Subject, definiteness and specificity 179
(163) Ana' bine'-na Ina melle permen kaangguy kanca-na.
daughter-DEF Ina AV.buy candy for friend-DEF
‘Ina’s daughter bought candy for her friends.’
- As quantification denotes a specific set or the supposition of a specifically
delimited set, quantified nouns can serve as subjects.
(164) Empa' cangker e attas-sa meja.
four cup at top-DEF table
‘Four cups are on the table.’
(165) Sabban mored narema buku dhari guru.
each student AV.receive book from teacher
‘Each student received a book from the teacher.’
- Nouns modified by a relative clause can serve as subject.
(166) Mored se noles sorat a-temmo bi' presiden.
student REL AV.write letter AV-meet with president
‘The student who wrote the letter met the president.’
(167) Oreng se a-caca bi' Hadi tang anom.
person REL AV-talk with Hadi my uncle
‘The man talking to Hadi is my uncle.’
The sole type of nonspecific nominal that can be the subject of a clause is
a nominal with a generic referent, as in (168) and (169).
(169) Reng towa nyalamed-e ana'-na.
parent AV.safe-LOC child-DEF
‘Parents protect their children.’
(170) Guru ce' penter-ra.
teacher very smart-DEF
‘Teachers are very smart.’
There are, therefore, numerous means for ensuring that the subject of the
clause is specific. Nominals that are nonspecific and indefinite can be introduce
into discourse through the existential construction discussed in section 6.3,
(170) and (171).