ABSTRACT
This paper offers a wide-range discussion about conditional construction in Portuguese. Based on the parameters of the conditionality basic meaning, the discussion shows how this category is organized not only in terms of its prototypical nucleus but also how it relates to non-prototypical members. The assumptions made here are based on functionalist and cognitivist principles following Bybee (2010) and Dancygier (1998). The analysis suggests that conditionality may be conceived as a complex category that covers forvery different patterns of constructions.
Key-words:
functionalism; parameters of conditionality; conditional construction; categorization
