First, let me say that I'm bad at grammar. Everything I know about grammar I've learned because I want to make my own languages.
Second, I've created an ergative-absolutive language (I'm learning as I go) in which the agent of the transitive verb is marked with the suffix '-a'.
"Mary opened the red door with a key." reads as "Mary with a key the red door opened."
So (opened) is my transitive verb, (the red door) is my object, and (Mary with a key) is the agent of my transitive verb.
Mary with a key = Mary kep evo wawʉt
I need to mark this noun phrase with '-a', but I'm at a loss as to where. Do I mark 'Mary' (Marya) or both 'Mary' and 'key' (Marya, wawʉta)?
Any help would be appreciated, thank you.