LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS 5.

2:433-490, 2004
2004-0-005-002-000081-1

A Brief Syntactic Typology of Philippine Languages*

Lawrence A. Reid and Hsiu-chuan Liao

University of Hawai‘i

This paper is a brief statement of the typological characteristics of the

syntactic structures of Philippine languages. It utilizes a lexicalist theoretical
framework to provide comparability among the examples cited. The word order of
both verbal and non-verbal predicational sentences is examined, with pronominal
and non-pronominal complements, topicalization, and auxiliary verbs. Philippine
languages are analyzed as morphologically ergative. The morphological criteria
for determining the syntactic transitivity of verbal sentences are examined,
concluding that verbal affixation alone is an insufficient criterion. Attention is
paid to the notion of focus, rejecting the concept of voice as an explanation for the
phenomenon. The various forms of syntactically transitive verbs that have been
described by others, for example, as signaling agreement with the Nominative NP,
are here described as carrying semantic features, marking the manner of their
instantiation with reference to the Nominative NP. The structure of noun phrases
is examined. Morphological case marking of NPs by Determiners is claimed for
Genitive, Locative, and—for some languages—Oblique NPs, but it is claimed that
for most languages, Nominative full NPs are case-marked only by word order.
Semantic agreement features distinguishing forms of Determiners for common vs.
personal, definiteness, specificity, spatial reference, and plurality of their head
nouns are described. Relative clause formation strategies are described. Most are
head-initial, with gapping of the Nominative NP. “Adjectives” in NP’s are typically
relative clauses having stative verbs as predicates.

Key words: Philippine languages, typology, syntax, ergativity, transitivity, focus,

topic

1. Introduction

Philippine languages are sufficiently distinct from other Austronesian languages

that the label “Philippine-type Language” has sometimes appeared in the literature to

*
This paper outlines much of the material to appear in a monograph stimulated by a paper
originally presented at the International Symposium on Austronesian Cultures: Issues Relating
to Taiwan, held at Academia Sinica in Taipei, December 8-11, 2001. We wish to thank the
funding agencies responsible for the conference for enabling us to attend, and also the
participants at the conference for their comments following the presentation. We are also
grateful to John Wolff for his detailed comments on the paper.
Lawrence A. Reid and Hsiu-chuan Liao

characterize languages that seem to share characteristics such as the so-called “focus
system” that are thought of as defining those found in the Philippines. However, despite
considerable overlap in syntax and morphology, there is a wide range of typological
variety found among the more than one hundred Philippine languages. This paper attempts
to provide both a broad characterization of the overall typological similarities found in
the morphosyntax of Philippine languages, as well as a taste of the considerable variety
distinguishing one language from another.
Although only a relatively few select examples are provided in this paper, they are
(unless otherwise noted) usually typical of a fairly broad range of languages. The full
version of this paper contains a much broader range of examples, selected from a
considerable number of the more than one hundred languages across the archipelago,
from Batanes in the far north to the Sulu Archipelago in the south and covering the full
range of recognized subgroups within the Philippines. A syntactic typology can best be
achieved when the languages are described within the same theoretical framework. It
should be clear that such a situation is difficult to achieve, in that most language
descriptions are the products of their authors’ distinctive theoretical orientations, and
these are often left implicit. Moreover, the terminology of each description, even when
couched within the same theoretical framework frequently does not exactly match.
Particularly is this true in the labeling of syntactic categories and case forms. It should
be apparent from the outset that we are following a lexicalist, dependency view of the
nature of grammatical structure.1
We have proceeded therefore to reanalyze the data according to our own syntactic
biases, and to provide a common set of terminology in order to make the descriptions
comparable. Data that is cited from published materials therefore reflect the actual
spelling conventions of the original (except that clitics are indicated with an equals sign
whether or not they are written with a space between them or joined to their host in the
original). Literal and free translations reflect where possible that of the original, although
these have also been changed at times to more accurately reflect the syntax of the example.
Grammatical labels are changed to reflect our own usage.
We choose to distinguish between case forms, such as NOMINATIVE, GENITIVE,
LOCATIVE, etc., marked either morphologically (i.e., by the actual form either of the
nominal itself or one of its co-constituents), or syntactically (i.e., by word order), and

1
Our indebtedness here and throughout the paper to the work of Stanley Starosta should be
obvious. We do, however, refrain from characterizing the theoretical orientation as “Lexicase”
in that we depart from it in several respects, not least of which is the recognition of an undergoer
macrorole, and the unapologetic use of terms such as affix (where necessary) to explicate the
nature of verbal “morphology” in Philippine languages.

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case relations,2 namely PATIENT,3 AGENT, CORRESPONDENT, MEANS, and LOCUS, which
are determined by both semantic and morphosyntactic considerations. Since we claim
that all languages under consideration are probably ergative, we do not distinguish an
Accusative case form. We also assume that there are two semantic macroroles needing
specification in linguistic description, i.e., ACTOR and UNDERGOER.4
Even though we analyze Philippine languages as ergative, we choose not to use
the term “absolutive”, preferring instead the typologically more general term nominative
for the least indispensable complement of a basic predication, and the one that is most
likely to undergo deletion under conditions of coreference in a relative clause, whether
transitive or intransitive. Similarly, since the case-marking of noun phrases that are the
Correspondents (or “possessors”) of possessed nouns is in most Philippine languages

2
Starosta (to appear) notes that “Lexicase case roles differ from conventional Fillmorean case
grammar and other ‘thematic relation’ systems in that lexicase case relations are established by
grammatical criteria rather than subjective language-independent situational ones. As a
consequence, lexicase has so far been able to make do with only five case relations.”
3
Our definitions of the case relations are as follows: PATIENT is “the case relation of the entity
which is directly affected, located, or moves through abstract or concrete space, or of which a
property is predicated.” Every verb that requires a nominal complement has one—and only
one—complement that carries a Patient case relation. It is the “perceptual center” of the
predication (Starosta 1988:123-4); AGENT is the case relation that is required, in addition to
Patient, by all transitive verbs. Starosta (1988:124) defines it as “the dynamic/salient argument
external to the Patient (cf. Halliday 1985:147)”; CORRESPONDENT is the case relation defined
by Starosta (1988:124) as “the actant perceived as in correspondence with the Patient… or the
external frame or point of reference of the action, state, or event as a whole”; Correspondent is
also the case relation of a genitively marked NP in construction with a noun head, commonly
referred to as “possessive construction”; MEANS is the case relation defined by Starosta
(1988:126) as “the perceived immediate affector or effector of the Patient… the means by
which the action, state, or event is perceived as being realized”; LOCUS is the case relation
defined by Starosta (1988:126) as “the perceived concrete or abstract source, goal, or location
of the Patient… or of the action, state, or event.”
4
Our use of these terms is similar to those described by Foley and Van Valin (1984:29). They
state, “[actor is] the argument of a predicate which expresses the participant which performs,
effects, instigates, or controls the situation denoted by the predicate, and the undergoer [is] the
argument which expresses the participant which does not perform, initiate, or control any
situation but rather is affected by it in some way.... the actor is not equivalent to syntactic
subject, nor is undergoer equivalent to syntactic direct object. These non-equivalences are
reinforced when we look at single-argument predicates, some of which have actors and some
of which have undergoers as their single argument, an argument which is always syntactically
the subject.” We differ from them in that we also assign undergoer role to the second argument
of transitive “activity” predicates, which do not carry undergoer role in Role and Reference
Grammar (Van Valin 1993:49).

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identical to that which marks the Agents of transitive constructions, we choose to use
the more general term Genitive as the label for the case that marks both of these noun
phrases.

2. Word order of predicational constructions

Philippine clause structure is typically right branching; that is to say, heads of

constructions appear in initial position of a construction. In clausal constructions, this
means that the predicate occurs first, with nominal complements, adjuncts, and other
modifiers of the predicate typically occurring after the predicate. Clausal predicates may
be headed by one of a variety of form classes, nouns, prepositions, or verbs, each being
modifiable by the dependents normally allowed by these classes.

2.1 Nominal predicate clauses

Since Philippine languages do not typically utilize copula verbs, predicate nouns
constitute the head of nominal clauses. There are several types of such clauses, depending
on the modification (or lack thereof) of the predicate noun.

2.1.1 Classificational

Classificational nominal clauses are those in which the predicate classifies the
entity expressed in the Nominative noun phrase of the clause. The predicate noun is the
label of a class of objects of which the Nominative noun is an instance. The predicate
noun is typically a bare noun without a specifying determiner, and since it is a predicate,
is interpreted as the head of the predication.

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(1) Central Ivatan (Reid 1966:62)5

Motdeh=qako.
child=NOM.1S
‘I am a child.’
(2) Botolan Sambal (Antworth 1979:34)
Mangongonà hi Pedro.
fisherman DET Pedro
‘Pedro is a fisherman.’

5
List of Abbreviations:
[+bfct] beneficiary affect [+dfct] direct affect
[+drct] directional [+irls] irrealis
[+mfct] manner affect [+lfct] local affect
[-irls] realis [+mprs] impersonal
[prdc] predicate [+sttv] stative
[-trns] intransitive [+trns] transitive
[+xlry] auxiliary 1D first person dual
1S first person singular 1PE first person plural exclusive
1PI first person plural inclusive 2S second person singular
2P second person plural 3S third person singular
3P third person plural actr actor (agreement)
ADV Adverb AGT Agent
cmpl completive cntv continuative
COR Correspondent DEM Demonstrative
DET Determiner EMPH Emphatic
ERG Ergative ex exclusive
fut future GEN Genitive
in inclusive LCV Locative
LIG Ligature LOC Locus
N Noun ngtv negative
NOM Nominative NP Noun Phrase
OBL Oblique PAN Proto-Austronesian
PAT Patient PEF Proto-Extra-Formosan
pfct perfective plrl/pl plural
Poss Possessive prdc predicate
prnn pronoun prog progressive
sg singular s.o. someone
s.t. something TOP Topic
them theme V Verb
TP.LK Topic Linker

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(3) Mamanwa (Miller and Miller 1976:27)

Manga lodzoq ani ini.
6
DET.plrl bolo knife be this
‘These are bolo-knives.’

2.1.2 Identificational

Identificational nominal clauses are those in which the predicate provides specific
identification for the entity expressed in the Nominative noun phrase of the clause.
Whereas classificational predicates are typically bare nouns, an identificational predicate
is either a definite common noun (usually accompanied by a definite determiner), or a
personal noun, or a personal or demonstrative pronoun.

(4) Kapampangan (Mirikitani 1972:135)

Ing estudyante ing anak=ku.
DET student DET child=GEN.1S
‘My child is the student.’
(5) Balangaw (Shetler 1976:151)
Haén ah Juan.
Pred.1S DET John
‘I am John.’

2.1.3 Possessive

Possessive nominal predicates are a subclass of identificational predicates. These

contain either a genitive, a possessive pronoun, or a locatively marked noun phrase
interpreted as a possessor in the predicate position.

(6) Central Cagayan Agta (Healey 1960:13)

Kaluhung=ku yi Tinoy.
relative=GEN.1S DET Tinoy
‘Tinoy is my relative.’

6
Miller and Miller consider the Mamanwa form ani to be an “equative particle”.

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(7) Guinaang Bontok7

/ásu=n nan sagguŋ=ko nan naŋtəb /an sik/a.
dog=GEN DET neighbor=GEN.1S DET bit LCV you
‘The one that bit you is the dog of my neighbor.’
(8) Tboli (Forsberg 1992:52)
Ke Ting sewel yó.
LCV Ting trousers that
‘Those trousers belong to Ting.’

2.2 Prepositional predicate constructions

A prepositional phrase may constitute a clausal predicate. Prepositions having a

wide range of meanings from beneficiary or purpose (‘for’) to directional (‘to, at, from’,
etc.) are found in languages throughout the Philippines as prepositional heads of clausal
predicates.

(9) Botolan Sambal (Antworth 1979:35-6)

a. Para koni Jose ya libro.
for LCV Jose DET book
‘The book is for Jose.’
b. Tongkol ha pag-ong ya kowinto.
about LCV turtle DET story
‘The story is about the turtle.’
(10) Suban’on (Verstraelen 1973:245)
Búat Bonifacio suggĕntáw.
from Bonifacio the man
‘The man is from Bonifacio.’

