Inflection and derived constructions

4 VERBAL INFLECTION 73

4.9. Inflection and derived constructions

Simple verbs all have the common characteristic of subject inflection. This is not the case with morphologically complex words derived from verbs. As far as inflection goes, the following formal categories can be distinguished for these derivations, which will be discussed in turn: 1. regular subject inflection; 2. nominal = possessive inflection; 3. neither subject nor possessive inflection: a. active participles; b. imperatives; c. certain deverbal derivations. 1. Regular subject inflection. This comprises most verbal prefixes and suffixes for instance fo-, po-, -Ci, -Cao, as well as reduplication. See Chapter 10 for a detailed treatment of derivational morphology. 2. Nominal inflection. This covers not only nominalizations such as the affixes -ha, ka- and ka--ha, where the possessive suffix marks real possession, but also certain derived words which retain many verbal properties but where the agent is expressed by a possessive suffix. Nominal inflection is illustrated by the following derivations: 1. the passive participle, marked by the prefix ni-ne- see 9.1.2 and 10.2.33: 113 ni-rabu-ku what I have made P.PART-make-my 2. the temporal subordinative prefix sa- when see 9.7.1 and 10.2.44: 114 sa-rato-no when he had arrived WHEN-come-his 3. the temporal prefix paka- when just, when first see 9.7.1 and 10.2.37: 115 paka-gaa-ndo when they were just married FIRST-marry-their 3. Neither subject nor nominal inflection: a. active participle The form of the active participle is dependent on the verb class to which the verb belongs. Its formation is as follows: a. class a-: um-form + -no: kala k[um]ala-no going pande [m]ande-no know, clever b. class ae-: me- + root + -no: 74 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE basa me-basa-no reading rimba me-rimba-no fast c. class ao-: mo- + root + -no: ghae mo-ghae-no crying rombu mo-rombu-no fat Participles are used in subject relative constructions see 9.1.1: 116 mie k[um]ala-no we daoa ama-ku person go-A.PART loc market father-my the man who is going to the market is my father 117 bheta mo-hali-no maitu a-kiido-e sarong -expensive-A.PART that 1sR-refuse-it I dont want that expensive sarong Active participles do not show the realisirrealis distinction. Futurity is expressed by means of the preposition so for. The definiteness shift does apply to active participles. b. imperative The form of the imperative is also dependent on the verb class. The im- perative for each verb class is as follows see 8.7: a. class a-: root kala kala go sampu sampu go down b. class ae-: me- + root ngkora me-ngkora sit down buri me-buri write c. class ao-: mo- + root lodo mo-lodo sleep bhalo mo-bhalo answer Imperatives do not show the realisirrealis distinction, but they do undergo the definiteness shift. c. deverbal derivations Certain deverbal derivations are not inflected at all, either verbally or nominally. The following two constructions show this zero-inflection, which is rather uncommon in the language: 1. simple deverbal base following miina bhe there is no... see 7.2.2 and 8.5.1: 4 VERBAL INFLECTION 75 118 miina bhe sampu he didnt come down not with come.down lit. there was no coming down The addition of a possessive suffix to sampu is not ungrammatical but very marked. In the textual material only the plain deverbal form occurs. 2. deverbal base prefixed with sa- see 10.2.44: 119 ana-ku sa-ghae my child is crying all the time child-my ONLY-cry Chapter 5 The nominal phrase This chapter deals with the structure of the nominal phrase NP. Starting with the formula for its internal structure 5.1, the various possible heads of nominal phrases and their modifiers are discussed. The noun as head of an NP will be discussed in 5.2, the personal pronoun in 5.3, the possessive suffix and modifying nouns in 5.4, the demonstrative pronoun in 5.5, nominal particles in 5.6, the measure phrase including numerals, classifiers and quantifiers in 5.7. Relative and simple verbal clauses functioning as heads are treated in 5.8. Question words can also head an NP, but they will be discussed in 8.6.2. This chapter is not only concerned with the syntax of noun phrases but also with the morphology of its constituent parts. Word classes whose primary function is to head or modify an NP will be analysed here in terms of their derivational possibilities noun, personal pronoun, demonstrative and numeral.

5.1. Internal structure of the nominal phrase