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Лаборатория типологического изучения языков    Институт лингвистических исследований РАН

Italian

Contributed by Chiara Naccarato. The data were gathered in 2022.

C.N.'s photo

How to cite

Naccarato, Chiara. 2022. Nominal causal constructions in Italian. In: Say, Sergey, Natalia Logvinova, Elizaveta Zabelina, and Natalia Zaika (eds.). 2022–. NoCaCoDa: Typological database of nominal causal constructions. St. Petersburg: Institute for Linguistic Studies, RAS. (Data first published on December 1, 2022; last revised on December 1, 2022). (Available online at https://nocacoda.info. Accessed on .)



1

Status: main; causal marker: per

il foulard si è bagnato per le lacrime
def . m . sg headscarf refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg get_wet. pst . ptcp . m for def . f . pl tear. pl
The handerchief got soaked from tears.

1

Status: alternate; causal marker: a causa di

il foulard si è bagnato a causa delle lacrime
def . m . sg headscarf refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg get_wet. pst . ptcp . m to cause of. def . f . pl tear. pl
The handerchief got soaked from tears.

2

Status: main; causal marker: per

il ramo si è spezzato per il peso
def . m . sg branch refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg break. pst . ptcp . m . sg for def . m . sg weight
The branch broke from the weight.

2

Status: alternate; causal marker: a causa di

il ramo si è spezzato a causa del peso
def . m . sg branch refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg break. pst . ptcp . m . sg to cause of. def . m . sg weight
The branch broke from the weight.

3

Status: main; causal marker: per

la donna tossisce per il fumo
def . f . sg woman caugh. prs .3 sg for def . m . sg smoke
The woman is coughing because of the smoke.

3

Status: alternate; causal marker: a causa di

la donna tossisce a causa del fumo
def . f . sg woman caugh. prs .3 sg to cause of. def . m . sg smoke
The woman is coughing because of the smoke.

4

Status: main; causal marker: n.a.

non vediamo la riva perché c’ è buio
neg see. prs .1 pl def . f . sg shore because loc . pron be. prs .3 sg darkness
We can’t see the shore because it is dark.
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the causing event is expressed as a dependent clause, not a noun phrase.

4

Status: alternate; causal marker: per

non vediamo la riva per il buio
neg see. prs .1 pl def . f . sg shore for def . m . sg darkness
We can’t see the shore because of the darkness.

4

Status: alternate; causal marker: a causa di

non vediamo la riva a causa del buio
neg see. prs .1 pl def . f . sg shore to cause of. def . m . sg darkness
We can’t see the shore because of the darkness.

5

Status: main; causal marker: per

hanno arrestato l’ uomo per errore
have. prs .3 pl arrest. pst . ptcp . m . sg def . m . sg man for mistake
The man was arrested by mistake.

6

Status: main; causal marker: per

l’ albero è caduto per il vento
def . m . sg tree be. prs .3 sg fall. pst . ptcp . m . sg for def . m . sg wind
The tree fell because of the wind.

6

Status: alternate; causal marker: a causa di

l’ albero è caduto a causa del vento
def . m . sg tree be. prs .3 sg fall. pst . ptcp . m . sg to cause of. def . m . sg wind
The tree fell because of the wind.

7

Status: main; causal marker: n.a.

l’ uomo è morto fulminato
def . m . sg man be. prs .3 sg die. pst . ptcp . m . sg fulminate. pst . ptcp . m . sg
The man died electrocuted.
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the causing event is expressed as a dependent clause, not a noun phrase.

7

Status: alternate; causal marker: n.a.

l’ uomo è stato fulminato dalla corrente
def . m . sg man be. prs .3 sg be. pst . ptcp . m . sg fulminate. pst . ptcp . m . sg from. def . f . sg electricity
The man got hit by the electricity.
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the expected causal noun phrase is expressed as the grammatical subject.

8

Status: main; causal marker: per

la donna si è svegliata per il rumore
def . f . sg woman refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg wake_up. pst . ptcp . f . sg for def . m . sg noise
The woman woke up from the noise.

