The Hittite periphrastic perfect

In Hittite, the meaning associated with the Proto-Indo-European perfect, i.e. to indicate a state resulting from a change-of-state event, was covered by compound verb forms consisting of the -ant- participle plus the finite forms of the verbs har(k)- “have” and eš- “be”. The origin and the function of this construction have been a matter of debate. In this chapter, we review the standard description of the Hittite periphrastic perfect, and reassess its status and function based on an analysis of its occurrences in texts ranging from Old to New Hittite. We argue that periphrastic forms involving har(k)-/eš- and the participle instantiate three different constructions: the stative construction and two distinct auxiliary verb constructions, i.e. the passive and the perfect. We also suggest that the stative construction was probably the most ancient, and that the perfect construction, which functions as an anterior, constitutes a later development.