andtheexasperatingrulesforgender/numberagreementofpastparticipleswithc - PDF document

andtheexasperatingrulesforgender/numberagreementofpastparticipleswithclitics.Oneespeciallyfascinatinguseofdirectobjectcliticswillbediscussedlater,inaforthcomingchapteronwordorder:TheycanactasasortofsubstitutefortheaccusativecasemarkersfoundinLatin,Hungarianandmanyotherlanguages,therebyallowinga\left-markedwordorder"asitiscalledin[Maiden-Robustelli].Note:Exceptwhereotherwiseindicated,allexamplesbelowaretakenfromLaBellaEstate,byCesaroPavese.ThemaincharactersinthisnovelareGinia,Amelia,Guido,Rodrigues,andSeverino.2Mechanicsofthecliticpronouns2.1Castofcharacters2.1.1Objectandre exivepronounsIntherstandsecondpersons,thecliticobjectpronounsarethesameintheindirectobject,directobject,andre exivecases:mi,ti,ci,vi.Inthethirdpersonthingsgetmorecomplicated:thedirectobjectpronounsarelo/la/li/le(intheordermasculine/feminesingular,masculine/femineplural),theindirectobjectpronounsaregli/le/gli/gli,andthere exiveisalwayssi.Twobizarreandconfusingfactstowatchoutfor:(1)leisboththeindirectfemininethirdpersonsingularclitic,andthedirectfemininethirdpersonpluralclitic;and(2)fourofthethirdpersonclitics|lo/la/gli/le|arealsodenitearticles.2.1.2neThecliticneisusuallyassociatedwiththeprepositiondi,whichinturnoften(butjustasoftennot)correspondstoEnglish\of".Thebasicpartitiveuseisofthistype,althoughEnglishusuallydoesn'trepeatthe\of":Potevacontinuareavederlo,solosediventavalasuamodella.Altrimenti,unbelgiornoneprendevaun'altra,\She[Ginia]couldcontinuetoseehimonlyifshebecamehismodel[i.e.modelledforhim].Otherwise,onenedayhe[Guido]wasgoingtotakeanother[ofthem,i.e.anothermodel]."Forpresentpurposes,however,thecaseofinterestisthatofverbsthattakedi,forexample,vantarsidi\tobrag/boastabout/of":LostranoeracheGuidosenevantava...,\ThestrangethingwasthatGuidobraggedaboutit[beingafarmer]..."Incertaincasesnecanstandfortheprepositionda.Forinstance,thereisanexpressionstaccaregliocchidaqualcosa,usedin:...nonsidecidevaastaccarnegliocchi...,\...shecouldn'tmakeuphermindtotakehereyesoit[apainting]".Inothersit'snotclearwhatprepositionisbeingsubstituted.Inmydictionaryonendsonlytheexpressionsfarcasoaorfarcicaso,andyet:...GuidoeRodriguesnonneavevanofattocaso,\...GuidoandRodrigueshadpaidnoattentiontoit[somethingAmeliahaddone]".Interestingly,inEnglishonecansaythesamethingwith\of"inplaceof\to":\theyhadtakennonoticeofit".PerhapsthereisasimilarvariantinItalian?2 2.3.1BasicrulesandexamplesOrdering:Ingeneraltheorderinggetsquitecomplicated;seeforexamplethetheeight-columntablegivenin[Kinder-Savini],x16.3.1Asimpliedversionoftheorderingrunsasfollows:(indirect)(locativeci)(re exivesi)(direct)(impersonalsi)neThemostcommoncasestobearinmindare(1)indirectobjectcliticspreceedthedirectobjectclitics;and(2)necomeslast.Theimpersonalsiwillbeconsideredseparatelybelow.