Use of modal particle <i>of</i> in Old Icelandic prose

Abstract Old Icelandic had an enigmatic preverbal particle of in prose until the second quarter of the 13 th century. In 1929, Kuhn argued that this was a modal particle of potentiality, different from a preverbal of particle in Old Norse poetry of unclear meaning. Kuhn demonstrated that most of the Icelandic of particles appear in three types of clauses related to potentiality. This article adds a fourth type, which allows 90 % of the particles to be included in such clauses. The article equates ›potentiality‹ to be the modality of the modal verb mega ›be able to, can‹. This facilitates a discussion on why the of particle appears primarily in these four types of clauses. Furthermore, main verbs in the indicative past tense are shown to be missing from clauses having the Icelandic of particle.