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Qué será, va a ser: Los cambios y las funciones modales del futuro sintético en el español contemporáneo

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Author

  • Linnea Busk

Summary, in English

The objective of this study is to map and analyze the different uses and distinctions between the two verbal forms synthetic future (cantaré) and periphrastic future (voy a cantar). The study examines whether there has been a shift in the frequency of general use between the two forms over the past 20 years, as well as maps out the different contexts and levels of formality in which each form appears. Furthermore, it explores the modal implications that may arise with each of the verbal forms and whether they express differences in epistemic intensity. The analysis focuses on the three verbs dar ‘to give’, ir ‘to go’ and hacer ‘to do’ in the first-person singular. The results indicate an increase in the general use of the periphrastic future and a decrease in the use of the synthetic future in oral registers over the past 20 years. The study concludes that the periphrastic future appears more frequently in less formal contexts, while the synthetic future occurs more often in contexts with a higher degree of formality. Finally, it can be concluded that there is a tendency for the periphrastic future to be used more often in contexts with a higher degree of certainty, due to the specific temporal adverbs and assertive markers that often accompany it, as well as its common appearance in interrogative phrases and under negative polarity. No tendency was observed for the synthetic future to be used exclusively with an epistemic function, but a tendency to be used as a marker for intention within the deontic modality could be identified.

Department/s

Publishing year

2025

Language

Spanish

Document type

Student publication for Bachelor's degree

Topic

  • Languages and Literatures

Keywords

  • Futuro sintético
  • futuro perifrástico
  • gramaticalización
  • modalidad epistémica
  • modalidad deóntica
  • formalidad. Synthetic future
  • periphrastic future
  • grammaticalization
  • epistemic modality
  • deontic modality
  • formality

Supervisor

  • Carlos Henderson (Research fellow)