This paper presents the results of a study of the subject inversion patterns in clauses with a pre-verbal constituent in XV(S) contexts, in a sample of five plays written by Brazilian playwrights born during the 19th century on the coast of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Our theoretical basis is an attempt to conciliate the gradation observed in forms exhibiting variation in written texts and a grammatical (structural) interpretation of syntactic change (KROCH, 1989). Our results show recurrence of different inversion patterns: (i) constructions with an unaccusative inversion, which may be found both in the Old Portuguese (OP) and Brazilian Portuguese (BP) grammars (and even in the European Portuguese (EP) grammar); (ii) XVS constructions, with an inversion of (pronominal) subject in constructions with non-unaccusative verbs - Germanic inversion - which seem to surface structures generated by the grammar of OP; and (iii) constructions YXV, where the subject always takes a pre-verbal position (XSV or SXV), associated with structures generated by the BP grammar (or even EP grammar). We interpret these empirical patterns as constructions generated by different structures that reflect, in the analyzed texts, a competition between different grammars of Portuguese.
Order; Subject inversion; Competing grammars; 19th century
