The multifunctional Spanish composite past perfect tense in didactic materials

Abstract

Variation and change in the composite form of the past perfect indicative in Romance languages has been a recurrent theme in linguistic studies and has been examined through different theoretical and methodological perspectives. For instance, departing from a panchronic approach, in the light of a functionalist perspective to grammaticalization, studies have suggested the multifunctionality of the Spanish composite past perfect tense (CPF) in synchronic samples by claiming that the semantic slips occur due to the trajectory change of this verbal form observed in diachrony. The present study analyzes the Spanish CPF, more specifically, the way this object is approached by grammar books and didactic books used with Brazilian students of Spanish as a foreign language (S/FL). Based on the perspective of functional change, this study aims at bringing to the field of S/FL teaching the theoretical debates related to the analyzed linguistic phenomenon – the CPF. The analysis of the selected materials points to a certain didactic simplification when opposing the form “he estudiado” – composite past perfect – to “estudié” – simple past perfect, illustrating a monosemic look at the complex CPF. The dialogue between grammaticalization and teaching is considered relevant, in the sense of dimensioning the contribution of research about change and variation to the classroom context; in this case, particularly, to the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language.

Keywords: grammaticalization, teaching, Spanish as a foreign language.