Complex adverbial constructions. The case of X-mais-comme-Y-Z in spoken French

•I analyze the complex adverbial pattern X-mais-comme-Y-Z 'X but since Y Z', that involves not only two but three units of discourse.•In terms of construction grammar, two types of conventionalized constructions can be distinguished.•The first construction type is used to cancel an 'unwanted inference' that has been made relevant in conversation.•The second construction type functions as a rhetorical device to create noteworthiness by inviting a 'possible but false' inference.•The function of the second construction type rests on the speaker's mental simulation of his/her interlocutor's inference processes.

This contribution focusses on a complex adverbial pattern in spoken French. It will be argued that the pattern is used to manage inferences in interaction. Based on the analysis of different realizations of the pattern, the paper will show that it occurs in two (more or less sedimented) constructions. The first type is a responsive bipartite construction that a speaker may use to respond to locally emerging contingencies in talk-in-interaction, namely to cancel an 'unwanted inference' which has been alluded to by an interlocutor. The second type is a tripartite construction which is realized in a more monological fashion and towards which the speaker orients as a whole. This construction is used as a rhetorical device to create noteworthiness in conversation. Moreover, it will be argued that the rhetorical function rests on the speakers' mental simulation and invitation of their interlocutors' inferences.