This thesis looks at two instances of language variation in Middle English and Modern English: the choice between bare gerundive and to-infinitival complements after the catenative verbs start,...Show moreThis thesis looks at two instances of language variation in Middle English and Modern English: the choice between bare gerundive and to-infinitival complements after the catenative verbs start, begin, stop and finish, and the semantic preferences these complementation patterns have at different time periods. Previous studies have uncovered diachronic tendencies among the complementation patterns of the catenative verbs begin/start and stop/finish (see e.g. Mair 2002, De Smet 2013 and Leech et al. 2009), however, they say little or nothing on the frequencies with which different verbs occur in the bare gerundive -ing complement clause and to-complement clause of these catenative verbs. Consequently, the aim of this thesis is to investigate the diachronic development of the bare gerundive and the to-infinitive complementation patterns of the catenative verbs begin/start and stop/finish across the Middle English and Modern English period. More specifically, this thesis will investigate the differences between the frequencies with which different semantic domains occur in the bare gerundive and the to-infinitive complementation patterns of the catenative verbs begin/start and stop/finish.Show less