2.3 Verbal clauses

Verbal clauses have verbs as their lexical heads. Since all verbs carry a predicate
feature, they typically appear at the beginning of a sentence, and dependents of verbs
such as nominal and verbal complements follow. In the following description, we
distinguish between two major classes of verbal constructions: intransitive and transitive.
In this section we are concerned with the word order of the nominal complements of

7
Examples throughout the paper without a source reference are either from Reid’s fieldnotes or
have been constructed for the paper from his own knowledge of the languages, and may be
over-ridden by the judgements of native speakers.

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simple verbal clauses. Later sections will deal with the detailed description of each of
these types, and of constructions requiring dependent verbal clauses.

2.3.1 Intransitive constructions

A verb which expects only a single nominal complement (i.e., one that can only be
followed by a single nominal argument) is intransitive, and the construction of which it is
apart is therefore intransitive. Depending on the form of the verb, this single complement
is interpreted as carrying either the actor macrorole in dynamic structures (§3.3.1) or the
undergoer macrorole in stative structures (§3.3.2). This complement is typically8 the
Nominative complement of the construction (whether it is morphologically marked as
such or is morphologically unmarked). It should be noted that although a verb which
expects only a single complement is intransitive, the number of complements that a
construction has does not determine its transitivity. It is the type of the complements
that a verb takes that determines its transitivity, not their number. There are many
‘meteorological’ verbs, such as ‘rain’, etc., that are intransitive but do not allow any
explicit nominal complement, while there are other verbs that expect more than one
complement which may also be intransitive, as discussed in §2.3.1.2.

2.3.1.1 Single complement intransitive clauses

The typical word order of these constructions, as noted above, requires the
Nominative complement to follow the predicate, regardless of whether or not it is a
pronoun or a full noun phrase.

8
There are some languages such as Botolan Sambal, Ivatan, and Tagalog which allow what
seem to be intransitive constructions in that they only expect a single nominal complement, but
that complement is morphologically marked as Genitive, not Nominative. These are interpreted
as exclamations; e.g.:
Botolan Sambal (Antworth 1979:50)
Pagkayaman ni Juan!
wealthy GEN Juan
‘How wealthy Juan is!’
Ivatan (Reid 1966:58)
Japia=na no tao!
good=GEN.3S GEN man
‘How good the man is!’
Tagalog (Schachter and Otanes 1972:280)
Kaganda ng dalaga!
beautiful GEN girl
‘How beautiful the girl is!’

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(11) Pangasinan (Benton 1971:195)

a. Onbungá may kiéw.
bear fruit DET tree
‘The tree will bear fruit.’
b. Onsabí=irá.
arrive=NOM.3P
‘They will arrive.’
(12) Binukid (Post 1992:xvii, xxii)
a. Minulì si Pedro.
go home DET Pedro
‘Pedro went home.’
b. Napilay su balay=dan.
fall down DET house=GEN.3P
‘Their house fell down.’
c. Mapurisu=ka.
get imprisoned=NOM.2S
‘You (sg) might get imprisoned.’

2.3.1.2 Double-complement intransitive constructions

Intransitive verbs may also expect two nominal complements. In these constructions
the non-Nominative complement carries the undergoer macrorole. It is typically marked
by either a Genitive or a Locative case form, although some languages such as Ivatan
have a distinct Oblique case form that is used to express this extra complement. It
carries the Correspondent case relation, and is typically interpreted as indefinite or as
partitive. Constructions of this sort in ergative languages are often referred to as antipassive
or pseudo-transitive constructions. The morphology of the verbs of these constructions
however is similar if not identical to that of other intransitive constructions, and is very
different from the morphology of transitive verbs.

2.3.1.2.1 With a Nominative pronoun

In these constructions word order depends upon whether the Nominative is a

pronoun or a full noun phrase. All languages prefer a word order in which a Nominative
pronoun occurs immediately following the verb, with the other complement following.

(13) Tagalog (Schachter and Otanes 1972:294)

Humawak=siya ng libro.
hold=NOM.3S GEN book
‘He held a book.’

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(14) Mamanwa (Miller and Miller 1976:98)

Anhinang=hao ka lagkaw.
build=NOM.1S LCV house
‘I will build a house.’

2.3.1.2.2 With a Nominative full noun phrase

Languages such as Tagalog prefer that the Nominative full noun phrase occur last
and that the other complement occur between it and the verb, although the alternative
order is possible.

(15) Tagalog (Schachter and Otanes 1972:325)

Humuli ng magnanakaw ang pulis.
catch GEN thief DET police
‘The police caught a thief.’

Other languages typically place a Nominative full noun phrase immediately after the
verb with the other complement following, but also allow the alternative order.

(16) Arta
Matitim i minabulu ta binarayan.
drink DET widow LCV wine
‘The widow drank wine.’
(17) Mamanwa (Miller and Miller 1976:70)
Ampalit ya maimpis ka gas.
buy DET child LCV gas
‘The child will buy gas.’

2.3.2 Transitive constructions

A verb which expects two nominal complements, one of which is an Agent and the
other a Patient, is transitive, and the construction of which it is a part is a transitive
construction. The Agent carries the actor macrorole, while the Patient carries the undergoer
macrorole. Since most (if not all) Philippine languages are ergative, it is the undergoer
complement that is expressed by the Nominative case form while the actor complement
is expressed by the Genitive case form. The following section deals with the word order
constraints of two complement transitive verbal clauses. Section 2.3.2.2 will deal with
transitive clauses that have more than two complements.

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2.3.2.1 Two-complement transitive constructions

There is a wide range of transitive verb types in Philippine languages (the so-called
“non-actor focus” verbs). However, within a given language the constructions in which
these verbs participate all follow basically the same word order. The relative word order
of these constructions usually depends upon whether or not the complements are
expressed by pronouns or by full noun phrases.

2.3.2.1.1 With two nominal complements

Typically, actors precede undergoers; i.e., a Genitive complement precedes a

Nominative complement.

(18) Guinaang Bontok

/iníla=n nan laláki nan gayyəm=na.
saw=GEN DET man DET friend=GEN.3S
‘The man saw his friend.’
(19) Pangasinan (Benton 1971:168)
Ibatík nen Pedro may manók.
run away with GEN Pedro DET chicken
‘Pedro will run away with the chickens.’

2.3.2.1.2 With two pronominal complements

The Nominative pronoun in some languages, such as Ivatan and Guinaang Bontok,
is an independent form; in others it is the short, clitic Nominative form that occurs.
Since clitic pronouns in Philippine languages are second-order, they immediately follow
the first verb in the clause, with Genitive clitic pronouns typically preceding Nominative
clitic pronouns.

(20) Ivatan (Larson 1986:75)

Kanen=mo yaken.
eat=GEN.2S NOM.1S
‘You (sg) can eat me.’
(21) Guinaang Bontok
/iníla=na sak/ən.
saw=GEN.3S NOM.1S
‘He saw me.’

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(22) Mamanwa (Miller and Miller 1976:42)

Tambalan=mo=hao pagqisab.
medicine=GEN.2S=NOM.1S again
‘You (sg) medicine me again.’

In some languages such as Tagalog, however, the relative word order of the
pronouns depends upon their relative phonological length, with shorter pronouns preceding
longer pronouns, regardless of their case form. Thus, monosyllabic pronouns always
precede disyllabic pronouns. When they cooccur with post-verbal adverbial clitics, the
order becomes: (a) monosyllabic clitic pronouns always precede adverbial clitics;
(b) adverbial clitics always precede disyllabic clitic pronouns.

(23) Tagalog (Schachter 1973:215, Schachter and Otanes 1972:185)

a. Nakita=ko=na=siya.
see=GEN.1S=already=NOM.3S
‘I have already seen him/her.’
b. Nakita=ka=niya.
see=NOM.2S=GEN.3S
‘He saw you (sg.).’

In a number of languages, there are special forms that occur when a Genitive first
person pronoun is followed by a Nominative second person pronoun.

(24) Pangasinan (Benton 1971:86)

Benegán=taka.
leave behind=GEN.1S+NOM.2S
‘I’ll be going now.’ (Lit., ‘I will leave you.’)
(25) Tagalog (Schachter and Otanes 1972:185)
Nakita=kita.
see=GEN.1S+NOM.2S
‘I saw you (sg.).’
(26) Mamanwa (Miller and Miller 1976:48)
Tambalan=tako.
medicine=GEN.1S+NOM.2S
‘I will medicine you (sg).’

2.3.2.1.3 With pronominal Genitive and full noun Nominative complements

Most languages require that the word order follow the basic typology of actor
preceding undergoer.

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(27) Central Cagayan Agta (Healey 1960:36)

a. Dinangag=ku yi ábe.
hear=GEN.1S DET Ábe
‘I heard Ábe.’
b. Zígutan=da hapa ya abbing.
bathe=GEN.3P also DET child
‘They also bathe the child.’
(28) Tagalog (Schachter and Otanes 1972:60)
Sinulat=ko ang liham.
write=GEN.1S DET letter
‘I wrote the letter.’

2.3.2.1.4 With full noun Genitive and pronominal Nominative complements

If the undergoer is a pronoun, it may either follow a Genitive full noun phrase (as
in the Central Cordilleran languages, Isinai, Balangaw, Bontok (29), Kankanay, Ifugaw,
Kalinga, etc.), or precede it (as in Ivatan, Ilokano (30), Tagalog, etc.).

(29) Guinaang Bontok (Reid 1992:263)

Dokoyen nan iginaang si imaínit daida.
rush after GEN Guinaang person and Mainit person NOM.3P
‘The Guinaang people and Mainit people rushed after them.’
(30) Ilokano (Rubino 2000:liii)
Nakítan=ak ni Maria.
see.2/3S.actr=NOM.1S DET Maria
‘Maria saw me.’

2.3.2.2 Three-complement transitive constructions

Transitive verbs may also expect more than two complements. The third complement
of such verbs is interpreted as carrying the Correspondent case relation, and is often
encoded with either a Locative or a Genitive case form, and as with dyadic intransitives,
the Correspondent is typically interpreted either indefinitely or partitively.
The relative positions of the Genitive and Nominative complements in these
constructions is the same as that described in the section above on double-complement
transitive constructions. The third complement may occur in any position relative to the
other two, depending on whether the third complement is a pronoun or a full noun phrase.

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(31) Guinaang Bontok

/inagtan paŋdal sak/ən si kindi.
gave Pangchar NOM.1S LCV candy
‘Pangchar gave me a candy.’

2.3.2.3 Languages with pronominal agreement marking of Genitive and Nominative

arguments

There is a small group of languages in the Philippines that require or allow

agreement marking of either or both the Genitive and Nominative third person arguments.
The agreement forms in any case immediately follow their verbal (or nominal) heads,
usually have forms that are identical to their corresponding third person Genitive or
Nominative clitic pronouns, and are therefore treated here as though they were case-
marked clitic pronouns functioning as agreement markers, even though there is evidence
that (at least in some cases) the forms may already have become incorporated into the
verb as agreement features of the verb, and are no longer case-carrying pronominal
arguments of the verb (Reid 2001).

2.3.2.3.1 Intransitive constructions with agreement marking

In many Philippine languages, such as Bontok and Ilokano, there is no overt form
for the third person singular Nominative pronoun, so that agreement marking only appears
when the Nominative noun phrase is third person plural.

(32) Ilokano
Natúrog=da dagiti ubbing.
sleep=NOM.3P DET.plrl children
‘The children are asleep.’

2.3.2.3.2 Transitive constructions with agreement marking

In languages that require or allow pronominal agreement marking of Genitive and

Nominative arguments, the order of the clitic pronouns is strictly actor preceding
undergoer, although in Kapampangan, phonological processes have reduced some
sequences to a single “portmanteau” syllable (Mirikitani 1972:169-170). Similarly, the
nominal complements following the agreement sequence typically follow the same
relative order.

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(33) Ivatan (Larson 1986:11)

Oyod=na=sira a chinasi ni Ina o manganak=na=ya.
truly=GEN.3S=NOM.3P LIG pity GEN mother DET children=GEN.3S=that
‘Mother truly pitied her children.’
(34) Kapampangan (Mirikitani 1972:173)
Seli=ne ning lalaki ing mangga king tindahan.
bought=GEN.3S+NOM.3S GEN boy DET mango LCV store
‘The boy bought the mango at the store.’

