Fir vs. eser

Abstract This paper investigates the alternation between the auxiliaries eser (< lat. esse ) and fir (< lat. fiĕri ) of passive constructions, widely displayed in Old Venetan vernaculars. I will show that crossdialectal and diachronic microvariation is observable in the documentation from Venice, Padua and Verona: in the second half of the 14th cent. an innovation started from Venice and Padua led eser , initially constrained to stative predicates, to overlap with fir , ousting the latter to marginal functions. Following the principles of Nanosyntax, I will show that fir ceased to prevail as the unmarked auxiliary for eventive contexts when passive constructions with perfective value were no longer related to stative-resultative meaning. The trend is thus interpreted as the reflex of a change in the way passive voice was aligned with the properties of aspect.