Where your treasure is, there is your heart

The present study is about a language change in the history of English with special reference to compound adverbs such as itherein, thereby, thereof, thereafter, therefore, thereto/i etc. and to the relative and conjunctive adverbs ithere/thereas/i and iwhere/whereas/i in Middle English. iThere/i compounds emerged through adverbialization and grammaticalization processes. The new formations were first literal in meaning but began to develop more abstract senses which led to further grammaticalizations and concomitant semantic changes.