Professional Documents
Culture Documents
noun phrases
8.1
S.l.l
PHRASES
Noun Phrases
They may
Pro
nominal NPs are discussed later on in this subsection after full NPs have
been presented; sentential NPs are discussed in chapter 10 in section 10.2
on embedded clauses.
normal relative order.
discuss~d
2S 0
281
1.
(3.5, 7.1.6)
2.
3.
(5.2.2.2)
adjective (6.1, 8.1.1)
4.
0.1.7.6)
5.
(N.B.:
6.
The particle
7.
8.
Possessor NP (5.1.2)
(N.B.:
'other' 0.1.7.4)
9.
10.
Note that there are a number of other elements that may occur in an NP that
are not strictly immediate constituents of the NP itself, for example:
(1)
the adverb laj 'very', used with modifying adjectives preceding head nouns,
and the modifier-connector suffix -V, used on monosyllabic modifying
adjectives and restricting nouns that precede head nouns (see 6.1.1); (2)
the third person plural absolutive proclitic ee,
~"hich
frequently
k'ii(~)
and
as!.~
irrealis; and
k'aa(~)
(7.1.7.3),
282
Tzutujil Grammar
Jaa7
xuumaj
she
B3-A3-began to-hit
ch'eyoj
E.g.
ak'aal.
boy
Nwaajo7
ya7;
I-want-it
water
rexkeej chwe.
Jar ijqa7n
xuuya7
the burden
B3-A3-gave cramp
to-me
(4)
In
k'o
pa
jaay.
Bl
be
in
house
Jar
aak'aalaa7
xkeek'aq
aab'aj
the
boys
B3-A3p-threw rock
pa
rwi7
on
ja
jaay.
rna
ch' ij ch' .
car
Xuuchoy
he-cut-it tree
with
ax
E.g.
,,
or Naan
283
(8) (Jar) Aa
youth Juan
the
Teeko.
There are also NPs that occur without head nouns, such as headless
relative clauses (e.g.
(I~,
then
ja
nchojmarsaani.
B3-Al-want a
red
b.
Nwaaj07
ja
B3-AI-want the
kaq.
red
c.
Nwaajo7
ala7 kaq.
The co-occurrence re
(5) If
the head noun is possessed, then the ergative prefix on the head noun must
agree in person and number with an overt possessor NP.
However, if the
284
Tzutujil Grammar
If the possessor
Apparently, this is to
markers together indicates that the referent denoted by the head noun is
identifiable (i.e. definite) but not presently given information (i.e. in
definite; see Chafe 1976).
both definite and indefinite markers together he/she assumes the hearer can
identify the referent, but also assumes that it is not presently in the
consciousness of the hearer and that he/she is introducing it into the
hearer's consciousness (see sentences (12), (14), (16) below and sentence
(123) in chapter 7).
Second, there are no restrictions on the number of possessor NPs that
may follow the head noun (i.e. head noun of NP of NP of NP, etc.; e.g.
ruutz'ii7 ruuchaaq' rxayil nnimaal nb'esiino 'dog of younger sister of wife
of older brother of my neighbor
285
far
man
wi7
chee waawe 7.
live front to
here
oxi7
cham laj
taq achi7aa7J
xeeb'e
iiwiir.
B3p-went yesterday
ral particle
B3p, the adjective cham followed by the adverb laj, the plu
~,
xkeemol
[ruuxaaq
B3-A3p-gathered-up its-leaf
tree
there
~,
the
indefinite article jun, the head noun of the possessor NP chee7, and the
demonstrative/locative particle la7.
(15) Tak'ama7
B3-A2-take
eel
a\"ay
[jar oxi7
the three
xojt
kaq
tzab'u7q]!
tile
red
worn-out
In (15), the NP contains the definite article jar, the number oxi7, the head
noun
xoj~,
286
Tzutujil Grammar
wajkax
ajkare7tii7]
nimaq
[kajilaal].
cow
ones-of-cart
big-plr
their-price
th~t
~-ajilaal
and the
(17) Xinwij 1
[jun rwach
B3-Al-found
[rxajab'
its-strap
[rk'aajool
his-shoe
his-son
[nb'esiino]]]J.
my-neighbor
In (17), the largest NP contains the indefinite article jun, the possessed
~-~ach,
hf'ad noun
another possessor NP
~-k'aajool,
~-xaj
ab', followed by
n-b'esiino.
