3) The development of the analytical formations.

During OE period the system of the verb acquired some analytical elements instead of synthetic ones. Such formations were of importance for the development of English into analytical language: a) habban+ Part.II expressed the result of the action; b) wesan/ bēon, weorðan+ Part.II expressed the result of the action. Actually in OE both these phrases were used to express a passive action; c) sceal+Infinitive, willan+Infinitive. The original modal meaning weakened, but instead the meaning of futurity appeared.

VI. OE Adverbs were of several types: a) primary (were not derived from any other part of speech) þær “there”, nū “now”; b) secondary (which were derived from nouns or adjectives) dēop “deep” – dēope “deeply”. OE adverbs used the same suffixes for degrees of comparison as adjectives: -r- for the comparative, -st- for the superlative. Some adverbs in the comparative degree had mutated forms: ēaþe “easily” – īeþ. Like adjectives, some adverbs had suppletive forms for degrees of comparison: micelle “much” – māre – mæst.