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MorphemeAddict@hidden.email wrote:
>
> Since "tedapa" has two arguments, so does "tedapanga". Doesn't "tedapangaw"
> also have two arguments?
>
Yes, but open nouns, open adjectives, adverbs, and case tags have an
IMPLIED subject. For example:
Kiva bavi lidami zoge jizegi
= I saw the pigeons at the park.
Even though "zoge" is P/F-s, it takes only one argument - the focus.
The implied patient is one or more of the other arguments of the verb or
the entire event itself.
The same applies to open nouns and open adjectives:
Dasu kozeva bavi zoyzevaw tomo kobaybegi
= I know a friend of the teacher.
Tamenu kiva xevi begi dabusyu jisi
= Did you see the person lifting the chair?
The implied subject of the P/F-s word "zoyzevaw" is the person who is
the teacher's friend. The implied subject of the A/P-d word "dabusyu"
is "the person".
The only exceptions to the above rule are verbs (obviously), and event
and process derivations. These have no implied arguments (unless
they've been explicitly demoted).
>
> I just looked in LS and the examples of case tags have no place for the
> subject.
> LS 2.5.5.3:
> A/P/F-s: "kopanze" = 'keeping (someone else) current in'
> e.g. The company spends a lot of money kopanze its employees the
> latest technology.
> [Note that "kopanze" has two objects. Thus, there is no need
> for an equivalent to the English preposition "in".]
>
> What happens to the subject place of "kopanz-"?
>
I thought that 2.5.5.3 explained it very well:
In all cases, note how the derived case tag modifies the whole
sentence, just as if it were an oblique argument of the main verb.
Note also that, in the above examples, the case tag is tightly bound
to the subject of the main verb. For example, in the sentence:
Joe quietly left the room kope (= 'knowing') he would be called on
next.
the subject of the case tag "kope" is P and links to the subject of
the main verb "to leave" which itself is AP/F-d. Thus, the effective
subject of the case tag "kope" is "Joe". And in the sentence:
The policeman stood in front of the room kopambe (= 'informing')
us the robbery.
the subject of the case tag "kopambe" links to the subject of the main
verb "to stand" which is AP-s. Thus, the effective subject of the
case tag "kopambe" is "the policeman".
I'm curious how you would use and translate these words if the
subject were NOT implied.
Regards,
Rick Morneau
http://www.eskimo.com/~ram