Datapoint Sri Lanka Portuguese/Expletive subject in ‘seem’ constructions

The element =ley 'it seems' is an enclitic that can often be translated as 'like'. So syntactically here it has a clause(or maybe just a VP) as its scope, but in other contexts its scope is narrower (aka=ley jeentis 'people like that'). Also it can function syntactically as an adverbializer, like Tamil =aa. It has no verbal characteristics.

Note that in Sri Lankan English, it seems is grammaticalized as the marker of the "reportative" evidential, corresponding to Sri Lanka Portuguese =ski, Tamil =aam, Sinhala =lu.

Values

'There is no 'seem' construction

Example 41-98:
kaar taam jakavendaley
kaar
car
taam
also
jaa-kaa-venda=ley
pst-pfv-sell=like
It seems [they] have sold the car too. OR: And it seems they have sold the car. OR: It seems they have even sold the car. OR: It looks like they have sold their car.

Source: Smith 1974-5: 1484a

Confidence:
Very certain