(Thereisyetanotherversionofsi,theso-calledsipassivante,butitsorderingandmutationrulesare,Ibelieve,identicaltothoseoftheimpersonalsi.)Mutation.Indirectobjectcliticsmi/ti/ci/vimutatetome/te/ce/vewhenfollowedbyadirectobjectcliticorbyne.Strangely,thethirdpersonindirectobjectcliticsgli/lebothmutatetoglie.Re exivecliticspreceedingadirectobjectcliticundergothesamemutationintherstandsecondperson,astheyareinanycaseidenticaltotheobjectclitics.Inthethirdpersonsimutatestose.Ontheotherhand,thereisnomutationwhenthefollowingpronounisre exive.Forexample,inmisiegonatalacaviglia\myanklehasswelledup",miisanindirectobjectclitic(usedinthedynamicpossessionmode,seebelow)anddoesnotmutateto*mesi.Finally,thereisadierentkindofmutationthatoccurswithimpersonalsi,tobedis-cussedbelow.Attachment.Followinganinnitive,gerundorpastparticiple,orinformalimperative,theindirectandfollowingdirectobjectclitics(orne)areattached,forexamplemelo,telo,glielo,celo,velo,andsimilarlymeneetc.Preceedingaverb,theydonotattachtoitanddonotattachtoeachotherexceptinthecaseofglie:melo,meneandsoon,butglielo,gliene.Hencethemotto:\Somepronounsarestickierthanothers."Nowlet'slookatexamples:1.Chemanifreddi,|disseancora.|Perchenonvieniascaldartele?\Whatcoldhands,hesaidagain.Whydon'tyoucomewarmthemup?"Herescaldarsiisare exive;scaldarsilemaniisapossessive-actionuseofit.Thustiandleareattachedtoeachotherandtotheinnitive,inthatordersincetiistheindirectandlethedirectobjectofscaldare,andtimutatestote.InthissceneRodriguesistalkingtoGinia,andhehasmoreinmindthanwarmingupherhands.Ontheotherhand,indirectobjectsprecedethere exivesi,withnomutation.AnexamplefromCalvino'sshortstoryL'avventuradiunmiope:2.Manonetantoquesto:echebastachecominciainsinuartisiildubbiochetuttociochetiriguardaepuramenteaccidentale...\Butit'snotjustthat;it'sthatit'senoughthatthedoubtbeginstocreepintoyourmindthateverythingaboutyouispurelyaccidental..."Literally,insinuartisi=insinuatetoyouitself. 1Formathematiciansonly(andjustforfun):Thecliticsformarankedpartiallyorderedsetwithrankfunction1+2t+2t2+t3+t4+4t5+t6+t7.Theuniqueminimalandmaximalelementsaremiandnerespectively.4 re ectsageneral,verypeculiarrule:adjectivesusedwithimpersonalverbsgetpluralized.Thepresentexamplecertainlydemonstratesthepeculiarity;sierasoli,\onewas(plurally!)alone".Thisaspectofimpersonalsiwillbediscussedinmoredetailinalaterchapter.Finally,here'saninterestingexamplefromLalunaeifalo,involvingbothtypesofcisibutwiththelocativeciusedguratively.ItseemshardtotranslateandIdon'tlikewhatIcameupwithhere.Luipurtroppoavevaunmortorecentealcimiterodelpaese...Nonunmortocom'eumanoaverne,unmortochecisirassegna,checisipensaconducia.\He,unfortunately,hada[recentlypassedawaylovedone;howelsetotranslatethis?]inthetowncemetery...Notadeathoftheordinarykind,adeathtowhichoneresignsoneself,thatonedealswiththroughfaith."Herecisirassegnaisthere exiverassegnarsiusedinimpersonalform\oneresignsoneself",hencecisi.Ontheotherhandcisipensadoesnotinvolveare exive;itistheidiomaticpensarci\todealwith/handle/takecareof"usedinimpersonalform,soagaincisi.2.3.3TriplecliticpronounsOpportunitiesaboundforthreecliticpronounsinarow:Forexample,onecouldtakeanyfakere exivethattakestheprepositiondiandhencethecliticne|e.g.accorgersene,pentirsene|andthenuseitimpersonally,therebyproducingsi+si+ne,combinedwithsuitablemuta-tion.Butinpracticethisseemstooccurveryrarely.Infact,uptonowI'veonlycomeacrossthreeexamplesinmynovel-reading(well,intheearlydaysImayhavejustpassedoveranexampleortwo).TherstexampleisfromCassola'sLaragazzadiBube,andisexactlyofthetypejustdescribed,theverbinthisinstancebeingdarsi.ThediscussionconcernsthelawyerchosentodefendBube;\ilpadre"isthefatherofMara,\laragazza".IlpadreobiettotimidamenteseloavevasceltoilPartito,cisenepotevadare.