Formation of OE Adverbs

Degrees of Comparison

The comparison of adjectives by means of suffixation is an Indo-European phenomenon found in Latin, Greek, Sanskrit as well as in Germanic languages (German and Gothic). The earliest representations of the Germanic languages had two sets of endings: -iza / oza for the comparative and –ist /-ost for the superlative degree.

In OE, however, one set of endings is commonly found, the one derived from oza/ost of the earlier Germanic, although in some cases there is evidence of the –iza/ist forms. The usual OE endings are: -ra <*za < *-oza/iza for the comparative degree and –ost, less frequently –est for the superlative.

OE heard (hard) – heardra – heardost

OE feorr (far) – fierra – fierrest

The comparative and the superlative forms were declined as well, the comparative being always declined after the weak declension, whereas the superlative could be declined after the strong as well as after the weak declension, the latter occurring more frequently. The fact that the OE endings of comparison –ra and –ost are derived from the Germanic endings *-oza and *–ost is clear from the absence of mutation, which would have been common if the endings *-iza and *-ist had been preserved. There are, however, occasional forms in OE that show mutation in the comparative and the superlative degrees.

OE stranʒ – strenʒra – strenʒest

OE lånʒ – lenʒra – lenʒest

OE eald – ieldra – ieldest

Later on, however, in all these adjectives mutation was removed, and they formed comparatives and superlatives by analogy:

Modern English strong – stronger – strongest, long – longer – longest, old – older – oldest.

Mutated forms have been preserved only in MnE adjectives old – elder – eldest, the former comparative and superlative degrees having been converted into a new lexical unit, a new word with a different meaning as compared with old. Thus we say My elder brother is two years older than me.

The same suffixes –r < *-z and –(e)st < ost/ist were used in OE to form the degrees of comparison of adverbs. However, as in the final position –r < *-z was dropped in OE, in the comparative degree of adverbs we have actually no suffix, mutation being the only morphological means of distinquishing between the positive and comparative degrees of adjectives and adverbs.

OE adj. lånʒ – lenʒra – lenʒsta

OE adv. lånʒe – lenʒ – lenʒest

The OE qualitative adverbs were formed from the corresponding adjectives by adding the suffix –e to the stem of the adjective. Later on as a result of the loss of the unstressed –e the adverb and the adjective should have fallen into one form. To avoid this confusion a new suffix appeared in English of which the Modern English suffix –ly is derived. As to the origin of the suffix –ly we must note that already in OE we come across the suffix –ly, OE –lic, which was not however, an adverb-forming suffix. In OE there were two series of adjectives, the simpleones and the corresponding derivatives, these having a slight difference in meaning. The latter were formed with the suffix –lic, which came from an independent OE word lic (Modern English like). Thus, in OE we have such pairs of adjectives as OE deop (deep –глубокий) and deoplic (deeplike – глубоковатый). Each of these adjectives formed its corresponding adverb by adding the OE adverb-forming suffix –e. Thus from the OE adjective deop we have the corresponding adverb deope, while the adjective deoplic formed the corresponding adverb deoplice. Later on, in the pair deop (adj.) – deope (adv.) the adverb deope was lost while in the second pair the adjective deoplic fell in disuse , its corresponding adverb deoplice joining into a pair with deop (deep). Hence we have in Mod. E the pair deep (< deop – the adj.) and deeply (< deoplice – the adverb).