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This paper is based on the idea that the study of peripheral phenomena or marginalia in language can shed new light on the interpretation of other, less marginal linguistic data. Specifically, it focuses on the joining or separation of linguistic elements, which is often considered a typically marginal phenomenon, but which constitutes one of the syntactic criteria for classifying verbal periphrases. For this purpose, interpolation, i.e. the separation of the two components of a periphrasis by another element, is examined in three specific cases: , and . The analysis offers clues for reconsidering interpolation as a criterion for the classification of periphrases. At the same time, the study makes it clear that, on the one hand, verbal periphrases are characterised by a type of syntactic ambiguity and, on the other hand, their semantic value is decisive in determining their periphrastic nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]