I first show that the reduced form of the definite article th' is present throughout Middle English and Early Modern English. Then I highlight the differences in the pragmatic functions of the reduced form and full form of the article in three prose texts taken from the late 15th century and the 16th century. Given the differences, late Middle English and the first century of Early Modern English are closer to having two definite articles rather than one. The development of the reduced form th' is part of the DP cycle in that th' emerges as the function of the weakens. Finally, I tentatively argue that th' is reanalyzed as the head of DP around 1500, after being initially base-generated in nP, at which point th' is closer to a nominal marker than to a definite article. *

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As Hoye (1997) points out, harmonic combinations of modal verbs and modal adverbs are not uncommon in Present-Day English. The present paper explores semantic and syntactic aspects of one of such combinations, namely mæg eaþe ‘may easily’, from a diachronic perspective. The collocation is attested at the earlier stages of the development of the language, that is, in Old English and Middle English. I aim to show that as early as in Old English, the adverb eaþe ‘easily’ helps to reinforce possibility-based meanings of mæg ‘may’, including epistemic possibility. The Middle English range of contexts in which mæg eaþe ‘may easily’ occurs is more limited, which ultimately leads to the demise of the combination toward the end of the Middle English period. I also examine the issue of the extent to which the collocation is lexicalized in the respective periods, especially with evidence from such factors as decomposition of meaning, productivity and substitutability.

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This paper examines the development and use of the temporal subordinator onmang þaet. The development of the subordinator is seen as a special case of grammaticalisation, i.e. incipient grammaticalisation. Onmang þaet arises through the incorporation of the prepositional phrase onmang + demonstrative into the subordinator structure and in this respect onmang þaet resembles the grammaticalisation of other OE subordinators. The grammaticalisation of onmang þaet is however arrested in early ME, as the paper shows using a generative approach. I interpret this turn in the grammaticalisation of the subordinator as indicative of incipient grammaticalisation and I further use this observation as an avenue to identifying other features concomitant with incipient grammaticalisation. What I suggest is that incipient grammaticalisation should be associated with low frequency, minimal erosion, lack of fusion, and, finally, specialisation. I tentatively argue that options reduced via specialisation, as is the case with onmang þaet, may be the ones that qualify as cases of incipient grammaticalisation. Importantly, what follows is that incipient grammaticalisation as discussed in this study is not to be taken as referring to the early stages of grammaticalisation as such but to the grammaticalisation of infrequent structures available for a longer period of time.