In Old E we find a variety of word phrases. A noun pattern consisted of a noun as the head word and pronouns, adjectives (including verbal adjectives, or participles), numerals and other nouns as determiners and attributes. Most noun modifiers agreed with the noun in gender, number and case. Nouns which served as attributes to other nouns usually had the form of the Gen. case: hwales ban (whale’s bone). Some numerals governed the nouns they modified so that formally the relations were reversed. An adjective pattern could include adverbs, nouns or pronouns in one of the oblique cases with or without prepositions. Verb patterns included a great variety of dependant components: nouns and pronouns in oblique cases with or without prepositions, adverbs, infinitives and participles. Infinitives and participles were often used in verb phrases with verbs of incomplete predication. By Late ME agreement in noun patterns had practically disappeared, except for some instances of agreement in number. Formal markers of number had been preserved in nouns, demonstrative pronouns and some survivals of the strong declension of adjectives. The last traces of agreement in adjectives were lost in the 15th c. when the inflection – e was dropped; only the demonstrative pronouns, the indefinite article and nouns in apposition indicated the number of the head word, like in Mod E. When the adjective had lost its forms of agreement, its relationship with the noun were shown by its position.
