324 Chapter 10 Modifications to argument structure
(135) b. Siti ma-tedhung baji'-eng.
Siti AV.CS-sleep baby-DEF
‘Siti put her baby to bed.’
(141) b. Siti ma-berka' na'-kana' dha' toko.
Siti AV.CS-run RED-child to store
‘Siti made the children run to the store.’
(147) b. Guru-na ma-noles red-mored sorat.
teacher-DEF AV.CS-AV.write RED-student letter
‘The teacher made the students write letters.’
Other speakers consider (123b), (135b), and (141b) acceptable, but not (147b).
For these speakers transitivity and not volitionality appears to be the important
criterion. Yet other speakers accept the four sentences under consideration but
reject sentences such as (155b), which takes a ditransitive base.
(155) a. Ana'-eng nyaba' en-maen-an e dhalem kothak.
child-DEF AV.put RED-play-NOM at inside box
‘Here child put the toys in the box.’
b. Siti ma-nyaba' ana'-eng en-maen-an e dhalem kothak.
Siti AV.CS-AV.put child-DEF RED-play-NOM at inside box
‘Siti made her child put the toys in the box.’
A small minority of speakers find synthetic causatives based on some ditransi-
tive verbs (as in (155b)) acceptable, if marginal.
Of course, the foregoing discussion is an idealization and speakers gener-
ally reject some synthetic causatives within the last category that they find ac-
ceptable, and so will accept as sentence such as (156) but not (157).
(156) Jaragan-na ma-lako Ali.
boss-DEF AV.CS-work Ali
‘The boss made Ali work.’
(157) Guru-na ma-mole kana' rowa polana ta' ng-lako-ne.
teacher-DEF AV.CS-go.home child that because not AV-work-LOC
PR-ra.
homework-DEF
‘The teacher made that child go home because he didn't do his
homework.’