Why hadn’t I heard of the term Verbal Periphrasis before?
Discovery & Definition
My Spanish teacher from Bolivia mentioned this term during our class last week. If I’m going to continue to pursue fluency in Spanish this is definitely an area that I need to work on.
A verbal periphrasis (las perífrasis verbales), also known as a verbal structure, is a grammatical structure that consists of two or more verbs that take on a new meaning when used together.
Verbal Periphrasis in Spanish (lingolia.com)
It reminds me of Phrasal Verbs in English. It’s definitely essential to learn in English and also in Spanish. The definition continues…
Generally, these constructions are composed of an auxiliary verb in a conjugated form, a preposition connected to this verb and a main verb in an impersonal form, either the infinitive, participle or gerund. A verbal periphrasis can express the beginning, duration or end of an action as well as the intention behind it. One of the most common verbal structures in Spanish is ir a + infinitive, which is equivalent to the English structure be going to + infinitive.
Verbal Periphrasis in Spanish (lingolia.com)
Example
Here’s some sample text from espanol.lingolia.com
Estoy a punto de acabar mis deberes y voy a leer un rato. Después tengo que ir a clase de español. Suelo acudir dos veces por semana a la academia. Llevo estudiando en esa escuela tres años. Me gusta mucho mi profesora y tengo entendido que es una de las mejores del centro de idiomas.
Verbal Periphrasis in Spanish (lingolia.com)
It turns out that I already recognize and can use some of them but I definitely haven’t mastered them yet.
Free Exercise
I completed the free exercise: Verbal Periphrasis. I did ok but I need to improve and refine this:
Learning without Grammar
Of course I’ve studied grammar during my 28 year off and on Spanish learning journey. But I’ve discovered more grammatical structures by interacting with people and listening (radio & podcasts).
I try to reuse them in the correct context when I speak. This has been an effective way to learn but it does help to see a formal definition.
Structure
Espanol.lingolia has a helpful definition structure here: Verbal Periphrasis in Spanish (lingolia.com). I should subscribe and learn this well but I’ve been lazy the last couple of months.
There are three main categories. The infinitive is the most common and has two subcategories:
Structures with the infinitive:
- modal structures
- temporal structures
Structures with the gerund: auxiliary + gerund
Structures with the participle: auxiliary + participle