High-Low agreement in pseudo-partitive constructions

Pseudo-partitive constructions of the type DP1 of DP2 often display agreement alternations when functioning as the subject of a clause, with the verb agreeing either with DP1 (High Agreement) or with DP2 (Low Agreement). Previous studies have shown that this variation is not random, but the relative contribution of syntactic and semantic factors remains controversial. This paper investigates agreement choices in Italian pseudo-partitives through an original production experiment involving 300 native speakers. The study examines the role of four factors: clause type, semantic type of DP1, verb type, and semantic properties of DP2 (animacy, gender, size). Statistical analyses based on Conditional Random Forests, Conditional Inference Trees, and Fisher’s exact tests reveal a hierarchy of factors favouring Low Agreement. The results show that the grammaticalization status of DP1, sentence type, and the argument structure of the predicate determine the structural conditions under which Low Agreement becomes available, while the semantic properties of DP2 determine its likelihood. In particular, size and gender emerge as stronger predictors than animacy, whose effect appears to be mediated by other dimensions of salience. Building on these findings, the paper proposes a syntax–semantics interface account in which agreement is determined by the interaction between semantically salient properties and their structural accessibility.