Abstract
In this paper I examine the grammatical constraints of the verb ser in twotypes of focus constructions in Spanish: pseudo-cleft (“Lo que Juan necesitaes un descanso”, lit. trans. “That which Juan needs is a rest”) and constructionswith ser as the focus verb (“Juan necesita es un descanso”, lit. trans“Juan needs is a rest”). The purpose is to prove that ser does not function asan authentic verb but as a particle which configures the structure in theseconstructions. The data consists of Caracas Spanish recordings, collectedbetween 1977 and 2007. The features of the verb ser which were taken intoaccount for this analysis were: a) verb inflection; b) tense and mood; c) personand number; d) periphrastic forms; e) negatives.Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica (1947-), volume 66, 2, July-December 2018, is a semi-annual publication edited by El Colegio de México, Carretera Picacho Ajusco 20, Ampliación Fuentes del Pedregal, Tlalpan, C.P. 14110, Mexico City, Mexico, Tel. (55) 5449-3000, http://nrfh.colmex.mx/index.php/NRFH, nrfh@colmex.mx. Editor: Pedro Martín Butragueño. Assistant editors: Alejandro Rivas and Jesus Jorge Valenzuela. All Rights Reserved: 04-2015-070112341900-203, ISSN (print): 0185-0121, ISSN (electronic): 2448-6558, as registered with the National Copyright Institute. Typographical composition: El Atril Tipográfico. Person in charge of updating this issue: Perla Reyna Muñoz; date of last update: June 26, 2018.
The content of the articles published is the responsibility of the author, and does not represent the point of view of Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica. The partial or total reproduction of the contents or images of the publication is authorized, including electronic storage, provided it is strictly for academic purposes and not for profit, and that the source is cited without altering the content, and authorial credits are given.