The Sequence [subject + verb sum + aliquid/nihil subject complement]: A Comparative Study while Analysing an Ovidian Textual Motif

The sequence [subject + verb sum + aliquid subject complement] is found repeatedly in Ovid. It signifies the importance the speaker attributes to the subject of the sentence. We wanted to know if it was typically Ovidian and to compare it with the semantically opposite sequence [subject + verb sum + nihil subject complement]. First, we listed all the occurrences of the PHI corpus and compared them from different points of view: form (prose/verse), syntax (word order; complement of nihil/aliquid), grammar (subject category; verb tense/mode). We then divided the passages into five semantic categories: occurrences with complement of nihil/aliquid aiming at a determinative definition or at a qualifying definition, occurrences without complement of nihil/aliquid aiming either to signify the (non) existence of the subject or to depart two subjects or to express the speaker’s evaluation of something. In conclusion, the main similarities between the two sequences are syntactical (mostly contiguous elements; preference for the form est). The differences are syntactical (different tendencies in word order: verb sum + aliquid <> nihil + verb sum) and frequential (wider representation of nihil in the corpus and over time). In poetry, 12 occurrences in which the form [est aliquid] enhances the subject regarding its advantage constitute an Ovidian Textual Motif of which we give a formal, semantic and functional definition.