Perifratische

Perifratische, in linguistics often rendered as periphrastic, refers to constructions that express grammatical meaning using multiple words rather than by inflection of a single word. In a periphrastic construction, an auxiliary or another function word combines with a main verb to convey tense, aspect, mood, voice, or modality that would otherwise be encoded within a single word in more synthetic languages. The term derives from periphrasis, a roundabout or circumlocutory expression.

Functions and types: Periphrastic forms handle a range of grammatical functions, with common examples including tense (present perfect, past perfect), aspect (progressive/continuous), and certain futures or moods. They frequently involve auxiliary verbs, modal verbs, or particles that accompany the main verb. Some languages also employ periphrastic constructions to form passive voice or to express near-future intentions.

Cross-linguistic usage: English frequently uses periphrastic constructions such as have + past participle (I have eaten) or be + -ing (I am eating). Romance languages routinely use periphrastic perfects (French j’ai mangé, Italian ho mangiato) and periphrastic futures (aller + infinitive in French, andare + infinitive in others). German uses præferentially periphrastic perfects with haben/sein + past participle. In many languages, periphrasis coexists with synthetic inflection and varies by dialect, register, and historical change.

Relation to rhetoric and taxonomy: Periphrasis is also a broader rhetorical figure of speech, but the linguistic concept of perifratische specifically denotes grammatical word-bridged constructions. It is contrasted with synthetic (single-word) inflection and with purely analytic forms.

See also: periphrasis, periphrastic tense, analytic form.