Abstract

The present paper deals with the historical development of the verbparticle constructions/combinations (VPCs) in English within the framework of the Government and Binding theory developed by Chomsky (1981,1986a, b). It is proposed that the VPCs in Old English are subject to a condition called the M-Government Condition (MGC), and that the VPCs in Middle English to Present-day English are subject to both the MGC and a condition called the C-Government Condition (CGC). M-government and c-government are defined in terms of m -command and c-command, respectively. The MGC requires a particle to be m-governed by a verb at LF, while the CGC requires a particle to be c-governed by a verb at D-structure.
It is argued that the direct correspondence between the basic word order change of a sentence, i. e. from SOV to SVO, and that of a VPC, i. e. from Prt (...) V to V (...) Prt, can be attributed to the change of the direction of government of a verbal head in VP. The fact that a construction like Out he went is not found in Old English but in Middle English is explained under the assumption that the CGC is not operative in Old English but is in Middle English. With the Barriers approach proposed by Chomsky (1986b), the MGC and the CGC provide us with a straightforward account for the possible movements of particles as well as their possible positions.