Clefts 377
b. Deni se kowat.
Deni REL strong
‘Deni is who is strong.’
(180) a. Siti se neng taman.
Siti REL at park
‘Siti is who is at the park.’
b. Tang buku se e attas-sa meja.
my book REL at top-DEF table
‘My book is what is on the table.’
However, NPs cannot be predicates in presuppositional clauses. In the case of
NP predicates, the verb daddi ‘become’ is used as a pleonastic element.^9
(181) a. *Siti se hakim(-ma).
Siti REL judge-DEF
(Siti is who is the/a judge.)
b. Siti se daddi hakim.
Siti REL become judge
‘Siti is who is a judge.’
(182) a. *Guru-na se Marlena.
teacher-DEF REL Marlena
(The teacher is who is Marlena.)
(^9) There is actually a systematic ambiguity in the cleft in (181b), in which
daddi 'become' is not treated as a pleonastic. This clause can also mean 'Siti is the who
becomes a judge'. With a future interpretation, daddi takes the irrealis suffix -a, the
auxiliary bakal 'will' is used, or both can occur, as illustrated in (i).
(i) a. Siti se daddi-ya hakim.
Siti REL become-IRR judge
'Siti is who will become a judge.'
b. Siti se bakal daddi hakim.
Siti REL will become judge
'Siti is who will become a judge.'
c. Siti se bakal daddi-ya hakim.
Siti REL will become-IRR judge
'Siti is who will become a judge.'