Drobné postřehy o slovesu být v češtině

The study presents an analysis of the forms of the verb ESSE // (to) BE in Czech, i.e. the verb BÝT. Even in Czech, the verb ESSE shows idiosyncratic morphological, syntactic and semantic properties. Their diversity in various overt syntactic constructions depending on the categorial distribution of the verb ESSE provides data for distinguishing the three ESSEs: (i) grammatical auxiliary (in the verbal complex [ESSE√js:finite – vP:-l-participle], with the meaning of [past], [realis], and in the verbal complex [ESSE√by:finite – vP:-l-participle], with the meaning of [–tense], [non realis]); (ii) lexical auxiliary (in the verbal complex [ESSE√bud:finite – Infinitive:Imperfective] with the meaning of [imperfective future]); (iii) non-auxiliary (e.g. copula). The properties of each ESSE are explained based on the position in which the root from which the ESSE form is derived is inserted into the structure, and the position where the derivation of the ESSE ends.