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constructions do not bear the totality extension because of a general grammatical restriction
against the totality in such sentences (##).
Negatives
Bamoi &ya\ Dêsaæ bo¥ da\tì sa Bamoi is not taller than Disa
ka &ya\-na\ bo¥ goæn sa you are not better looking than me 1
næ &ya\-ka\ sa bo¥ da\tì `" næ &ya\-ka\ bo¥ da\tì sa I am not taller than you
Bamoi &ya\ Maduæ sa bo¥ da\tì `" Bamoi &ya\ Maduæ bo¥ da\tì sa
Bamoi is not taller than Madu
shukuær &ya\ so\ni sa bo¥ daælìntanta `" shukur &ya\ so\ni bo¥ daælìntaæ sa
sugar is not sweeter than honey
da\nde¥ko &yan mìnno sa bo¥ wa¥yo `" da\nde¥ko &yan mìnno bo¥ wa¥yo sa
your children are not smarter than mine
Bamoi ê Dêsaæ bo¥ gaæran sa Bamoi is not a big as Disa
eme\ maæna\ ama\ sa bo¥ sêrì `" eme\ maæna\ ama\ bo¥ sêrì sa
this one is not as big as that one
Questions
&ya\ Maduæ bo¥ da\tì ye loæ@ who is taller than Madu?
exceed Madu concerning height PS who
but *&ya\tu¥ Maduæ bo¥ da\tì ye loæ@ with totality extension -tu¥
Bamoi &ya\ loæ bo¥ da\tì@ who is Bamoi taller than?
Bamoi exceed who concerning height
but *Bamoi &ya\tu¥ loæ bo¥ da\tì@ with totality extension -tu¥
Bamoi &ya\ Maduæ gaæ taæn@ in what way is Bamoi superior to Madu?
Bamoi exceed Madu with how
but *Bamoi &ya\tu¥ Maduæ gaæ taæn@ with totality extension -tu¥
2. Quality-of Comparand + Verb + that-of Comparee
Another means of expressing comparison consists of a genitive noun phrase stating the
quality of the comparand followed by a comparative predicate.
da¥ti-no &ya\-tu¥ m; Bamoi I am taller than Bamoi
height-my surpass(pf)-tot that-of Bamoi
kaækkìfiaæk fiinsa du¥mo &ya\tu¥ n; ya\wi the hardness of a guinea fowl egg is greater
than that of a chicken s
sho¥ro¥ro¥ biyeæ kuæshi &ya\tu¥ n; fiassuæm bo¥ sho¥ro¥ro¥
the wateriness of the baobab sauce is greater
than that of the vegetable [sauce]
1
Note that in the affirmative ka &ya\tu¥ INA bo¥ goæ&! you are better looking than ME , the object pronoun
comparand (in small caps) is an independent pronoun, whereas in the negative ka &ya\-NA| bo¥ goæn sa you
are not better looking than me , the object pronoun is a clitic. Direct object pronouns are always in the
independent form following the totality extension (##).
3
shoæmshoæm &yaæla ye &ya\tu¥ n; kisa\toæ the fermentedness of the grain is greater than
yesterday s
so'n-no êtu¥ m; Bamoi I am as old as Bamoi
year-my do(cpl)-tot that-of Bamoi
waænshuærto êtu¥ mìnno she is as grey-haired as me
i.e. her grey-hair does mine
da¥tino ka¥sutu¥ m; Bamoi I am less tall than Bamoi
i.e. my height falls-short-of that of Bamoi
3. Miscellaneous Constructions Expressing Comparison
There are a couple of additional ways to express equation. One is to use mo\fiì one, the
same as the predicate, with no verb. The other is the structure
comparee (+ quality) + mana like + comparand
Bamoi gaæ Dêsaæ da\tìsu mo\fiì Bamoi and Disa are the same height
i.e. (as for) Bamoi and Disa, their height [is] one
goæm-mu mo\fiì we are equally good looking
i.e. our-attractiveness [is] one
so\ni daælìntaæ mana shukuær honey is as sweet as sugar
i.e. honey is sweet like sugar
cf. gam eme\ mana ama\ this ram is like that one
One verb, sÏru be older than , includes the notion of comparison within its meaning.
The base for this verb is the adjective sêrì big, important . Bole does not have a productive
process for deriving verbs from adjectives, however, and for the one other existing verb with
a related adjective, mànshu grow old (
comparative.
sÏru-tu¥ inaæ he is older than me
be older(cpl)-tot me
Sentences with the verb kaæya\ precede have the syntax of comparative constructions
see in §1, and such sentences sometimes lend themselves to a comparative in English
translation.
kaæya\tu¥ ina bo¥ nda¥ko he came before me , i.e. he preceded me concerning coming ,
which would also be translated he came earlier than me
4
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