Madija predicates

This article examines several previously-unexplained aspects of verbal morphology and syntax in Madija, an Arauan language spoken in Peru and Brazil. These include the distribution of an auxiliary verb which occurs with some predicates but not with others, the factors determining the choice among three different affixes marking third person agreement, and three different affixes indicating a plural subject. Using the framework of Relational Grammar, a unified analysis of Madija predicate classes and verbal morphology can be given. This provides further evidence for such proposals as the Unaccusative Hypothesis, Postal\u27s proposed analysis for antipassive, the analysis of impersonal constructions as containing a dummy nominal, and the analysis of causatives as multipredicate clauses (along the lines of proposals by Davies and Rosen)