Reflexive vs. Non-Reflexive

Literally every verb may have a chance to occur with a coreferential pronoun and, if the pronoun can be admitted as the direct object of the verb (or, in other words, if the verb is used transitively and its direct object is the co-referential pronoun), the construction may be properly called reflexive. We find three ways of expressions, i.e.

1. (1) he (ge)wende ham: intransitive

2. (2) he (ge)wende him ham: intransitive with a coreferential pronoun

3. (3) he wende hine ham: transitive with a direct pronoun object (hine) or: reflexive use with coreferential accusative pronoun

As I explained earlier, the merger of OE gewendan (with dative reflexive) and OE wendan (with accusative reflexive) produces early ME (i)wenden (with dative reflexive). A confusion has already started in late Old English (or possibly much earlier) and so the prefix ge- is often left unexpressed in some context. The following two kinds of constructions from ChronD illustrate the two kinds of constructions of wendan, with reflexive dative and with reflexive accusative (cf. Chapter V, section 6, phrases for ‘to return homeward’).

(87) ChronD(Classen-Harmer) 1016.1.29

and syððan wende him suðweard oðres weges, ealswa bewestan.

‘and then (the king) went southwards by another route, and further west’

(88) ChronD(Classen-Harmer) 894.1.37, 59

Þa se cyning þæt gehyrde, þa wende he hine west wið Eaxanceastres mid ealre þære fyrde.…Þa se cyning hine west wende myd þære fyrde wið Eaxanceastres, swa ic ær sæde;