37.2042, Confs: Procomplement Verbs across Languages, Theory and Domains (Italy)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-37-2042. Thu Jun 11 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.2042, Confs: Procomplement Verbs across Languages, Theory and Domains (Italy)

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Date: 10-Jun-2026
From: Valeria Caruso [vcaruso at unior.it]
Subject: Procomplement Verbs across Languages, Theory and Domains


Procomplement Verbs across Languages, Theory and Domains
Short Title: Procomplement Verbs
Theme: At the Interface of Grammar, Lexicon, and Pragmatics:
Lexicalized Pronouns

Date: 24-Feb-2027 - 25-Feb-2027
Location: Napoli, Italy
Contact: Valeria Caruso
Contact Email: vcaruso at unior.it
Meeting URL: https://procomplement.wordpress.com

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics; Lexicography; Linguistic
Theories; Pragmatics; Semantics
Subject Language(s): Catalan (cat)
                     French (fra)
                     Italian (ita)
                     Spanish (spa)
Language Family(ies): Romance

Submission Deadline: 07-Sep-2026

Following the metalinguistic term verbi procomplementari coined by De
Mauro (1999-2000: xxxiv), procomplement verbs (PCVs) denotes a
heterogeneous class of multi-word verbs whose distinctive feature is a
lexicalized (i.e., obligatory) clitic pronoun or pronoun cluster which
contributes to the verbs’ semantics and/or syntax in several ways.
Based on the different contributions, PCVs can be grouped into several
subclasses distributed along a continuum ranging from transparent
constructions where the clitic retains argumental value, examples
‎[1.a]-‎[1.d], to fully lexicalized and semantically opaque, idiomatic
ones, examples ‎[2.a]-‎[2.d].
[1.a]   It. riuscirci [a fare qualcosa] ‘to succeed’;
[1.b]   Fr. y arriver [à faire quelque chose] ‘to succeed’;
[1.c]   Cat. sortir-se'n [algú amb succés d'una situació difícil] ‘to
get out of a difficult situation’;
[1.d]   Sp. liársela [la gorda] ‘to really mess things up’;
[2.a]   It. spuntarla ‘to win’;
[2.b]   Fr. y être ‘to understand/get it’;
[2.c]   Cat. ballar-la ‘to suffer’;
[2.d]   Sp. armarla ‘to cause a scandal’.
Previous research has not followed a unified approach in investigating
this class of verbs, which remains overall understudied. Specifically,
some studies frame them as a type of idiomatic expression, while
others interpret them as the result of overlapping processes of
grammaticalization and lexicalization that have produced various
subtypes. One line of research (Espinal 2009; Espinal & Mateu 2010)
has focused on verbal idioms such as Sp. pasar(se)lo bien ‘to have a
good time’, seeking to identify generalizations that would also apply
to simpler forms like Cat. ballar-la ‘to suffer’. Other approaches
(especially Russi 2008), mostly dealing with PCVs without additional
modifiers, emphasize the unpredictability of the clitic’s contribution
to verbal meaning, which may range from pragmatic values (It. che ne
sai di me? ‘what do you know about me?’) to connotative values (Cat.
fot-li! ‘do it!’, It. finiscila! ‘cut it out!’), aspectual shifts (It.
avercela/volerne ‘to have it in for’ vs. aversela/volersene ‘take
personally’), and full semantic opacity (Fr. se la donner ‘to give it
ones all’).
Acknowledging the heterogeneity of the class, Caruso (2025) identifies
transversal features of PCVs, which are attributed to two primary
types of reference encoded by the lexicalized clitic. On the one hand,
there are verbs with anaphoric value, where the clitic refers to or
anticipates an element present in the co-text ‎[3.a] or in the speech
context ‎[3.b]:
[3.a]   Fr. Mon mari s'y1 connait en chevaux1, ‘My husband knows a lot
about horses’
[3.b]   It. Che te ne faiØ?, ‘What use is it to you?’.
On the other hand, in verbs such as ‎[4.a]-‎[4.c]
[4.a]   It. prenderle [le botte] ‘take a beating’,
[4.b]   It. arrivarci [alla soluzione] ‘get it/understand’,
[4.c]   Fr. se les geler [les fesses] ‘to feel cold’,
the clitic lexicalizes an implicit argument, which is only made
explicit in marked constructions such as left-dislocation: It. le
botte1 le1 hanno prese tutte nella caserma di Bolzaneto, ‘they all got
