Verb Conjugations and Literary Analysis of Josep Maria de Sagarra
Verb Conjugations and Literary Devices
Indicative
- Present: I sing
- Preterite (simple past): I sang
- Imperfect: I was singing
- Pluperfect: I had sung
- Perfect: I have sung
- Anterior: I had sung
- Periphrastic preterite: I did sing
- Periphrastic anterior preterite: I have sung
Subjunctive
- Present: that I sing
- Perfect: that I have sung
- Imperfect: that I sang
- Pluperfect: that I had sung
Pure verbs do not have the infix -sc- in their conjugations. Inchoative verbs have the infix -sc-.
Infinitive and Gerund
- To + infinitive: (in the moment that…) to enter.
- Gerund:
- Simultaneous action: Eating krgols, he was chattering.
- Earlier action: Working thus, you will pass the course.
Phonetic, Orthographic, and Morphological Changes
- Phonetic changes: Sound suppression (closed – cloent), vowel changes (be – bvnt), added sounds (voucher – worth).
- Orthographic changes: Maintaining spelling changes in pronunciation.
- Vocalic, consonantal, or mixed irregularities.
Pronouns and Adverbs
S, CD: so, the, the, the, the. CRV: in there. CCLL: in there. CCM: there. CPred: there. ATR: so (undefined), in (defined). CN: in. IC: There, you, the.
Periphrasis
- Inchoative: (action begins) – to start, to begin.
- Reiteration: (to do again) – to return to.
- Duration: (ongoing action) – to be + gerund, to go + gerund.
- Durative: (to emphasize duration) – to reach.
- Temporality: (end of action) – to finish.
- Decisive: (completed action) – to have + participle.
- Consequential: (result of action) – to remain, to leave + participle.
- Resultative: (state resulting from action) – to be + participle.
- Approximation: (to come close to doing something) – to come + infinitive.
- Probability: (likelihood of action) – must + infinitive.
- Chance: (possibility of action) – to be able to + infinitive.
- Obligation: (necessity of action) – to have to, to need to.
Verb Meanings and Uses
- To be: (finding oneself)
- To be: (remaining)
- Displaced meanings:
- Historical present: (describes past events as if they were happening now)
- Sentential: (used in scientific or general statements) – Biology studies biodiversity.
- Challenge: (used to express a challenge or dare) – Now go there and take this.
- Future: (expresses a future action) – I am going to Venice this summer.
- Conative: (attempt to do something)
Verb Classification
- Grammatically: auxiliary and full.
- Morphologically: regular, irregular, defective (lacking some tenses or forms), impersonal.
- Syntactically: copulative, predicative (transitive, intransitive, pronominal).
Josep Maria de Sagarra: Journalist and Writer
Journalism: “Advertising.” Spend the Summer in Llafranc.
Poetry: The Evil Hunter.
Novels: Garlic Salt, Pauline Buxareu, Private Life.
Analysis of *Private Life*
Private Life depicts the decline of the Lloberola family. Tomàs Lloberola marries Maria. Their son, Guillem, marries Contxa out of interest. Their other son is Frederic. Frederic marries Maria Teresa Ferran Lluïsa. Lloberola’s sunken sockets and incompetence impact the lives of his two sons, Guillem and Frederic. Guillem is loaded with debt and unhappily married, while Frederic is a gigolo. The novel describes the period of Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship. The novel ends with the death of Rosemary, marking the end of an era (early 20th century).
Setting
The novel is set in Barcelona. Spaces from the author’s childhood are featured, such as the Cathedral, Santa Maria del Pi, Sant Just, and Sant Jaume (the place of the city’s nobles). The old quarter of the bourgeoisie and the Eixample, where some displaced noble groups lived, such as the Lloberola family, are also depicted. Chinatown, with its streets, smells, and places like brothels, is included. Las Ramblas is a place where all kinds of people can be found.
Time
The novel takes place during the period of Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship, in the first quarter of the 20th century, between 1927 and 1932. It includes the proclamation of the Republic and the advent of democracy.