Numbers 201
(86) a. Tello na-kana' berka' ka toko.
three RED-child run to store
‘Three children ran to the store.’
b. Na-kana' ta-tello' berka' ka toko.
RED-child RED-three run to store
‘Three children ran to the store.’
(87) a. Guru-na a-berri' bolpen dha' pettong mored.
teacher AV-give pen to seven student
‘The teacher gave pens to seven students.’
b. Guru-na a-berri' bolpen dha' mored pa-petto'.
teacher AV-give pen to student RED-seven
‘The teacher gave pens to seven students.’
The pairs of sentences in (86) and (87) are fully synonymous. In the a-variants,
the numeral precedes the quantified noun, and in the b-variants, the reduplicated
form of the numeral follows the quantified noun. Speakers report that the redup-
licated form is principally used in the Eastern dialect area, although all speakers
deem it fully acceptable.
The prefix ka- with the quantifying number indicates that the members of
the set included in the quantification are considered a coherent group, treated as
though a single entity. This is illustrated in (88) and (89).
(88) a. Mored-da maca ka-tello buku.
student-DEF AV.read KA-three book
‘The student read all three/the three books.’
b. Mored-da maca buku ka-tello'.
student-DEF AV.read book KA-three
‘The student read all three/the three books.’
(89) a. Pa' Karim a-berri’ pesse dha' na'-kana' ka-dhuwa'.
Mr Karim AV-give money to RED-child KA-two
‘Pak Karim gave money to both boys.’
b. Ka-dhuwa na'-kana' e-berri' Pa' Karim pesse.
KA-two RED-child OV-give Mr Karim money
‘Pak Karim gave both kids money.’
The collective meaning can also be expressed by suffixing -an to the number, as
in (90) and (91), which adds the notion that the group exhausts the set of possi-