e þa s eden (LAEME ex 155)
Because men he e deeds w ong ul did, such as d owned
and bu n he s eeds
“Because men he e made w ong ul deeds, such as
d owning and bu ning he s eeds”
b) Ich awelde & monie ich aquelde (LAEME ex 278)
I uled & many I killed
“I uled and I killed many”
(8) Embedded clauses
a) Alswa þe wa e acwenched þe u , swa þa
elmesse acwenched þa sunne (LAEME ex 2000)
As he wa e pu ou he i e, so he alms pu ou
he sin
“As wa e pu ou i e, so alms pu ou sin”
b) Þe king igade ed his e de and þencheþ alle acwelle
cwic þa he i ndeþ (LAEME ex 280)
The king ga he ed his a my and hinks e e yone
kill ali e ha he i nds
“The king ga he ed his a my and hough o
kill e e yone ali e ha he ound”
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SELIM 19 (2012)
o hese clauses (12 ou o 16 and 18 ou o 22, espec i ely) p esen
a OV o de , con a y o wha is he case in he labile e bs in
ou sample. Addi ionally, conce ning he OV examples (G aph 9),
e en i i is ue ha he numbe o embedded clauses is highe in
(a) quellen, he numbe o modal in i ni i al clauses is qui e simila .
All in all, clauses con aining (a)quellen show a highe numbe o
examples wi h an OV o de . This is especially ue in he case
o embedded and modal in i ni i al clauses, as expec ed. On he
o he hand, labile e bs show no clea p e e ence o ei he VO o
OV ega dless o sen ence ype. In ac (see G aphs 8 and 9) he
numbe o examples o each sen ence ype in bo h VO and OV
o de s is almos iden ical.
The ac ha labile e bs show i ually no diff e ence ega ding
VO / OV o de s seems o con adic ou hypo hesis, since i p edic s
ha labile e bs would exhibi a mo e consis en wo d o de han
a ypical ansi i e e b. Ne e heless, he ansi i e labile e bs in
ou s udy display SVO o de mo e o en han a ypical ansi i e-
only e b a his s age o he language and his can be in e p e ed
as he o me ’s s onge h us owa ds g ea e consis ency, wi h
labile e bs adop ing wha was going o become he canonical wo d
o de in la e Middle English a an ea lie s age han non-labile
e bs.
The eason o he alleged p e e ence o SVO among labile e bs
migh lie in he s onge disambigua ing o ce o his wo d o de
when hese e bs a e conce ned. Gi en ha such e bs migh be
unde s ood as bo h in ansi i e, wi h a pa ien subjec , o ansi i e,
wi h an agen subjec and a pa ien objec , a sequence like “[sin]
he hea bu ns,” i OV is a wo d o de op ion, migh be in e p e ed
as (S)OV o SV, wi h bu n as ansi i e and hea as i s objec , o
an in ansi i e bu n wi h subjec hea . Howe e , wi hin a SVO
o de , bu n can only be in e p e ed as a subjec in he example. The
o de (S)OV is hence om he poin o iew o labile e bs mo e
ambiguous han (S)VO.

