Voice, actionality, and argument structure in the ‘εἶναι + participle’ periphrases of post-Hellenistic Greek

This paper investigates the functions and distribution of εἶναι periphrases and predicative participles in post-classical-Greek, by adopting the perspective of the interface between morphosyntax and semantics and with the aim of providing an answer to the question of the interaction between tense, voice, actionality, transitivity, and argument structure within the continuum of periphrasticity comprising the structures under investigation. The results of a qualitative and quantitative analysis of a large corpus of both literary and non-literary texts showed specific between-categories correlations and revealed that the degree of periphrasticity of participles constructions is crucially related to the transitivity/intransitivity hierarchy.