(18) Xeeqij l i
[jar ee
oxi7
B3-Alp-found
qaakuuch chaq' ja
our-pig
fat
q'eq
that black
[kiijlJ.
their-backs
'We found our three fat pigs whose backs are black.'
In (18), the largest NP contains the definite article jar, the number oxi7
preceded by
q'eq kiij.
contains the possessed noun kiij, the possessor of which is the relativized
head qaakuuch.
nuuchoy
B3-A3-cut
[ja
nimaq
the big-plr
ja
rna
kop
taJ.
that
not
hard
irreal
taq chee7
plr tree
287
'The man cuts the big trees which are not hard.'
In (19), the first NP contains the definite article jar and the head noun
aachi.
The sec ond NP contains the definite article ja, the plural adjective
particle~,
~.
[jun wajkax
a
xuutij
[wa.Jan)l .
B3-A3-ate
cow
my-cornplants
In (20), the largest NP consists of the indefinite article iun, the head
noun wa j kax followed by the relative clause (without the relativizer) xuutij
wawan.
(21) [Ja
the
lumbriis
ch[aapaan
[atet))) qas
worm
at your-insides
you
ee
very B3p
nimaq.
big-plr
(22) [Ja
the
k'ama ya7l ja
twine bag
xinloq' 1
xelaq'axi.
In (22), the NP contains the definite article ja, the restricting noun k'aam
with a modifier-connector suffix -a, the head noun ya71 followed by the
relative clause ja xinloq'.
It should be stated that modifying adjectives and restricting nouns
following singular head nouns in an NP are always identical with reduced
relative clauses, since the relativizer
ja(~)
(23a) and the restricting noun in (23b) are identical with the relative
clauses in (24) if the relativizer is omitted.
288
Tzutujil Grammar
(23) a.
ja
kuuch
the pig
chaq'
q'eq
fat
black
ja
wajkax ajkare7t
the cow
one-of-cart
ja
chaq' (j a)
kuuch (j a)
the pig
that
fat
q'eq
that black
ja
wajkax
(j ar)
that
the cow
ajkare7t
one-of-cart
( 25) a.
cow
ones-of-cart
ajkare7tii7
some
ones-of--cart
that B3p
cow
If the relativizer
ja(~)
absolutive marker ee/e7 can also be omitted, thus making (25a) a reduced
form of ( 25b).
Prepositional and relational noun phrases following head nouns in an NP
may also be reduced relative clauses.
of (26b).
(26) a.
ja
lumbriis chaapaan
the
worm(s)
inside-of-you
b.
289
ja
lumbriis (jar) ee
k'o
chaapaan
the
worms
be
inside-of-you
that B3p
(see 5.2.3) or a measure word (see 5.2.4) as its head noun, and the second
NP has some common noun as its head.
preceding the head enumerative noun or measure word, and the second NP may
never have a number or quantifier preceding its head noun.
Also, if the
Another imp ortant fact about these compound NPs is that if the
head noun of the second NP is plural and animate, then it triggers person
and number agreement on the verb (i.e., if the compound is a subject, agent
or patient; see sentences (33) and (34) below).
compound NPs are given in (27)-(34).
pound NPs with measure words as heads of the first NP, and sentences (29)-(34)
contain compound NPs with enumerative nouns as heads of the first NP.
(27) Xinloq'
my-glass
kaji7
B3-AI-want four
Ifibra nkiinaaq' .
pound
my-bean
290
Tzutujil Grammar
two
the
riikiil xya7
food
chwe.
was-given to-me
the
wuuj
xinloq' .
paper
B3-Al-bought
poqon
(3i) Qas
really painful
ja
juk'oox
aab'aj
the
one-blow rock
xya7
chwe.
was-given to-me
'The rock blow (blow of rock) that was given to me was really
painful.
