Exploring the Moltitude of uses: Tanto and molto in Italian

Abstract

This study analyses the properties of the m-words tanto and molto in Italian. First, we will provide an overview of the distinct uses and interpretations of these elements in various syntactic and semantic contexts, and we will motivate them by analysing tanto and molto as degree modifiers. In particular, we will suggest that tanto can appear in a wider range of contexts because of its semantics. Then, we will discuss in detail the different positions that these elements can occupy in the clause, and we will avail of Phase Theory to account for the possibility of tanto to appear twice in the same sentence with distinct functions.