La costruzione 'con + DP + pseudorelativa': proposta per una duplice interpretazione

This chapter deals with the so-called "absolute construction", an adverbial prepositional phrase headed by the preposition 'con' ('with') followed by a noun and a pseudo-relative clause (e.g. "Con Maria che piange, non possiamo uscire"). The main aim of the chapter is to show that Pseudo-relative clauses can have three different structures, and that two different types are used in the absolute construction, depending on the degree of syntactic integration of the prepositional phrase in the main clause. Fronted 'con'-clauses select a pseudo-relative clause with clausal status (CP), while sentence-final 'con'-clauses, which are more integrated, select a pseudo-relative clause with nominal status (DP). FInally, both types of 'con'-clause are also compatible with a third type of pseudo-relative clause, in which the antecedent and the embedded clause form two different constituents.