OVS word order in clauses is OVS: when an object is expressed as a phrase, it appears before the verb and when a subject is expressed as a phrase, it appears after the verb. Since the head noun of a phrase parallels the subject of a clause, most noun modifiers appear before the head noun.
A relative clause begins with a relative pronoun, either the restrictive relative pronoun (RRP) or the indefinite relative pronoun (IRP), which takes the appropriate case ending and maybe be followed by a postposition. If the subject, or a subject constituent is modified, the subject is fronted.
Embedded content questions act internally like relative clauses except that the pronoun used is the interrogative pronoun (Que). Non-embedded content questions also use Que; in this case, fronting the interrogative phrase isn't needed and is usually done only with the subject.
Polar questions are formed from statements by the addition of the polar question particle (Int). This is enclitic to the first word of the sentence. If the question depends on some particular phrase, that phrase is fronted. If it's attached to the word for "no", a positive answer has been expected and if it's attached to the word for "yes", a negative answer has been expected. These may be displaced until after the sentence.
| Id | Form | Name |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | ... (#) Noun-Gen #-Class-Case | partitive |
| (b) | ... (#) Noun-Gen (#) Dem-Class-Case | partitive, demonstrative |
| (c) | ... (#) Noun-Gen (#) Adj-Class-Case | superlative |
| (d) | ... (#) Noun-Gen # Spec-Ord-Case | ordinal, quantified |
| (e) | ... (#) Noun-Gen #-Ord-Case | ordinal |
The noun must be either plural or a mass noun. If the former, the partitive or superlative classifier must be either the same plural or the corresponding singular. If the latter, the classifier must be the appropriate singular or plural for the unit of measurement.
"Spec" stands for special ordinal base: first, last, next, and previous.
page started: 2010.Jun.23 Tue
current date: 2010.Jun.25 Fri
content and form originated by qiihoskeh
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