Predicative gerunds in Spanish and Catalan

In this article I discuss an instance of microvariation in Catalan, which regards the distribution of predicative gerunds. It is proposed that the differences depend on restrictions on the movement of the verb: the more it is restricted, the less contexts will allow the use of gerunds. A crucial argument for this analysis comes from the comparison with Cinque's (1999) hierarchy of functional heads: in all Catalan varieties gerunds can express the aspectual values which are lower in the hierarchy. Conversely, only the varieties where gerunds are most widespread (Central Catalan) allow them to express also the higher aspectual values. In the last part of the article, I argue that there is an interrelation between gerunds and prepositional infinitives, as the diachrony and their complementary distribution within the Romance domain show