Venir de (+ infinitive)

Abstract

This paper deals with the grammaticalisation of venir into an aspectual auxiliary of immediate anteriority, against the traditional approach (Gougenheim 1971 [1929]) according to which venir de + inf, would express recent past and so would be a temporal auxiliary. On the basis of the (revised) Reichenbachian model, it shows that venir de + inf bears upon the relationship between R and E (aspect) and not on the relationship between R and S (time). This analysis explains why venir, in this periphrasis, is defective (i.e., why venir cannot be conjugated in the passé simple or in any compound tense).Keywords: venir de + inf; grammaticalisation of movement verbs; recent past; immediate anteriority; aspectual auxiliary of anteriority; defective conjugation * We are very grateful to the editor and anonymous reviewers whose insightful comments have helped us to improve our work.