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[iv]. Another syntactic function of di is to enable the
subject to be in position between a transitive verb and its
object. The order Verb[tr] - Subject - Object is
ungrammatical unless the subject is preceded by di. Compare
the ungrammatical (a's) and the grammatical (b's) below.
275. a)*Ka ji-pr'iek jih bajee baro-jih
PERF 3y-tear hey shirt new-3y
'He has torn his new shirt.'
b) Ka ji-pr'iek di jih bajee baro-jih.
PERF 3y-tear SFC hey shirt new-3y
He has torn his new shirt.
276. a)*H'an mee geu-kalon gopnyan asee.
NEG like 3r-see her
He does not like dogs.'
dog
b) H'an mee geu-kalon di gopnyan asee.
NEG like 3r-see SFC her dog
'He does not like dogs.'
[v]. As long as constraint [ii] of the POC is not
violated, a subject can always be placed after an object if
such an order is needed. Sentences of this type are not
ungrammatical, but unless the subject is marked with di,
very often they sound rather awkward, especially when the
subject is a monosyllabic word.