Understanding Verbal Periphrasis in English Grammar
The Verbal Periphrasis
The core of the subject-verb (SV) must necessarily be performed by a verbal form. This can be:
Simple Time | Compound Time | Passive Voice | Verbal Periphrasis |
Write | I have written | Was written | ‘re writing, you must write, you write |
Verbal periphrasis refers to the union of two (or more) verb forms that function together as a unit. They usually consist of:
- a conjugated auxiliary verb (i.e., it is in person).
- a binding element, preposition, or conjunction, which may or may not be present: I have to go, going out, you (Ø) work.
- The word that gives the fundamental meaning, which is non-personal (infinitive, gerund, or participle). Sometimes there may be two auxiliaries (particularly in compound tenses and/or passive voice), the second of which is also non-personal:
Conjugated Auxiliary Verb | Binding Element | Auxiliary Verb | Main Verb in a Non-Personal Form |
You | Work | ||
We | To | Go | |
We | That | Have | Done |
We | To | Be | Crushed |
We | That | Have been | Advised |
What Are They and Why Are They Not Paraphrases?
The structure of conjugated verb + binding element (optional) + verb in a non-personal form can lead to three types of structures:
Periphrasis | Verbs of Different Sentences | Verbal Voice | |
Example | Peter goes bad-mouthing me Luis has gone to error | Pedro shuffling walk Luis returned to find the keys | Spoil Publicize Imply |
Characteristics | The auxiliary must be grammaticalized: its meaning is gone whole or in part. For example, in I have to go, the verb have does not imply possession. The second verb can never be a complement to the first. | Each verb retains its full meaning. The second verb performs a function with respect to the first. | No main or auxiliary verbs; the whole subject would select and accessories. The connection between the two verbs is intimate, because the verb cannot be substituted by others in the same set. Spoil / * cast to win Equivalent to a single idea that can be projected into a single verb. Spoil spoil = |
What Are the Circumlocutions?
They serve to mark some features of the action of the verb that cannot be expressed by simple or compound forms of the verb. There are basically two types: modal and aspectual.
• The aspectual periphrasis indicates how the action is seen by the speaker: we call this aspect. The imperfective aspect shows the action without any limits: it concerns the speaker to indicate whether the action has begun at some point, if it ends up somewhere else… the only thing that matters is to see the action in its own life, as seen from within. In contrast, the perfective aspect clearly marks a limit to which the action has changed, showing that the action has begun at a moment, that it is about to begin, that it happens at a unique moment, that it is to end, and so on.
• The modal periphrasis, in turn, serves to express the speaker’s attitude toward the action. It indicates that the speaker performs well as the action that he feels an obligation, as well as a possibility, certainly, a probability, or an approximation to reality. There are therefore two types of modal periphrasis: the potential and obligation.
Modal Periphrasis | ||
Obligation | Possibility, Doubt, or Approach | |
Must + infinitive must come first. Have to + infinitive, you must arrive before. Have to + infinitive you get there before (here, there is impersonal). Have to + infinitive, you must arrive before. | Possibility | Doubt and Approach |
May + subjunctive: it may come soon. Power + infinitive: She may come soon. | Duty to + infinitive must be ten. Come to + infinitive: it comes to cost a hundred thousand pesetas. |
Aspectual Periphrasis | |
Durative | Be + gerund: I was reading the newspaper. Go + gerund: You’re saying that stuck. Carry + gerund: I have two hours reading the paper. Go + gerund: we are winning two-nil. Continue / continue + gerund: and she read the newspaper. |
Entry | Going to + infinitive will be a good storm down to + infinitive is for rain. Be about to + infinitive: the movie is about to begin. |
Inchoative | Throw a + infinitive began to mourn. Break + infinitive began to mourn. Made + infinitive began to mourn. Start / begin + infinitive began to mourn. |
Resultative | Be + participle: is made from yesterday. Carry + participle: has done since yesterday. |
Reiterative | Have + past participle: I have told you that you leave here. Leave + participle: I have left word that you send it. Re + participle: I say again that you leave it here. |
Terminative | Stop + infinitive: I quit smoking two months ago. To finish + infinitive: I just give it to John. |