Datapoint Diu Indo-Portuguese/Predicative possession

In Diu Indo-Portuguese, the most common predicate possessive construction employs the transitive verb te 'to have' and treats the possessor as an unmarked subject.

The possessor may also be case-marked with the dative-accusative marker, however. The exact semantic distinction between this construction and the more common transitive possessive construction (if any) is ellusive.

An additional possessive construction indicates temporary possession: the possessor is expressed as a locative phrase or, to be precise, a comitative phrase. In fact, the most common marker in such circumstances is the complex preposition jũt (də), which is both a locative preposition meaning 'near, next to' and a comitative marker meaning 'with'. This construction mirrors a similar strategy in Gujarati, which can also mark possessors as locative phrases with similar semantics. However, in Diu Indo-Portuguese, the preposition ku, which is strictly comitative and not locative, is largely interchangeable with jũt də.

Values

Transitive Frequency: 70.0%

Example 39-145:
Yo nã te niŋũ amig.
Yo
1sg
nã
neg
te
have.npst
niŋũ
no
amig.
friend
I don't have any friends.

Source: Cardoso 2009: 159

Confidence:
Very certain

Locational Frequency: 30.0%

Example 39-142:
Ku el nə tiŋ.
Ku
with
el
3sg
nə
neg
t-iŋ.
have-pst
He did not have (it).

Source: Cardoso 2009: 161

Example 39-143:
Mĩ jũt nã te muyt diŋer nã te.
Mĩ
1sg.obl
jũt
near
nã
neg
te
have.npst
muyt
much
diŋer
money
nã
neg
te.
have.npst
I don't have much money (lit. With me I have not much money).

Source: Cardoso 2009: 161

Example 39-144:
Te bigɔd pə el.
Te
have.npst
bigɔd
moustache
pə
dat
el.
3sg
He has a moustache.

Source: Cardoso 2009: 161

Confidence:
Very certain