Bailando, me paso el día bailando y los vecinos mientras tanto no paran de molestar. Parar de + inf as an Interruptive Verbal Periphrasis in Spanish

Mar Garachana

doi:10.3390/languages6040171

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to describe the Spanish construction parar de + inf, an aspectual verbal periphrasis which expresses the interruption of the event referred to by the infinitive in affirmative clauses, and the continuity and repetition of this event in negative clauses. Parar de+ inf is a verbal periphrasis whose consolidation in Spanish occurred in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The study on this structure is therefore associated with recent linguistic changes. Parar de + inf is a verbal periphrasis characteristic of the colloquial language, which has complicated the study of the real use of parar de + inf. The language used in situations of communicative proximity is under-represented in the corpora. Thus, estimates of the frequencies of use of linguistic forms associated with colloquial language forms should be taken with caution, as frequency of use may differ significantly across discourse traditions. In this regard, it is important to think about the role of frequency data in historical studies of language.

Highlights

The main aim of this paper is to describe the Spanish construction parar de + INF, an aspectual verbal periphrasis which expresses the interruption of the event referred to by the infinitive
This study focused on two Spanish verbal periphrases which appear mainly in the twenty-first century
Parar de + INF is a verbal construction articulated in two micro-constructions, each having its own well-differentiated meaning and structure, namely, AFFIRM . parar de + INF and NEG . parar de + INF

Summary

Introduction

The main aim of this paper is to describe the Spanish construction parar de + INF, an aspectual verbal periphrasis which expresses the interruption of the event referred to by the infinitive. No reference is made to whether the event expressed by the infinitive cenar was concluded, just that it stopped. This is seen in (2) in relation to the event expressed by the verb llorar. In contrast to verbal periphrases such as acabar de + INF or terminar de + INF (finish + INF ), parar de + INF does not express the natural conclusion of the action expressed by the infinitive. Acabar de + INF can express something that happened in the recent past, for instance in El niño acaba de llegar ‘The boy just arrived’

Objectives

Findings

Conclusion