(32) Xinloq'
jutaq
B3-Ai-bought some
mook
kixaj ajb' .
pair
their-shoes
(33) Xeenuutz'et
kiln
B3p-Al-saw
jucholaj winaq
staying a-line
pa kaampo.
people in country
jupuq
x!!nwij 1
saqa
kaab'.
and (2) the non-third person independent pronouns may be preceded by the
definite article
~(~)
The independent
we
Blp
k'o waawe7.
be
here
you
ja
ak' .
291
ee
jani7 xpeq.
they
toad
wmaal inin.
xixkunax
ixix
(38) (Jar)
the
ja
chenooj
xinloq'.
the
field
B3-Al-bought
(40) Xink'aq
juun choqojaa7.
B3-Al-shot one
too
8.1.2
ja
wuuj
pa
nuuya71.
my-bag
(42) Ee
B3p
k'o
chi
koochooch.
be
at
their-house
sit 7
axe
in plr mountain
They
292
Tzutujil Grammar
that functions like a preposition, and they are normally followed by a noun
phrase that functions as the 'object' of the relational noun.
However,
formally, the RN is possessed by its object (e.g. ruuk'iin jar aachi 'with
the man' < r- A3, -uuk'iin RN 'with. and', jar 'the', aach:f. 'man').
Although the RN is normally followed by jts object (i.e. possessor), the
object NP of the RN may be omitted if it is given information (e.g. ruuk'iin
'with him').
~-A1,
-(uu)~~in).
(e.g. wk'iin
ini~
~onditions
of-you you
ja
chenooj
ja
xjosq'ixi.
the
field
that was-cleaned
(45) Jaa7
she
xuub'an
wk'iin.
way
(46) Xinch'eytaj
inin avnnaal
B1-got-beat-up I
,I
got beat up by
(47) a.
by-you
xeeb'e
Konojeel
je7ee 7
all-of-them they
xeeb'e
Konoj eel
pa wa 7iim.
B3p-went to eat
pa wa7iim.
you
,
you.
Je 7ee 7 konojeel
they
atet.
xeeb'e pa wa7iim.
pa(~)
ch(~)
293
As
~-
The
And normally, if
The
phras~s
5.2.1) .
(48) Inin
k'o
chi npaan.
B3-be at
my-insides
(49) Inin
xinya7
ja
B3-Al-gave the
kotoon
chaawe
rxin
huipil
to-you
for-her
(50) Xintz'ub'e7
pa
rxkin
Bl-sat
on
her-side
(51 ) Ja
the
ja
q'apooj.
the
girl
awaanaa 7.
your-sister
tzyaq
k'o
pa nli7
clothes
be
on its-top
(jaay) .
house
Predicate Phrases
294
Tzutujil Grammar
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
utz 'you
-'i
or by
It should be
noted that if a noun or adjective has a plural form, then the plural form is
used when the noun or adjective functions as a stative predicate, if the
subject is semantically plural (e.g.
achi7aa7 'men' plr of aachi 'man';
'big' plr of nim 'big').
B1p,
295
utz laj winaq 'you are a very good person' > qas 'very, really',
B2,
utz 'good', laj 'very', winaq 'person, people', with utz laj winaq being an
NP; in rachb'iil Aa Xwaan 'I am a companion of Juan's' < in Bl,
~-achb'iil
nouns are when the predicate noun has specific reference; that is, when it
denotes an identifiable entity.
(52) a.
Jaa
that
la7 chenooj.
field
'That's a field.
b.
Jaa la7 ja
that
chenooj (j a)
the field
that
xinloq' .
