Originally Posted By: Avy
Breaking away from the sports example above: Can periphrastic sentences be considered beautiful in a wild untended sort of manner?


I think they're quite beautiful. By sacrificing the simplicity of the basic verb constructions (which simplicity has a beauty of its own, related to its economy,) periphrasis adds convolutions, which - when used judiciously - are able to 1) add complexity and texture for those who appreciate such things, and 2) express subtleties of thought and expression that may be lost with simpler constructions.

As a fluent speaker of English, I still have to pause occasionally when assembling a periphrastic phrase in the course of speaking. The innumerable options periphrasis affords (as evinced by this thread) enrich and beautify our language, in my opinion.

"I don't know which is worse: ignorance or apathy. And, frankly, I don't care." - Anonymous