«<i>¡La de + N + que…!</i>» The Feminine Definite Article in Spanish Exclamative Clauses

The present study explores the exclamative use of the feminine definite article <i>la</i> in structures such as ‘<i>¡La de chicos que besé en la fiesta!</i>’ (How many guys I kissed at the party!). First, a morphosyntactic description of the pattern is offered so as to show t...

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Main Author: Juan José Arias
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-11-01
Series:Languages
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/8/4/274
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author Juan José Arias
author_facet Juan José Arias
author_sort Juan José Arias
collection DOAJ
description The present study explores the exclamative use of the feminine definite article <i>la</i> in structures such as ‘<i>¡La de chicos que besé en la fiesta!</i>’ (How many guys I kissed at the party!). First, a morphosyntactic description of the pattern is offered so as to show that the data under analysis are pseudopartitive constructions which display all the characteristics of primary and partial exclamatives. Building on research on nominal exclamatives, we conclude that these examples are not CPs but indefinite DPs with an exclamative flavor which contain a semi-relative clause introduced by <i>que</i>. Within the framework of Distributed Morphology, we schematize a set of syntactic structures which capture the ‘chimeric’ and hybrid nature of the data, these being halfway between DPs and exclamative clauses. In order to do so, it will be necessary to split the DP into smaller projections (FocP, FinP), since <i>la</i> must move to Spec-FocP to be interpreted as an exclamative operator.
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spelling doaj.art-fc4a706342ab4d1c89eef1602300d1152023-12-22T14:20:57ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2023-11-018427410.3390/languages8040274«<i>¡La de + N + que…!</i>» The Feminine Definite Article in Spanish Exclamative ClausesJuan José Arias0Faculty of Languages, University of Comahue, General Roca/Fvskv Menuko, Neuquen 8332, Patagonia, ArgentinaThe present study explores the exclamative use of the feminine definite article <i>la</i> in structures such as ‘<i>¡La de chicos que besé en la fiesta!</i>’ (How many guys I kissed at the party!). First, a morphosyntactic description of the pattern is offered so as to show that the data under analysis are pseudopartitive constructions which display all the characteristics of primary and partial exclamatives. Building on research on nominal exclamatives, we conclude that these examples are not CPs but indefinite DPs with an exclamative flavor which contain a semi-relative clause introduced by <i>que</i>. Within the framework of Distributed Morphology, we schematize a set of syntactic structures which capture the ‘chimeric’ and hybrid nature of the data, these being halfway between DPs and exclamative clauses. In order to do so, it will be necessary to split the DP into smaller projections (FocP, FinP), since <i>la</i> must move to Spec-FocP to be interpreted as an exclamative operator.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/8/4/274nominal exclamativespseudopartitive constructionssplit-DPamount relatives
spellingShingle Juan José Arias
«<i>¡La de + N + que…!</i>» The Feminine Definite Article in Spanish Exclamative Clauses
Languages
nominal exclamatives
pseudopartitive constructions
split-DP
amount relatives
title «<i>¡La de + N + que…!</i>» The Feminine Definite Article in Spanish Exclamative Clauses
title_full «<i>¡La de + N + que…!</i>» The Feminine Definite Article in Spanish Exclamative Clauses
title_fullStr «<i>¡La de + N + que…!</i>» The Feminine Definite Article in Spanish Exclamative Clauses
title_full_unstemmed «<i>¡La de + N + que…!</i>» The Feminine Definite Article in Spanish Exclamative Clauses
title_short «<i>¡La de + N + que…!</i>» The Feminine Definite Article in Spanish Exclamative Clauses
title_sort i la de n que i the feminine definite article in spanish exclamative clauses
topic nominal exclamatives
pseudopartitive constructions
split-DP
amount relatives
url https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/8/4/274
work_keys_str_mv AT juanjosearias iladenqueithefemininedefinitearticleinspanishexclamativeclauses