2.4 Topicalized constructions

Topicalized constructions contain an initial definite nominal constituent acting as

theme of the construction. It is coreferential with one of the nominal complements of the
main clause. Only Nominative and Genitive complements, Patients or Agents respectively
of main clauses, can be topicalized. The Genitive Correspondent (i.e., possessor) in a
Nominative phrase can also be topicalized. A Genitive or Locative (or Oblique)
complement cannot be topicalized if it is the second complement of a dyadic intransitive
construction or the third nominal complement of a transitive construction; this is because
these are typically indefinite, and topicalizing would have the effect of definitizing them.
A topic is typically separated from a following verb by an intonation break, which may
also be accompanied by a bridging constituent, sometimes referred to in the literature as
a topic linker.
In addition to the topicalization of the basic sentence constituents described above,
adjuncts of various sorts may also be topicalized, but without resumptive pronouns.
These constituents include locative and temporal phrases and adverbs.
Topicalized Nominative complements typically require a resumptive clitic nominative
pronoun following the verb (as in (35)-(36)), although in many languages there is no
overt form when a third person singular complement is topicalized (37).

(35) Balangaw (Shetler 1976:147)

Dàni, opat=ani.
TOP.1PE four=NOM.1PE
‘As for us (ex), we (ex) are four.’
(36) Mamanwa (Miller and Miller 1976:102)
Izang manga tao, namagsabet=siran nga siran magabaay.
that DET.plrl person decided=NOM.3P LIG TOP.3P gathering wild root
‘Those people, they decided together that they will go gathering wild root.’

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(37) Botolan Sambal (Antworth 1979:54)

Hay dolo nin damowag ay hay kipit.
DET cover GEN carabao TP.LK DET tight
‘The cover of the carabao, it is very tight.’

A transitive construction with a topicalized Genitive Agent requires a resumptive

genitive pronoun (or actor agreement marking) following the verb.

(38) Central Ivatan (Reid 1966:130)

Qía qam palangena qo pagad.
TOP.3S TP.LK lead.3S.actr DET carabao
‘As for him, he is leading the carabao.’
(39) Botolan Sambal (Antworth 1979:53)
Hi Pedro ay hiniyawan=na ya kabayo.
DET Pedro TP.LK saddle=GEN.3S DET horse
‘Pedro, he saddled the horse.’
(40) Kagayanen (Harmon 1977:67)
Mari=an patinugaen=din bataq=an.
Mary=DET make sleep=GEN.3S child=DET
‘Mary, she will put the baby to sleep.’

The Genitive Correspondent (possessor) noun phrase which is part of a Nominative

phrase may also be topicalized. In some languages a resumptive pronoun is required,
while in others, such as in Cebuano and Tagalog, it is not.

(41) Cebuano (John Wolff, pers. comm.)

Kanang mga artista, púlus artipisyal ang lihok.
that DET.plrl artist total artificial DET behavior
‘Those artists, their behavior is totally artificial.’

3. Structure of verbal clauses

In §2.3 we dealt with the word order of simple verbal clauses in most Philippine
languages. In this section we shall discuss expanded verbal structures, beginning with
those requiring two verbal predicates. Verbs are of two types, those that do not require a
dependent verb, such as all those that have appeared in the examples till now, and those
that do. The former have been referred to as [−extension] verbs, the latter as [+extension]
verbs. In Philippine languages there are typically two types of constructions having

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extension verbs: those that may not have non-pronominal complements, and those that
may. The former require the following verb to agree with them in transitivity, and
sometimes also in tense or aspect. They attract to themselves any second-order pronominal
or adverbial clitics, and sometimes other pronominal forms that would otherwise be
complements of the following verb. These are the so-called “auxiliary” verbs, and are
considered here to be the heads of their constructions, with the following “main” verbs
acting as their dependents. These are discussed in §3.1; other types of extension verbs
will be considered in §3.2.

3.1 Constructions with auxiliary verbs

Extension verbs agreeing with their following verbs are more or less closely bound
to their following dependent verb. Those that are most closely bound do not have any
intervening bridging constituent (often referred to in the literature as a ligature)
between them and their complement, while those that are less loosely bound do.

3.1.1 Closely bound auxiliary verbs

3.1.1.1 Clauses with full noun complements, headed by auxiliary verbs without a
ligature

The order of the noun phrases in these constructions is what would be expected for
each language in similar clauses without auxiliary verbs. The second verb (that is the
“main” verb) is a dependent of the initial verb. The most common type of auxiliary verb
consists of negatives, with many languages having two different forms distinguished by
aspect, the “main” verb agreeing with its head verb in its aspectual form, as in (42a-b).
Far more restricted in Philippine languages are directional verbs as in (45), (48), and
(51a) and aspectual auxiliary verbs as in (49), (50), and (51b).

(42) Batad Ifugaw (Newell 1993:21)

a. Agguy nolo/ han imbaluy=/u.
ngtv sleep DET child=GEN.1S
‘My child did not sleep.’
b. Adi lahhīnon Umāngob nan batu ede.
ngtv separate Umāngob DET stone that
‘Umāngob won’t separate the stones from that (soil).’

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3.1.1.2 Clauses with pronominal complements, headed by auxiliary verbs without

a ligature

As noted above, clitic pronouns in Philippine languages are second-order type: they
immediately follow the first verb in the clause, and therefore attach to the auxiliary verb.

3.1.1.2.1 With an intransitive “main” verb

(43) Eastern Bontok (Fukuda 1997:45)

Achi=yak omoy.
ngtv=NOM.1S go
‘I will not go.’
(44) Kagayanen (Harmon 1977:123)
Diliq=ka magsagbak.
ngtv=NOM.2S make noise
‘Don’t make a noise.’
(45) Ilokano
In=ka=n agdígos!
go=NOM.2S=now bathe
‘Go take a bath!’

3.1.1.2.2 With a transitive “main” verb

As expected, all languages require that a Genitive clitic pronoun follow the auxiliary
verb. Those languages which have clitic pronouns for the Nominative of transitive verbs
maintain the same relative order for the pronouns, typically Genitive followed by
Nominative (see §2.3.2.1.2) when they follow an auxiliary verb as they do when they
follow a “main” verb. Those languages having a non-clitic form for the Nominative of
transitive verbs, such as Yami, Ivatan, and Bontok, usually allow alternate word orders
for this pronoun, whether occurring after the Genitive clitic pronoun or following the
“main” verb.

(46) Guinaang Bontok

/adi=k sik/a laydən.
ngtv=GEN.1S NOM.2S like
‘I don’t like you (sg).’
(47) Tagalog (Schachter 1973:216)
Hindi=ko=siya nakita ngayon.
ngtv=GEN.1S=NOM.3S see today
‘I did’t see him/her today.’

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(48) Ivatan (Larson 1986:11)

Iyangay=mo=sira ipoha o manganak=ta=ya.
go=GEN.2S=NOM.3P throw away NOM offspring=GEN.1PI=the
‘Take our (in.) children and throw them away.’
(49) Yami (Ho 1990:117)
Ya=na ipianuanuud iniu ni mapapu.
cntv=GEN.3S sing:for NOM.2P GEN Mapapu
‘Mapapu is singing for you (pl).’
(50) Manuk Mangkaw Sinama (Akamine 1996:59)
Bey petak sigala leq ulan.
pfct wet NOM.3P ERG rain
‘The rain wet them.’

3.1.1.2.3 Constructions with sequences of auxiliary verbs

Some languages allow a sequence of auxiliary verbs, the first of which is the head
of the construction and therefore clitic pronouns, if any, immediately follow it in second
position. Non-pronominal noun phrases follow the “main” verb.

(51) Guinaang Bontok

a. /adí=da /i /in/əməs /ad dawəŋ.
ngtv=NOM.3P go bathe LCV Chaweng
‘They’re not going to take a bath at Chaweng.’
b. /əsá=/ak /adi /uməy /ad mayníla=s wákas.
fut=NOM.1S ngtv go LCV Manila=LCV morrow
‘I will not go to Manila tomorrow.’

3.1.2 Less closely bound auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs that require a ligature between themselves and their dependent
“main” verb usually carry meanings such as ‘want, need, like, etc.’, although verbs with
adverbial translations can also function in some languages as auxiliaries in the same
manner. Like their closely bound counterparts described in the preceding section, they
require the following verb to agree with them in transitivity, and sometimes also in
tense or aspect. They attract to themselves any second-order pronominal or adverbial
clitics, and sometimes other pronominal forms that would otherwise be complements of
the following verb.

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(52) Ivatan (Larson 1986:11)

Oyod=na sira a chinasi ni ina o manganak=na=ya.
true=GEN.3S NOM.3P LIG pity GEN mother NOM children=GEN.3S=that
‘Mother truly pitied her children.’
(53) Kapampangan (Forman 1971:77)
É=ko bísa=ng maniwálaq.
ngtv=GEN.1S+NOM.3P want=LIG believe
‘I don’t want to believe (it).’
(54) Botolan Sambal (Antworth 1979:70)
Ka-ilangan=ka=n mako ri.
must=NOM.2S=LK come here
‘You (sg) must come here.’

3.2 Constructions with non-auxiliary extension verbs

The kinds of verbs which head these constructions typically carry modal meanings,
like the less closely bound auxiliaries described in the previous section, but differ from
them in that they do not require their following verb to agree with them in transitivity.
Note that the auxiliary verbs in (55) and (56a) are transitive, in that they require a
Genitive complement, but their following verbs are intransitive, while in (56b) both the
auxiliary and the following verb are transitive. Schachter and Otanes (1972:266) label
them “pseudo-verbs”. Most languages require a ligature between them and the
following verb.

(55) Ivatan (Larson 1986:8)

Kakey=da a somidong sira.
want=GEN.3P LIG help NOM.3P
‘They wanted to help them.’
(56) Tagalog (Schachter and Otanes 1972:266, 268)
a. Gusto=ko=ng mangisdà.
want=GEN.1S=LIG go fishing
‘I want to go fishing.’
b. Gusto=ko=ng lutuin ni Maria ang pagkain.
want=GEN.1S=LIG cook DET Maria DET food
‘I would like/want Maria to cook the food.’

3.3 The form of verbs in Philippine languages

Much has been made in the literature of the sometimes inordinate complexity of

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verb forms in Philippine languages; only some of it can be touched on here. The most
common view—one that we explicitly reject—is that verbs carry voice inflection. From
this point of view, most Philippine languages have an “active” voice, sometimes called
“actor focus”, and a number of “passive” voices, being variously labelled “goal/object/
patient/theme/direct focus”, “instrument/associative focus”, “locative/referent focus”,
“benefactive focus”, etc., which supposedly determine, or agree with, the case of the
“focused/topic/subject” noun phrase. We claim that the so-called “voice-marking affixes”
are not inflectional but derivational, in that they cannot freely occur on all verbs, do not
freely commute with one another as in a voice-marking system, and are typically
maintained in nominalizations and other derivational processes.
This view of the nature of Philippine verbs has resulted in a tendency for Philippine
languages (and others with similar structures in western Malayo-Polynesian and Formosan
languages) to be viewed as somehow unique among the world’s languages. Our claim is
that these languages are in many respects typologically very similar to other Austronesian
languages, especially those which have an ergative actancy system, and that the affixes
which are said to mark instrument, locative, and benefactive focus are similar to those
that have been described as applicative affixes for other languages (Mithun 1994:260,
Payne 1997:54, Starosta 2002:468).
In addition to the so-called “voice-marking” affixes, there are a number of other
classes of affixal forms, all of which are derivational. These include causatives, distributives,
statives, etc. A number of reduplicative processes typically mark various tense or
aspectual distinctions, and are likewise considered to be derivational, as are the forms
that mark perfective aspect (“past tense”) in most languages. Very few of these forms
can be mentioned here, and none can be discussed in detail.

3.3.1 Dynamic verbs

A major distinction has been drawn between two major classes of verbs in Philippine
languages: dynamic vs. stative. The distinction is necessary to capture the pervasive
difference between the verbs of intransitive sentences which expect their Patient to
express an actor macrorole, and those which expect it to carry an undergoer macrorole.
In that the derivation of stative verbs is subsequent to the derivation of transitive verbs, we
shall need to discuss the various types of both intransitive and transitive derivation,
prior to the discussion of stative derivation.

