Dar uma abrida: regularity and irregularity in nominalizations of light verb constructions with the verb dar

• Grant number: 24/05055-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Linguistic Theory and Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Ana Paula Scher
• Grantee: Vinícius Vieira Cabral
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Nominalizations encompassed in Brazilian Portuguese light verb constructions (LVCs) with the verb 'dar', such as 'dar uma olhada' (to have a look), often considered participial (Scher, 2004; Medeiros, 2008), stand out for their regularity - being even referred to as "nominalizations in -ada", although "their [suffix] realization can be -ada or -ida depending on the thematic vowel applied to the root that derives the nominalization" (Scher, 2004, p. 28). This type of LVC has shown to be incompatible with nominalizations formed from irregular participles, such as 'posto' and 'aberto', as in '*dar uma posta' or '*dar uma aberta'. Thus, the verb 'pôr' (to put) does not derive any LVC, but the verb 'abrir' (to open), nonetheless, forms an LVC from a nominal form that follows regular deriving processes: 'abrida' (LVC: 'dar uma abrida'). The same disparity is observed for other irregular verbs (such as 'ver' (to see) and 'cobrir' (to cover)). In the midst of this context, the only exception that contrasts with regularity in LVCs is 'dar uma vinda', with the corresponding nominalization being the irregular participial form of 'vir' (to come). Thus, on the one hand, there is a tendency for nominalizations regularly ending in -da, even for certain verbs theoretically irregular in the participle - and the rejection of their irregular participial forms. On the other hand, the singular behavior of the LVC 'dar uma vinda' is noted, challenging this rejection. These are cases that relate to the conceptualization of "participles," their morphology, and the unity of this classification. The project aims to clarify the above mencioned types of behavior through a bibliographic review of works addressing nominalizations and types of participle.