Triadic Constructions in Rutooro

Abstract

In triadic constructions, we typically find three arguments, namely a subject and two postverbal arguments.1 Two formal varieties obtain, as shown in (1) for English and in (2) for Rutooro, a Bantu language spoken in Uganda. In (1a) and (2a), the postverbal arguments are linearly realized as two contiguous NPs, i.e. NP1 and NP2, instantiating a double object construction (DOC), while in (1b) and (2b) they are realized as NP2 and PP, instantiating a prepositional phrase construction (PPC)