Inflection and Agreement

Abstract

The basic principles of Tzotzil agreement are simple: the predicate of a clause agrees with its (final) 1 and 2, and a possessed noun agrees with its genitive. As noted in chapter 1, predicate agreement in Tzotzil is ergative. Central to the agreement system are two sets of affixes, termed sets A and B. Set A marks agreement both with ergatives (subjects of transitive predicates) and genitives, while set B marks agreement with absolutives (subjects of intransitive predicates and direct objects). These affix sets mark person and, in some cases, number. A distinct set of plural suffixes cooccurs with those A and B affixes which do not mark number. Example (1) illustrates agreement with 1,2, and genitive:

$$\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {L - i - s - maj a - tot.} \\ {cp B1 A3 hit A2 father} \\ {Your{\text{ father hit me}}{\text{.}}} \end{array}$$

(1)