B3-Al-bought
is
prepredicate adverb such as qas 'very', really, a lot', laj 'was/were going
to (but didn't)', or anij 'always', and/or a negative such as ma 'not',
majalaal 'never', or maja7ni 'still not'.
irreal, na nec,
(N.B.:
with respect to
Only
296
Tzutujil Grammar
one of the nonperfect prefixes (see 4.1.2); (2) for subject with an
absolutive person marker if they are intransitive, and for agent with an
ergative prefix and for patient with an absolutive person marker if they are
transitive (see 4.1.1); and (3) optionally for direction with the 'coming'
and 'going' prefixes (see 4.1.4).
subject with a proclitic absolutive person marker; they are never inflected
for aspect/tense/mode, nor for direction.
Examples of predicate phrases occur throughout this work; in fact,
virtually all the numbered sentence examples given here are full sentences
containing predicate phrases.
(53)-(57)
(53) Anij
always
kik'axoon
ta
not B3-A3p-have-changed
wi7.
irreal front
(54) Nu7ujqa7j
chiCk) na.
B3-come-descend
again
nee
(55) Neeqa7j
chik.
kan
B3p-descend stay
again
ryon
only alone
nwaajo7.
jaa7
qas
she
really B3-Al-love
Mari7y
rna
ril
Maria
not
pi
ta
qas
ix
q'oolaa7.
very
B2p
proud-plr
mat
B2 person or not-B2
rwaay
winaq
ta?
person irreal
Ta
Leen.
297
before Bl fighter
Pa jaay
rna
k'o chiCk)
in house not be
b.
Pa jaay
rna
chik
wi 7.
lale7 anij
that one
[usual order]
k'o ta
in house not be
wi7.
ta
ajb'iis
[unusual order]
wi7.
8.2
8.2.1
SIMPLE SENTENCES
Tense, aspect,
and mode are referenced on verbs with a perfect suffix or a nonperfect prefix,
and with modal enclitics.
298
Tzutujil Grammar
other things being equal, that the subject has been in the state indicated
by the predicate for some time, is presently in the state, and will be in
the state for some time.
Since direct arguments of sentences are referenced in the predicate
phrase itself. a complete sentence in Tzutujil may be simply a predicate
phrase without overt noun phrases if the direct arguments are non-third
person (i.e. first or second person).
non-third person. then overt noun phrases (i.e. non-third person independent
pronouns) outside of the predicate phrase are unnecessary, since they are
unambiguously indicated in the predicate phrase.
(63) a.
'I am a man.'
In aachi.
Bl man
b.
Inin in aachi.
I
(64) a.
'I am a man.'
Bl man
Xi.nejtz'aani.
'I played.'
Bl-played
b.
Inin xinejtz'aani.
I
(65) a.
Bl-played
'I saw you. '
Xatnuutz'at.
B2-Al-saw
b.
Inin xatnuutz'at.
I
c.
B2-Al-saw
Xatnuutz'at atet.
B2-Al-saw
you
299
d.
'You, I saw.'
R2-A1-saw
referents of third person direct arguments are given information, then overt
noun phrases need not appear and are often omitted, referencing of the direct
arguments being left to person marking within the predicate.
For example,
in (66a)-(68a) overt noun phrases occur because they are new information; in
(66b)-(68b) they are omitted because they are given information.
(N.B.:
(66) a.
Xwaan rna
Aa
youth Juan
not
nuuchaaq'
ta.
my-little-brother irreal
Ma
nuuchaaq'
tao
(67) a.
Xwar
nuuchaaq'.
Xwari.
B3-slept
'He slept.'
(68) a.
Xkeetij
ntzyaq
ch'ooyaa7.
Xkeetij.
B3-A3p-ate
'They ate it.'
300
Tzutujil Grammar
marked for their semantic syntactic relation does not pose a problem, since
a subject noun phrase is the only possible direct argument that may occur
with a one-place predicate.
one of the direct arguments is non-third person and the other third person,
then no problem arises, since the absolutive and ergative person inflections
on the transitive verbs unambiguously indicate whether the third person or
the non-third person is agent or patient.
