350 Chapter 11 Complex sentences
4. Control
Unlike predicates taking object complements that can occur with the subordinat
ing conjunction ja', one class of predicates usually requires coreference between
one of its arguments and an argument in the complement clause. At times the
matrix coreferential argument is the actor, as in (67) and (68), and at times it is
an object argument, as in (69) and (70).
(67) Ari terro ajar-a basa inggris neng Australia.
Ari want study-IRR language English at Australia
‘Ari wants to study English in Australia.’
(68) Bu Nus nyajal nerrang-ngagi jawab-an dha' mored-da.
Mrs Nus AV.try AV.clear-AGI answer-NOM to student-DEF
‘Bu Nus tried to explain the answer to her students.’
(69) Eppa' maksa Wati melle maen-an kaangguy Ale'.
father AV.force Wati AV.buy play-NOM for yngr.sibling
‘Father forced Wati to buy a toy for Little Brother.’
(70) Ebu' a-lantor na'-kana' nenggu tifi sa.ejjam aggi'.
mother AV-allow RED-child AV.watch TV one.hour later
‘Mother let the children watch TV for one more hour.’
In (67), Ari is the subject, the actor, of the matrix predicate terro ‘want’ and is
obligatorily coreferential with the actor of the embedded clause ajara basa
inggris neng Australia ‘study English in Australia’. The embedded predicates of
verbs of desire generally occur with the irrealis suffix -a, as is true of ajar
‘study’ in (67). Likewise, the verb tolak ‘refuse’ requires its actor, the subject in
the actor voice, to be coreferential with the embedded actor. Thus, in (68), Ina
ban Siti is both matrix and complement actor. Predicates such as paksa ‘force’
(69) and lantor ‘allow’ (70) require coreference between the matrix object and
embedded actor; thus Wati is both object and actor in (69), as is na'-kana'
‘children’ in (70). Unlike most of the other predicates in this class, most speak-
ers also accept complements of terro ‘want’ with a non-coreferential actor, as in
(71).
(71) Ebu' terro Ari ajar-a basa inggris neng Australia.
mother want Ari study-IRR language English at Australia
‘Mother wants Ari to study English in Australia.’