Agentless and Passive Clause Test
Theme: Domains · 10 sentences.
PAV-001 · Agentless and Passive Clause Test
Purpose: To establish the formal typology for agentless, passive, and emergence clauses in Tonesu. The grammar TODO at spec/grammar.md §Open Questions ("Define passive / agentless clause structure (no agent present)") is the explicit target. An early corpus pattern (lo-ze de with no agent) exists in s001–s039 but used the now-retired -past suffix system. This batch confirms and extends the pattern under current grammar (ti-de), and maps the full typology.
Design hypothesis: The diagnostic variable is whether ka (intentional-action marker) appears in the predicate alongside an absent la-. Claim: ka present + la- absent = intentional passive (an agent acted; agent unspecified). ka absent + bare lo-X = non-intentional process (entity underwent a state change; no agent implied). A third type — pure emergence — uses be without ka and without tense marking.
Reference compounds used in batch (transparent; not new registry entries):
- ra-su = force-structure = physical structure (building, bridge)
- su-mu-li = structure-device-person = engineer (attested S164)
- ra-ki-mu = force-change-device = engine / machine (attested S034)
- to-si = knowledge-signal = transmitted teaching / doctrine
- si-su = signal-structure = written record / text
S559
la-su-mu-li ka-be lo-ra-su ti-de
Active baseline: "The engineer built the structure."
Notes
Standard active clause. All slots filled: la-su-mu-li = agent (engineer); ka-be = intentional creation/growth; lo-ra-su = patient (structure); ti-de = past. This is the fully specified active reference form against which passive variants are measured in S560–S562.
S560
lo-ra-su de ti-de
Non-intentional process: "The structure collapsed."
Notes
No agent, no ka. Patient lo-ra-su + bare predicate de (decay/dissolution) + ti-de (past). This is a Type 1 patientive state applied as event: the structure entered a state of decay. The absence of ka is semantically significant — no intentional agent is encoded, and none is implied. Recovers the early agentless pattern (lo-ze de) from s001–s039 under current grammar. ADMISSIBLE: canonical non-intentional process form. Note: de here is not a catch-all agentless event verb — it specifically encodes decay/dissolution. The non-intentional process pattern is lo-{patient} [non-ka predicate] ti-de; the lexical predicate supplies its own semantics (de = decay, ki = movement, be = growth, etc.).
S561
lo-ra-su ka-be ti-de
Intentional passive: "The structure was built."
Notes
No la- (no explicit agent). ka-be = intentional creation/growth. The patient lo-ra-su is the only argument. Compare to S559: this is S559 with the agent stripped out. The critical question: does ka work without an explicit la-? ADMISSIBLE: ka does not syntactically require a co-present la-. When ka appears with no la-, it marks the agentive character of the event — the action was intentional — without specifying the actor. This is the intentional passive: lo-{patient} ka-{predicate} ti-de = X was (intentionally) Q-ed by someone, agent unspecified.
Core contrast (S560 vs S561):
- lo-ra-su de ti-de = "the structure changed / collapsed" — process, no intentional agent implied
- lo-ra-su ka-be ti-de = "the structure was built" — passive, intentional agent implied but absent
The distinction is carried by the presence or absence of ka. This is the passive divide.
S562
ro-ra-ki-mu lo-ra-su ka-be ti-de
Instrument-present passive: "The structure was built using the engine."
Notes
ro-ra-ki-mu = instrument prefix (ro-) + engine (ra-ki-mu). No la- agent. Instrument is explicit; agent is absent. This tests whether ro- is a satellite argument independent of la-. ADMISSIBLE: instrument clauses (ro-) do not require a co-present agent clause (la-). Tools are never agents in Tonesu — the grammar explicitly blocks la-ra-ki-mu for "the machine did X" (machines are instruments, not volitional actors). When the instrument is named but the agent is not, the correct form is ro-{tool} lo-{patient} ka-{predicate}. This is the instrument-present passive.
S563
ra-su : ka-be ti-de
Topic-frame passive: "As for the structure: [it was] built."
Notes
Patient extracted to topic position via the : frame. ra-su = topic NP (no lo- prefix — the : frame positions it outside the clause-internal argument slots). : = topic-comment boundary. ka-be ti-de = predicate only; the patient slot of ka-be is filled implicitly by the topic NP. ADMISSIBLE: topic-frame passivization is available. The patient is in topic position; the comment clause is the bare passive predicate. No new rule is needed — the existing Pattern 3 ellipsis (argument drop when fully recoverable) licenses the patient drop inside the comment clause when the topic IS the patient. One spelling out: ra-su : lo-ra-su ka-be ti-de (topic + full passive) would be redundant; idiomatic Tonesu prefers the topic-drop form shown here.
S564
la-li-pu ka-be lo-su ti-de
Institutional active: "The council enacted the law."
