Argument Marking Particles

These mark the other noun phrases in the clause. Some can mark embedded clauses, others can only mark a nominalized clause.

du

=du marks a destination that has not been reached, and so conveys motion towards a goal, a direction, the end of a sequence, a purpose or intention, a result, and an audience for speech.

nda

=nda marks location form, a source of motion, a beginning of a sequence, the source or substance something is made from, the stimulus of mental activity, a standard of comparison, or an alienable possessor.

nen

=nen is a very general comitative 'having', also used as an instrumental.

s

=s marks location at, on, in, onto, into. It implies that the motion is complete, that is that the subject has finished moving and arrived at a destination marked by =s. It can also mark time.

ya

=ya marks a rational animate cause of motion, and can be considered an animate, volitional version of =nda.

za

=za marks a path along which a subject is moving. It is also used to mark any position that involves elongation, such as fingers around a grasped object, and thus marks objects held or grasped, and the subject or topic of speech (about). When marking a clause, it indicates indirect quotation.

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