\ThefatherobjectedtimidlythatifthePartyhadchosenhim,onecouldhavefaithhiminhim[theirchoice]."Herethereisadoublemutationsi+si!cisiandsi+ne!sene.ThenextexampleisfromIlQuartierebyPratolini....sentivoscorrerminellamanoilmillipiedichemicisieraalloraposato.\Ifeltthemillipedethathadjustsettledthererunningalongmyhand."Inthiscasewehaveare exiveposarsi,alocativeci(\there")andapossessive-actionmi.Inaliteralword-for-wordtranslationthephrasereads:\Ifeltrunningtomeinthehandthemillipedethattomethereitselfhadthensettled."Thelastexample,fromPratolini'sLeragazzediSanfrediano,isapuzzle.Somecontextisneededtomakeanysenseofit.Silvanaisthelatestgirltobeditchedbythenefarious\Bob",whosenicknamecomesfromtheAmericanlmstarofthe40'sand50's,Robert6 Mentreaspettavanoiltram,simiseroaparlaredibiciclette.MaGuidole[aGinia]venneaccantoeledissepiano:|Guaiatesecambiidea.Nontifareipiuilritratto|.Giniaglifeceunsorrisoeglitennelamano.\Whiletheywerewaitingforthetram,theygottotalkingaboutbicycles.ButGuidocameupnexttoherandsaidtohersoftly:`Toobadforyouifyouchangeyourmind.Iwouldn'tdoyourportraitanymore.'Giniagavehimasmileandheldhishand."Herewesee(1)there exivesi,literally\theyputthemselvestotalking";(2)theindirectle(twice),asin\toher";(3)gli\tohim"usedtwice,onceasanordinaryindirectobjectandonceindynamicpossession;(4)tiusedindynamicpossessionform\nottoyouwouldIdoanymoretheportrait".Thedynamicpossessionusesaretypical;in(4)adirecttranslationfromEnglishbacktoItalianwouldbe*Nonfareipiuiltuoritratto,butthatain'tthewaytheysayit.Noticealsothe\stressed"pronounoccuringinGuaiate.Itstandsalone,exactlywhatacliticpronouncannotdo.Thepossessive-actionconstructionalsoworksre exively,aswillbediscussedshortly.4Re exivesandfakere exivesWhatconstitutesa\true"re exiveverbisjustamatterofterminology.Formypurposesitmeansoneofthefollowingtwotypes,inwhichthesubjectisactingonitself:1.Transitiveverbswiththesubjectactingonitself.vestire�!vestirsi:Mivesto="Idressmyself"(literally)or\Igetdressed".2.Re exivevariantofpossessive-action.lavare�!lavarsi:Silavalemani,\Tohimhewashesthehands"i.e.\Hewasheshishands".NottobeconfusedwithGlilavalemani,whichwouldmean\Hewasheshis[someoneelse's]hands".Thefakere exives(moretechnicallyknownas\intransitivepronominalverbs")areverbswhichbehavegrammaticallyasre exives,butdonotinvolvethesubjectactingonitself:3.Transitiveverbsmadeintransitiveviare exive.girare�!girarsi:Sigiraversolui,\Sheturns[herself]towardhim".Oftenthere exiveverbchangesmeaningslightly,butusuallyinaquitelogicalway.Forexamplegonare\toin ate"[e.g.aballoon]andgonarsi\toswellup"[e.g.aninjuredankle;itin atesitself].4.Verbswhichexistonlyinare exiveform,forinstanceaccorgersi\tonotice"andpentirsi\toregret".5.Intensiers(toborrowatermfrom[Kinder-Savini])or\verbiconusointensivo"[Jezek].Examplesfrom[Jezek]includefarsiunamangiata,leggersiunromanzo,bersiunabirra.Theseareessentiallyidiomaticinthatthere exivepronounservesto\intensify"thedegreeofpersonalinvolvement.Iwon'tattempttomakethisexplicit,otherthantosaythatmisonobevutounabirraonmorethanoneoccasion.Adistinguishingfeatureofintensierre exivesisthatthere exivepronouncanbeomittedwithoutviolatinganygrammaticalrules,andindeedthemeaningremainsroughlythesame.8 