Constituent order in NPs 215
In (157), the adjective koros ‘thin’, which modifies the head N koceng ‘cat’,
follows the possessor Nabun. The same is true of the adjectival modifier laju
‘old’ and the possessor Hasan in (158). While rarer, the order N - Adj - Poss is
possible as well.^6
(159) Koceng koros-sa Nabun ngeco' juko'.
cat thin-DEF Nabun AV.steal fish
‘Nabun’s skinny cat stole the fish.’
(160) Engko’ melle bengko laju-na Hasan.
I AV.buy house old-DEF Hasan
‘I bought Hasan’s old house.’
With the N - Adj - Poss order, the adjective takes the definite morpheme, result-
ing in korossa in (159) and lajuna in (160).
When there is more than a single adjectival modifier, the preferred struc-
ture is for the adjectives to follow the possessor in a relative clause (161a).
Stacked (161b) or coordinated (161c) adjectives in pre-possessor position are
ungrammatical.
(161) a. Koceng-nga Nabun se koros ban lapar ngeco' juko'.
cat-DEF Nabun REL thin and hungry AV.steal fish
‘Nabun’s skinny hungry cat stole the fish.’
lit. ‘Nabun’s cat that is skinny and hungry stole the fish.’
b. Koceng koros laparra Nabun ngeco' juko'.
c. Koceng koros ban laparra Nabun ngeco' juko'.
Although it is possible to have one adjective in pre-possessor position and
another in a relative clause following the possessor (162), this is not a preferred
structure, the preference being for (161a) in which both adjectives occur in the
post-possessor relative clause.
(162) Koceng koros-sa Nabun se lapar ngeco' juko'.
cat thin-DEF Nabun REL hungry AV.steal fish
‘Nabun’s skinny hungry cat stole the fish.’
lit. ‘Nabun’s skinny cat that is hungry stole some fish.’
(^6) In (157) the relative clause se koros can also be interpreted as modifying Nabun
resulting in the meaning ‘Skinny Nabun's cat stole the fish’. However, (158) does not
yield a similar ambiguity because the adjective laju 'old' modifies things and not people.
So, *Hasan se laju is ill-formed as laju cannot refer to Hasan.