(2)
8.2.2
These are
301
they are not referenced in the predicate phrase (e.g. with affixes like the
absolutive and ergative person markers).
marked as such with prepositions (see 7.1.2), and relational nouns or prep
ositional-relational nouns (see 5.2.1).5
Word Order
8.2.3.1
In sentences with overt noun phrases and with one-place predicates such
as intransitive verbs and stative predicates, there are two possible word
orders of the basic constituents:
Tzutujil Grammar
302
I.
Predicate
II.
Subject
Subject
(VS)
Predicate
(SV)
existence of the subject is not presupposed, and (2) when the subject is
presupposed but is being introduced into the conversation.
It is also often
used (3) when the subject is new (i.e. not given) information, especially if
the subject is not human.
the subject may be definite (i.e. identifiable) even though it is not already
given information in the speech context.
when first talking about
who may be definite but not necessarily given information (see sentence (71)
below).
(69) Ee
k'o winaq
waawe7.
people here
B3p be
jun aachi
Xelaju7.
man
Quetzaltenango
(71) Ajnawala7
ja
wxaayiil.
(72) Xkami
died
ja
nuutz'ii7 rmal
the my-dog
b'eneena.
because-of poison
the subject is the topic of the discourse in general, (2) when the subject
is contrastive or in any way emphatic, and (3) generally, when the subject
is given information.
However,
303
especially if they are human or animate, then it is not unusual for an overt
subject noun phrase to appear in the sentence clarifying which one is the
subject of the present sentence.
indicating subjects most frequently occur preceding the predicate since they
are usually contrastive or emphatic.
pronouns never occur after the predicate when they are subjects; however,
non-third person independent pronouns do occasionally follow the predicate
even though they are emphatic.
fish
very
ee
utz.
B3p
good
(74) Ja
nuuchaaq'
fled
when
xch'ejyi.
was-to B3-was-hit
Max
wa7naq
chik.
before B1 fighter
8.2.3.2
In simple sentences with tr a nsitive verbs and with overt direct argument
noun phrases there are a number of possible word orders each with a different
'meaning' with respect to discourse notions such as topic, definiteness, and
new, given, and contrastive information (see Chafe 1976).
The possible word orders are listed below and then discussed and exemplified
individually.
Tzutujil Grammar
304
Patient
Agent
(VPA)
Verb
Agent
(VA)
Verb
Pati~nt
(AVP)
IIa.
Verb
Patient
(VP)
lIb.
Agent
Verb
(AV)
Patient
Verb
Agent
(PVA)
Agent
Patient
Verb
(APV)
Patient
Verb
(PV)
Agent
Verb
(PAV)
Verb
I.
la.
Agent
II.
III.
IV.
IVa.
Patient
V.
*Verb Agent
verbs but does occur with transitive verbs in the focus antipassive voice
(discussed below and in section 9.6.2).
VPA order is the most basic, neutral, 0r unmarked word order with respect
to the discourse notions mentioned at the beginning of this subsection.
VPA
order is used simply to convey information that some agent acts on some
patient.
~(~)
definite (as in (78) and (80), or unmarked for definiteness (as in (77) and
(79)).
indefinite (i.e. as new information) with the indefinite article jun (cp.
ungrammatical (78c)).
overt patient noun phrase appears in the sentence, the non-third person
patient being marked only on the verb with an absolutive person marker (as
in (81) and (82)); this situation results in a transitive sentence with VA
order (Ia. above).
sent~nces
are
usually new information, only very rarely are overt patient noun phrases
omitted if they are third person.
texts, are the only recorded instances where overt third person patient noun
305
Xkeetij
(77) a.
ch'ooyaa7.
tzyaq
b.
(78) a.
jar aachi.
jun ixoq
B3-A3-hit a
woman
the man
b.
c.
(79) Xuuloq'
B3-A3-bought two
pound
lime
iiwiir.
my-mother yesterday
awoono
(80) Nraajo7
ja
nkape.
'~y
(81) Xinruuti7
Bi-A3-bit a
wasp
weey.
(82) At rayab'een
ja
nata7
kaamiik.
kib'anoon
ja
winaq.
ja
ti
Taa7 Pala7s
Sojwe71.
