Verbs of Motion in Medieval English

A linguistic study of the medieval uses of the verbs of motion.

The investigation of the medieval uses of verbs of motion remains important for a view of the syntactic development of the English language; this present study covers most of the functional features found in medieval English contexts. Verbs of motion are ordinary words, for which cognates can be found among Germanic languages, but the choice of words as renderings of the Latin verbs can be different. These linguistic developments are clarified in chapterson: The Rivalry among Synonyms, The Reflexive Construction, "Impersonal" Uses of Verbs of Motion, Verbs with Preposed or Postposed Elements, Verbs of Motion as Auxiliaries, Present and Past Participles of Verbs of Motion, and LoanVerbs of Motion.

MICHIKO OGURA is Professor of English at Chiba University, Japan.