# Middle English: adverbs and gerunds



## 涼宮

Good evening 

I have a question, were adverbs that come from adjectives and the -ing form used in the same way as today? I mean were they spellt differently?

For instance:

An heo is _speak*ing*_(?) badde things anent thee, wilt thou aweden?

If she is speaking bad things about you, will you get angry?

I do not know how the -ly form and -ing form were formed. From what I have seen in some words, the adverbial form seemed to end in -ce, -he or -che, but not sure.

Thank you in advance for your help


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## Cagey

I'm not sure what your question is. Are you asking whether "speaking" is correctly formed?   Are you referring to "speaking" as an adverb?  (I would call it a "present progressive form" of the verb.)

Also, what is the source of this quotation?  That may help us understand what you are asking.


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## 涼宮

My question is if the -ing form and the -ly form were formed in the middle English as it is formed today. -ly (adverbs) -ing (gerund/present participle). The sentence is not a quotation, it is just a sentence I made on my own


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## ewie

Yes and yes.
Extracted at random from Chaucer's _The Canterbury Tales: The Knight's Tale_:
_pitously_ ~ piteously
_waymentynge_ ~ lamenting, lamentation
_ferforthly_ ~ erm
_liggynge_ ~ lying
_hevenysshly_ ~ angelically, in a heavenly fashion
_pleyynge_ ~ playing (probably)

Of course, Chaucer's spelling was _atrocious_


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## 涼宮

Thank you!


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## berndf

涼宮 said:


> My question is if the -ing form and the -ly form were formed in the middle English as it is formed today. -ly (adverbs) -ing (gerund/present participle). The sentence is not a quotation, it is just a sentence I made on my own


The present participle and the gerund merged during the Middle English period. The suffix _-ing(e_ was originally only a gerund (cf the verbal noun suffixes _-ing_ in Dutch and _-ung_ in German). The participle suffix was _-ind(e_,_ -end(e, __-and(e_ in OE and early ME. The merger of the two prefixes started South-Eastern dialects.


ewie said:


> Yes and yes.
> Extracted at random from Chaucer's _The Canterbury Tales: The Knight's Tale_:
> _pitously_ ~ piteously


Chaucer lived in London and wrote in the dialect of his region. Other late 14th century authors still differentiated between gerund and participle.


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## ewie

berndf said:


> Chaucer lived in London and wrote in the dialect of his region. Other late 14th century authors still differentiated between gerund and participle.


 Thanks, Bernd ~ I'll try and remember that


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