Cover not available

In:A Layered Approach to Habitual Constructions
Edited by Sune Gregersen and Kees Hengeveld
[Typological Studies in Language 136] 2026
► pp. 1–41

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload Book EPUB
authorization required

Chapter 1
A layered approach to habitual constructions

Introduction

ORCiD logo with link | Uppsala University
ORCiD logo with link | University of Amsterdam
Published online: 6 January 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.136.01gre
Abstract
In this book, habitual meaning is studied from a typological perspective, with Chapters 2–11 describing habitual meaning in ten different languages, and Chapter 12 presenting typological generalizations. In this introductory chapter we define the notion of habitual meaning, introduce the theoretical framework used, explain the methodology that was applied, and present our typological predictions. As an appendix we provide the typological questionnaire which the language-specific chapters are based on.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Habitual aspect and related categories
  • 3.Functional Discourse Grammar
  • 4.Types of habituality
    • 4.1Introduction
    • 4.2Initial classification
    • 4.3The scope of operators
    • 4.4The scope of modifiers
    • 4.5Occurrence in complement clauses
    • 4.6Complications
  • 5.Habituality and related categories — some first illustrations
  • 6.Predictions
  • 7.Preview
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
  • Appendix
References (57)
References
Bertinetto, P. M., & Lenci, A. (2012). Habituality, pluractionality, and imperfectivity. In R. I. Binnick (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of tense and aspect (pp. 852–880). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Binnick, R. I. (2005). The markers of habitual aspect in English. Journal of English Linguistics, 33(4), 339–369. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2006). ‘Used to’ and habitual aspect in English. Style, 40(1), 33–46. [URL]
Boneh, N., & Doron, E. (2008). Habituality and the habitual aspect. In S. Rothstein (Ed.), Theoretical and crosslinguistic approaches to the semantics of aspect (pp. 321–347). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2012). Hab and Gen in the expression of habituality. In A. Mari, C. Beyssade, & F. Del Prete (Eds.), Genericity (pp. 176–191). Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brinton, L. J. (1987). The aspectual nature of states and habits. Folia Linguistica, 21, 195–214. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bybee, J., Perkins, R., & Pagliuca, W. (1994). The evolution of grammar: Tense, aspect, and modality in the languages of the world. Chicago University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cabredo Hofherr, P. (2010). Verbal plurality and event plurality. Unpublished lecture notes.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carlson, G. (2012). Habitual and generic aspect. In R. I. Binnick (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of tense and aspect (pp. 828–851). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Comrie, B. (1976). Aspect. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Comrie, B., Haspelmath, M., & Bickel, B. (2008). The Leipzig Glossing Rules: Conventions for interlinear morpheme-by-morpheme glosses. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. [URL]
Corral Esteban, A. (2021). Layers and Operators in Scottish Gaelic. Scottish Language, 40(1), 1–48. [URL]
Cristofaro, S. (2004). Past habituals and irrealis. In Yu. A. Lander, V. A. Plungian, & A. Yu. Urmanchieva (Eds.), Irrealis i irrealʹnostʹ (Issledovanija po teorii grammatiki 3) (pp. 256–272). Gnosis.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dahl, Ö. (1975). On generics. In E. Keenan (ed.), Formal semantics of natural language (pp. 99–111). Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1985). Tense and aspect systems. Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dik, S. C. (1997). The theory of Functional Grammar. Part I: The structure of the clause (2nd revised edition, edited by K. Hengeveld). Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fang, H. (2018). Mirativity in Mandarin: The sentence-final particle le (了). Open Linguistics, 4, 589–607. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(this volume). Habitual constructions in Mandarin. In S. Gregersen, & K. Hengeveld (Eds.), A layered approach to habitual constructions (pp. 202–228). John Benjamins.
Fang, H., Fortuin, E., Genis, R., Giomi, R., Gregersen, S., Hengeveld, K., Kemp, L., Kyselica, P., la Roi, E., Olbertz, H., Stapert, E., van der Vliet, J., van der Voort, H., de Wit, S., Wolvengrey, A., & Zakrzewska, E. (this volume). A layered approach to habitual constructions: Typological generalizations. In S. Gregersen, & K. Hengeveld (Eds.), A layered approach to habitual constructions (pp. 372–385). John Benjamins.
Fortescue, M. (1984). West Greenlandic. Croom Helm.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fortuin, E. (2023). Unbounded repetition, habituality, and aspect from a comparative perspective. Folia Linguistica, 57(1), 135–175. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fortuin, E., & de Wit, S. (this volume). The habitual construction byvalo in Russian. In S. Gregersen, & K. Hengeveld (Eds.), A layered approach to habitual constructions (pp. 266–308). John Benjamins.
Genis, R., & Kyselica, P. (this volume). Habitual constructions in Slovak. In S. Gregersen, & K. Hengeveld (Eds.), A layered approach to habitual constructions (pp. 309–338). John Benjamins.
Giomi, R. (2023a). A Functional Discourse Grammar theory of grammaticalization. Volume 1: Functional change. Brill.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2023b). A Functional Discourse Grammar theory of grammaticalization. Volume 2: Formal change. Brill.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2024). The future indicative as an expression of general truth in European Portuguese. Linguistics in Amsterdam, 15(2), 127–133.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(this volume). Habitual constructions in European Portuguese. In S. Gregersen, & K. Hengeveld (Eds.), A layered approach to habitual constructions (pp. 229–265). John Benjamins.
