Editing Clitic (section)

=== Mesoclitic ===

A ''mesoclitic'' is a type of clitic that occurs between the [[Word stem|stem]] of a verb and its affixes. Mesoclisis is rare outside of formal standard Portuguese, where it is predominantly found. In Portuguese, mesoclitic constructions are typically formed with the infinitive form of the verb, a clitic pronoun, and a lexicalized tense affix.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vigário |first=Marina |title=The Prosodic Word in European Portuguese |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tn_bWSNjMisC |date=2011 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=9783110900927 |page=270 |quote=...according to the analysis of Duarte and Matos (2000), mesoclitic constructions are formed by the infinitive form of the verb, a clitic pronoun and a "lexicalized T-affix."}}</ref>

For example, in the sentence ''conquistar-'''se'''-á'' ("it will be conquered"), the reflexive pronoun "se" appears between the stem ''conquistar'' and the future tense affix ''á''. This placement of the clitic is characteristic of mesoclisis. Other examples include ''dá-'''lo'''-ei'' ("I will give it") and ''matá-'''la'''-ia'' ("he/she/it would kill her"). These forms are typically found much more frequently in written Portuguese than in spoken varieties. Additionally, it is possible to use two clitics within a verb, as in ''dar-'''no'''-'''lo'''-á'' ("he/she/it will give it to us") and ''dar-'''ta'''-ei'' (''ta'' = ''te'' + ''a'', "I will give it/her to you").<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Duarte |first1=Inês |last2=Matos |first2=Gabriela |title=Romance Clitics and the Minimalist Program |date=2000 |editor-last=Costa |editor-first=João |pages=116–142 |publisher=Oxford University Press |hdl=10451/43757 |isbn=0-19-512575-4 |url=http://hdl.handle.net/10451/43757}}</ref>

This phenomenon is possible due to the historical evolution of the Portuguese synthetic future tense, which comes from the fusion of the infinitive form of the verb and the finite forms of the auxiliary verb ''haver'' (from Latin ''habēre''). This origin explains why the clitic can appear between the verb stem and its tense marker, as the future tense was originally a separate word.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vigário |first=Marina |title=The Prosodic Word in European Portuguese |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tn_bWSNjMisC |date=2011 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=9783110900927 |page=270}}</ref>

Colloquial [[Turkish language|Turkish]] exhibits an instance of a mesoclitic where the conjunction enclitic ''de'' ("also, as well") is inserted after the gerundive suffix ''-e'' connecting the verb stem to the potential suffix ''-(e)bilmek'',<ref>{{cite book|last1=Göksel|first1=Aslı|last2=Kerslake|first2=Celia|date=2005|title=Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar|page=101|language=English|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-203-34076-0}}</ref> effectively rendering it in its original auxiliary verb form ''bilmek'' (to know). Suffixed auxiliary verbs cannot be converted into individual verbs in Standard Turkish, and the gerundive suffix is considered an [[separable verb|inseparable]] part of them.

{{interlinear|lang=tr|indent=2|top=Standard Turkish:
| Gidebilirim de, gitmeyebilirim de.
| go-POT-AOR-1SG also, go-NEG-POT-AOR-1SG also.
| Maybe I'll go, maybe I won't.}}

{{interlinear|lang=tr|indent=2|top=Colloquial Turkish:
| Gide de bilirim, gitmeye de bilirim.
| go-GER also know-AOR-1SG, go-NEG-GER also know-AOR-1SG.
| Maybe I'll go, maybe I won't.
|bottom=Because there is no standard form of this expression, it is also written together as ''"Gidedebilirim, gitmeyedebilirim."''}}