Abstract

The aim of the article is to establish the existence and structure of the passive perfect in Lithuanian. This language has a periphrastic active perfect, but its passive counterpart, consisting of ‘be’ and a past passive participle, is not completely severed from its grammaticalisation source, the object resultative. Experiential uses are attested, which suggests that the resultative has to some extent become a perfect, but it is not clear to what extent the two can be teased apart. On the other hand, the experiential passive perfect has dedicated marking of its own as well, though it is not frequent. The Lithuanian passive perfect is thus a rather diffuse and weakly entrenched gram. The failure of the language to develop a clearly defined passive perfect can probably be explained formally and functionally by the overall low degree of grammaticalisation of the perfect (including the active perfect) in Lithuanian.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.