Aspectual features of Portuguese pretérito imperfeito do indicativo and passado progressivo in context of variation

Abstract

Based on Molendijk’s (2005) analysis of the French imparfait and the past progressive of English, this study focuses the preterito imperfeito (IMP) and the past progressive (PPROG) in Brazilian Portuguese in context of semantic equivalence. As in Molendijk’s study, the forms in Brazilian Portuguese also have differences, but, in some tense-aspect contexts, the forms can be considered as variants. Some studies, as Castilho (2003) e Wachowicz (2003), suggest that IMP and PPROG are occurring with the same semantic function in Brazilian Portuguese. The data point that the semantic function which IMP and PPROG have the same semantic function is the past episodic event in curse. This function take the Reichenbach’s points [reference time (R), speech time (S) and event time (E)], the aspectual lexical features (Bertinetto, 2001), verbal aspect (Borba Costa, 1997) and the aspectual relation of inclusion/exclusion (Godoi, 1992). The function is characterized by the follow features: ordination: anteriority and overlapping (tense); inclusion of R interval in E (aspect): verbal number: singular (aspect); lexical feature [+  durativity]. The forms can be considered variants or semantic equivalents when they present these features.