Features

17. Absolutive marked subjects in some unergative verbs: borrokatu naiz (v dut )

Yellow: variational pattern attested
Blue: variational pattern non-attested

(2) (Ni) borrokatu naiz

Short description
Answers
References
Abbreviations

Aldai, Gontzal. 2006. «Is Basque morphologically ergative? The semantic split-intransitive case marking system of Western Basque». In Beatriz Fernandez and Itziar Laka (eds.), Andolin Gogoan. Essays in honour of Professor Eguzkitza. Leioa: UPV/EHU. 117-138.

Aldai, Gontzal. 2009. «Euskararen kasu markaketaren aldakortasun dialektala». In Beatriz Fernández, Pablo Albizu and Ricardo Etxepare (eds.), Euskara eta euskarak: aldakortasun sintaktikoa aztergai. [Supplements of the International Journal of Basque Linguistics and Philology (ASJU), LII]. Donostia: UPV/EHU and Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundia. 5-19.

Berro, Ane and Ricardo Etxepare. 2017. «Ergativity in Basque». In Jessica Coon, Lisa M.Travis and Diane Massam (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Ergativity. New York: Oxford University Press.

Berro, Ane. 2010. Unergative Predicates in Basque Varieties: Consequences for the Ergative Case Assignment. DEA research work, UPV/EHU. [Available in the Internet: http://www.ehu.eus/seg/ media/morf/5/12/2/1/sak/aneberrotesia.pdf]

Berro, Ane. 2012. «Three Levels of Root Insertion in Basque Intransitive Verbs». In Ernestina Carrilho and Beatriz Fernández (eds.), Journal of Portuguese Linguistics. Special Issue, 11-1. Lisboa: Ediçoes Colibrí-Universidade de Lisboa. 7-22.

Berro, Ane. 2015. Breaking verbs. From event structure to syntactic categories in Basque. Ph.D. Diss., UPV/EHU and Université Bordeaux Montaigne (UBM).

Etxepare, Ricardo. 2003. «Valency and argument structure in the Basque Verb». In José Ignacio Hualde and Jon Ortiz de Urbina (eds.), A grammar of Basque. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 363-425.

Fernández, Beatriz. 1997. Egiturazko kasuaren erkaketa euskaraz. Bilbo: UPV/EHU.

Holmer, Anders. 1999. «An active analysis of Basque ergativity». Fontes Linguae Vasconum 81: 189-225.

Hualde, José Ignacio. 2016. «On Basque dialects». In Beatriz Fernández and Jon Ortiz de Urbina (eds.), Microparameters in the grammar of Basque. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 15-36.

Laka, Itziar. 1993b. «Unergatives that Assign Ergative, Unaccusatives that Assign Accusative». In Jonathan D. Bobaljik and Colin Phillips (eds.), Papers on Case and Agreement I, MITWPL 18. Cambridge, MA: MITWPL. 149-172.

Levin, Beth. 1983. On the Nature of Ergativity. Ph.D. Diss., MIT.

Ortiz de Urbina, Jon. 1989. Parameters in the grammar of Basque. Dordrecht: Foris.

Oyharçabal, Beñat. 1992. «Structural case and inherent case marking: Ergaccusativity in Basque». Supplements of the International Journal of Basque Linguistics and Philology (ASJU), XXVII. Donostia: Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundia. 309-342.

Generalized pattern. Generally, unergative verbs take an ergative subject and the *edun ‘have’ auxiliary.

(1)	(Nik)	borrokatu/borroka egin	dut
	I.ERG	fight.PTCP/fight do.PTCP	(3ABS).have.1SG.ERG
	‘I have fought.’

Variational pattern. In some varieties, some unergative verbs take an absolutive subject and izan ‘be’ auxiliary (afaldu ‘have dinner’, bazkaldu ‘have lunch’, borrokatu ‘fight’, jokatu ‘play’ etc.)

(2)	(Ni)	borrokatu	naiz
	I.ABS	fight.PTCP	1SG.ABS.be
	‘I have fought.’

Reported in: eastern varieties (Oihartzabal 1992, Aldai 2006, 2009).

Chapter: Case and Agreement

Keywords: auxiliary alternation, case, ergativity, unergative verbs

References:

Aldai (2006, 2009), Berro (2010, 2012, 2015), Berro and Etxepare (2017), Etxepare (2003), Fernández (1997), Holmer (1999), Hualde (2016), Laka (1993b), Levin (1983), Oyharçabal (1992), Ortiz de Urbina (1989)