Selecting a Relative-Clause Participant

A relative description connects a head noun to a clause through a or nga. In the patterns here, an actor-oriented verb describes the head as performer, while a patient-oriented verb describes it as affected. The latter can name its actor separately: ti libro a ginatang ni Elena means the book Elena bought.

Track the main clause and relative clause independently. In Basaen ni Leo ti libro a ginatang ni Elena, Leo reads and Elena buys; the book is selected in both clauses. In a description of a runner, the head instead performs the relative action. The linker joins the description but does not identify actor or patient by itself. Modern KWF spelling uses a before consonant-initial following sounds and nga before vowel-initial sounds. These examples illustrate selected-head patterns without establishing an exhaustive restriction on every relative construction.