310 Chapter 10 Modifications to argument structure
can be omitted when the PP is immediately adjacent to the verb, reminiscent of
the omission of prepositions with verbs of cognition (section 1.4).
In some ways, the structures in (102) and (103) are similar to the
spray/load alternation in English, and, in fact, semprot ‘spray’ is one of the
verbs that evince this structure.
(104) a. Alwi nyemprot tembo' bi' cet.
Alwi AV.spray wall with paint
‘Alwi sprayed the wall with paint.’
b. Alwi nyemprod-dagi cet dha' tembo'.
Alwi AV.spray-AGI paint to wall
‘Alwi sprayed paint on the wall.’
Unlike the English counterparts, the two sentences in (104) are reported to be
completely synonymous. It is not the case that (104a) implies that the wall is
completely covered with paint, as it does in English, where this implication
distinguishes it from (104b) in that the latter does not entail full coverage. Thus,
despite the similarities with the English structure, including the prepositional
marking of both the ‘instrument’ and the theme when not direct object, the Ma-
durese structure is distinct.
Another basically instrumental construction including -agi derives verbs
from certain nouns when they can be characterized as containers. The a-
sentences represent the noun as the object of a preposition and the b-sentences
the derived verb in a propositionally-equivalent sentence.
(105) a. Ali noles pang-asel-an e buku.
Ali AV.write NOM-succeed at book
‘Ali entered the income in the book.’
b. Ali a-buku-wagi pang-asel-an.
Ali AV-book-AGI NOM-succeed
‘Ali entered the income in the book.’
(106) a. Polisi nyaba’ maleng e panjara.
police AV.put thief at jail
‘The police put the thief in jail.’
b. Polisi a-panjara'-agi maleng.
police AV-jail-AGI thief
‘The police jailed the thief.’
In (105a) buku ‘book’ is a prepositional object denoting the location of the