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