On plurality

Abstract

Certain pronouns exhibit inherent plurality and a corollary of this property is that multiple subjects require agreement (or concord): the expression of plurality on the predicate. Hence it takes a personal marker agreeing in person and number with that subject. Similar phenomena play a role in postponed suffixation, that is, when the suffixes for person and number in a clause occur solely in the final clause of a sentence. A special problem is posed by the question of what exactly determines the position where the personal marker for the third person plural should be placed. It is shown that notions such as property attribution, class inclusion, and identification are the mechanisms which are the crucial factors in the placement of the plural marker.