beaten up in the Bolzaneto barracks’. In this specific analytic
framework, PCVs of the first type are referred to as anaphoric
procomplement verbs, while PCVs of the second type are called deictic
procomplement verbs. Distinguishing these two modes of referentiality
has syntactic implications. Deictic PVCs select a single unexpressed
argument; in contrast, anaphoric PVCs select an argument that is
recoverable from the co-text or the communicative context. Thus, they
take two arguments (e.g., It. me ne1 frego di te1, ‘I don’t give a
damn about you.’)—at times, with obligatory expression of just one of
the two (me neØ frego, ‘I couldn’t care less’).
Beyond referential anchoring, the semantics and syntax of PCVs are
explained by Caruso (2025) by general principles of argument
omissibility and by standard mechanisms of argument–predicate
interaction, as described in lexicalist approaches (e.g., Pustejovsky,
1998; Ježek, 2016a and 2016b). These mechanisms support a model that
distinguishes between co-text-based reference (anaphoric PCVs) and
indexical or ostensive reference (deictic PCVs), giving rise to
various verb subtypes.
A final, distinct class of PCVs comprises connotative/pragmatic
procomplement verbs, where the clitic/clitic cluster contributes
pragmatic and evaluative nuances rather than argument content (Masini,
2015; Russi, 2008). In verbs like smetterla and finirla ‘to stop
it/knock it off’, andarsene ‘to go away (emphatic)’, Sp. pasársele ‘to
miss / slip one's mind’, and Cat. espifiar-la ‘to screw up’, the
clitic/clitic cluster modulates the speaker’s subjective stance
without altering the verb’s argument structure or its core meaning.
Overall, this brief classification outlines a richly articulated
continuum for Italian PCVs, where clitics function either as argument
saturators or as pragmatic-emotive markers. Their degree of syntactic
and semantic integration determines the placement of each verb type
within the broader continuum of lexicalization and grammaticalization
processes (Russi, 2008).
The core aim of this workshop is to provide a forum for
interdisciplinary and cross-theoretical discussion on PVCs, bringing
together perspectives from all linguistic subfields. Thus, the
workshop welcomes theoretical, descriptive, empirical, and applied
contributions, as well as comparative and cross-linguistic studies.
Contributions focusing on all languages that exhibit comparable
phenomena are especially welcome, including those already discussed in
the literature, such as French (Abeillé, Godard & Sag, 1998), Spanish
and Catalan (Espinal, 2009; Espinal & Mateu, 2010), Modern Greek
(Bibis & Roberge, 2004), and Cypriot Greek (Leivada & Grohmann, 2014),
as well as languages that have not yet been investigated from this
perspective. Finally, we also welcome contributions addressing related
phenomena, such as existential predicates (e.g., Italian c’è, French
il y a ‘there is’) and other non-prototypical constructions that may
show similarities with this type of PCVs. Particular attention may be
given to the role of pronouns and to morphosyntactic aspects involved
in the instantiation of these predicates, such as agreement
neutralization (Givón, 2001, 258-262).
Abstract Submission:
The deadline for submitting abstracts of up to 800 words, excluding
references, tables, and figures, is 7 September 2026.
The languages of the conference and for abstract submission are
French, English, Italian, and Spanish. To ensure the greatest possible
mutual understanding during the conference sessions, participants are
encouraged to give their presentations in English or to prepare their
slides in English.
For further information, please visit:
https://procomplement.wordpress.com/2026/05/04/call-for-papers/.
Downloadable conference themes and call for papers:
https://procomplement.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/procomplement-verbs-workshop_call-for-papers.pdf.
Publication:
Papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication,
subject to peer review, in a special issue of an international journal
or in an edited volume.



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