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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]

This paper focuses on the description of the verb soleo, the Latin cognate of the Spanish auxiliary soler, with the aim of contributing to the explanation of the Spanish lexical periphrasis soler + INF, when considering it from a diachronic perspective. Soleo is an especial verb whose singularity is manifested in its etymology and its grammatical particularities. Concerning its etymology, two hypotheses have been considered which start from two different Aktionsart stems: one makes it derive from a Proto-Indo-European iterative stem, the other from a stative one. From this second etymological hypothesis, soleo could be included among Latin denominative stative *ē-presents with the basic meaning of 'to be of oneself, to have as one's own, to be normal, to be custom'. Regarding its morphosyntactic features, the semi-deponent soleo has a morphologically passive perfect stem, solitus sum, whose use with aoristic value comes into contradiction with the morphological restriction of the Spanish auxiliary soler and with the aspectual categorization of habitual auxiliary attributed to it. Together with the function as an auxiliary verb constituting a periphrasis with an infinitive, it also presents a use as a full lexical verb in which the prototypical semantic value of its etymology emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the diatopic variation of the periphrasis andar + GER, comparing its use in Mexican and Peninsular Spanish. To this end, the relative frequency of the construction is analyzed in several corpora, as well as its most distinctive semantic and syntactic features. Our quantitative analysis shows, on the one hand, the high frequency of andar + GER in Mexican Spanish as compared to Peninsular Spanish. On the other hand, it reveals that the periphrasis occurs, above all, in informal language modalities. Semantically, the present study corroborates that, in periphrases with a gerund, the verb andar ('to walk'), has progressively lost its lexical meaning of physical movement and has come to transmit pragmatic values, particularly of determination and insistence. In addition, unlike Peninsular Spanish, in Mexican Spanish the periphrasis is less subject to selectional restrictions with respect to the gerund, a relatively recent change that points to a strong grammaticalization. Syntactically, the grammaticalization process is reflected in the adjacency of the auxiliary and the gerund, the fixed internal order of the two components of the periphrasis, clitic climbing and a drop in the frequency of coordinated gerunds. The case of andar + GER demonstrates that grammaticalization of the same construction can take place in different ways depending on the specific dialectal environment. Likewise, and at a more general level, it stresses the importance of a diatopic approach in studies on verbal periphrases and grammaticalization processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to bring to light, unravel and interpret some of the ideas of Rudolf Lenz (1920) concerning verbal categorization in historiographical perspective. As a starting point, we examine Lenz's position with regard to the sentence as a fundamental linguistic unit and as a framework in which the relationships between its components take place. The work subsequently focuses on verbal categories (parts of speech or word classes) and analyzes in an interpretative and critical perspective the three alternative and complementary systems of verbal categories proposed by Lenz applying alternative defining criteria: formal, logico-semantical and functional, the latter being prioritary for Lenz. Finally, it presents a summary of the three systems of Lenz confronted with each other and with the system of ten parts of speech in traditional grammar, and it assesses Lenz's significant contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]