Locuzioni preposizionali «evidenziative» del tipo a dimostrazione che/di e costruzioni equivalenti con l’infinito in italiano, francese e spagnolo

The main aim of this article, based extensively on corpus evidence, is to describe a particular system of constructions denoting metaphorical showing in Italian: PPs introduced by a complex preposition headed by a and containing a deverbal noun, and corresponding PPs of the <;a + infinitive> type. The most frequent forms are a dimostrazione che/di and a dimostrare che/NP. Such expressions are typically, but not exclusively, used as parenthetical comments in written texts. Constructions of this kind, which have gone largely unnoticed by lexicographers and grammarians alike, are widespread in (journalistic) Italian and can be found, to some extent, also in French and, to a lesser degree, in Spanish.