260 Artur Bartnik
(33) Ic ðæs þoncunge [...] þæm unforswyþdum
I that.gen thank [...] the.dat unvanquished.dat
urum weorode
our.dat army
‘I give thanks for that [...] to our unvanquished army’
(coalex,Alex:5.1.19)
In all the examples in which determiners precede non-adjacent possessives, adjectives
immediately follow determiners, acting as complements of the determiner. The reverse
order, in which possessives precede non-adjacent determiners, is also found, though
it is much rarer. Consider:
(34) mine þrie ða getreowestan frynd
my three the most faithful friends
‘my three, the most faithful friends’
(coalex,Alex:37.13.479)
Note that the adjective also follows the determiner. However, the scarcity of such
examples does not allow us to be completely certain about the status of adjectives. Yet it
is significant that in discontinuous determiner-possessive and possessive-determiner
sequences adjectives are present, supporting thus the claim that they might function
as complements in such configurations.
In Polish determiners and possessives do not have to be adjacent, either. The dis-
continuous combinations found in Old English are also found in Polish.
(35) Ta dawna moja
this.sg.nom.f old.sg.nom.f my.sg.nom.
konspiracja nawet dziś jeszcze powraca
conspiracy.sg.nom.f even today still comes back
‘my old conspiracy still comes back even today’
(IPIPAN_2001000000001, Jarosław Abramow-Newerly 2002: 401, ‘Młyn w
piekarni’)
(36) Ta Ula, moja śliczna, niezapomniana
this Ula, my beautiful, unforgettable
‘my beautiful, unforgettable Ula’
(PELCRA_1303919960504, Dominik Tatarka 1996-05-04, ‘Gazeta Wyborcza’)
As shown by (35) and (36), adjectives are not complements of determiners in Polish
therefore they do not have to immediately follow them, as in (36).
The reverse order, in which determiners follow possessives in discontinuous con-
structions, is also found. By way of illustration let us consider (37) below: