--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "kunphuzil" <kunphuzil@...>
wrote:

> Can someone expand more upon the word order for modal auxiliary

verbs?

> The explanation and examples given in section 1.3 seemed to

indicate

> subject + modal + verb + object (No other forms are given in the

examples)


This is something I'd like to know more about too! All I can say
for the moment is that there seems to be a certain amount of freedom
here.

Ek mun eld kveykja.
(I will fire kindle.)
I will light a fire.

Hann mun nú ekki fara vilja.
(He will now not to-go want.)
He will not want to go now.

Hún mun vilja hefna láta Bolla bónda síns.
(She will want to-be-avenged to-cause Bolli husband hers.)
She will want to have her husband Bolli avenged.
_____________________________________________


Gramir munu taka þik.
The fiends will take you.

en ek mun hitta konung.
but I will meet [the] king.

Ek mun fá þér vistir.
I will give you provisions.

en ek mun stöðva reiði föður míns um þenna hlut.
(but I will soothe anger father´s my concerning this matter.)
but I will soothe my father´s anger concerning this matter.
____________________________________________

It's also possible to put the infinitive first before the finite
modal verb (kasta mun ek enn öðrum steini "I will throw yet another
stone"), or have Object + Modal Verb + Subject + Infinitive: þik
munu járn bíta "iron (weapons) will cut/pierce you". Or the modal
verb may come first: Munu ok flestir þat mæla "Most will say that
too." Maybe others... Maybe these are more stylistically marked or
emphatic. I don't think they're as common as the orders in the
examples above.

I wonder whether factors such as whether the object is a pronoun
have any influence, or the length of the noun phrase, or whether
it´s a main clause or dependent, or if direct objects tend to be
positioned differently from indirect objects with respect to the
verb. And of course, how these practices change over time...

Llama Nom