8

Status: alternate; causal marker: a causa di

la donna si è svegliata a causa del rumore
def . f . sg woman refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg wake_up. pst . ptcp . f . sg to cause of. def . m . sg noise
The woman woke up from the noise.

9

Status: main; causal marker: n.a.

l’ uomo ha mal di testa perché ha bevuto troppa birra
def . m . sg man have. prs .3 sg ache of head because have. prs .3 sg drink. pst . ptcp . m . sg too_much. f . sg beer
The man has a headache because he has drunk a lot of beer.
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the causing event is expressed as a dependent clause, not a noun phrase.

9

Status: alternate; causal marker: per

l’ uomo ha mal di testa per la troppa birra
def . m . sg man have. prs .3 sg ache of head for def . f . sg too_much. f . sg beer
The man has a headache because of too much beer.

9

Status: alternate; causal marker: a causa di

l’ uomo ha mal di testa a causa della troppa birra
def . m . sg man have. prs .3 sg ache of head to cause of. def . f . sg too_much. f . sg beer
The man has a headache because of too much beer.

10

Status: main; causal marker: per

la donna si è messa a ridere per il cucciolo
def . f . sg woman refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg put. pst . ptcp . f . sg to laugh. inf for def . m . sg puppy
The woman laughed at the puppy.

11

Status: main; causal marker: n.a.

l’ uomo è morto perché ha mangiato un pesce velenoso
def . m . sg man be. prs .3 sg die. pst . ptcp . m . sg because have. prs .3 sg eat. pst . ptcp . m . sg a. m . sg fish poisonous. m . sg
The man died because he has eaten a poisonous fish.
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the causing event is expressed as a dependent clause, not a noun phrase.

11

Status: alternate; causal marker: a causa di

l’ uomo è morto a causa di un pesce velenoso
def . m . sg man be. prs .3 sg die. pst . ptcp . m . sg to cause of a. m . sg fish poisonous. m . sg
The man died from a poisonous fish.

12

Status: main; causal marker: di

la ragazza è soddisfatta del suo voto
def . f . sg girl be. prs .3 sg satisfied. f . sg of. def . m . sg poss .3 sg . m . sg grade
The girl is satisfied with her grade.

13

Status: main; causal marker: per

la donna si è arrabbiata per le parole del marito
def . f . sg woman refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg get_angry. pst . ptcp . f . sg for def . f . pl word. pl of. def . m . sg husband
The wife was angered by her husband’s words.

14

Status: main; causal marker: di

il bambino è entusiasta di questa idea
def . m . sg child be. prs .3 sg enthusiastic. sg of this. f . sg idea
The boy was thrilled by this idea.

15

Status: main; causal marker: per

l’ uomo era debole per la fame
def . m . sg man be. ipf .3 sg weak. sg for def . f . sg hunger
The man was weakened by hunger.

16

Status: main; causal marker: di

l’ uomo è morto di fame
def . m . sg man be. prs .3 sg die. pst . ptcp . m . sg of hunger
The man died of starvation.

17

Status: main; causal marker: da

l’ uomo urla dal male
def . m . sg man scream. prs .3 sg from. def . m . sg pain
The man screamed from the pain.

17

Status: alternate; causal marker: per

l’ uomo urla per il male
def . m . sg man scream. prs .3 sg for def . m . sg pain
The man screamed from the pain.

18

Status: main; causal marker: da

la donna trema dal freddo
def . f . sg woman shiver. prs .3 sg from. def . m . sg cold
The woman is shivering from the cold.

18

Status: alternate; causal marker: per

la donna trema per il freddo
def . f . sg woman shiver. prs .3 sg for def . m . sg cold
The woman is shivering from the cold.

19

Status: main; causal marker: per

il bambino si è messo a piangere per lo spavento
def . m . sg child refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg put. pst . ptcp . m . sg to cry. inf for def . m . sg fright
The child began to cry out of fear.

