Resumen

SOTO, GUILLERMO  y  CASTRO, CHRISTIAN. A functional characterization of estar + gerundio as a phasal aspect: Progressivity, dynamicity, and token reading. RLA [online]. 2010, vol.48, n.2, pp.93-113. ISSN 0718-4883.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-48832010000200005.

In this study we propose a characterization of the construction estar + present participle, one of the most productive Spanish verbal periphrases. After criticizing both the idea that this construction is a prototypical instance of imperfective aspect and that it communicates a more extensive duration of the state of affairs than other grammatical forms, we propose that estar + present participle codifies the progressive phasal aspect of a dynamic state of affairs -i. e. en event-, which prompts a token reading. From a functional grammar standpoint, as proposed by Dik (1997), this verbal periphrasis is a predicative operator which works upon the nuclear predicate by denoting its internal dynamics.

Palabras clave : Progressive; phasal aspect; dynamicity.