<i>Os caualeyros pregũtarom o escudeyro</i> : os dados antigos num novo artigo do verbo perguntar

Abstract This work aims to contribute to the study of the verb perguntar (‘to ask’), analyzing it from a lexicographic and syntactic perspective, focusing on the information from the lexicographic article and on grammatical constructions in different phases of Portuguese. Using corpora data from Old Portuguese, Portuguese dialects and Contemporary European Portuguese, the purpose is to cross lexicographic information with syntactic information, providing a description of the verb that contains, in addition to Contemporary European Portuguese (standard) data, elements given by Portuguese dialects and Old Portuguese data. This approach seeks to advance in filling a gap in Portuguese lexicography, aggregating data from different periods and bringing together lexical and syntactic information in an integrated way. The data described show that the verb perguntar , in Old Portuguese, exhibited a dative/accusative alternation in the case attributed to the constituent with the thematic role of Target. This alternation ceases to exist from the 16th century onwards. But the possibility of co-occurrence of dative passives and syntactic passives remains until nowadays, both constructions described early in the history of Portuguese. The proposed lexicographic article illustrates these grammatical elements in addition to describing the meanings found.