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If we first investigate whether the final subject is focused, we find that sentences with
final subjects are not the preferred response to wh- questions:
(310) a. Wōn eo e-ar kan# keek eo?
who the.s 3s.agr-T(past) eat.trans cake the.s
'Who ate the cake?'
will accept V O S
b. R-ar kan#-e keek eo, kidu ko nej-ū.
3pl.agr-T(past) eat.trans-obj cake the.s dog the.pl.nh cher.poss-1s.gen
'They ate the cake, my dogs.'
preferred response S V O
c. Kidu ko nej-ū r-ar kan#-e keek eo.
dog the.pl.nh cher.poss-1s.gen 3pl.agr-T(past) eat.trans-obj cake the.s
'My dogs ate the cake.'
(311) a. Ta eo e-kar kā-lok jān wa eo?
what the.s 3s.agr-T(past) jump-away.from.both from boat the.s
'What jumped from the boat?'
will accept V S PP
b. E-kar kā-lok juon ek jān wa eo.
3s.agr-T(past) jump-away.from.both a fish from boat the.s
'A fish jumped from the boat.' (lit. 'It jumped from the boat, a fish.')
preferred response S V PP
d. Juon ek e-kar kā-lok jān wa eo.
a fish 3s.agr-T(past) jump-away.from.both from boat the.s
'A fish jumped from the boat.'
Final subjects may also be indefinites, which might be taken as evidence against their
being topics.
V PP S
(312) Re-kar tūmmwi-Ĝok i ar, bwijin kōrkōr.
3pl.agr-T(past) sink-away.from.both in lagoon many canoe
'Many canoes sank in the lagoon.' (lit. 'They sank in the lagoon, many canoes.')
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