We find forms like syngynge he was in Middle English texts, which are in form and function very similar to the Modern English usage. But the forms are not too numerous and the rules of their usage are by far not as strict as in Modern English. In Modern English we use the do-periphrasis to mark interrogative and/or negative meanings in accordance with very strict rules. This is not the case in Middle English, although there are sentences with the do-periphrasis especially in late Middle English. The normal question-marker was the inversion, and negation was expressed by simple, double, or even triple negation as in Luuest tu me? and He neuere yet no vileynye ne sayde.5
An analysis of the vocabulary in the Middle English period shows great instability and constant and rapid change. Many words became obsolete, and if preserved, then only in some dialects: many more appeared in the rapidly developing language to reflect the ever-changing life of the speakers and under the influence of contacts with other nations.
Internal means of enriching vocabulary
Though the majority of Old English suffixes are still preserved in Middle English, they becoming less productive, and words formed by means of word-derivation in Old English can be treated as such only etymologically.
Words by means of word-composition in Old English, in Middle English are often understood as derived words.
External means of enriching vocabulary
The principal means of enriching vocabulary in Middle English are not internal, but external borrowings. Two languages in succession enriched the vocabulary English of that period – the Scandinavian language and the French language, the nature of the borrowings and their amount reflecting the conditions of the contacts between the English and these languages.
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