3.3.1.1 Transitive vs. intransitive

In §2.3.1 and §2.3.2, a distinction was drawn between transitive and intransitive
constructions. The distinction was drawn on syntactic grounds, within the boundaries of

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the theory we are using. Intransitive constructions do not allow an Agent case relation.
Transitive clauses do. The single complement of monadic intransitive constructions is
considered to express a Patient case relation. Every verb carries with it a feature, marked
by an affix or not, which specifies whether the construction which it heads will be
transitive or intransitive. In the following discussion, we shall consider some of the
features distinguishing these verb types from one another.

3.3.1.1.1 Intransitive verbs

Intransitive dynamic verbs carry the feature [−trns]. They expect at least a nominal
complement carrying the Patient case relation and the actor macrorole, and may expect
other complements as well.

3.3.1.1.1.1 Intransitive verbs with affixation

Most intransitive verbs carry affixation. It would, however, be a mistake to believe

that the affixes commonly found on such verbs are intransitive affixes. Many of the
affixes commonly found on intransitive verbs may also be found occurring on transitive
verbs, or vice versa (see for example §3.3.2.1.1.2 et seq.), and since the affixes are all
derivational, they can be carried over into de-verbal nominalizations, which, when not
predicational, are neither transitive nor intransitive. As noted above, an intransitive verb
is one that expects a certain configuration of nominal complements; specifically, at least
a Nominative Patient, and, for some intransitive verbs, possible additional nominal
complements, but never (in Philippine languages) a Genitive (or Ergative) Agent. Verbs
having these specifications often carry affixation which suggests—though does not
always prove—that the form is intransitive. The transitivity of any verb is only clear
when it is accompanied by its panoply of complements and in the context of other
sentential elements. In the next sections we shall discuss some of the affixation which is
commonly found on intransitive verbs, and note the features that these affixes add to the
verbs on which they occur. Our discussion will focus on the forms of verbs found as
heads of independent sentences, but will not cover here special verb forms found in
some languages on verbs that occur as dependents of other verbs.

3.3.1.1.1.1.1 Reflexes of PEF *-um-/*mu-/*m-

Most, if not all, Philippine languages retain a reflex of PEF *-um-/*mu-/*m-. The
alternation was probably originally the result of a phonologically conditioned metathesis
of the first two consonants of a word on which the form occurred, since the infix
occurred following the initial consonant of a word. However, no Philippine language
today maintains all forms as phonological alternates. Some of the Central Philippine

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languages (such as Cebuano), however, maintain the form as a prefix, while Inibaloi has
a form on-, in non-perfective verbs, and -im-, in perfective verbs. The third variant, at
least maintained in Ivatan, Batak, Tboli, and Kalamian Tagbanwa, replaces a word-
initial bilabial consonant or glottal stop, and probably developed by syncopation of the
initial CV syllable of an infixed word beginning with two bilabial consonants.

(57) Kalamian Tagbanwa (Ruch 1964:23)

matay < UM+patay ‘will die naturally’
meles < UM+beles ‘will borrow naturally’
mekel < UM+qekel ‘will obtain as a matter of course’

For the purposes of this paper, the affix will be referred to as UM, and verbs which carry
this affix as UM verbs.

3.3.1.1.1.1.1.1 Reflexes on historically underived verbs

In Philippine languages, the effect of adding UM to a word depends on the

semantics of the word to which it is added. Forms which signify semantically intransitive
physical actions, such as ‘coming’, ‘going’, or ‘walking’, commonly carry UM when the
form is a monadic intransitive verb, or is a nominalization of that form. The verbs are
considered to carry a semantic feature which implies the interpretation of the Patient.
UM verbs always imply that the Patient is an actor. This verb class also includes a
number of semantically transitive physical actions, such as ‘eating’, ‘drinking’, or
‘buying’. These UM verbs typically imply intentional activity on the part of their actors.
They have also been described as being punctual, or the starting point of actions that
can be durative. In any case, the actor macrorole is associated with the Patient of the
clause.

(58) Ilokano
Tumakder dagidiay babbái intóno sumrek ti mayor.
[-trns] [-trns]
stand up those women when enter DET mayor
‘Those women will stand up when the mayor enters.’
(59) Guinaang Bontok
/as /uminum=da=s wákas.
[-trns]
fut drink=NOM.3P=LCV morrow
‘They will drink tomorrow.’

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In most Philippine languages, there is a class of semantically transitive UM verbs

which are syntactically dyadic intransitive verbs. In addition to the Patient which is
interpreted as actor, the verbs expect an additional complement whose case relation is
always Correspondent and is interpreted as the undergoer. This complement expresses
an entity whose interpretation may be either indefinite, or partitive, but is typically
never definite.

(60) Isnag (Barlaan 1999:40)

Sumiqlat ka ma:n ka bu:lu?
split NOM.2S please LCV bamboo
‘Would you (sg) please split a piece of bamboo?’
(61) Guinaang Bontok
/as lumáku=da=s nan kapi=s wákas.
fut buy=NOM.3P=LCV DET coffee=LCV morrow
‘They will buy some of the coffee tomorrow.’ (Lit., ‘They will buy of/from
the coffee tomorrow.’)

Forms which signify qualities, such as ‘tall’, ‘fat’, or, ‘old’, commonly carry UM
when the form is a (monadic) intransitive verb, or is a nominalization of that form.
Unlike the punctual UM verbs just described, these verbs carry an inchoative feature
implying that the actor Patient is becoming, or has become, the state which is predicated
of it. These UM verbs do not imply intentional activity on the part of their actors.

(62) Ilokano
Lumukmeg=da dagiti ubbing.
fat=NOM.3P DET.plrl children
‘The children are getting fat.’

3.3.1.1.1.1.1.2 Reflexes on historically derived verbs

There are two large classes of verbs that historically developed by attaching UM to
a word that had been previously derived with one of two prefixes, either PEF *paR- or
*paN-, to form PEF *maR- or *maN-, respectively. There is a wide range of functions
associated with each of these verbs, because of the semantic features added to the verb
by the original derivations. Only a few of the common types can be mentioned here. We
shall begin by discussing general features of reflexes of the PEF *maR- verbs and
follow with a brief discussion of the general features of reflexes of the PEF *maN- verbs.

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3.3.1.1.1.1.1.2.1 Reflexes of PEF *maR-

Reflexes of PEF *maR- verbs (henceforth MAG verbs) typically appear as either ag-,
mag-, or may-, in languages in which the expected reflex of *R is g or y. The South-
Central Cordilleran languages, in which the reflex of *R is l, all show the innovated
form man-, or a further development, such as an-, men-, en-, or in-. In many languages
the historical connection with the earlier derived form is maintained, with the p- initial
forms being maintained in gerundive nominalizations. In others, however, the
association must have been lost, and the p- initial nominalizations of the verbs are
absent, except in a few frozen forms. In contrast to UM verbs, which are either punctual
or inchoative, MAG verbs have been described as being durative.

(63) Ilokano
Agtakder=da=nto dagidiay babbái idiay tugaw=da.
stand=NOM.3P=fut those women LCV chair=GEN.3P
‘Those women will stand on their chairs.’

Other semantic features associated with MAG verbs are reflexive and reciprocal.
Compare MAG verbs with UM verbs derived from the same source in (64a, b). The
reflexive MAG verbs in (64a) are all monadic intransitive verbs, with singular or plural
Patient actors as their Nominative complement, while the reciprocal MAG verbs in (64b)
are all monadic intransitive verbs, with non-singular Patient actors as their Nominative
complement.

(64) Tagalog (Pittman 1966:12, 13)

a. maggamót ‘to treat one’s self for an illness’ gumamót ‘to treat illness’
mag-ahit ‘to shave one’s self’ umahit ‘to shave others’
magsanay ‘to train one’s self’ sumanay ‘to train others’
b. magbatì ‘to greet each other’ bumati ‘to greet another’
magkamáy ‘to shake hands with each other’ kumamáy ‘to shake hands with someone’
magsiping ‘to lie down near each other’ sumiping ‘to come near somebody’

3.3.1.1.1.1.1.2.2 Reflexes of PEF *maN-

Reflexes of PEF *maN- verbs are found in most Philippine languages, but have
been lost in some Manobo and other languages in the south of Mindanao. In most
languages which maintain a reflex, the final nasal assimilates to the point of articulation
of the initial consonant of the source from which the verb is derived, with resulting loss
of that consonant if it is a voiceless obstruent. Like MAG verbs, in many languages the
historical connection with their earlier derived form is maintained, with the p- initial

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forms being maintained in gerundive nominalizations. In others, however, the association

must have been lost, and the p- initial nominalizations of the verbs are absent, except in
a few frozen forms.
Like the two classes already discussed, reflexes of PEF *maN- verbs (henceforth
MANG verbs) always imply that the Patient is an actor. In contrast to UM verbs (which
are either punctual or inchoative) and MAG verbs (which are durative), MANG verbs
(especially those that are monadic) are distributive, implying multiple activities, actions,
or actors over time or space. Whereas MAG verbs are typically monadic intransitives,
MANG verbs are frequently dyadic intransitives with Correspondents interpreted as
undergoers, and in many cases, homophonous monadic forms exist alongside their
dyadic counterparts.

(65) Guinaang Bontok

/as maŋan=kami=s tuŋŋa=s masdəm.
fut eat=NOM.1PE=LCV corn=LCV night
‘We’ll eat corn tonight.’
(66) Isnag (Barlaan 1999:40)
naNiqdut ki duqdut na anuq.
cmpl.pluck LCV feather GEN chicken
‘He plucked a feather of a/the chicken.’

3.3.1.1.2 Transitive verbs

Transitive verbs expect a minimum of two complements to be associated with

them, one an Agent, the other a Patient. The Agent always carries the actor macrorole;
the Patient carries the undergoer macrorole. In many older descriptions of Philippine
languages, these verbs (and the constructions which they head) were described as
‘passives’, because the Patient argument is always encoded as the Nominative noun
phrase of the sentence.

3.3.1.1.2.1 Transitive verbs with affixation

Most Philippine languages maintain transitive verb forms that contain one or more
of a number of affixes that are reflexes of forms that have been reconstructed for early
stages of the Austronesian language family (Starosta, Pawley and Reid 1982, Wolff
1973, Ross 1995a, b). As was noted above (§3.3.1.1.1.1) for affixes found on intransitive
verbs, it would be a mistake to consider that these affixes make the verbs transitive.
Verbs can be transitive with or without any of these affixes, and each of the affixes can
be found on verbs that are intransitive, often in combination with the affixes that have
been described in the sections above on intransitive verb affixation, as well as on

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nominalizations that are derivations of both transitive and intransitive verbs.

3.3.1.1.2.1.1 Reflexes of PEF *-ən

Reflexes of PEF *-ən are found in all but a few languages of the Philippines. The
actual form that occurs depends upon the reflex of PAN *ə in the language. The verbs of
this class (henceforth EN verbs) are those that have commonly been labeled in much of
the literature on Philippine languages as ‘goal/object/patient/theme/direct focus’. This
suffix typically appears on verbs, the semantics of which imply a directly and entirely
affected undergoer. Since, in transitive clauses, an undergoer is always associated with
the Patient complement, and Patients of transitive clauses in ergative languages are
always expressed with a Nominative case form, the directly affected entity implied in
the verb is the Nominative of a transitive clause. Thus semantically transitive EN verbs
typically function as the heads of syntactically transitive constructions, although examples
of their occurrence in syntactically intransitive constructions also occur, as in (67).

(67) Ilokano (Vanoverbergh 1955:147)

Kotonén ti inapúy.
[-trns,+dfct]
anted DET rice
‘The rice is full of ants.’

As noted in the previous paragraph, the presence of the EN ending on a verb

implies that the undergoer is directly and entirely affected. We interpret this to mean
that the verb carries a semantic feature in order for it to be so interpreted. We call this
feature the DIRECT AFFECT feature ([+dfct]). Every transitive verb, unless marked by
one of the other affect features, carries the direct affect feature, whether or not there is
an EN ending on the verb. The presence of the EN ending generally marks the activity as
being at least potential or in process, but never completed.

(68) Mamanwa (Miller 1964:90)

Bonalen=mo ya baroy.
[+trns,+dfct]
pound up=GEN.2S DET leaf
‘You (sg) will pound (completely) the leaf.’

3.3.1.1.2.1.2 Reflexes of PEF *-an

Reflexes of PEF *-an are found in nearly all Philippine languages. The verbs of this
class (henceforth AN verbs) are those that have commonly been labeled in much of the

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literature as ‘locative/referent focus’. Most AN verbs imply that their undergoer is an entity
that is only partly, not entirely affected, or only whose surface is affected, or the end point
of the action, the place to which or from which some other entity is directed. We call the
feature that is part of such verb with an AN ending, the LOCAL AFFECT feature ([+lfct]).

