On the Origins and Development of Periphrastic Perfects in Irish

Abstract

This paper offers a new analysis of the evolution of two important periphrastic constructions within the Irish verbal system. A number of problems are resolved as regards the emergence of these formations, the relationship between them and their complicated functional development. Examples of the formations are gleaned from a wide range of texts from the 12th to the 17th century and use is made of Kurylowicz’s fourth law of analogy to demonstrate how a regressive formation is ousted from its primary function and reduced to the expression of a previously subordinate function.