Based on a corpus of conversational German, this contribution will analyze complex constructions in spoken interactions. I will argue that forms and functions of pseudoclefts, N-be-that- constructions (e.g. die Sache/das Ding ist... 'the thing is/the point is...') and extrapositions with es ('it') are closely connected to their on-line processing as well as dialogical negotiation in the course of interaction. Furthermore, the empirical study shows that the standard assessment of these constructions as "bi-clausal sentence patterns" cannot be supported by data from spoken interactions. Instead, participants use these syntactic patterns as 'projecting constructions', with the first part projecting an upcoming focal stretch of discourse. Due to the force of the first component in projecting "more to come" on various levels (syntactically, prosodically, semantically and interactionally), these constructions are predestined to expand complex arguments over longer sequences of talk; at the same time, they work as a floor-holding device. Due to the formal and functional similarities of these syntactic patterns, one could speak of a "family of constructions" - i.e. the family of "projecting constructions".