A Grammar of Italian Sequence of Tense - Lear

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A Grammar of Italian Sequence of Tense
interpretation is the one expected under normal conditions. In particular, note the DAR
configuration given in (49) is unavailable; hence, the relation between DAR and CD is
just one-way. In any case, as discussed below, this is sufficient for permitting the
establishing of a correlation between the two.
At this point the following question must be addressed: What makes CD possible, or
conversely what disallows the DAR? The superordinate predicate certainly has a role,
because it is precisely the main verb, which selects an indicative –never admitting CD
and always requiring the DAR– or a subjunctive –‘in many cases’ permitting CD and
not requiring the DAR. Hence, one might proposes that the DAR –and consequently
absence of CD– is a property of verbs such as dire, or the speech act ipotizzare, whereas
verbs like credere never permits it.
This hypothesis can be tested. Note that for some Italian speakers –even if not for the
author of this article– credere (believe) can either select for a subjunctive or for an
imperfect indicative verbal form, without changing its semantic interpretation. Only the
subjunctive option however is compatible with CD. Consider for instance the following
example: 19
(51) (*)Gianni credeva *(che) aveva telefonato Maria
Gianni believed that had(IND IMP) called Maria
‘Gianni believes that Maria called’
even for the speakers who accept the imperfect, CD is impossible, on a par with the
verbs of saying such as dire (say), as discussed above.
Given this piece of evidence, it follows that CD can neither be regarded exclusively as
due to the main verb, nor to the subjunctive in itself, but must be investigated as a
property stemming from the complex interaction between the two.
Giorgi and Pianesi (2004a) pointed out that in many languages, including some Italian
dialects such as Salentinian, the complementizer introducing the indicative and the one
introducing the subjunctive have different morphological forms. 20
19 . Crucially the non-imperfect of the indicative is unacceptable for all speakers:
(i) *Gianni credeva che Maria ha telefonato
Gianni believed that Maria has(IND) called
20 . On complementizer deletion in Italian see also Scorretti (1994) and Poletto (2000, 2001). On
Salentinian, see Calabrese (1984).