19

Status: alternate; causal marker: da

il bambino si è messo a piangere dallo spavento
def . m . sg child refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg put. pst . ptcp . m . sg to cry. inf from. def . m . sg fright
The child began to cry out of fear.

20

Status: main; causal marker: per

il bambino si è messo a ridere per la contentezza
def . m . sg child refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg put. pst . ptcp . m . sg to laugh. inf for def . f . sg joy
The child began to laugh with joy.

20

Status: alternate; causal marker: da

il bambino si è messo a ridere dalla contentezza
def . m . sg child refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg put. pst . ptcp . m . sg to laugh. inf from. def . f . sg joy
The child began to laugh with joy.

21

Status: main; causal marker: per

il bambino si è nascosto nel capanno per la paura
def . m . sg child refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg hide. pst . ptcp . m . sg in. def . m . sg shed for def . f . sg fear
The child hid in the barn out of fear.

21

Status: alternate; causal marker: da

il bambino si è nascosto nel capanno dalla paura
def . m . sg child refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg hide. pst . ptcp . m . sg in. def . m . sg shed from. def . f . sg fear
The child hid in the barn out of fear.

22

Status: main; causal marker: per

l’ uomo è stato zitto per modestia
def . m . sg man be. prs .3 sg be. pst . ptcp . m . sg silent. m . sg for modesty
The man kept silent out of modesty.

23

Status: main; causal marker: per

la donna per la paura ha preso il braccio la mano del fratello
def . f . sg woman for def . f . sg fear have. prs .3 sg take. pst . ptcp . m . sg def . m . sg arm def . f . sg hand of. def . m . sg brother
The woman grabbed her brother’s hand in fear.

23

Status: alternate; causal marker: da

la donna dalla paura ha preso il braccio la mano del fratello
def . f . sg woman from. def . f . sg fear have. prs .3 sg take. pst . ptcp . m . sg def . m . sg arm def . f . sg hand of. def . m . sg brother
The woman grabbed her brother’s hand in fear.

24

Status: main; causal marker: per

la donna è stanca per il lavoro
def . f . sg woman be. prs .3 sg tired. f . sg for def . m . sg work
The woman is tired from work.

24

Status: alternate; causal marker: a causa di

la donna è stanca a causa del lavoro
def . f . sg woman be. prs .3 sg tired. f . sg to cause of. def . m . sg work
The woman is tired from work.

25

Status: main; causal marker: per

la donna non riesce ad addormentarsi per le zanzare
def . f . sg woman neg succeed. prs .3 sg to fall_asleep. inf . refl for def . f . pl mosquito. pl
The woman can’t fall asleep because of the mosquitoes.

25

Status: alternate; causal marker: a causa di

la donna non riesce ad addormentarsi a causa delle zanzare
def . f . sg woman neg succeed. prs .3 sg to fall_asleep. inf . refl to cause of. def . f . pl mosquito. pl
The woman can’t fall asleep because of the mosquitoes.

26

Status: main; causal marker: per

l’ acqua sembra chiara per il riflesso della luna
def . f . sg water seem. prs .3 sg clear. f . sg for def . m . sg reflection of. def . f . sg moon
The water looks bright because of the moon.

27

Status: main; causal marker: grazie a

la caccia dell’ uomo è stata proficua grazie al cane
def . f . sg hunting of. def . m . sg man be. prs .3 sg be. pst . ptcp . f . sg fruitful. f . sg thanks to. def . m . sg dog
The hunt of the man was successful thanks to his dog.

27

Status: alternate; causal marker: per merito di

la caccia dell’ uomo è stata proficua per merito del cane
def . f . sg hunting of. def . m . sg man be. prs .3 sg be. pst . ptcp . f . sg fruitful. f . sg for merit of. def . m . sg dog
The hunt of the man was successful thanks to his dog.

28

Status: main; causal marker: con

la moglie si è arrabbiata con il marito
def . f . sg wife refl .3 sg be. prs .3 sg get_angry. pst . ptcp . f . sg with def . m . sg husband
The wife was angry at her husband.

