Superlative events. Intensifying verbs through the elative suffix issimo

Abstract

This paper investigates the Italian elative suffix -issimo as a verbal intensifier, thus addressing an understudied area in evaluative morphology. Extensive unified accounts of verbal intensification are lacking, and it remains difficult to determine the dimensions of an event targeted by intensifiers. Building on data from X, we analyse a dataset of Italian verb forms attested with -issimo, proposing an original classification of the possible dimensions of verbal intensification. Our results show that the suffix occurs with over half the verbs considered, without clear formal or semantic constraints on its distribution. Illocutionary force emerges as the most frequent interpretation, suggesting that -issimo often serves pragmatic functions. Beyond this general function, we find that the semantics of verbal bases (Aktionsart, semantic class) plays a role in determining the evaluated aspect, sometimes disfavouring a purely pragmatic interpretation. While no fully predictive pattern emerges, semantic factors shape the interpretation of intensified verbs.