Givón, T. (1994). Irrealis and the subjunctive. Studies in Language, 18(2), 265–337. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gregersen, S. (2021). Habitual aspect in Danish. Presentation in the Habituals research group, University of Amsterdam, 17 Dec 2021. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gregersen, S., & van Lier, E. (forthc.). Habitual markers and their lexical sources across languages. Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads.
Hammarström, H., Forkel, R., Haspelmath, M., & Bank, S. (2023). Glottolog (v. 5.1). [URL]
Hatther, M. M. D., & Hengeveld, K. (2016). The grammaticalization of modal verbs in Brazilian Portuguese: A synchronic approach. Journal of Portuguese Linguistics, 15(1), 1–14. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hengeveld, K. (2004). Illocution, mood, and modality. In G. Booij, C. Lehmann, & J. Mugdan (Eds.), Morphology: A handbook on inflection and word formation (vol. 2, pp. 1190–1202). Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2017). A hierarchical approach to grammaticalization. In K. Hengeveld, H. Narrog, & H. Olbertz (Eds.), The grammaticalization of tense, aspect, modality, and evidentiality: A functional perspective (pp. 13–38). De Gruyter Mouton. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2023). Adverbs. In E. van Lier (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of word classes (pp. 383–419). Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hengeveld, K., Clarke, C., & Kemp, L. (2021). A layered approach to (past) habituality in English. Linguistics in Amsterdam, 14(1), 65–80.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hengeveld, K., & Fischer, R. (2018). A’ingae (Cofán/Kofán) operators. Open Linguistics, 4, 328–355. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(in prep.). A grammar of A’ingae.
Hengeveld, K., & Hattnher, M. M. D. (2015). Four types of evidentiality in the native languages of Brazil. Linguistics, 53(3), 479–524. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hengeveld, K., & Mackenzie, J. L. (2008). Functional Discourse Grammar: A typologically-based theory of language structure. Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hengeveld, K., & Olbertz, H. 2012. Didn’t you know? Mirativity does exist! Linguistic Typology, 16(3), 487–503. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Keizer, E. (2015). A Functional Discourse Grammar for English. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
la Roi, E. (2023). Down the paths to the past habitual: Its historical connections with counterfactual pasts, future in the pasts, iteratives and lexical sources in Ancient Greek. Folia Linguistica Historica, 44(1), 87–116. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(This volume). Habitual constructions in Ancient Greek. In S. Gregersen, & K. Hengeveld (Eds.), A layered approach to habitual constructions (pp. 145–169). John Benjamins.
Mønnesland, S. (1984). The Slavonic frequentative habitual. In C. de Groot, & H. Tommola (Eds.), Aspect bound: A voyage into the realm of Germanic, Slavonic and Finno-Ugrian aspectology (pp. 53–76). Foris. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mourelatos, A. P. C. (1978). Events, processes, and states. Linguistics and Philosophy, 2(3), 415–434. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Noonan, M. (1985). Complementation. In T. Shopen (Ed.), Language typology and syntactic description, vol. 2: Complex constructions (pp. 42–140). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Olbertz, H. (2009). Mirativity and exclamatives in Functional Discourse Grammar: Evidence from Spanish. Web Papers in Functional Discourse Grammar, 82, 66–82. [URL]
(this volume). Habitual constructions in Spanish. In S. Gregersen, & K. Hengeveld (Eds.), A layered approach to habitual constructions (pp. 339–371). John Benjamins.
Olbertz, H., & Gasparini Bastos, S. (2013). Objective and subjective deontic modal necessity in FDG — evidence from Spanish auxiliary expressions. In J. L. Mackenzie, & H. Olbertz (Eds.), Casebook in Functional Discourse Grammar (pp. 277–300). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Olbertz, H., & Hattnher, M. M. D. (2018). On objective and subjective epistemic modality again: Evidence from Portuguese and Spanish modal auxiliaries. In E. Keizer, & H. Olbertz (Eds.), Recent developments in Functional Discourse Grammar (pp. 131–168). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Olbertz, H., & Honselaar, W. (2017). The grammaticalization of Dutch moeten: Modal and post-modal meanings. In K. Hengeveld, H. Narrog, & H. Olbertz (Eds.), The grammaticalization of tense, aspect, and modality: A functional perspective (pp. 273–300). De Gruyter Mouton. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Trondjem, N. B. (2012). Repetitive, iterative and habitual affixes in West Greenlandic. Acta Linguistica Hafniensia, 44(1), 64–76. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van der Vliet, J., & Zakrzewska, E. (this volume). The habitual construction in Sahidic Coptic. In S. Gregersen, & K. Hengeveld (Eds.), A layered approach to habitual constructions (pp. 42–79). John Benjamins.
Weber, D. (1989). A grammar of Huallaga (Huánuco) Quechua. University of California Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wolvengrey, A. (this volume). Habitual constructions in nēhiyawēwin (Plains Cree). In S. Gregersen, & K. Hengeveld (Eds.), A layered approach to habitual constructions (pp. 80–120). John Benjamins.
Xrakovskij, V. S. (1997). Semantic types of the plurality of situations and their natural classification. In V. S. Xrakovskij (Ed.), Typology of iterative constructions (pp. 3–64). LINCOM.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue