Adjectival modification 207
(117) a. Kaka' ngakan geddhang pettong biggi'.
eld.brother AV.eat banana seven seed
‘Big Brother ate seven bananas.’
b. Kaka' ngakan pettong biggi' geddhang.
eld.brother AV.eat seven seed banana
‘Big Brother ate seven bananas.’
As with other number/unit of measure phrases, the phrase may either follow
(116a) and (117a) or precede (116b) and (117b) the quantified noun.
9. Adjectival modification
Adjectival modification occurs in one of two ways. In one instance, a bare attri-
butive adjective immediately follows the noun that it modifies, as (118-120).
(118) Koceng koros rowa ngeco' juko'.
cat thin that AV.steal fish
‘That skinny cat stole the fish.’
(119) Mored rowa maca buku tebbel.
student that AV.read book thick
‘The students read a thick book.’
(120) Ina melle bengko anyar.
I AV.buy house new
‘Ina bought a new house.’
Alternatively, adjectives can modify a head noun as the predicate of a relative
clause, the relative clause following the head. The sentences in (121-123) are
equivalent to (118-120), respectively.
(121) Koceng se koros rowa ngeco' juko'.
cat REL thin that AV.steal fish
‘That skinny cat stole the fish.’
(122) Mored rowa maca buku se tebbel.
student that AV.read book REL thick
‘The students read a thick book.’