Theme: syntax in oe contents I. Introduction II. Main body. Structural relations of old english

Adverbial Clauses

These cover a wide variety of meanings, such as place, time, cause, purpose, concession, comparison, etc. Accordingly the number of conjunctions introducing such clauses is considerable. Here we find pær 'where', pa 'when', ponne 'when', oppæt 'until', for 'because', peahpe 'though', and others.

Clauses of Place

Such clauses are rather rare. They are usually introduced by the adverb pær, e.g. Hwearf pa hrædlice, pær Hropʒar sæt 'he turned quickly to where Hrothgar sat’.

Temporal Clauses

These are introduced by various conjunctions: pa, ponne, panne 'when', sippan 'since', ær, ærpæmpe 'before', penden 'while', oppæt 'until'. E. g.: pa he pa pas andsware onfenʒ, pa, onʒan he sona sinʒan 'when he had received this answer, he soon began to sing'; ponne he ʒeseah pa hearpan him nealæcan, ponne asras he for sceome fram pæm symble 'when he saw the harp approach him, he rose for shame from the feast'; heold, penden lifde, ʒatnol ond ʒup-reow, ʒ læde Scyldinʒas 'ruled, while he lived, old and battle-famous, the Scildings so that they were glad'; næfre him deap scepep on pam willwonʒe penden woruld stondep 'never will death harm in the wonder garden while the world stands'; pær se eadʒa mot .. . wunian in wonʒe, oppæt wintra bip pusend urnen 'there the blessed one can ... live in the garden, until a thousand years have elapsed'; ʒewat pa neosian sippan niht becom, hean huses 'started then, when night fell, to approach the high house'.