3.1.2.3. Exhaustive
The exhaustive plural (also called distributive plural) is used when an action is distributed among the different members of a set.
Verbs express exhaustive plural by means of the reduplication of the verb at different locations. However, depending on the type of verb (regular agreement or backward agreement verbs, with or without movement path) the interpretation of the predicate may be different.
Regular agreement verbs that have a movement path start the articulation of the verb in a single location and end it at repeated locations along a sideward arc on the horizontal or vertical plane. In this case, the distributive meaning is related to the indirect or direct object, as shown in the example below.
class maths each_one+++ lsc ix1 1teach+++[exhaustive].
‘I teach LSC to each of my classmates.
The distribution in space of these locations can be either horizontal (the default form) or vertical, depending on the context of the sentence.
a) ix1students warn+++[horizontal].
‘I warn the students.’
b) ix1neighbors warn+++[vertical].
‘I warn the neighbors.’
These plural markers can also have an interpretation that is linked to the subject and the object at the same time, that is to say a combination between distributive subject and distributive object. In this case there are different starting points and different final points, as in the example below.
classmatesa each_oneb, each_onea LSC bteacha.
‘Each of us is teaching LSC to each of our classmates.’
Body-anchored verbs cannot modify their location, so they make use of pronouns [LEXICON 3.7] and/or the auxiliary sign [LEXICON 3.3.4] for the expression of exhaustive plural.
ix1 hug each_one+++.
‘I hug each one of you.’