Word order is free and does not seem to be governed by information structure. Constituents of a single phrase need not be contiguous. There are however some tendencies. Numeral nouns usually follow the head noun, while adjective-like modifiers tend to precede it. Arguments tend to precede verbs, while the agent-like argument of a transitive verb more often than not precedes the patient-like argument, although more frequently only one of them is expressed. Complex sentences and coreferentiality The three most common means of joining clauses are sentence-sequence (juxtaposed clauses that have separate intonation contours), coordination (juxtaposed clauses with one intonation contour and sharing of conjugational categories such as tense) and subordination. The most common type of subordination is the purposive. If there are shared arguments, they are more likely to be deleted from the second clause if it is subordinate, and least likely if it is sentence-sequence. The restrictions on the syntactic function of the shared argument are typical of syntactically ergative languages. The shared argument has to have the same function in both clauses, or be an intransitive subject (S) in one and a transitive patient-like argument (O) in the other: In case the shared argument is a transitive agent-like argument (A) in one of the clauses, antipassivisation will be involved. It is signalled by a verbal suffix and affects the case marking of the arguments of this verb. In comparison with the basic verb, which marks the A with ergative/nominative and the O with nominative/accusative, the antipassivised verb marks the A with nominative and the O with either ergative or dative. The agent-like argument then becomes available to be coreferential with a patient of a transitive verb or a subject of an intransitive one: References Bibliography External links Stories from Alf Palmer Bibliography of Gugu Badhun people and language resources, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Warrungu (in Japanese) Warrungu Stories and Concordance (recorded sentences together with a transcription, an interlinear translation, and a smooth translation) A map of Australia showing where various languages, including Warrungu, are spoken World: Dying Words -- Linguists Express Concern Over Fate Of Endangered Languages (Part 1) Maric languages Extinct languages of Queensland Languages extinct in the 1980s