4. SYNTAX
Suman refl clothes iron do-ptc is
Suman irons the clothes herself.
There are no separate pronominal reflexive pronouns for each
pronoun. The person information is obtained from the antecedent
subject.
- Aimat nao Apnao ilae / Baa[- ko ilae jaUto KrIdo.
amit ne apne liye/bha:i: ke liye ju:te: khari:de:.
Amit-erg refl-obl for/brother for shoes bought
Amit bought a pair of shoes for himself/his brother.
Sentence (7) shows that a non co-referential object does not take a
reflexive form, but selects a non-reflexive form. The reflexivization
is also controlled by dative and ergative subjects.
- ]maa kao Apnao Aap kama krnaa psaMd hO.
uma: ko apne a:p ka:m karna: pasand h ́.
Uma-dat refl work do-inf like is
Uma likes to do (her) work herself. - Aimat nao Apnao Aap idna Bar Aarama ikyaa.
amit ne apne a:p din bhar a:ra:m kiya:.
Amit-erg refl day-whole rest did
Amit rested the whole day.
Examples (8-9) can be interpreted as emphatic reflexives as well.
Reflexivization can allow backward movement as well.
- Apnao Aap Aimat nao Aarama ikyaa.
apne a:p amit ne a:ra:m kiya:.
refl Amit-erg rest did
Amit rested himself.
In possessive structures, the possible reflexive form Apnaa apna: ‘self’
is used in place of possessive pronouns such as the English my and
your. When the possessive reflexive is used, the possessor is the
same as the agent of the action or the subject. Apnaa apna: agrees with
the following head NP in number and gender. Following are its
forms: