170 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
an object, since a full NP cannot be replaced by a direct or indirect object pronominal suffix, hence the name complement. These verbs may be called copular
verbs; they include:
mbali become, be
ko-labhi be more than
Examples: 160 inodi ae-mbali guru honoro
I becamewas an honorary = I 1sR-become teacher honour
unpaid teacher 161 ta-kolabhi lima-fulu
there are more than fifty of 1eR-be.more five-ten
us ex 162 a-bhiku-a-bhiku ne-mbali-mo kadadi Snail became an animal
RED-ART-snail 3sR-become-PF animal The order is not necessarily S-V-Complement; the subject may also follow the
rest of the clause:
163 no-wolo ne-mbali sangku we-wei-ha-mu 3sR-finish 3sR-become forest RED-clear-LOC-your
everything you have cleared has become forest again Frequently a clause containing a form of mbali is found closely attached to a
preceding noun, pronoun or pronominal suffix, in which case it may lose its subject marker and become a deverbal preposition for see 6.2.4:
164 ne-ghondo-hi karuku ne-mbali kaago 3sR-look-TR herbs 3sR-become medicine
he looked for herbs to becometo be used as medicine 165 da-s[um]angke-e nae-mbali kolaki-no ghoti
3pI-appoint-him 3sI-become leader-POS food they will appoint him to becomeas leader of the food
166 do-mooru kapa ka-tisa-ndo wuto-ndo mbali bheta-ndo 3pR-weave cotton NOM-plant-their own-their for sarong-their
they wove the cotton they had planted themselves for their sarongs
7.6. Equative clauses
Equative clauses are verbless clauses that consist of a nominal subject and a complement, which can be an NP or a PP. Derivations involving the prefix sa-
10.2.44 and sa--ha 10.2.45 also function as complements in equative clauses. Semantically, equative clauses usually make statements about the
identity or the location of the subject. Here, subject should be understood as the known or given entity in the discourse for example pronouns,
demonstratives, nouns modified by possessive suffixes. The complement contains new information about this subject.
The usual order in an equative clause is Subject-Complement, although the reverse order is also found. The following four types can therefore be
distinguished sa- and sa--ha-derivations are grouped with NPs:
7 THE CLAUSE 171
a. NP-subject, NP-complement; b. NP-complement, NP-subject;
c. NP-subject, PP-complement; d. PP-complement, NP-subject.
a. NP-subject, NP-complement
167 inodi o moghane, ihintu o robhine I ART man you ART woman
I am a man, you are a woman 168 ihintu-mo ka-bholosi-no kamokula-ndo
you-PF NOM-replace-POS parent-their you are the substitute of their parents
169 bhaku-ndo ini se-ka-kaso-kasopa kaawu provision-their this one-DIM-RED-food.pan only
their provision was only one small pan 170 kopuhu-no ntai-ntai-ha-no watu
banana.heart-its RED-hang-HA-its that the banana heart is still hanging there
171 ka-ntisa-ku hende-hende-ha-no my crop is still growing
NOM-plant-my RED-grow-HA-its 172 gadhi-ku na-sehae-mo dua
my salary was not going to be salary-my FUT-how.much-PF also
much either 173 o laa sa-kiri-kiri
its stem is full of thorns ART stalk ONLY-RED-thorn
174 inodi sa-hunda-hunda I am all in favour
I ONLY-RED-agree 175 ama-ku sa-wanu-ha-no
my father can barely get up father-my SA-get.up-HA-his
176 awatu-ha-e-mo katendewuna-no ama-mu that-LOC-it-PF rooftop-POS father-your
that is the rooftop of your fathers house b. NP-complement, NP-subject
When the complement precedes the subject, this is because it is a question word or because it is emphasized:
177 o hae sabhabu-no? what is the reason?
ART what reason-its 178 sehae se-ghulu?
how much is one fish? how.much one-CLAS
179 o hae wamba-no ina-mu? what were your mothers words?
ART what word-POS mother-your
172 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
180 se-tanga mate kamokula-ku my parents are half dead
one-half dead parents-my c. NP-subject, PP-complement
When the complement is a prepositional phrase, it designates the location of the subject or makes a comparison about the subject.
181 awa-ku welo lambu my grandfather is at home
grandparent-my in house 182 suano ka-fumaa-ha ne wunta-no sala
not NOM-eat-LOC loc middle-POS road the middle of the road is not an eating place
183 ka-bhala-no peda-mo winto its size was like a grindstone
NOM-big-its like-PF grindstone its size was like a grindstone
184 ghonu-no ta-peda-hi-mo bhone its seed is just like sand
seed-its JUST-like-HI-PF sand 185 amba-no peda aini
he said the following word-his like this
d. PP-complement, NP-subject Again, when the complement is a question word or strongly emphasized, the
complement precedes the subject: 186 ne hamai ina-mu ampa aitu?
where is your mother now? loc where mother-your until now
187 peda hamai itu bhirita? how is it going?
like what that news 188 peda-mo anagha-nagha tula-tula-no
thus was the story like-PF that story-its
A clause-initial complement is common with the emphasized preposition soo-mo for; the subject is a referential demonstrative:
189 soo-mo bara-ndo andoa watu those goods were for THEM
for-PF goods-their they that lit. that was for THEIR
goods 190 soo-mo kamara-no watu
that room is for him for-PF room-his that
7.7. Exclamatory clauses
