Old French Online

Lesson Text

Translation

Grammar

36 Passive

While Latin had a fully developed passive paradigm -- an innovation, from an Indo-European perspective -- Old French had analytic forms to express passive voice, cf.:

		e por o fut presentede Maximiien (Eul. 11, Lesson 4)
		'and for this reason she was brought before Maximian'
		furent desconfit (Conq. 345, Lesson 7)
		'they were defeated'

The passive was not a common structure in Old French, as the texts analyzed in this course illustrate: so far only three passive constructions have been attested.

Generally the agent -- if expressed at all -- is referred to by a prepositional phrase introduced by de, cf.:

		purent petit plaint de la gent (Conq. 345, Lesson 7)
		'they were little mourned by the people'

The prepositions par and a are found as well in this function, albeit not very frequently.

37 Reflexive or Pronominal Verbs

Old French has many more reflexive -- or rather pronominal -- verbs than today's language. That is because many intransitive verbs took the pronominal form, referring to an action that does not involve anything or anyone outside the subject itself, cf.:

		se craindre		'fear
		se demorer		'remain'
		se dormir		'to sleep'
		se feindre		'feign'
		se pasmer		'faint'
		se douter		'to be afraid'
		se morir		'to die'
		se perir		'to perish'
		se monter		'ascend'
		se partir		'leave'
		s'apoier		'learn'

Several of these verbs exist in non-proniminal form as well, cf. for example demorer 'remain', monter 'ascend, mount', feindre 'behave in a cowardly way', perir 'perish', partir 'leave', morir 'die'.

Not all pronominal verbs of today go back to a reflexive form in the Middle Ages:

		Li reis est par matin levet (CdR 163)
		'the king has gotten up early'

Modern French has the pronominal se lever in this use, cf.:

		le roi s'est levé tôt

In compound tenses the auxiliary is estre, although instances with avoir are attested as well, cf.:

· with auxiliary estre:

		sur l'erbe verte s'i est culchet (CdR 2358, Lesson 2)
		'there he has lain down on the green grass'

· with auxiliary avoir:

		il s'a vestu
		'he has put his clothes on'

For practical reasons, pronominal verbs have not all been identified in the glosses of this course as a separate category. The pronominal element has been identified as a pronoun, with the appropriate case indication, or the verb has been given as se + infinitive (e.g. se pasmer).

38 Nominal Forms of the Verb

Old French has several so-called nominal forms of the verb: while these forms are part of a given verbal paradigm, they express nominal characteristics, such as gender, case, and number, and assume nominal functions. In Old French, the nominal forms of the verb include the perfective participle, the present participle, the gerund, and the infinitive.

· the perfective participle is based on the perfective stem, cf. for example:

		chanter		chantet
		fenir		fenit
		partir		parti
		corre		coru
		faire		fait
		venir		venu
		metre		mis

· the present participle is based on the present stem, cf. for example:

		chanter		chantant
		finir		fenissant
		partir		partant
		corre		corant
		faire		fesant / faisant
		venir		venant
		metre		met(t)ant

Formally the declension of present participles follows the patterns of class III adjectives, cf.:

Declension of the Present Participle

		Masculine		Feminine
Nom. Sg.		chantanz		chantant / chantanz
Obl. Sg.		chantant		chantant
Nom. Pl.		chantant		chantanz
Obl. Pl.		chantanz		chantanz

· gerunds are formally identical to present participles, but in contrast to these forms, gerunds are invariable.

· infinitives, e.g. chanter 'sing', fenir 'end', partir 'leave', remanoir 'stay', corre 'run'. Infinitives may convey case (see Grammar Point 39) as expressed in the definite article and the case ending.

Declension of the Infinitive

Nom. Sg.		li chanters
Obl. Sg.		le chanter

The use of a preposition could lead to article enclisis, e.g. du doner 'of the fact of giving'.