Francisco Sojhuel
This order is used when the agent is the main topic of the dis
Tzutujil Grammar
306
overt noun phrase referring to it often does not appear in the sentence
(Le. IIa. above; e.g.
(85b)-(88b.
heen introduced, any transitive sentence that follows usually does not have
an overt noun phrase referring to the agent topjc, unless omitting the overt
agent noun phrase would result in ambiguity, or unless there is a change in
topic.
Thus, sentences with VP order without an overt agent noun phrase are
not third person, then usually no overt patient noun phrase appears in the
sentence, the patient being indicated only with a non-third person
absolutive marker on the verb.
person) patient noun phrases result in the attenuated order AV (i.e. lIb.
above; e.g.
is that the agent may not be indefinite if the patjent is definite (cp.
ungrammatical (86c.8
(85) a.
way.
Xuub'an
way.
Ja
ch'00yaa7 xkeetij
the rats
ja
Xkeetij
ja
tzyaq.
,
ja
tzyaq.
rat
Inin xink'ul
jun ajch'aj07m.
a
(87) a.
tzyaq.
B3-Al-met a
washerwoman
(88) a.
washerwoman.
Jar Aa
Teeko xb'ach'u7yirsaaj
the youth
ja
wuuj
pa ruuq'a7.
307
b.
Xb'ach'u7yirsaaj ja
~-ruuj
pa ruuq'a7.
Ja
b'aaq
d'isomb'al xinruusok.
Xinruusok.
'It hurt me.'
(90) a.
Ja
xten xinruuch'ap.
Xinruuch'ap.
'She pinched me.'
Sen
tences with PVA order are much like English sentences with fronted objects
or like cleft sentences where the object is in the cleft.
potentially ambiguous with AVP sentences but usually the semantic features
of the verb and those of the agent and patient noun phrases make PVA sen
tences interpretable in only one direction (e.g. (91)-(93.
For example,
in (91), where the verb is tijooj 'to eat', only the animal ch'ooyaa7 'rats'
can be interpreted as the agent, and only tzyaq 'clothes' can be interpreted
as the patient, since clothes do not eat but can be eaten.
However, a few
cases have been recorded where (out of context) true ambiguity might arise.
For example, sentence (94) seems potentially ambiguous since both agent and
patient are human.
jwees 'the judge' had been talking to various other people earlier in the
text, and then later talks to najb'ey martooma 'first steward'.
makes clear who is talking to whom.
The context
not syntactically ambiguous with AVP order even out of context, since
normally AVP order does not allow an agent that is not marked as definite
(with
ja(~)
tzyaq
xkeetij
ja
ch'ooyaa7.
Tzutujll Grammar
308
(92) Ja
Aa
k'atan nuuna7
Toor.
the heat
'The heat, Salvador feels (= it's the heat that Salvador feels).
jar aab'aj.
wedge
'A wedge, the rock requires (= it's a wedge that the rock
requires). '
ja
first
jwees.
trast the patient, when the agent is the main topic of the discourse (as the
agent is in AVP order).
definite and given, and therefore an overt noun phrase referring to it often
does not appear in the sentence.
kaxlaway nk'aayiij.
Jar
ajnawala7
the
one-of-Nahuala bread
BJ-AJ-sells
b.
Kaxlaway nk'aayiij.
'Bread,
(96) a.
Jar
iinin xa
the
itzeeneem nsamaajiij.
only sorcery
BJ-AJ-work
Xa
itzeeneem nsamaajiij.
'Only sorcery,
(97) Ja
the heron
only
fish
BJp-AJ-eats
'Only fish, the heron eats (= it's only fish that the heron
eats). '
309
PAV order does not occur with normal active transitive verbs.
used only with transitive verhs in the focus antipassive voice.
It is
The function
(N.B.:
man
B3-hit-foc
'The woman, it was a man who hit her (= it was a man who hit the
woman) . '
(99)
Ja
tzyaq
ch'ooyaa7 x eetijowi.