Labile e bs and wo d o de in Ea ly Middle English
75 SELIM 19 (2012)
/DELOH7UDQVLWLYH9229
92
29
ۤTXHOOHQ9229
92
29
G aph 7: To al numbe and pe cen ages o e b-objec and objec - e b o de in labile e bs
unc ioning ansi i ely and ⒜ quellen
/DELOH7UDQVLWLYH92
0DLQ133
&RRUGLQDWHG133
(PEHGGHG13
0RGDO,QષQLWLYDO
133
ۤTXHOOHQ92
0DLQ133
&RRUGLQDWHG
133
(PEHGGHG
133
0RGDO,QષQLWLYDO
133
G aph 8: To al numbe o clauses wi h e b-objec o de in labile e bs unc ioning
ansi i ely and ⒜ quellen. In b acke s he numbe o noun ph ase and p onoun objec s
/DELOH7UDQVLWLYH29
0DLQ133
&RRUGLQDWHG
13
(PEHGGHG
133
0RGDO,QષQLWLYDO
133
ۤTXHOOHQ29
0DLQ133
&RRUGLQDWHG
133
(PEHGGHG
133
0RGDO,QષQLWLYDO
133
G aph 9: To al numbe o clauses wi h objec - e b o de in labile e bs unc ioning
ansi i ely and ⒜ quellen. In b acke s he numbe o noun ph ase and p onoun objec s
Luisa Ga cía Ga cía & Esaúl Ruiz Na bona
76
SELIM 19 (2012)
6 Conclusions
In his pape i has been ou in en ion o assess he possible in l uence
o sync e ism in he exp ession o alency on ea ly Middle English
syn ax. We se ou om an ini ial hypo hesis pu o h by Ga cía
Ga cía (2012), which connec s he equency o labile cons uc ions
in English o wo syn ac ic pa ame e s which ac as disambigua ing
s a egies o e bal alency. These a e he obliga o y exp ession o
he subjec and a i xed wo d o de .
In he s udy we ha e analyzed a signi i can sample o labile
cons uc ions in ea ly Middle English ex s using LAEME and
compa ed he esul s wi h non-labile e bs. We ha e quan i i ed he
ollowing ea u es in each se o e bs: o e s. co e subjec s, SV
s. VS in in ansi i e and SO s. OS and VO s. OV in ansi i e
e bs. The da a ha e e u ed pa o ou ini ial hypo hesis.
On he one hand, wi h e e ence o he obliga o y exp ession o
all a gumen s in he clause, ou da a ha e shown ha his c i e ion
does no seem o be ele an . A highe numbe o omi ed subjec s
has no connec ion wi h whe he he e b in he analyzed clause is
labile o no . The absence o subjec is ela ed o ano he ac o ,
namely he ype o clause. In ac , ou da a only show examples o
omi ed subjec s in coo dina ed, modal in i ni i al clauses and hose
in which he main e b is in he impe a i e o m, as expec ed in
p esen -day English.
On he o he hand, labile e bs used in ansi i ely and ypical
in ansi i e-only e bs also p esen an almos iden ical beha iou
in ela ion o he ela i e o de o subjec and e b. E en i he
numbe o examples displaying a VS o de is indeed sligh ly highe
in he case o he in ansi i e-only e b, he diff e ence does no
seem o be signi i can . Mo e examples need o be analyzed in o de
o check whe he hese wo ypes o e bs consis en ly beha e in
he same way conce ning he ela i e posi ion o subjec and e b.
Ano he pa o ou hypo hesis is con i med by ou da a. This
is he one ela ed o he posi ion o objec and e b, which is
a guably he mos signi i can since i is he de i ning wo d o de
Labile e bs and wo d o de in Ea ly Middle English
77 SELIM 19 (2012)
pa ame e a clause le el. The esul s ob ained om he labile e bs
used ansi i ely and hose o he ansi i e-only (a)quellen a y
conside ably. The la e shows a clea p e e ence o OV o de s
(70.9% o cases), while he labile e bs used in his s udy p esen
a e y diff e en endency, since sligh ly mo e han hal o he
examples (54.54% o be p ecise) display he VO o de ha would
become he ule by he end o he Middle English pe iod. Gi en
ha labile e bs inc eased ema kably in he Ea ly Middle English
pe iod, hey may ha e gi en impulse o he sp ead o he change
om OV o VO o de . Ou da a seem o suppo he idea ha
cons uc ions wi h labile e bs an icipa e he endency o SVO
o de . Ne e heless, he esul s ob ained om his s udy should be
ea ed wi h cau ion, and mo e da a need o be analyzed in o de o
each de i ni i e conclusions.
Luisa Ga cía Ga cía & Esaúl Ruiz Na bona
Uni e si y o Se ille
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Recei ed 30 May 2013; accep ed 10 Jul 2013