29

Status: main; causal marker: per colpa di

la donna ha fatto tardi al lavoro per colpa del marito
def . f . sg woman have. prs .3 sg make. pst . ptcp . m . sg late to. def . m . sg work for fault of. def . m . sg husband
The woman was late for work because of her husband.

30

Status: main; causal marker: a causa di

le persone sono morte a causa del terremoto
def . f . pl person. pl be. prs .3 pl die. pst . ptcp . f . pl to cause of. def . m . sg earthquake
The people died because of the earthquake.

30

Status: alternate; causal marker: per

le persone sono morte per il terremoto
def . f . pl person. pl be. prs .3 pl die. pst . ptcp . f . pl for def . m . sg earthquake
The people died because of the earthquake.

31

Status: main; causal marker: per colpa di

tutte le disgrazie avvengono per colpa dell’ uomo.
all. f . pl def . f . pl disgrace. pl happen.3 pl for fault of. def . m . sg man
All misfortunes happen because of people.

31

Status: alternate; causal marker: a causa di

tutte le disgrazie avvengono a causa dell’ uomo.
all. f . pl def . f . pl disgrace. pl happen.3 pl to cause of. def . m . sg man
All misfortunes happen because of people.

32

Status: main; causal marker: grazie a

l’ uomo ha iniziato a vederci meglio grazie all’ operazione
def . m . sg man have. prs .3 sg start. pst . ptcp . m . sg to see. inf . loc better thanks to. def . f . sg operation
The man can see better now thanks to the operation.

33

Status: main; causal marker: grazie a

la donna è viva grazie a quest’ uomo
def . f . sg woman be. prs .3 sg alive. f . sg thanks to this. m . sg man
The woman is alive thanks to that man.

34

Status: main; causal marker: per

l’ uomo lo ha raccontato alla moglie per stupidità
def . m . sg man pron . m . sg have. prs .3 sg tell. pst . ptcp . m . sg to. def . f . sg wife for stupidity
The man told his wife about it out of stupidity.

35

Status: main; causal marker: per

la donna è scivolata per imprudenza
def . f . sg woman be. prs . f . sg slip. pst . ptcp . f . sg for imprudence
The woman slipped because of imprudence.

36

Status: main; causal marker: grazie a

il pilota è riuscito a far atterrare l’ aereo grazie alla sua grande esperienza
def . m . sg pilot be. prs .3 sg manage. pst . ptcp . m . sg to make. inf land. inf def . m . sg plane thanks to. def . f . sg poss .3 sg . f big. sg experience
The pilot was able to land the plane thanks to his experience.

37

Status: main; causal marker: per

il pilota non è riuscito a far atterrare l’ aereo per mancanza di esperienza
def . m . sg pilot neg be. prs .3 sg manage. pst . ptcp . m . sg to make. inf land. inf def . m . sg plane for lack of experience
The pilot couldn’t land the plane due to inexperience.

38

Status: main; causal marker: n.a.

durante la guerra le persone mangiavano l’ erba per non morire di fame
during def . f . sg war def . f . pl person. pl eat. ipf .3 pl def . f . sg grass for neg die. inf of hunger
In wartime, people ate grass not to die out of hunger.
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the causing event is expressed as a dependent clause, not a noun phrase.

39

Status: main; causal marker: per

la donna è entrata per curiosità
def . f . sg woman be. prs .3 sg enter. pst . ptcp . f . sg for curiosity
The woman went inside out of curiosity.

40

Status: main; causal marker: per

l’ uomo ha ucciso la moglie per gelosia
def . m . sg man have. prs .3 sg kill. pst . ptcp . m . sg def . f . sg wife for jealousy
The man killed his wife out of jealousy.

41

Status: main; causal marker: per

l’ uomo lo ha raccontato a tutti per vantarsi
def . m . sg man pron . m . sg have. prs .3 sg tell. pst . ptcp . m . sg to all. m . pl for boast. inf . refl
The man told everyone about it out of vanity.