B3p-ate-foc
Bl have-fixed-foc
tences with one-place predicates, either the subject follows the predicate,
and then the subject is followed by the oblique argument(s); or the subject
precedes the predicate, which is then followed by the oblique argument(s).
Of course an overt subject noun phrase ma y be omitted if it is definite and
given information (see section 8.2.1), in which case the oblique arguments
immediately follow the predicate.
Word Order of Oblique Arguments
in Se ntences With One-Place Predicates
I.
Predicate
Subject
Oblique(s)
II.
(Subject)
Predicate
Oblique (s)
Tzutujil Grammar
310
(101) a.
K'ooli ja
be
b'eey
the road
woochooch.
pa
rixkin
on
its-side my-house
Ja
b'eey k'o
the road
be
pa
rixkin
woochooch.
on
its-side my-house
K'o
pa rixkin woochooch.
(02) a.
Liix
pa rk'axwaach
Xb' e
Aa
went
Aa
Xwaan.
youth Juan
xb'e
pa
rk'axwaach Aa
in
his~stead
Aa
Liix
Xb' e
,
Juan.
youth Juan
pa rk'axwaach Aa Xwaan.
(103) a.
Xwaan.
Xkam ja
nutz'ii7 rmal
b'eneena.
because-of poison
Ja
the my-dog
b'eneena.
Xkam
rmal
b'eneena.
in section 8.2.3.2, overt agent and/or patient noun phrases may be omitted.
Word Order of Oblique Arguments
in Transitive Sentences
(Agent)
Verb
(Patient)
Oblique (s)
311
(104) a.
Inin xinya7
Aa
youth Juan
B3-Al-gave
huipil to
for
his-sister
c.
Xinya7
chee
rxiin.
B3-A3-cut tree
with
pujyu7.
machete in-mountain
(106) a.
Ja
nnimaal
xuuloq'
for
our-mother
pa k'ayib'al.
in market
'My older brother bought corn for our mother in the
market. '
b.
Xuuloq'
rxin
pa k'ayib'al.
Note that no occurrences of the order VPA Oblique have been recorded.
How
ever, if the patient i s not third person and is referenced only in the verb
(i.e. no independent personal pronoun is also used to reference the patient),
then the agent may follow the verb and then be followed by the oblique a rgument(s):
Verb
(107) Xinruuti7
B1-A3-bit
Agent
Oblique(s)
jun
ajqaaq
xe7
weey.
wasp
Tzutujil Grammar
312
As far as
is known, no other argument may intervene between a verb and its pRtient.
Compare (108) with (104).
chee
Aa
B3-Al-gave to
youth Juan
huipil for
his-sister
fronted, the verb must be followed by the fronting particle wi7 (see section
7.1.7.2).
then the fronted oblique argument occurs after the agent before the verb.
No more than one oblique argument may be fronted at a time:
(Agent) Oblique Verb + wi7 (Patient) (Oblique(s))
Fronting of oblique arguments is exemplified and discussed in detail in
section 9.3 of the following chapter.
Xwaan xinya7
Aa
youth Juan
to
wi7
B3-Al-gave
jun kotoon
front a
huipil
rxin raanaa 7.
for his-sister
, To Juan, I gave a huipil for his sister.
(l10) Jar aachi tza7n machat
the man
with
xuuchoy
wi7
chee7 pujyu7.
in-mountain
nnimaal
pa k'ayib'al xuuloq'
wi7
B3-A3-bought front
for
our-mother
'In the market, my older brother bought corn for our mother.'
313
It should be stated that benefactives are never fronted before the verb
by themselves.
the verb.
E.g.
xinloq'
the corn
pa k'ayib'al.
our-mother B3-Al-bought
in market
xchoyb'ej
chee7 pujyu7.
in-mountain
'It's with a machete that the man cut trees in the mountains.'
Usually, no more than two oblique arguments occur in a single clause,
and clauses with more than three have not been recorded.
locatives follow other ones, but benefactives have been recorded before
datives, and locatives before benefactives.
