Abstract
We explore here the intrinsic characteristics specific to three periphrases found in French –“va + INF”, “allait + INF” and “devait + INF”– which allow them to substitute orthonymically for a simple past (PS). We start by offering an overview of the diachronic restriction of the PS in French before establishing the distinctive features of this tense in contemporary French. Based on examples from contemporary and microdiachronic corpora of sports reports and obituaries, we show how the periphrases in “va + INF”, “allait + INF” and “devait + INF” can be used as narrative tenses in the past, and therefore as partial substitutes for the PS.
| Translated title of the contribution | From Simple Past to Complicated Futures: The Periphrastic Narrative Tenses in Contemporary French |
|---|---|
| Original language | French |
| Pages (from-to) | 59-79 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Langue Française |
| Volume | 213 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 16 Mar 2022 |
Keywords
- verbal periphrases
- “va + infinitif”
- “allait + infinitif”
- “devait + infinitif”
- simple past