Prolepsis 361
The verb kera is is exceptional with respect to the lack of suffixal morphology.
The pairs of sentences in (110) and (111) illustrate further examples of the -e
and
- agi suffixes on matrix predicates in prolepsis structures. The prolepsis sen-
tences are given in the object voice, reflecting the preference of speakers with
respect to these structures.
(110) a. Ita lo' tao ja' Ali la mare a-berri' pesse ka Amir.
Ita not know COMP Ali already finish AV-give money to Amir
‘Ita didn’t know that Ali had given money to Amir.’
b. Ali lo' e-ka-tao-we Ita ja' la mare a-berri' pesse
Ali not OV-KA-know-LOC Ita COMP already finish AV-give money
ka Amir.
to Amir
‘Ita didn’t know about Ali that he had given money to Amir.’
(111) a. Ali a-janji ka Siti ja' labang-nga la e-pa-becce'-a
Ali AV-promise to Siti COMP door-DEF already OV-CS-good-IRR
are Sennen.
day Monday
‘Ali promised Siti that the door would be fixed by Monday.’
b. Labang-nga e-janji-yagi Ali ka Siti ja' la e-pa-becce'-a
door-DEF OV-promise-AGI Ali to Siti COMP already OV-CS-good-IRR
are Sennen.
day Monday
‘Ali promised Siti about the door that it would be fixed by Monday.’
Also pointing to the prolepsis analysis of the Madurese sentences is the fact that
the basic structure (those sentences in which the argument is only a dependent
of the embedded clause) and the prolepsis structure are not entirely synonym-
ous. That is, the pairs of sentences in (102-104) and (110-111), have subtly
different interpretations. This is illustrated with a further example in (112).
(112) a. Ita a-bukte-yagi ja' Hasan ngeco' sapedha motor.
Ita AV-prove- AGI COMP Hasan AV.steal motorcycle
‘Ita proved that Hasan stole the motorcycle.’
b. Ita a-bukte-yagi Hasan ja' ngeco' sapedha motor.
Ita AV-prove-AGI Hasan COMP AV.steal motorcycle
‘Ita proved Hasan stole the motorcycle.’