Ontheotherhand,whenneisusedinitspartitivefunction\someof",\threeof"andsoon,itisrequiredtoagreeinnumberandgenderwithnounitreplaces(examplefrom[Jafrancesco]):Quantierrorihaifatto?Nehofattimolti.Simpleenough,exceptthatthisrulecancon ictwithotherrules,withconfusingresults.Forexample(from[Kinder-Savini])supposethequestionisHaicompratodellepesche?andyouwishtoanswer\Yes,Iboughttwokilos[ofthem]".Sincepescaisfeminineandchiloismasculine,therearetwooptions:S,nehocomprate/compratiduechili.Accordingto[Kinder-Savini],agreementwiththefollowingnounchiliismorecommon,butagreementwithne,i.e.withpescheisalsopossibile.Itgetsworsewhenre exivesareinvolved,sincetheserequireagreementwiththesubject:Elenahacompratodellepere?S,seneeXduechili,\Sheboughtherselftwokilos",whereinorderofempiricalfrequencywecanhaveX=comprati(agreementwiththefollowingnoun),X=comprate(agreementwithne,sincepereisfeminineplural),orX=comprata(agreementwiththesubject,Elena).Ah,howmuchsimplerlifewouldbeifallpastparticipleagreementlawswererepealed.Butitistoolateforthat.6Theso-calledpronominalverbsTherereallyisnosuchthingasapronominalverb.Thereareonlyidiomsthathappentouseaverbandoneortwocliticpronouns.Thetermcouldbejustiedforre exiveverbs,butwhyintroduceanewtermwhenaperfectlygoodone|"re exive"|alreadyexists?Abettertermforpiantarla,cavarsela,ripeterselo,accorgerseneandtheirmanycousinswouldbepronominalidiom.Eventhemodier\pronominal"couldbequestioned|theyarejustidioms,afterall|butiftheyhaveonedistinctivefeatureamongidiomsingeneral,itisthecliticpronounuse,nottheverb.Asawayofcatalogingtheidioms,the(innitive+pronouns)formatisextremelyuseful(anyguidetoItalianidiomsthatdoesn'tdothis,suchasBarron's,isuseless).Butregardinganyofthenon-re exivecliticsla/lo/ne/ciaspartoftheverbitselfisamistake.Thedistinctionisnotonlyofabstractgrammaticalinterest;itisofpracticalimportanceforItalianlearnerstoo.InwhatfollowsI'llexplaininmoredetail,typebytype,howIviewthepronominalidiomsfromagrammaticalstandpoint,andincomparisonwithEnglish.Discussionoftheactualuseageofthesecolorful,fun,delightfullyItalianidiomswillhavetoawaitanotherchapter|achapterthatcouldtakealifetime.6.1Verbsoftype-laInEnglishtherearedozensofidiomaticexpressionswith\it":totakeitoutonsomeone,tocutitoutorknockito,tonotgetit(i.e.notunderstand),toaskforit,etc.Usuallythepronoun\it"referstosomethingdeniteandunderstood:\Whyareyoutakingit[yourfrustrationoverlosingyourjob]outonme?Cutit[yourannoyingbangingonthebackofmychair]out!Idon'tgetit[whyso-and-solefthiswife,howstep3oftheproofworks],andsoon.Oritcanhavenoliteralsignicance,asin\That'sit!I'vehaditwithyou!"Italiantoohasmanyexpressionsofthiskind,butthere'sonelittleproblem:thelackofaneutralthirdpersondirectobjectpronoun\it".Insteadonemustchoosebetweenfemininelaandmasculinelo,andalthoughlaforsomereasonisbyfarthemorepopular,10 tookitforthemselves."Thisisanintensierre exivewithlaoccuringasadirectobjectthatcouldjustaswellbemasculineorplural,e.g.Volevoibiscotti,mairagazziselisonopresi.SimilarlyinSilone'sVinoepanewend:Lalibertabisognaprendersela,ognunolaporzionechepuo.\It'snecessarytotakefreedomforoneself,eachasmuchashecan."Nowcomparethiswithnineyear-oldMichele'slamentinIononhopaurabyAmmaniti:Eralaterzavoltacherompevagliocchialidaquandoeranitalascuola.Eognivoltaconchiselaprendevamamma?