Особенности употребления форм перфекта в Сказании о Борисе и Глебе
Some Peculiarities of the Use of Perfect Tense Forms in the Narration of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb

Summary/Abstract: The paper deals with some results of the analysis of the perfect tense forms functioning in the copies of the Narration of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb created in the 12th – 15th centuries. The relevance and urgency of this problem are determined by the ongoing debates on the semantic and functional status of this preterite. New data on representation of this verbal category in the above mentioned manuscript have been provided. The following texts have been in the focus of attention: the earliest extant copy of the Narration from the Assumption Collection of the 12th – 13th centuries; the copy of the second half of the 14th century from the Sylvester Codex; and the copy of the 15th century from the Book of Degrees of the Royal Genealogy. The complete set of examples of the perfect tense forms functioning has shown that the verbal form appeared in this literary manuscript due to the following reasons: 1) usage, as a rule, in the direct (or indirect) discourse; 2) intention to avoid the homonymous forms of 2 and 3 person singular that occurred in the aorist paradigm; 3) interaction with present, imperative forms in the context. The later copies of the Narration reveal the expansion of the perfect tense forms usage, their penetration into the monologic narrative context. The conclusion on the stylistic nature of perfect tense forms as of an oral speech phenomenon has been made on the basis of the copies of the Narration” that occurred at different times and the scientific literature on this problem.

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