(69) Mamanwa (Miller 1964:90)

Bonalan=mo ya baroy.
[+trns,+lfct]
pound on=GEN.2S DET leaf
‘You (sg) will pound (on) the leaf.’

3.3.1.1.2.1.3 Reflexes of PEF */i-

Reflexes of PEF */i- (from earlier *Si-) are similarly widespread throughout the
Philippines. The verbs of this class (henceforth I verbs) are those that have commonly
been labeled in much of the literature on Philippine languages as ‘instrument/associative
focus’. Most I verbs imply that their undergoer is moved in space, directed towards, or
brought into association with some entity. We call the feature that is part of such a verb
beginning with an I, the MANNER AFFECT feature ([+mfct]).

(70) Guinaang Bontok

/iyáli=m man nan kapi=k.
[+trns,+mfct]
come with=GEN.2S please DET coffee=GEN.1S
‘Please bring (lit., come-with) my coffee.’

3.3.1.1.2.1.4 Beneficiary affect

In addition to the three affect features that imply the semantic interpretation of the
undergoer that we have discussed, Philippine languages can also typically imply the
interpretation of the undergoer as beneficiary of an action. We refer to this feature as the
BENEFICIARY AFFECT feature ([+bfct]). There are at least five types of languages in the
Philippines, depending on how they mark such verbs: (1) those that use an I verb and no
other for this purpose, such as Ivatan (71); (2) those that use an AN verb and no other for
this purpose, such as Maranao (72); (3) those that use a “circumfix” I- -AN on such verbs,
such as Balangaw (73), and most languages of the northern Philippines; (4) those that
use either an I verb or AN verb, such as Mamanwa (74) and Tagalog (depending on the
verb); and (5) those that use either an I- -AN verb or an AN verb, depending on the verb,
such as Ilokano (75).

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(71) Southern Ivatan (Hidalgo and Hidalgo 1971:180)

Ipangamung ñi Kwan si Kusi.
[+trns,+bfct]
catch fish:for GEN John DET Jose
‘John catches fish for Jose.’
(72) Maranao (McKaughan and Macaraya 1967:xii, xxxii)
Tabasan o bebai so dati sa dinis.
[+trns,+bfct]
cut:for GEN woman DET chief OBL cloth
‘The woman will cut cloth for the chief.’
(73) Balangaw (Shetler 1976:50)
Iyanopan=yu ah Ama.
[+trns,+bfct]
hunt:for=GEN.2P DET father
‘You (pl) hunt for father.’
(74) Mamanwa (Miller 1964:90)
a. Bonalan=mo si Mam ka baroy.
[+trns,+bfct]
pound on=GEN.2S DET Mam LCV leaf
‘You will pound the leaf for Mam.’
b. Ibonal=mo si Mam ka baroy.
[+trns,+bfct]
pound:for=GEN.2S DET Mam LCV leaf
‘You will pound the leaf for Mam.’
(75) Ilokano (Vanoverbergh 1955:164)
a. Sinaksián=mi ti lakáy.
[+trns,+bfct]
testified:for=GEN.1PE DET old man
‘We (ex) testified for the old man.’
b. Lukatám ni ína.
[+trns,+bfct]
open.actr.2S DET mother
‘Open for my mother.’

3.3.2 Stative verbs

In contrast to the dynamic verbs of Philippine languages described in §3.3.1, in

which the Nominative Patient carries the actor macrorole, there is a large class of verbs

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which are stative, in which the Nominative Patient carries the undergoer macrorole. In
some recent descriptions of Philippine languages these verbs have been referred to as
‘passives’, but we shall maintain the use of the term ‘stative’, to avoid confusion with
other uses of the term ‘passive’ found in the literature, which refer to the various so-
called ‘focus’ types as passives. The status of stative verbs in Philippine languages,
however, as true passives is probably justified, in that they are intransitive, there exists a
clear derivational relationship between them and transitive verbs, and their actors are
typically not expressed.

3.3.2.1 Stative verbs with ma-

3.3.2.1.1 Reflexes of PEF *ma-

The reflex of the PEF *ma- affix which typically appears on stative verbs (henceforth
MA verbs), should not be confused with the same phonological sequence that appears on
reflexes of MAG and MANG verbs, each of which are the result of the addition of the
original *-um- form on words first derived with paR-, paN- respectively, so that alternation
still exists in many languages between the m- initial forms as verbs and the p- initial
forms as gerunds or other nominalizations. Stative verbs do not show a derivational
relationship with any p- initial forms.
In many Philippine languages stative verbs can be derived with a perfective aspect
feature, which results in the initial bilabial nasal being replaced with an alveolar nasal.
Phonological processes in other languages have resulted in other patterns of change
affecting the form of MA verbs.
Although intransitive, MA verbs are clearly different from the intransitive verbs
discussed in §3.3.1.1.1. Dynamic intransitive verbs require that their Nominative
Patients be interpreted as actors. Stative intransitive verbs on the other hand require that
their Nominative Patients be interpreted as undergoers.
Stative verbs typically have a derivational relationship with (dynamic) transitive
verbs and also carry the same affect features as their derivationally related transitive
verbs. The following sections provide examples of stative verbs carrying affect features.

3.3.2.1.1.1 Direct affect statives

Direct affect statives are derivationally related to EN verbs. A MA verb that is not
marked for any other affect feature carries a direct affect feature.

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(76) Ilokano (Vanoverbergh 1955:194)

Maála ti págay.
[+sttv,+dfct]
taken DET rice
‘The rice is taken.’

3.3.2.1.1.2 Local affect statives

Many local affect stative verbs are derivationally related to AN verbs. A MA verb
that carries this feature shows both a ma- initial sequence and an -an final sequence.

(77) Ilokano (Vanoverbergh 1955:194)

Nasagádan ti silíd.
[+sttv,+lfct]
swept DET room
‘The room was swept.’

3.3.2.1.1.3 Manner affect statives

Manner affect statives are derivationally related to I verbs. A MA verb that carries
this feature shows a ma/ i- or may- initial sequence, although in some languages (such
as Ifugaw and Inibaloi) the form appears as me-.

(78) Ilokano (Vanoverbergh 1955:195)

Mayáyus ti róot.
[+sttv,+mfct]
carried away by current DET grass
‘The grass is carried away by the current.’

3.3.2.1.1.4 Beneficiary affect statives

Beneficiary affect statives are derivationally related to, and carry the same affect
feature affixes as transitive verbs with a beneficiary affect feature, whether it be / i-, -an,
or both / i- and -an. A MA verb that carries this feature shows a ma- initial sequence as
well as the appropriate feature marking for the language.

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(79) Ilokano (Vanoverbergh 1955:195)

Maidaítan9 ití bádo.
[+sttv,+bfct]
sew:for DET coat
‘(He) has a coat made for him.’

3.3.2.1.1.5 Statives with expressed actors

Although stative verbs typically do not allow actors, some languages do allow
actors to occur with MA verbs, which then also carry a potential or abilitative (in perfective
forms) meaning. In at least some of these languages the structure is apparently being
reinterpreted as a transitive construction, creating a new class of transitive structures;
that is, one that takes a Genitive Agent, as well a Nominative Patient, and requires
Patients to be only potentially or involuntarily affected.

(80) Mamanwa (Miller and Miller 1976:82)

Nabelad ya maimpis ka segaq.
[+sttv,+dfct]
be sunned DET child DET sun
‘The child was overheated by the sun.’
(81) Kabayan Inibaloi (Roberta Ruffolo, pers.comm.)
Maon-an=ko=y aso.
[+sttv,+lfct]
be seen=GEN.1S=DET dog
‘The dog was seen by me.’ / ‘I happened to see the dog.’

4. Structure of noun phrases

4.1 Word order
Noun phrases in Philippine languages are typically strongly right branching, with
heads preceding modifiers. The only noun phrase constituent commonly appearing
before the head noun is a Determiner. 10 Genitively marked possessive noun phrases
always follow their head nouns, as do all relative clauses and other modifying elements.
The great majority of Philippine languages do not have a distinctive form class of

9
The third person singular Nominative pronoun here is zero.
10
The classification of these forms as Determiners has recently been argued against in Reid
(2002), where evidence is presented that at least some of these forms are better analyzed as a
type of noun that is the head of its construction and requires a following predicate, either noun
or verb, as its complement.

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Adjectives, although many descriptions of Philippine languages utilize the term and
some argue for it (e.g., Rubino 2000:liv). Most descriptive terms are either unmarked,
like nouns, or carry affixation which marks them as a type of stative verb.

4.2 Determiners

There is a class of usually monosyllabic morphemes that precede the heads of most
noun phrases in Philippine languages. These morphemes are Determiners and carry a
number of semantic and syntactic features. Probably the most diverse determiner systems
are found in languages in the northern parts of the Philippines, such as Ivatan, and some
of the Negrito languages such as Casiguran Dumagat Agta, with languages in the south,
such as Cotabato Manobo, Tboli, and Blaan having far fewer distinctive forms, and
much simpler systems.

4.2.1 Syntactic and semantic agreement features of determiner systems

4.2.1.1 Case-marking agreement features

Philippine languages show a considerable range in the number of distinctively

marked nominal complements in verbal sentences. The languages with the greatest number
of such distinctions are Ivatan (as in (82a-b)) and Kabayan Inibaloi, with Nominative,
Genitive, Oblique, Locative, and Topic marking. Maranao (83) has four distinctive sets,
Nominative, Genitive, Oblique, and Locative. Tagalog (84) and Guinaang Bontok (85)
distinguish three sets: Nominative, Genitive, and Locative. Ilokano (86) has only two
distinctively marked sets of case-marking Determiners, one that marks Locative noun
phrases, and another that occurs with all other noun phrases; even this distinction is
being lost, with Locative common noun phrases in Ilokano casual speech being marked
in the same way as other phrases. Blaan (87) has few Determiners, relying primarily on
word order and the form of pronouns to distinguish the case of its nominal complements.
Although in this section we mark the forms introducing Nominative nouns as though
they are in fact Nominative determiners, elsewhere in the paper we mark them only as
Determiners (i.e., without case form specification), since we consider Nominative full
noun phrases to be typically morphologically unmarked. (See the following section for
more discussion.)

(82) Ivatan (Reid 1966:22)

a. Mangamoqmo qo tao so motdeh no boday do vahay.
frighten NOM man OBL child GEN snake LCV house
‘The man is frightening a child with a snake in the house.’

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b. No tao qam mangamoqmo so motdeh no boday do vahay.

TOP man TP.LK frighten OBL child GEN snake LCV house
‘As for the man, (he is) frightening a child with a snake in the house.’
(83) Maranao (McKaughan 1958)
Pekilana’an o raga so bok=ian sa pomada ki ina’=ian.
put on oil GEN girl NOM hair=GEN.3S OBL oil LCV mother=GEN.3S
‘The girl will have her mother oil her hair with pomade.’
(84) Tagalog
Ibinigay ng laláke ang libro sa bátà sa paaralan.
gave GEN man NOM book LCV child LCV school
‘The man gave the book to the child in school.’
(85) Guinaang Bontok
/iníla=n nan laláki nan /inmáli=d gugga.
saw=GEN DET man DET came=LCV yesterday
‘The man saw the one who came yesterday.’
(86) Ilokano
Nangan ti kabsat=ko ti innapoy (i)ti balay ti kaarrúba=k.
ate DET friend=GEN.1S DET cooked rice LCV house DET neighbor=GEN.1S
‘My friend ate rice at my neighbor’s house.’
(87) Blaan (Abrams 1961:397)
Nbat=ale dad angok benge kayu.
throw=NOM.3P plrl monkey fruit tree
‘The monkeys throw them fruit of the tree.’

4.2.1.1.1 Nominative

Although many descriptions of Philippine languages mark the Determiner preceding

the head of a Nominative11 noun as a case marker, we claim here that most Nominative
full noun phrases are unmarked morphologically, and are distinguished primarily by
position.12 Typically, the Determiners listed as Nominative case markers (e.g., Tagalog
ang (88a)) are also indistinguishable from those marking any definite noun, whether
predicate (as in (88b)), Topic (i.e., fronted noun phrase, or theme), or whether cross-
referenced with a following Nominative or not (as in (88c)), or phrase- internal definite
complements, whether part of a Nominative noun phrase or not. The only agreement

11
The Nominative noun phrase in Philippine languages is referred to in the literature in a number
of ways, (primary) topic, subject, the focused noun phrase, trigger (Wouk 1986:136, Schachter
1990), and most recently, as pivot (Himmelman 1991, Ross 1995b).
12
It should be noted, however, that Nominative phrases with pronominal exponents are case-
marked.

