Siouan Infinitives

[Rory M Larson]

John wrote:
> - Something incipiently like this occurs in Dhegiha where third person
> singular proximate takes the a-grade (and the plural marker), but
citation
> forms usually take the e-grade.  I believe this is more or less a
> nominalized form, or, to be more precise I believe that there is a
> tendency for obviative forms to occur more often in nominalized clauses
> than in main clauses.  I don't know what the precise conditioning is.  If
> anyone has worked this out, I'd be delighted to hear about it!

Just to get some concrete examples going here, do you mean
the difference between things like:

    Dhiza' (i).
    He took/is taking/takes it.

and

    Dhize' tHe u'udaN ta akH(a).
    take  nom. good   future-by-someone-else's-choice
    Hopefully he will take it.

?

Rory