Johnson 2004 - CDLI - UCLA

(103) a. BI (du 8, igi, gig)
b. gu 7 (BI, uzu suß 2, amar)
In the older of the two constructions, represented in (101) and (103a), the main verb was
the *bi-√ prefix itself, acting as an existential verb along the lines of, say, a modal
auxiliary in English; the primary difference was that the *bi-√ prefix and its fellow
travelers presumably coded features such as quantification, definiteness and evidentiality,
although these properties are quite difficult to recover from the later phases of the
language are recorded in the excavated documentation. This resulted in an existentially
quantified absolutive noun that was modified by an adjectival, secondary predicate in the
form of √du 8. Note that the existential quantification coded by the *bi-√ prefix has scope
over the entire clause on the basis of clause-final position. With the development of
ergativity, however, the main verb is not longer the *bi-√ prefix, but rather a lexical verb
such as √gu 7. Since √gu 7 is the main verb, it appears at the end of the clause and the
scope of the existential quantification introduced by the *bi-√ prefix is limited to the
causee (amar.e) and the absolutive noun ( uzu suß 2). Crucially, the ergative agent/causer
stands outside the scope of the existential quantification.
(104) a. [ ∃ (en aratta ki .ke 4) gig.e igi √du 8] √bi
da
b. (*lugal.banda3 .ke4) [ ∃ amar.e uzu suß2] bi gu7 190