Chapter 6
Prepositions
True prepositions have the following features: a) they combine with a
following NP, which undergoes Prefix Reduction; b) they combine with
pronominal suffixes into fused forms (pronominal PPs); c) when the NP
complement of the preposition is relativized on or focalized, the preposition
cliticizes to the clause-internal head of the relative clause (in the case of
definite relative clauses this internal head is the demonstrative following the
head NP).
Pronominal PPs normally cliticize to the leftmost element capable of
hosting a clitic (verb, preverbal particle, demonstrative or noun functioning as
internal head of relative clause or focalized clause). In other words,
pronominal PPs are normally sentential clitics, like object and dative
pronominals and like directionals (Centripetal, Centrifugal). An example is
(269.a). However, when the pronominal PP is bracketed with a VblN that
functions, for example, as subject of a higher clause, the pronominal PP
remains bracketed with the VblN. This applies to dative clitics (269.b) as well
as to other pronominal PPs (269.c). For this 'may not' construction see
§13.3.3.(269) a. i-ll-\e udi
3MaSgS-exist-\3MaSgO butter
a-\dar-3s-\t n-asj Yds
Foc-\in-3Sg-\3MaSgO lPIS-put.Shlmpf only
'But there is some butter; ihai [focus] is what we'll just put in
it (=food).' [K]b. waer-\ha-k i-lla [ae-safu-\ha-s]
Neg-\Dat-2MaSg 3MaSgS-exist [Sg-greeting-\Dat-3Sg]
'You-MaSg may not greet him (or her).' [K-d]c. wasrAha-k i-lla [edss-Yvor-as]
Neg-\Dat-2MaSg 3MaSgS-exist [sleep.VblN-\chez-3Sg]
'You-MaSg may not stay overnight at his/her home.' [K-d]6.1 Inventory of true prepositions
The basic prepositions are listed in (270), showing the form used before a noun
and pronoun. More details are given in the sections below.
There is no specifically ablative or allative preposition. Ablative sense
'from X' is expressed indirectly using the transitive verb (PerfP) -vfvl- 'go