Notes
li-pu = person-collective = council/assembly; su = structure/order = law; ka-be = intentional creation. Fully active with an institutional agent. The same event in English would often appear as a passive: "a law was enacted." But in Tonesu, when the institutional agent is known and relevant, the active form with a collective agent (la-li-pu) is the natural expression. The intentional passive lo-su ka-be ti-de remains available but is pragmatically appropriate only when institutional authorship is unknown or deliberately suppressed. Finding: in law, covenant, and formal institutional discourse, Tonesu prefers the active form with the institution named over the agentless passive.
S565
la-si-su ko {la-Elohim ne go-no-fe}
Archival containment: "it is written that…"
Notes
si-su = signal-structure = written record/document. ko = containment. {la-Elohim ne go-no-fe} = propositional content in structural braces (scope bracket). The record is in la- position — it is the container-agent of the containment predicate. Finding: the Tonesu equivalent of "it is written that X" is structurally active. The form is la-{document} ko {X} = "the document contains X." This is not a passive but a containment predicate with the text itself as the la- container-agent. There is no agentless equivalent for the archival-passive; the document occupies la-. Scripture-to-Tonesu translation always uses this form for "it is written / it is recorded."
S566
lo-pa be
Pure emergence: "The world comes into being." (Genesis register)
Notes
pa = space/place/presence = the world (as spatial totality). be = growth/expansion/becoming. No ka, no la-, no ti-de (untensed). This is the emergence form: patient-slot entity + bare be. No intentional cause is encoded; the world grows into existence from no specified cause. The absence of ti-de gives a jussive/habitual/present reading alongside the declarative — lo-pa be can mean "the world is coming into being" (present), "let the world be" (fiat), or "the world comes into being" (general/habitual). All three readings are structurally identical; context disambiguates. This is the appropriate form for creation-fiat utterances in Genesis register (Hebrew יְהִי, jussive). ADMISSIBLE: lo-X be = emergence; no agent, no intentionality marker.
S567
la-Elohim ka-be lo-pa
Divine active creation: "God creates the world."
Notes
Explicit divine agent. la-Elohim = agent; ka-be = intentional creation; lo-pa = patient (world/space). No ti-de to match the untensed S566 for clean comparison; add ti-de for past-tense biblical reading (la-Elohim ka-be lo-pa ti-de = Genesis 1:1 past register). The contrast with S566 isolates the effect of agent presence.
Four-way passive typology (core result of PAV-001):
| Form | Example | Reading | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | la-Elohim ka-be lo-pa |
God creates the world | named agent + intentional action |
| Intentional passive | lo-ra-su ka-be ti-de |
the structure was built | ka without la- = agent implied, unspecified |
| Non-intentional process | lo-ra-su de ti-de |
the structure collapsed | no ka, no la- = no agent implied |
| Emergence | lo-pa be |
the world comes into being | no agent, no ka, untensed = pure becoming |
(ti-de = past-tense marker; emergence form is untensed.)
S568
lo-to-si ka-ki ti-de
Sacred-historical passive: "A teaching was transmitted."
Notes
to-si = knowledge-signal = transmitted teaching/doctrine. ka-ki = intentional action of moving = intentional transmission/conveyance. ti-de = past. No explicit agent. This sentence asserts that the doctrine was transmitted by deliberate human action (not mere natural spread) without specifying who transmitted it. Appropriate for "it was taught that X," "the tradition handed this down," or "this was transmitted through the generations" — the canonical sacred-historical passive of scripture and oral tradition. ADMISSIBLE: intentional passive in theological documentary register confirmed.
For propositional content add containment: la-to-si ko {X} = "the teaching contains X" (structurally active, same pattern as S565).
Batch Summary
| Entry | Form | Verdict | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| S559 (PAV-001-A) | la-su-mu-li ka-be lo-ra-su ti-de |
baseline | active reference form; all slots filled |
| S560 (PAV-001-B) | lo-ra-su de ti-de |
admissible | non-intentional process; no ka, no la-; recovers early agentless pattern |
| S561 (PAV-001-C) | lo-ra-su ka-be ti-de |
admissible | intentional passive; ka without la- encodes agent-implied-absent; passive divide |
| S562 (PAV-001-D) | ro-ra-ki-mu lo-ra-su ka-be ti-de |
admissible | instrument-present passive; ro- independent of la-; tools never agents |
| S563 (PAV-001-E) | ra-su : ka-be ti-de |
admissible | topic-frame passive; patient topicalized; lo- dropped from comment |
| S564 (PAV-001-F) | la-li-pu ka-be lo-su ti-de |
active (preferred) | institutional agent named; Tonesu prefers active when institution is known |
| S565 (PAV-001-G) | la-si-su ko {la-Elohim ne go-no-fe} |
active (containment) | "it is written that" = containment predicate; text is la- agent |
| S566 (PAV-001-H) | lo-pa be |
admissible | emergence form; no agent, no ka, untensed; Genesis / creation-fiat register |
| S567 (PAV-001-I) | la-Elohim ka-be lo-pa |
baseline | divine active; contrast to S566; four-way typology table established |
| S568 (PAV-001-J) | lo-to-si ka-ki ti-de |
admissible | sacred-historical passive; doctrine transmitted; theological documentary register |
Generated from registry/entries.yaml.