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feature that is common among these noun phrase types is not syntactic case, but the
semantic feature of definiteness.

(88) Tagalog
a. Pumasok ang babae.
entered DET woman
‘The woman entered.’
b. Ang babae ang pumasok.
DET woman DET entered
‘The one who entered was the woman.’
c. Ang babae, ay pumasok.
DET woman TP.LK entered
‘As for the woman, she entered.’

4.2.1.1.2 Genitive

Most languages (but not Ilokano, and some southern Philippine languages) require
the Determiner of a Genitive noun phrase to agree with the case of its head noun, so that
the forms that precede a Nominative noun phrase are different from those that introduce
a Genitive noun phrase. As indicated in §1, Genitive noun phrases typically express
both the Agent of a transitive clause as well as the Correspondent, or ‘possessor’, of
possessed nouns.

(89) Guinaang Bontok

a. /iníla=n nan magmaggit nan /ásu=n nan sagguŋ=ko.
saw=GEN DET young woman DET dog=GEN DET neighbor=GEN.1S
‘The young woman saw the dog of my neighbor.’
b. /iníla=n Dəgyəm nan /ásu=n Takdəg.
saw=GEN Chegyem DET dog=GEN Takcheg
‘Chegyem saw Takcheg’s dog.’
c. /iníla=k si Dəgyəm.
saw=G EN .1 S D ET Chegyem
‘I saw Chegyem.’
d. /iníla=k nan /ásu=m.
saw=GEN.1S DET dog=GEN.2S
‘I saw your (sg) dog.’
e. /iníla=m nan /ásu=k.
saw=GEN.2S DET dog=GEN.1S
‘You (sg) saw my dog.’

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4.2.1.1.3 Locative

All Philippine languages typically have a Determiner set which agrees with the
head of a Locative phrase. In some languages, this form is ambiguous as to whether it is
a Determiner or a Preposition. Unless there is clear evidence that the form is in fact a
Preposition, we are here taking the position that it is a Determiner. Locative noun
phrases typically encode locative and time expressions (90a), and purpose expressions
(90b), all of which carry the Locus case relation. They may also express Means, such as
instruments (90c), and Correspondent, such as the second complement of dyadic
intransitive constructions (90d).

(90) Guinaang Bontok

a. /as /ilá/ək si Dəgyəm /as wákas /as /íli.
fut see.1S DET Chegyem LCV tomorrow LCV village
‘I’ll see Chegyem in the village tomorrow.’
b. Gumá/əbka man /as kapi=k.
saw=NOM.2S ADV LCV coffee=GEN.1S
‘Please make a cup of coffee for me.’
c. Kəláyam man sa /as gípan=ku.
peel=GEN.2S ADV that LCV knife=GEN.1S
‘Peel that one with my knife.’
d. Naŋán=ak /as nan /ítab.
saw=NOM.1S LCV DET bean
‘I ate some of the beans.’

4.2.1.1.4 Oblique

A few languages, such as Yami and Ivatan, have a distinctive Determiner preceding
indefinite nouns that are the second complement of dyadic intransitive constructions
(82).

4.2.1.2 Semantic agreement features

Determiners usually agree with their head nouns in one or more of a number of
semantic features, depending on the language. The agreement features that we shall
describe below distinguish the forms of determiners occurring with common vs. personal
head nouns (4.2.1.2.1), their definiteness (4.2.1.2.2), spatial distance (4.2.1.2.3),
specificity (4.2.1.2.4), and/or plurality (4.2.1.2.5).

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4.2.1.2.1 Common vs. personal

Probably all Philippine languages mark the distinction between common and
personal nouns with different determiners. A number of Northern Luzon languages
continue to use a reflex of Proto-Extra Formosan *qi either as a personal noun marker
(Itawis, Isnag, Gaddang) or as a common noun marker (the Negrito languages: Arta,
Palanan and Casiguran Dumagat Agta, as well as in Ibanag). Pangasinan, although
having different Determiners before Nominative common and personal nouns when the
preceding word ends in a consonant (si and so respectively, among others), when
following a word ending in a vowel, both personal and common Nominative nouns are
preceded by -y.
Many Philippine languages outside the Northern Luzon group also retain an i (or -y)
as a Determiner on Nominative common noun phrases; however, few languages still
maintain a reflex of *qi as a Determiner on Nominative personal nouns. Kapampangan
has both ing (common noun) and i (personal noun) markers, and its distantly related
sister language in the Sambalic subgroup, Sinauna Negrito, although heavily influenced
by Tagalog, still maintains i as its personal noun marker in Nominative phrases. Murut
in Northern Borneo also retains i with this function.
That *(q)i was indeed used to mark personal nouns in the parent of the Northern
Luzon languages, and has not simply been generalized to that function from its common
noun marking function, is suggested by the fact that the full (i.e., non-enclitic) form of
Nominative personal pronouns must be reconstructed with *qi- immediately preceding
the pronoun base. It is also suggested by the fact that *(n)i must be reconstructed as the
marker for both common and personal Genitive nouns, and is retained as such in Arta.
In Inibaloi and Keley-i Kallahan it is retained only as a Genitive common noun marker,
but in Ilongot (as in many other Northern Luzon languages) it appears only as a Genitive
personal noun marker.

4.2.1.2.2 Definite vs. indefinite

In all Philippine languages, Nominative phrases typically have a definite interpretation;

that is, the speaker assumes that the addressee knows the general reference of the actant
which is the head of the phrase. This is especially true of the Nominative Patients of
transitive sentences (except when preceded by a numeral, to be described in the
following paragraph). An indefinite actant is typically expressed by a phrase carrying
the Correspondent case relation in an intransitive clause and is marked with a Locative,
Genitive, or Oblique Determiner, as described in §4.2.1.1. Thus in (91a), mansánas
‘apple’ can only be interpreted as definite, since it is the Nominative Patient of a transitive
sentence; while in (91b), an intransitive sentence, it can only be interpreted indefinitely,

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since it is the Correspondent of an intransitive sentence.

(91) Ilokano
a. Kanem ti mansánas.
eat.2S.actr DET apple
‘You eat the apple.’
b. Mangan=ka (i)ti mansánas.
eat=NOM.2S DET apple
‘You eat an apple.’ or ‘You eat some apples.’

Nominative phrases are interpreted indefinitely under a few specifiable conditions:

(a) when the head of the noun phrase is a numeral, often the numeral ‘one’, especially
when introducing a new participant within a discourse, as in (92) and (93); (b) under
certain discourse conditions (the discussion of which is beyond the scope of this paper).
Bell (1978:4) notes that, “The requirement that indefinite subjects contain a numeral
strongly suggests that final subjects of verbal sentences must be specific, even if not
definite.”

(92) Ilokano
a. Immay ti maysa a balásang.
came DET one LIG young woman
‘A young woman came.’
b. Pinatay=da ti maysa a nuang.
killed=GEN.3P DET one LIG water buffalo
‘They killed a water buffalo.’
(93) Cebuano (Wolff 1967:340, cited in Bell 1978)13
a. Usa ka ambunga=ng magti’ayon mi’abot sa syudad sa Manila.
one LIG handsome=LIG couple arrive LCV city LCV Manila
‘A handsome couple arrived in Manila.’
b. Ni’adto=ng panahona, lima ka kinhaso=ng daw salamin
that.OBL=LIG time five LIG seashell=LIG like mirror
nakaplagan sa mga bata=ng nagdula sa babayon.
find LCV DET.plrl child=LIG play LCV beach
‘At that time, five shining seashells were found by children who were
playing on the beach.’

13
Bell (1978:3) notes: “While Cebuano permits indefinite subjects, indefinite subjects do not
occur freely.… [I]ndefinite subjects are better in pre-verbal position, at least in paragraph-
initial sentences… There is another, much more serious restriction on indefinite subjects. An
indefinite subject must contain a numeral.”

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4.2.1.2.3 Proximate vs. remote

In the Northeast Luzon languages such as Paranan (Finkbeiner 1983:9), Casiguran

Dumagat (Headland and Headland 1974:xxxii), as well as in Isnag (Barlaan 1977:111-
114, 121), a distinction is made between nouns that have been described as present, seen,
known, near, specific, factual, or alive, that is, features that we define as PROXIMATE, versus
those that are past, absent, unseen, unknown, far, general, fictional, or dead, that is,
features that we define as REMOTE. In the Northeast Luzon languages, proximate nouns
are typically marked by Determiners with either an i or an a vowel, whereas remote
nouns are marked by Determiners with a u vowel. In Isnag, the same association can be
made.
Some Central and Southern Cordilleran languages, such as Guinaang Bontok,
similarly have different Determiners for nouns that are either neutral or remote in terms
of time reference and those which, although out of sight, are within the recent experience
of both speaker and addressee, as in (94a-b).

(94) Guinaang Bontok

a. Dəpapə=m nan sána /ásu!
catch.2S.actr DET that near one dog
‘Catch that (near) dog!’
b. Dəpapə=m san /ásu!
catch.2S.actr DET dog
‘Catch that (recent) dog!’

4.2.1.2.4 Specific vs. non-specific

In the previous section it was noted that in Philippine languages, Nominative noun
phrases typically have a definite interpretation; that is to say, the speaker assumes that
the addressee knows the general reference of the actant that is the head of the phrase.
Knowing the general reference of an actant does not imply that the addressee knows the
specific actant being referred to. Although Nominative phrases are typically definite,
they may or may not be specific. The degree of specificity often depends on the presence
of a demonstrative, either as the head of the noun phrase, or as a post-head modifier, or
on the presence of some other post-head modifier such as a genitively marked noun
phrase, or a relative clause. A number of languages mark a distinction between specific
and non-specific phrases, with the specific phrase being invariably marked by a form
which is either a demonstrative, or can be shown to have been a demonstrative at some
earlier stage of the language. In some languages, such as Ilokano and Casiguran Dumagat
Agta, such forms have actually grammaticalized into Determiners; in other cases they

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may continue to be functioning as the head noun of the phrase.

In most Philippine languages, demonstratives may occur both as the head of a
noun phrase and as a post-head modifier of a non-demonstrative head noun, often in the
same construction (95).

(95) Ilokano
Nakíta=na daydiay nga áso a daydiay.
saw=GEN.3S that one LIG dog LIG that one
‘He saw that dog (not some other).’

Such post-head demonstrative modifier phrases have, in a number of Philippine

languages, become phonologically attached to their preceding head noun, usually with
erosion of the final vowel of the demonstrative, forming a class of enclitic demonstratives.
In Paranan, the forms are =en, =ud, or =id, and they may occur phonologically attached
to the head of any noun phrase, Nominative, Genitive, or Locative which is preceded by
a proximate Determiner (96). 14 The non-reduced enclitic forms occur in Paranan as
emphatic (“pointing”) demonstratives.

(96) Paranan (Finkbeiner 1983:9)

a. Nagbunga iyan i bayabas=mi=yen.
fruited that one DET guava=GEN.1PE=that near
‘That guava tree of ours (ex.) bore fruit.’
b. Madukas i anak=id a maupos.
bad DET child=that unknown LIG talkative
‘A child who is talkative is bad.’
c. Inkonya=mu i papel=idi?
what do=GEN.2S DET paper=this
‘What did you (sg) do with this paper here?’

In Arta, a northern Luzon Negrito language, an enclitic =i is commonly attached to

nouns, whether it is Nominative or not, to enhance its specificity; but it is never attached
to a Locative Correspondent, which can only have an indefinite, non-specific interpretation.
(Compare (97a) and (97b)). The same phenomenon is found in Tasaday (98), and perhaps
in some other Manobo languages in the south of the Philippines.

14
Finkbeiner (1983:9) notes, “The present marking suffix /-en/ implies the object is seen, near,
and specific or present in time, while the suffix /-ud/ implies far distance in location or time,
but still seen or known. /-id/ seems to imply future, absence, unknown, or very close.”

