The Multifunctionality of the verb to need
A contribution to a semantic and pragmatic analysis in oral contexts in the Portuguese language
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55847/217p3a80Keywords:
To need, Speech context, Discursive valueAbstract
This work, integrated into the Syntax and Semantics of Portuguese, aims to describe the uses of the verb “to need” in oral contexts of the Portuguese language. Starting from the conviction that the meaning of lexical unities is relational or is not only outlined within a context, the work discusses the various occurrences of the verb “to need” from its placement in the structure of the sentence, properties, its pragmatic uses and discursive values. During the research, the data collected through a prompted oral production and from documental review and subsequently analysed according to the content analyses method. After analysing the data, it was observed that several values are inherent to the verb “to need” including necessity, order or recommendation, and request or solicitation. Additionally, we concluded that the interpretation of its semantic properties in this way depends not only on the structure of the sentence, but also on the social relations between the interlocutors involved in the speech.
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