42

Status: main; causal marker: per

la donna ha rotto tutti i piatti per la rabbia
def . f . sg woman have. prs .3 sg break. pst . ptcp . m . sg all. m . pl def . m . pl dish. pl for def . f . sg anger
The woman broke all the dishes out of anger.

43

Status: main; causal marker: n.a.

la donna è andata a dormire vestita perché faceva freddo
def . f . sg woman be. prs .3 sg go. pst . ptcp . f . sg to sleep. inf dress. pst . ptcp . f . sg because make. ipf .3 sg cold
The woman went to sleep clothed because it is cold.
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the causing event is expressed as a dependent clause, not a noun phrase.

44

Status: main; causal marker: per

l’ insegnante ha fatto i complimenti all’ alunno per il vestito
def . m . sg teacher have. prs .3 sg make. pst . ptcp . m . sg def . m . pl compliment. pl to. def . m . sg student for def . m . sg dress
The teacher commended the student for his suit.

45

Status: main; causal marker: per

l’ uomo ha picchiato il vicino per le sue parole
def . m . sg man have. prs .3 sg beat. pst . ptcp . m . sg def . m . sg neighbor for def . f . pl poss .3 sg . f . pl word. pl
The man killed his neighbor because of his words.

46

Status: main; causal marker: per

i bambini hanno litigato per la palla
def . m . pl child. pl have. prs .3 pl fight. pst . ptcp . m . sg for def . f . sg ball
The children fought over the ball.

47

Status: main; causal marker: per

l’ uomo ha litigato con il fratello per l’ eredità
def . m . sg man have. prs .3 sg fight. pst . ptcp . m . sg with def . m . sg brother for def . f . sg inheritance
The man argued with his brother over the inheritance.

48

Status: main; causal marker: per

la donna ha comprato questo libro per i disegni
def . f . sg woman have. prs .3 sg buy. pst . ptcp . m . sg this. m . sg book for def . m . pl drawing. pl
The woman bought the book because of the pictures.

49

Status: main; causal marker: n.a.

la donna ha deciso di non vedere l’ amica perché era di cattivo umore
def . f . sg woman have. prs .3 sg decide. pst . ptcp . m . sg of neg see. inf def . f . sg friend because be. ipf .3 sg of bad. m . sg mood
The woman canceled plans with her friend because she was in bad mood.
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the causing event is expressed as a dependent clause, not a noun phrase.

50

Status: main; causal marker: n.a.

a giudicare dalle pozzanghere stanotte è piovuto
to judge. inf from. def . f . pl pool. pl tonight be. prs .3 sg rain. pst . ptcp . m . sg
Judging by the puddles, it rained last night.
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the causing event is expressed as a dependent clause, not a noun phrase.

51

Status: main; causal marker: n.a.

a giudicare dalle bolle l’ acqua sta già bollendo
to judge. inf from. def . f . pl bubble. pl def . f . sg water stay. prs .3 sg already boil. ger
Judging by the bubbles, the water is boiling.
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the causing event is expressed as a dependent clause, not a noun phrase.

52

Status: main; causal marker: n.a.

entra in casa ché fa freddo
enter. imp .2 sg in house because make. prs .3 sg cold
Come into the house, because it is cold.
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the expression corresponding to the causing event is not a syntactic dependent of the expression corresponding to the caused event.

53

Status: main; causal marker: n.a.

dov’ è il mio maglione pesante
where be. prs .3 sg def . m . sg poss .1 sg . m . sg sweater thick. sg
Where is my thick sweater?
Note: This translation is not included in the database because the causing event is not explicitly expressed.

54

Status: main; causal marker: secondo

secondo le regole matematiche questo numero non può essere minore di uno
according_to def . f . pl rule. pl mathematical. f . pl this. m . sg number neg can.3 sg be. inf minor. sg of one
Per mathematical law, this number cannot be less than one.

54

Status: alternate; causal marker: per

per le regole matematiche questo numero non può essere minore di uno
for def . f . pl rule. pl mathematical. f . pl this. m . sg number neg can.3 sg be. inf minor. sg of one
Per mathematical law, this number cannot be less than one.