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(97) Arta
a. Tinim=di i binarayan=i.
drank=GEN.3P DET wine=ADV
‘They drank the wine.’
b. Matitim i minabulu ta binarayan.
drinking DET widow LCV wine
‘The widow is drinking wine.’
(98) Tasaday (Reid 1999:9)
Aken sidu=i migdega.
NOM.1S there=ADV lie down
‘I’ll lie down over there.’

4.2.1.2.5 Singular vs. plural

A distinction between singular and plural Determiners for personal nouns occurs
throughout the Philippines. The forms in the Cordilleran languages of the northern
Philippines, as well as in some of the other languages of the Philippines are usually the
same as the enclitic third person Nominative pronouns. Whereas the pronouns are
second-position clitics, the plural Determiners are free forms; although as unstressed
forms they may, like other Determiners, become phonologically attached to either the
immediately preceding or following stressed form. This can be seen from the position
of the future time adverbial clitic (=to following a consonant, =nto following a vowel)
in Ilokano. In (99a), it precedes the plural Determiner da, whereas in (99b), it follows
the clitic pronoun =da.

(99) Ilokano
a. Mapan=to da Juan.
go=fut DET.plrl Juan
‘Juan and companions will go.’
b. Mapan=da=nto.
go=NOM.3P=fut
‘They will go.’

Tboli appears to retain a historically earlier system, in which the plural form is still
a third person agreement pronoun, with an otherwise unmarked head noun immediately
following, as in (100a-b). That these are in fact pronouns, and not plural Determiners is
suggested by the fact that both first and second person plural pronouns can occur in the
same types of construction, as in (100c-d).

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(100) Tboli (Forsberg 1992:11)

a. Omin le Yê Bong gna.
and then NOM.3P Mother Big go ahead
‘And then Big Mother and her companions went ahead.’
b. Wen le Yê.
there is NOM.3P Mother
‘There is Mother and the rest of the family.’
c. Lewu me Kasi funen.
two NOM.1PE Kasi owner.GEN.3S
‘Kasi and I are the owners.’ (Lit., ‘We two Kasi are the owners.’)
d. Gunun deng nù se tahu blóng ye Dimas?
where.GEN.3S PAST be EMPH true division NOM.2P Dimas
‘Where is the true boundary between you and Dimas?’

In most Philippine languages, expansions of the head of plural personal nouns, as

also of plural pronoun heads, such as those in (100c-d), are typically accomplished with
a Locative expression, interpreted as ‘with’, as in (101).

(101) Guinaang Bontok

Siya sa nan /ásu=mi an takdəg.
prdc.3S that DET dog=GEN.1PE with Takcheg
‘The dog that is Takcheg’s and mine is that one.’

The marking of plural common noun phrases, although not obligatory in Philippine
languages, 15 is commonly accomplished by the use of one or more of a number of
pluralizing strategies. These are presented below, in the order in which they appear to
have developed historically.

(a) By third person plural pronominal agreement with a marked common noun
phrase, commonly in immediate appositional relationship to it, as in Itawis, Central
Cagayan Agta, Guinaang Bontok, etc., as described above in §2.3.2.3.

(102) Itawis (Natividad and Solomon 1970:23)

Naguribat=ida ya affi.
dim=NOM.3P DET lights
‘The lights are dim.’

15
Common nouns typically can have either singular or plural reference without overt marking.
Most languages also have morphological devices for deriving plural nouns from some subclasses
of singular nouns.

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(103) Central Cagayan Agta (Healey 1960:62)

Ayagám=kid mantu sin ya atu ikid na ugta.
call.2S.actr=NOM.3P then here DET dog plrl DET deer
‘Then call here the dog and the deer.’
(104) Guinaang Bontok
Kasí=da /umawid nan tapí=na.
again=NOM.3P return DET other=GEN.3S
‘The rest of them returned again.’

(b) By means of a common noun Determiner, usually a compound of a third person

plural pronoun, either (da or di) and a common Determiner. This strategy is commonly
found in the languages of the Northern Philippines, as in Yogad danu (as in (105a)),
Ilokano dagiti (106), Isnag daya, and Ilongot díma. These forms have apparently
developed independently in these languages, in that the latter part of each form reflects
the Determiners that have developed in those languages. That they are in fact functioning
as Determiners and not as a sequence of pronoun plus Determiner is evidenced from the
presence of Locative forms in which the compound is itself prefixed with the appropriate
Locative marker; e.g., Yogad takudanu (as in (105b)), Ilokano kadagiti (106), and Isnag
kadayá.

(105) Yogad
a. Akkanan danu tolay yu ma:baw.
eating DET.plrl man DET cooked rice
‘The men are eating the rice.’
b. Ya:da=m yu kwa:rto takudanu tolay.
give=GEN.2S DET money LCV.plrl man
‘Give the money to the people.’
(106) Ilokano
Nakíta=k dagiti tattáo kadagiti babbalay=da.
saw=GEN.1S DET.plrl men LCV.plrl houses=GEN.3P
‘I saw the men in their houses.’

(c) By following the head noun with a free (non-enclitic) third person plural
pronoun. Constructions of this type occur in most of the Cagayan Valley languages of
Northern Luzon, such as Central Cagayan Agta (107), Itawis (108), Gaddang, Ibanag and
Atta, but not in Yogad or Isnag. It is also found in Paranan (109), on the northeastern
coast of Luzon, and in Isinai, a Central Cordilleran language.

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(107) Central Cagayan Agta (Healey 1960:15)

Awán ya lalaki=mi kiden.
ngtv.exist DET man=GEN.1PE NOM.3P
‘Our (ex.) menfolk are not here.’
(108) Itawis (Natividad and Solomon 1970:19)
Lalakay ira nay.
men DET.plrl NOM.that (remote)
‘Those are old men.’
(109) Paranan (Finkbeiner 1984)
Umagum bi en agum hidi a tolay dikoku.
help also DET other NOM.3P LIG person LCV.1S
‘The other people will also help me.’

(d) By a plural demonstrative as the head of the phrase with a following dependent
noun, as in Ilokano (110) and Guinaang Bontok (111). Constructions such as these
occur in probably all languages of the family, since all languages have developed plural
demonstratives.

(110) Ilokano
Aláem dagitoy (a) mangga.
get.2S.actr these ones LIG mango
‘Get these mangos.’
(111) Guinaang Bontok
Iníla=k nan də@/əyda (ay) lallaláki.
saw=GEN.1S DET those ones LIG person
‘I saw those men.’

(e) The languages of the central and southern Philippines, from Tagalog south,
typically mark common nouns as plural by use of the plural Determiner manga,
commonly abbreviated in the orthographies of Tagalog, Bikol, and some of the Central
Philippine languages as mga (as in (112)-(113)). Tboli marks a common noun with the
form kem (114). Manuk Mangkaw Sinama performs the same function with saga (115).

(112) Bikol (Mintz 1971:99)

Binarakál=ko an mga lápis.
bought=GEN.1S DET DET.plrl pencil
‘I bought pencils.’

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(113) Sarangani Manobo (DuBois 1976:9)

Doen menge otaw.
exist some person
‘There are some people.’
(114) Tboli (Forsberg 1992:10)
kem gunù ‘houses’
kem kudà ‘horses’
kem libun ‘girls’
(115) Manuk Mangkaw Sinama (Akamine 1996:66)
Maha bilahi paragan saga anak-anak.
ngtv like run DET.plrl child
‘The children do not like to run.’

Tagalog and some sister languages in the Central Philippines also have a set of
plural determiners for personal nouns distinct from those discussed above: sina, nina,
and kina (Romblomanon: siná, niná, and kiná, and Sibalenhon: sína, nína, and kína
Zorc (1977:82)).

4.3 Relative clauses

The primary strategy for forming relative clauses in Philippine languages is to

relativize upon the Nominative noun phrase and to replace it with a gap in the relative
clause.

4.3.1 Verbal relative clauses

The most obvious examples of these relative clauses are those in which the language
requires a ligature between the head noun in the matrix clause and the relative clause,
and in which the head of the relative clause is a verbal form. In (116a), the relative
clause is intransitive, with a gap in place of the Nominative actant, which is coreferential
with fiarasang ‘young lady’ of the matrix clause. In (116b), the relative clause is
transitive. Since Eastern Bontok, like other Philippine languages, is ergative, it is the
Patient of a transitive clause that is Nominatively marked,16 and it is this noun phrase
which is gapped in the relative clause and is coreferential with kinchi tona ‘this candy’
of the matrix clause. Similar pairs of intransitive-transitive relative clauses are given in
(117)-(118). It should be noted that the pattern is the same for dyadic intransitive
clauses (as in (117a) and (118a)) as for those with a single complement. Similarly,

16
Referred to in some descriptions as Absolutive.

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Lawrence A. Reid and Hsiu-chuan Liao

transitive clauses with an extra complement (as in (118b)) relativize in the same way as
those with only two complements.

(116) Eastern Bontok (Fukuda 1997:66)

a. Ammay hen fiarasang ay inmali ah oswelaqan.
good DET young lady LIG came [-trns] DET school
‘The lady who came to school is good.’
b. Ammay hen kinchi tona ay kenan hen fiarasang.
good DET candy this LIG ate [+trns] DET young lady
‘This candy which the lady ate is good.’
(117) Hiligaynon (Wolfenden 1971:167-8)
a. Nawalá’ ang duhá ka nagbakál sang manyíka.
was lost DET two LIG bought [-trns] DET doll
‘The two who bought a doll were lost.’
b. Mahál ang pulá nga ginbakál=ko.
expensive DET red LIG bought [+trns]=GEN.1S
‘The red article I bought is expensive.’
(118) Mansaka (Svelmoe and Svelmoe 1974:55, 57)
a. Kikita=ko si Ilik na yagaloto sang bugas.
see=G EN .1S D ET Ilik LIG cook [-trns] O BL rice
‘I see Ilik cooking the rice.’
b. yang bugas na pyapadara nang dato sang maystro
DET rice LIG sent [+trns] GEN leader OBL teacher
‘the rice that the leader sent to the teacher’

Similarly, transitive clauses with applicative affixes17 relativize in the same way.
Thus the verb carries beneficiary-affect marking in (119a), while it carries manner-
affect in (119b). In each case, it is the Nominative noun phrase which is relativized upon.

(119) Eastern Bontok (Fukuda 1997:66)

a. Cha matoy hen amqama ay iloktowan=mi.
prog die DET old man LIG get yam:for=GEN.1PE
‘The old man that we (ex.) go and get yams for is dying.’
b. Nangina hen safon ay imqos=mo.
expensive DET soap LIG bathe with=GEN.2S
‘The soap that you (sg.) take a bath with is expensive.’

17
The so-called “focus”, “voice-marking” affixes, “trigger-marking” affixes (Schachter 1990:
949-954), or “pivot” morphemes.

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4.3.2 Non-verbal relative clauses

All non-verbal clauses are intransitive, and may be relativized in the same manner
as verbal clauses; i.e., with a gap replacing the Nominative noun phrase, as in (120)-
(121). Compare the relative clauses in (120a) and (120c), with the nominal clauses upon
which they are based in (120b) and (120d), respectively.

4.3.2.1 Nominal relative clauses

(120) Guinaang Bontok

a. Sak/ən ay /am/ama nan /uməy.
TOP.1S LIG married man DET go
‘I, who am married, will go.’
b. /am/ama=/ak.
married man=NOM.1S
‘I am a married man.’
c. Nan ná/ay ay bənəŋ nan /alá/əm.
DET this one LIG bolo DET get.2S.actr
‘The one you will get is this bolo (not that one).’
d. Bənəŋ nan ná/ay.
bolo DET this one
‘This one is a bolo.’
(121) Mansaka (Svelmoe and Svelmoe 1974:57)
Kikita ko kamo na kawbayan.
see GEN.1S NOM.2P LIG women
‘I see you women.’ (Lit., ‘I see you who are women.’)

4.3.2.2 Prepositional relative clauses

All prepositional clauses are likewise intransitive, and may be relativized in the
same manner, that is, with a gap replacing the Nominative noun phrase. Compare the
prepositional clauses in (122a-b), with the relative clauses which can be formed upon
them, (123a-b) respectively.

(122) Tagalog (Schachter and Otanes 1972:259-60)

a. Para sa pagluluto ng kanin ang palayok na ito.
for LCV cooking GEN rice DET pot LIG this
‘This pot is (used) for cooking rice.’