\Itwasthethirdtimethatshe[hislittlesister]brokeherglassessinceschoolhadletout[forthesummer].Andeverytime,whodidMomtakeitouton?"Tosumup:Theverbisafakere exiveprendersi.Inthislastexampleithappenstohaveadirectobjectla,theidiomatic\it".Inthepreviousexampleithasanon-idiomaticdirectobjectla,thecake.Puntoebasta.6.3Verbsoftype-seloThemasculineformloof\it"canbeusedtorefertoentireclausesorphrases,themostcommonapplicationbeingwithsapere.Totaketwoexamplesfrom[Maiden-Robustelli]:1.Oggiefesta,nonlosapevi?\Today'saholiday,didn'tyouknow[it]?"2.Lapianuraeraspessoavvoltanellanebbia,maquelgiornoperfortunanonloera.\Theplainwasoftenshroudedinfog,butluckilythatdayitwasn't[so]."Inbothexamplesloisn'ttranslatedintheEnglishversion.Inexample2locorrespondstoamissing\so"asin\itwasnotso"(conversely,theEnglishsubject\it"ofexample2isuntranslatedinItalian,beingimplicitintheverbconjugationera).Inverbsoftype-selo,thelotendstoplayasimilarrole,referringtoaspecicclauseorphrase.Theidiomaticinterpretationresidesmainlyinthese,whichinturnusuallycorrespondstoafakere exivevariantofsometransitiveverb.Forinstance,immaginarecanbeusedinaperfectlynormaltransitivewayas\toimmagine"or\tosuppose".Butnowconsider:Severinoinnamoratodiqualcunononriuscivadiimmaginarselo...,anon-literaltranslationofwhichmightbe\ShecouldscarcelyimagineSeverinoinlovewithsomeone...";alternatively\shecouldn'tevenimagine".TheloreferstotheentireclauseSeverinoinnamoratodiqualcuno.InEnglishananalogous\it"wouldappearonlyinareformulationsuchas\Severinoinlovewithsomeone?Shecouldn'tevenimagineit."Theseactsasanintensier,thatI'vetriedtocapturewith\scarcely"or\couldn'teven".OtheridiomaticusesofimmaginarseloalsohavedirectparallelsinEnglish.Forexample,Icouldsay\With82-year-oldsattheparty,itwastotalchaos",andyoumightreply\Icanimmagine[it]";inItalianMeloimmagino.Anotherexample:Dovevoimmaginarmelo,\Ishouldhaveknown[it]".ThefollowingexamplefrommyItalianlessons(thetranslationismine):Melosonoripetutotantevoltediandaredallazia,mapurtroppo...\Ikepttellingmyselftogovisitmyaunt,butunfortunately..."Thebasicverbisripetere,torepeat.Fromthisonecanformare exiveripetersi,torepeatoneself(aswellasafakere exiveripetersi,torecurortohappenagain).Sinceripetereisatransitiveverb,itcantakeadirectobjectpronounlo.Soonceagain,ripeterseloisnota\pronominalverb",itisthere exiveripetersibeingusedidiomaticallyincombinationwithlo.12 passarcisopraisliterally\topassover[aplace]",buttheuseageisroughly\tooverlookit"or\toletitgo".Inidiomswith-celatheceisgenerallyredundantfromanEnglishperspective,oratanyratethecombination-celaisreplacedwith\it".AnexamplefromPercorsoItaliano:Cel'hamessatuttaeallanecel'hafatta!\Hegaveithisallandintheendhedidit!"Infactmettercelatuttacouldberenderedas\toputeverythingintoit",againechoingthelocativeci,butIcan'tthinkofananalogousinterpretationoffarcela.Insomecases-celahasnocorrespondingpronounatallinEnglish,forinstanceavercelaconqualcuno:\tobeangrywithsomeone".TherearerelatedEnglishidioms\tohavehaditwithsomeone",and\tohaveitinforsomeone",althoughtheirmeaningsdon'tappeartobethesameasavercela.Therearealsopronominalidiomswith-cisi,suchasmettercisi.Inanyevent,noneoftheseexpressionsdeservetobecalled\pronominalverbs".Theyinvolveverbs.Theyinvolvepronouns.Andcliticpronoungrammardictatesthatthepronounsgetattachedtotheinnitives:mettercela,farcela,etc.Buttheyaresimplyidioms,nothingmore.14