2.4.1. Subject and object null arguments

Usually, the subject and/or object argument of a verb can be omitted or dropped under certain conditions. In DGS, argument omission is observed when the verb is marked for agreement as in (a) [Morphology 3.1] or when then referent of the argument is retrievable from the previous context [Pragmatics 2].

a.       man ix_3a child ix_3b meet / book _3ashow_3b

              ‘The man meets child. (He) shows (him) the book.’

                                                                                   (based on Glück & Pfau, 1998)

b.      next week ix_1pl exam write / library ix(loc)_a meet         

         ‘Next week, we will write exams. (We) meet at the library.’