342 Chapter 11 Complex sentences
The first broad categorization that can be identified is whether the com-
plement clause may take a complementizer or other subordinating conjunction.
The most commonly used subordinating conjunction for complement clauses is
ja', which is translated as ‘that’ or ‘if/whether’ depending upon the semantics of
the matrix predicate and the discourse context. For example, the complement of
a predicate such as kera ‘think/guess’ can take a complementizer (35) whereas
the complement of a verb such as coba' ‘try’ cannot (36).
(35) a. Siti ngera ja' Ina mangkat dha’ Jakarta are Kemmes.
Siti AV.think COMP Ina leave to Jakarta day Thursday
‘Siti thinks that Ina left for Jakarta on Thursday.’
b. Siti ngera Ina mangkat dha’ Jakarta are Kemmes.
Siti AV.think Ina leave to Jakarta day Thursday
‘Siti thinks Ina left for Jakarta on Thursday.’
(36) a. Ali nyoba' ma-becce’ sapedha motor-ra bi’ obing.
Ali AV.try AV.CS-good motorcycle-DEF with screwdriver
‘Ali tried to fix his motorcycle with a screwdriver.’
b. *Ali nyoba' ja' mabecce’ sapedha motorra bi’ obing.
COMP
Note that the complementizer ja' is optional with the matrix predicate kera
‘think’. When it is present (34a), the sentence is grammatical, as it is when ja' is
absent (34b). With coba' ‘try’, however, neither ja' nor any other subordinating
conjunction is acceptable; thus (35a) is grammatical but (35b) is not.^3 With the
matrix verb tao ‘know’, ja' can be translated as ‘if’ or ‘whether’, particularly
when negated, as in (37).
(^3) The impossibility of ja' with the complement of coba' ‘try’ in (36b) is not due to the
fact that the complement has no overt subject here. First, overt complementizers are not
incompatible with complement clauses taking null subjects, as illustrated in (i), in
which the complementizer ja' immediately precedes the embedded verb mabecce' ‘fix’
and the embedded subject is understood to be coreferential with the matrix subject Ali.
(i) Ali a-janji dha' Ita ja' ma-becce'-a labang-nga.
Ali AV-promise to Ita COMP AV.CS-right-IRR door-DEF
‘Ali promised Ita that he would fix the door.’
Second, it is possible for coba' to take an overt subject in the complement clause which
may or may not be coreferential with the subject of the main clause. The complementiz-
er is still unacceptable in this environment.
(ii) Ali nyoba' (*ja') Bambang ma-becce' sapedha motor-ra bi’ obing.
Ali AV.try COMP Bambang AV.CS-good motorcycle-DEF with screwdriver
‘Ali tried (to have) Bambang to fix his motorcycle with a screwdriver.’