Xinya7
huipil to
B3-Al-gave a
youth Juan for
, I gave a huipil to Juan for his sister. ,
b. Xinya7
chee Aa Xwaan.
Xinloq'
B3-Al-bought corn
for
my-mother
his-sister
pa k'ayib'al.
in market
Tzutujil Grarrunar
314
The normal marker of a dative argument is the prepositionalrelational noun chee (see section 5.1.2).
the dative argument; while in the (b) examples, the possessor of the patient
is the semantic dative.
(116) a.
Ja
taa7
rna
tuuya7
paq
chee rxaayiil.
Ja
rna
Taa7
tuuya7
rpaq
his-wife
rxaayiil.
the Senor
b.
to
ka7i7 awan
chwe.
corn-plant to-me
ka7i7 wawan.
my-corn-plant
8.2.4
person singular.
K'ooli is used to predicate the existence of something; e.g.
(118) a.
K'o
paq.
exist money
'There is money (= money exists).'
315
b. Ee
k'o
jule 7 winaq
xeenuutz'et.
people B3p-A1-saw
jun mooso
has-existed a
waawe7.
Ladino here
paq?
ja
where be
Ja
k'o chpaan
paq
the money be
nb'oorsa.
inside-of my-pocket
B'aar ee
k'o wi7
where B3p be
ja
winaq?
Ee
k'o waawe7
B3p be
here
,
'They're here.
e.
Waawe7 ee
k'o wi7.
here
be
B3p
'Here they
,
are.
front
atet?
front you
Pa jaay
in k'o wi7
In k'o pa jaay.
in house
B1 be
B1 be in house
, I am in the house.
front
,
am) .
La at k'ooli, Xwaana?
Juana
Q B2 be
'Are you (here/there), Juana?'
h.
In k' ooli.
B1 be
, I am.
316
Tzutujil Grammar
In sentences
If an overt
(120) a.
(Inin) k'o
I
npaq.
exist my-money
Ja
winaq
k'o
kipaq.
their-money
K'o kipaq.
'They have money.'
d.
(Atet) k'o
you
jun aatz'ii7.
exist
your-dog
'not',
lrreal)
'not exist,
However, majuun
(121 ) a.
Ma
k'o
ta
paq.
Majun paq.
k'o ta
winaq
rnee
people
not-R3p be
npaq.
,I
ta
none
my-money
money
waawe7.
irreal here
I
~
k'o
none
,
money.
Notes to Chapter 8
1.
ja(~)
In some sense this statement may be misleading since the definite article
is related to, or is a short form of, the third person independent
wa~
2.
article jun is a short form of the number juun 'one', and many quantifiers
are composed of
~(un)
~alik
5.2.2.2).
3.
~i 7xik
Even verbs
(i)
a.
Xuuya 7.
'He put/placed/located it.'
b.
Xuuya7 chee.
'He gave it to him' (or perhaps more literally:
'He placed it to/at him').
(ii) a.
Xb' iij .
'He said it.'
317
Tzutujil Grammar
318
b.
Xb'ij chee.
4.
as well as 'Subject'
human (or at least animate) and volitional, and they initiate and
control activities.
patients par
(Dayley 1981:7)
's'
(2) jussives (e.g. I order you to X) where the P of the main verb
319
The use of the terms 'agent', 'patient'. 's' (= subject of IV). and 'Sub
ject' in Dayley (1981) closely parallels that of Dixon (1979). except that
Dixon uses '0' (= object) instead of 'patient'.
5.
a number of
place names are inherently locative, and therefore do not take overt prepo
sitions or relational nouns marking them as oblique (see section 5.2.7).
6.
In this section 'V' is used as a general cover symbol for any type of
Sentences with overt agent noun phrases, but without overt third person
patient noun phrases, usually do not occur in the order AV, if the verb is
an active transitive verb.
patient noun phrases do occur in AV order with transitive verbs in the focus
antipassive voice (see section 9.6.2).
8.