A contribution to the problem of word-order in old and middle English

Abstract

An interesting, though not very common phenomenon in Current
English word-order is afforded by the occurrence of the inverted subject
(inverted word-order, VS) in declarative sentences1 which is, on the one
hand, far less frequent than in German and Scandinavian languages2 —
in this respect English goes parallel with French —, and, on the other
hand, also f a r less frequent than in Old and Middle English, both resorting
to the inverted word-order in many cases in which it is 110 longer
admitted in Current English.3 Thus we meet — among other cases of its
use in older English — the inversion of the subject especially in the
so-called introduced declarative sentences, e.g.