39 Nominal Forms of the Verb: Uses

39.1. The infinitive in Old French may function as a noun assuming the function of subject, direct object, or complement in a prepositional phrase, cf.:

· subject:

		tencier est laide chose (Theb. 3924)
		'quarreling is no good'

· object:

		doubtant le retourner de son adversaire (CNN 52.118)
		'afraid of his ennemy's return'

· complement of preposition:

		se seigne a l'entrer el champ (Art. 102.13)
		'he crosses himself when he enterd the battlefield'
		en chanter met si grant estude (Isop. 1.15; this lesson)
		'he puts such great zeal in his singing'

The combining of a preposition + (determiner) + infinitive generally conveys temporal or causal value, manner, means, for example:

· temporal value:

		se seigne a l'entrer el chanp (Art. 102.13)
		'he crosses himself when he enters the battlefield'
		au redrecier
		'at his getting up'

· expressing manner:

		par nos passage paier
		'by paying our crossing'

Infinitive used as a nominal complement, cf.:

		tens est del herberger (CdR 2482)
		'it is time to encamp'

The nominal characteristics of the infinitive are manifest not only in its combining with a definite article, but also in case endings (for forms, see Grammar Point 38), cf.:

		(li) parlers 'the fact of talking'

For example:

		li corners ne nos avreit mester (CdR 1742)
		'blowing the horn would not be of help to us'

Determiners other than definite articles combine with the infinitive as well, cf.:

		jusq'au mien partir
		'until my leaving, until my departure'

Direct objects of infinitives may take either the form of an accusative (verbal syntax) or a genitive (nominal syntax), cf.:

		a l'ouvrir la chambre (CNN 279.55)
		'at the opening of the room'
		li porters dou rainsel
		'the fact of carrying the small branch'

The accusative in this context reflects verbal syntax, showing that the infinitive is considered a fully verbal element. The genitive reflects nominal syntax, showing that the infinitive is considered a nominal element.

Nominal uses of the infinitive survived until the 16th century; today's language has several fossilized forms, cf. le dîner, le déjeuner 'lunch', le devoir 'task', and others.

39.2. The forms in -ant in Old French functioned as present participles and as gerunds, but the distinction between both types of use is not always clear. The form in -ant is commonly attested in prepositional phrases, expressing adverbial value. The phrase may include a possessive:

		a lor vivant		'in their lifetime'
		en son dormant		'during his sleep'

The prepositional phrase may also include a noun conveying an underlying direct object or subject, cf.:

· subject:

		devant midi sonnant (R. Cambr. 8399)
		'before noon'
		al coc cantant (Brut. 995)
		'at cockcrow'

· direct object:

		a la porte ouvrant
		'at the opening of the door'
		eust grant peur de la teste perdant
		'he was afraid he would lose his head'

Forms in -ant and infinitives may show overlap in some of the prepositional uses, cf.:

		par mes armes portant		par noz testes trancher
		'by carrying my arms'		'by cutting off our heads'
		en mon dormant vi une vision		jusqu'au mien partir
		'I had a vision during my sleep'		'until my departure'

By contrast, forms in -ant alone combine with a finite form of the verb to indicate progressive action or to specify the circumstances in which the action conveyed by the main verb is carried out, cf.:

		que Carles diet ... qu'il fut mort cunquerant (CdR 2362-2363)
		'that Charles will say that he died a conqueror'
		desuz un pin i est alet curant (CdR 2357, Lesson 2)
		'he has gone under a tree running'

Forms in -ant in combination with forms of the verb aler or estre specifically convey action in progress, cf.:

		il est as porz passant (CdR 1767)
		'he passes by the ports'

40 Absolute Constructions

Absolute constructions in Old French are residues of a much wider (occurrence and use) phenomenon in earlier times. An absolute construction is a combination of a noun and a participle; both elements agree in number, case and gender and are syntactically completley independent from the other elements in the clause. The noun typically conveys the underlying subject or the direct object of the participle. Latin absolutes typically had the ablative form and they conveyed a wide range of meanings, such as temporal, causal, or conditional value. Cf.:

		armis		acceptis		Crassus...		(Caes., DBG 3.23)
		weapons-Abl.		accept-Pf.Part.Abl.pl.		Crassus-Nom.
		'having accepted the weapons, Crassus... '

These constructions survive in Old French--mostly in the oblique case--but their use is rather limited. They often include nouns referring to clothes, bodyparts, and general equipment. They are slightly fossilized and descriptive, cf.:

		juntes ses mains est alet a sa fin (CdR 2392)
		'his hands joined he went to his death'

Their fossilized nature is especially manifest in fixed expressions, such as helmes laciez 'helmets fastened', espee çainte 'sword girded', and others.

previous lesson   |   next lesson