Abstract

The «predicative» function of Italian past participles is dealt with in this article, a function that has not yet been taken into account in Italian grammars. More precisely, we analyse constructions like l’aglio mettilo tagliato (‘add the sliced garlic’). As some constituency tests clearly show, such participles neither fall under the definition of «attributive» participles, nor under the «circumstantial» function: they rather behave as modifiers of the verbal phrase. Within the frame of secondary predication studies, the participles under consideration can be counted among the «depictives». Depictive predicative participles recur very often in the language of cookbooks and recipes: therefore we use such texts as a source for our purpose.