V. A. Bondar Habban/hæfdon+participle II in “Lives of Saints” by abbot Ælfric: perfect? (pp. 72–88)
Author
V. A. Bondar (Saint Petersburg State University)
Pages\n 72–88
Summary\n
The article deals with the analysis of the use of habban/ hæfdon + participle II in the Old English text of “Lives of Saints” by abbot Ælfric with special reference to distribution of preterits and periphrastic constructions under consideration. A special emphasis is put on the way preterits and habban/hæfdon+participle II are conveyed in the translation executed by W. Skeat. The article criticizes the current tendency to view the construction as a grammaticalised analytical construction which is thought to have the same meanings as the modern English perfect does. A detailed analysis of the contexts are provided to disprove this tendency, arguing that at that time (end of the Old English period, XI c.) the possessive verb still retained its lexical meaning of possession.
Keywords\n
perfect, preterit, habban/hæfdon+participle II, grammaticalisation, analytical construction.
References\n
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