This paper aims to present how a metaphor acts in the grammaticalization process of the verb DANAR, from Brazilian Portuguese, ranging from the full lexical verb to the grammatical, auxiliary verb in constructions like: "The kid danou(-se) to cry", hereby referred to as V1DANAR + (pron) + (prep) + V2infinitive. We support that this new usage of DANAR, perceived as a marker of an inceptive aspect with an extension of action, is a consequence of a metaphorical cognitive process that involves imagetic schemes of motion and force, which already existed within the concrete form of DANAR, which justifies that this verb, although not the archetypal aspect marker, may have updated this grammatical category.
"DANAR" verb; Grammaticalization; Metaphor; Verbal aspect