Pluperfect and imperfect tenses from the perspective of iconicity and grammaticalization

Abstract

This paper aims at demonstrating that preterit forms such as the pluperfect and the imperfect subjuntive tenses are forms that encode various functions in Portuguese. It is assumed that there is no categorical one-to-one relationship between form and function. Initially, iconicity and grammaticalization principles are presented in order to show how they function in relation to the data under analysis. Next, we illustrate the multifunctionality of the pluperfect (in diachronic perspective) and the imperfect subjuntive tense (in synchronic perspective) considering Time and Modality as the motivation for such multifunctionality. The results point to the generalization of the irrealis feature modality as a factor that triggers changes in both time and reference point. The tenses under review migrate from past with past reference point to the future: the pluperfect form encodes projection and the imperfect subjunctive encodes less referential and factual situations.