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b. Hinggil sa negosyo ang usapan=nila.

about LCV business DET conversation=GEN.3P
‘Their conversation is about business.’
(123) Tagalog
a. ang palayok na ito=ng para sa pagluluto ng kanin
DET pot LIG this=LIG for LCV cooking GEN rice
‘this pot that is (used) for cooking rice’
b. ang usapan=nila=ng hinggil sa negosyo
DET conversation=GEN.3P=LIG about LCV business
‘their conversation that is about business’

4.3.3 “Adjectival” relative clauses

As mentioned in §4.1, the great majority of Philippine languages do not have a

distinctive form class of adjectives. Most descriptive terms are either unmarked, like
nouns, or carry affixation which marks them as a type of stative verb, so that an English
structure that contains an adjective usually appears in Philippine languages as a relative
clause construction, as in (124a-b) and (126). The clauses from which such Ilokano
relative clauses are formed are shown in (125a-b) respectively.

(124) Ilokano (Reid; Rubino 2000:lxxx)

a. dagiti baró a bádo
DET.plrl new one LIG clothes
‘the new clothes’
b. ti naímas a digó
DET delicious LIG broth
‘the delicious broth’
(125) Ilokano
a. Bádo dagiti baró.
new DET.plrl clothes
‘The clothes are new.’
b. Naímas ti digó.
delicious DET broth
‘The broth is delicious.’
(126) Hiligaynon (Wolfenden 1971:167)
Diútay nga báta si Pédro.
small LIG child DET Pedro
‘Pedro is a small child.’

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4.3.4 Position of relative clauses in relation to their head nouns

Some linguists claim that there is freedom of word order for relative clauses in
Philippine languages, that the relative clauses in (124)-(126) are actually head final,
while those illustrated in (127) are head initial. By such an analysis, (128)-(129) would
contain both head-initial and head-final relative clauses. However, in each of these
constructions it is the form preceding the ligature that acts as the syntactic head of the
construction in that it may stand alone, without the following relative clause, and it is
the relative clause which is the specifying constituent. These claims are based on
examples like (130a-b), and the fact that these relative clauses have appropriate basic
clauses in which their predicates provide specification for their Nominative complements,
as shown in (130c-d) respectively.

(127) Botolan Sambal (Antworth 1979:58)

a. ya kabayo ya malhay
DET horse LIG large
‘the horse that is large’
b. ya lapis ya nikatak
DET pencil LIG lost
‘the pencil that was lost’
(128) Ilokano
Nakíta=na daydiay nga áso a daydiay.
saw=GEN.3S that one LIG dog LIG that one
‘He saw that dog (not some other).’
(129) Mansaka (Svelmoe and Svelmoe 1974:51)
yang mataba na baboy na maitum
DET fat LIG pig LIG black
‘the fat, black pig’
(130) Guinaang Bontok
a. /intu nan /inmayan nan dakdakəl (ay bútug=ku)?
where DET went place GEN big one LIG pig=GEN.1S
‘Where has my big (pig) gone?’ (Lit., ‘Where is the gone-place of the big
one (that is my pig)?’)
b. /intu nan /inmayan nan bútug=ku (ay dakdakəl)?
where DET went place DET pig=GEN.1S LIG big one
‘Where has my pig (the big one) gone?’ (Lit., ‘Where is the gone-place of
my pig (that is the big one)?’)

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c. Bútug=ku nan dakdakəl.

pig=GEN.1S DET big one
‘The big one is my pig.’
d. Nan dakdakəl nan bútug=ku.
DET big one DET pig=GEN.1S
‘My pig is the big one.’

Examples in which verbal relative clauses appear to be head final, are similarly
actually head-initial nominalized verbs, as demonstrated in (131a-d).

(131) Guinaang Bontok

a. Sínu nan /iníla=m (ay magmaggit)?
who DET seen one=GEN.2S LIG young woman
‘Who is the one you saw (that is a young woman)?’
b. Sínu nan magmaggit (ay /iníla=m)?
who DET young woman LIG saw=GEN.2S
‘Who is the young woman (that you saw)?’
c. Magmaggit nan /iníla=m.
young woman DET seen one=GEN.2S
‘The one you saw is a young woman.’
d. /iníla=m nan magmaggit.
saw=GEN.2S DET young woman
‘You saw a young woman.’

4.3.5 Relativization of other-than-nominative nouns

The most commonly relativized nouns are Nominative, however a few other nouns
may also be relativized. To our knowledge, there is no Philippine language which
unambiguously allows relativization of either the Genitive Agent of a transitive
sentence, 18 or the Correspondent of either an intransitive or a transitive sentence,

18
Brainard (1997:120) claims that Karao exhibits a type of relative clause which modifies the
argument of an existential clause. In such cases, either an ergative NP (Genitive Agent in our
terminology) or an absolutive (or Nominative) NP can occur. When it is a Genitive Agent, it
requires an anaphoric pronoun in the relative clause. When it is Nominative, there is a gap. An
alternative analysis, and one which we prefer, claims that these are not relative clauses, but
complements of the existential verb. An example follows.
Karao (Brainard 1997:120)
Gwara di=y ‘iKadasan ‘a ‘in‘anop=to=y ‘aso=tho.
exists there=DET person Kadasan LIG hunt [+trns]=GEN.3S=DET dog=GEN.3S
‘There was a person from Kadasan who went hunting with his dog.’

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regardless of the formal marking of these phrases in a language. However, the “possessor”
of a possessed noun (i.e., a Genitive Correspondent in our theory) can be relativized.

4.3.5.1 Relativization of a genitive correspondent possessor

Two different strategies are found in Philippine languages when the “possessor” of
a possessed noun is relativized. Relativization of such a noun can only take place from
the Nominative noun phrase of an intransitive (verbal or non-verbal) construction.

4.3.5.1.1 Utilizing the gap strategy

This strategy is found at least in Tagalog, Cebuano (132), and in Mansaka (133),
where what may be an inalienable possessor is relativized with a gap where the possessor
would occur in a non-relativized construction. From the ungrammaticality of (132b),
and similar structures in other languages, there are apparently restrictions on the kind
and/or distribution of possessives that are relativizable, restrictions that are not yet fully
understood.

(132) Cebuano (Bell 1976:124)

a. Nahadlok siya sa sakop ni Iyo’ Bruno nga nagkadugo’
fear NOM.3S LCV group GEN Iyo’ Bruno LIG bloody
ang ba’ba’.
DET mouth
‘He was afraid of Iyo Bruno’s group, whose mouths were bloody.’
b.*Kusgan ang baka nga giputlan niya ang sungay.
strong DET cow LIG cut off [+trns] GEN.3S DET horn
‘The cow whose horns were cut off by him was strong.’
(133) Mansaka (Svelmoe and Svelmoe 1974:51)
a. yang otaw na way anak
DET person LIG ngtv.exist child
‘the man who has no child’
b. yang otaw na masakit yang siki
DET person LIG painful DET leg
‘the man whose leg is painful’

Translated as a complement of the existential verb, it would be, ‘There was hunting with his
dog, a person from Kadasan.’

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4.3.5.1.2 With resumptive pronoun strategy

The other strategy for relativizing a possessor in Philippine languages is to have a

resumptive Genitive pronoun in the position where the possessor would occur in a non-
relativized construction. In these languages the possession that is involved is either
alienable or inalienable, as in (134)-(135).

(134) Guinaang Bontok

a. Nan tágu ay wad/ay /ásu=na nan /as /uməy.
DET person LIG exist dog=GEN.3S DET fut go
‘The one to go will be the person who has a dog.’
b. Nan tágu ay /insakit nan sikí=da nan /as /adi /uməy.
DET person LIG painful DET leg=GEN.3P DET fut ngtv go
‘The ones who will not go are the people whose legs are sore.’
(135) Kabayan Inibaloi (Roberta Ruffolo, pers. comm.)
a. Bara=d chiyay i kamatis ya enkontiling i dames=to.
exist=LCV there DET tomato plant LIG tiny DET fruit=GEN.3S
‘Here there are tomato plants whose fruit are very small.’
b. Yet in’an=to=iray nangkatoling tan katambaleg=a
and then saw=GEN.3S=DET.plrl black.plrl and huge=LIG
too=n abadeg i mata=cha, sangi=cha, tan tangida=ra.
person=LIG big DET eye=GEN.3P tooth=GEN.3P and tongue=GEN.3P
‘And then he saw those huge, black people whose eyes, teeth and tongues
were big.’

4.3.6 Relative clause marking

All the examples of relative clauses in the above sections have indicated their
presence following a ligature, a form which historically had its origin in a Proto-
Austronesian demonstrative *(n)a. The general function of the ligature was to introduce
dependent structures, and it occurred not only before relative clauses but also before
sentential complements with verbal heads. In several Philippine languages such as
Ivatan (136) and Hiligaynon (137), the form ka occurs as a special ligature preceding
relative clauses having numeral nouns as their heads.

(136) Ivatan (Reid 1966:101)

qo qása ka kamay
DET one LIG finger
‘one finger’

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(137) Hiligaynon (Wolfenden 1971:168)

Nagalangóy siá sa isá ka piníli’ nga ádlaw.
was swimming NOM.3S DET one LIG chosen LIG day
‘He was swimming on one particular day.’

In most Manobo languages and in other languages in the south of the Philippines
such as Manuk Mangkaw Sinama (138), ligatures have been lost, except in what were
originally relative clauses headed by a numeral but which are now probably part of
compound nouns.

(138) Manuk Mangkaw Sinama (Akamine 1996:83-4)

a. anak-anak tuli
child sleep
‘the child who is sleeping’
b. lumaq poteq
house white
‘the white house’
c. lalla ma lepa
man at boat
‘the man in the boat’

5. Conclusion

The space restrictions necessarily imposed on articles of this sort, have unfortunately
meant that much that could and should be said about the syntactic typology of Philippine
languages is left unsaid. Moreover, only the minimum number of examples to exemplify
our claims could be included. The theoretical basis of the analysis is hardly more than
alluded to, and we encourage interested readers to delve into the literature referred to
for clarification of some of the notions we have here taken for granted.
A number of areas of syntax for which typological description has not been included
in this paper, and which will be covered in a monograph in preparation, include a fuller
characterization of the typology of verbal complementation structures, of existential
verbal structures, of causative structures, of types of negation, and of patterns of
occurrence of typically monosyllabic clitic adverbs. In this paper, moreover, we only
begin to cover the immense complexity found in verbs and other form classes. These
will also be addressed in the forthcoming monograph.
The amount of literature available today on Philippine languages is immense and
constantly growing, and there is no doubt that our coverage may well have missed some

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important works. We hope that readers who know of counter-examples to those presented,
or who believe that our analysis of specific examples is incorrect, will contact us to
enable us to give a better picture of the typology of this group of languages.

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[Received 2 September 2002; revised 17 June 2003; accepted 19 December 2003]

Lawrence A. Reid
Department of Linguistics
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
1890 East-West Road, Moore 569
Honolulu, HI 96822
USA
[email protected]

Hsiu-chuan Liao
Department of Linguistics
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
1890 East-West Road, Moore 569
Honolulu, HI 96822
USA
[email protected]

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Lawrence A. Reid and Hsiu-chuan Liao

菲律賓南島語的句法結構簡介

Lawrence A. Reid 廖秀娟

夏威夷大學

本文以詞彙學派 (lexicalist) 的理論架構來分析及描述菲律賓南島語的句

法結構特徵。文中探討三項主題：(一) 詞序，(二) 動詞句的結構，(三) 名詞
組的結構。
在詞序方面，我們探討以動詞或以非動詞（即名詞組與介詞組）為謂語
的句型其謂語與(非)人稱代名詞等名詞補語及助動詞之間相對詞序。此外，
我們也討論主題化句型的詞序。
在動詞句的結構方面，我們檢視動詞形態與句子及物性之間的關連性。
我們發現動詞形態本身並無法使我們準確無誤地判斷動詞的及物性。此外，
我們將「焦點詞綴」分析為動詞所帶有的與主格名詞組詮釋有關的語義成
分，而非所謂的「語義角色呼應」。
在名詞組的結構方面，我們探討限制詞的句法功能與語義功能。此外，
我們也探討關係子句結構。我們主張菲律賓南島語並無「形容詞」的存在。
名詞組中所謂的「形容詞」實際上是以狀態動詞為謂語的關係子句。

關鍵詞：菲律賓南島語，句法類型，作格性，及物性，焦點，主題

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