Partitive sharing – How to help in Kinande

Abstract This paper examines a structure in the Bantu language Kinande, namely the so-called sociative causative, where partitive morphology occurs on a nominal without giving the nominal an NP-related partitive interpretation. We argue that the source of the partitivity in this construction lies in the co-extensiveness relation (incrementality relation) between the causing and the caused subevent. Partitive morphology on the nominal signals obligatory licensing of the theme so that it can be properly mapped to the co-extensive subevents.