Jáhkarrá grammar: Verbs
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Summary of how Jáhkarrá verbs work.
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 22 Jun 2021, 11:43. Editing of this article is shared with Jáhkarrá Čirŋiduháža.
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This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
Jáhkarrá is an agglutinating and highly inflected language with polypersonal verb conjugation and an extensive array of non-finite forms. The language is exclusively suffixing, expressing many categories on the verb where other languages would use independent words. Especially numerous is the category of adverbial suffixes.
| Root | |
| Stem | |
| Reflexive/ Reciprocal | |
| Aktionsart | |
| Causative | |
| Deverbal adverbial | |
| Aspect | |
| Adverbial | |
| Tense/ Mood | |
| Object suffix | |
| Subject suffix | |
| Tentative | |
| Negation | |
| Secondary mood | |
| Relational suffix | |
| Question marker | |
| Mirative | |
| also |
Jáhkarrá verbs conjugate for three numbers (singular, dual, plural) and five persons. The first person distinguishes clusivity in the dual and plural. The fourth person is used for third-person referents that are not topical - in a sentence like "he saw his house", "his" would be in the third person if he saw his own house, but in fourth person if it was someone else's.
The fifth person is a generic reference to an unknown agent, as in "people say" or "it is written". It is neutral in regard to number.
The third and fourth person are further subdivided into an absolute and deictic series of suffixes. For the third person there is another category on top of that, the indefinite series.
Absolute and deictic third and fourth person
The difference between these two is that the absolute person inflection simply cross-references subject and object, just like person agreement generally does. The deictic inflection, however, carries information that other languages encode with demonstrative pronouns. For the third and fourth person, all the deictic dimensions of Jáhkarrá (proximal, medial, distal) are encoded in the verb:
Orgŋ-ea raiŧ-a-i.
man-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity see-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.SUBSubject (argument)
"I see a man." (absolute)
Orgŋ-ea raiŧ-eh-a-i.
man-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity see-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).PROXProximal (proximity)
close to speaker-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.SUBSubject (argument)
"I see this man." (deictic)
Raiŧ-a-na-lo.
see-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.OBJObject (argument)-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SUBSubject (argument).MEDMedial (proximity)
not too far from speaker; close to addressee
"That person sees me."
As the examples illustrate, deixis is marked not on the noun but on the verb. Deictic marking without an explicit noun yields sentences like "I saw that" or "This is a problem".
Indefinite inflection
Indefinites are words like some, any, all, none, every. Jáhkarrá encodes these on the verb as well; the suffixes distinguish animacy (living/nonliving). The categories expressed are existential, universal, alternative and resemblance, translatable to "something/someone", "all/every", "something/someone else" and "something/someone like". The resemblance forms express similarity with the agreement NP; their animate forms can also be used with other persons and always follow the person suffix.
If there are independent noun phrases present for agreement, the universal forms mean "every single one" in the singular, "both" in the dual and "all" in the plural. The existential dual means "one of two" and "either of the two" alike (no distinction).
The equivalent of "any"
English "any" has no clear equivalent and is expressed by"some", "every" or a plain noun phrase, depending on context and polarity. "I see nobody" is literally "I don't see somebody" while "anything is possible" would be "everything is possible".
Agreement is polypersonal: a Jáhkarrá verb agrees with both its subject and direct object in number and person. The third and fourth person are further split into absolute and deictic agreement suffixes, with the latter referencing noun phrases that occur with a demonstrative. Jáhkarrá thus largely manages to avoid independent demonstrative pronouns.
A Jáhkarrá verb is formed from a semantic root by one of four stem formation suffixes. These are closely tied to the valency of the verb and are the basis for three conjugation classes: the transitive or first conjugation, the intransitive or second conjugation and the passive or third conjugation.
The fourth stem, the antipassive, has no conjugation class of its own. Antipassive verbs are transitives with a demoted direct object that must be reintroduced in a local case; they inflect like intransitives in that they only take subject suffixes.
For more information, see here.
There are five primary moods in Jáhkarra: indicative, necessitative, desiderative, potential and permissive. All of these occur in a present and a past tense, with the indicative additionally forming a future tense. The past tense suffix is formed by gemination of the present tense suffix, with the indicative again the exception since it is unmarked in the present.
The tenses have no aspectual meanings themselves but simply express temporal relationship. The exact aspectual nature of an action can, however, be expressed by derivational suffixes, which are numerous and serve to express the aspectual character of the action (aktionsart), such as frequentative, gnomic, inceptive, egressive, semelfactive, iterative and many more. Jáhkarrá grammar usually considers them derivational morphology.
All moods can take a suffix called the tentative, which modifies them in a way specific to the mood, but generally has a softening or less absolute meaning. It follows the personal endings and has the form -e-, or -ve- if the conjugated verb ends in a vowel.
Indicative
The indicative is the default and unmarked mood. It largely corresponds to the indicative familiar from Indo-European languages, describing nonhypothetical, "real" events. The indicative has no suffix of its own.
Its past tense marker is -vv-, with the future expressed by -d-. The indicative is the only mood that has a future tense. The future refers to upcoming actions and is replaced by the present if the sentence contains an explicit temporal adverbial such as "tomorrow".
The tentative forms of the indicative express doubt and uncertainty and can be translated as "maybe". They are used when the speaker does not want to be held accountable for the possible untruth of a proposition.
Necessitative
The basic meaning of the necessitative is "must". This mood expresses various shades of obligation, no matter whether it comes from an order, societal pressure or mere circumstance. However, it has no epistemic value and thus cannot express, for example "he must be from the city".
Its suffix is -h-, which becomes -hh- in the past tense.
The tentative necessitative exemplifies the modality-weakening function of the tentative: its form are generally translated as "should", a less absolute exhortation to perform a specific action.
Desiderative
The desiderative expresses wishes, demands and hopes and translates to "want". The desiderative present is similar in usage to the indicative future; the difference is that the desiderative stresses that the speaker plans for things to happen while the indicative future merely expresses that something will happen, whether the speaker is planning for it or not.
The desiderative marker is -ž-, with -žž- in the past tense.
The tentative desiderative is most common in requests, where the plain desiderative can easily sound blunt and impolite. It is appropriately translated as "would like to".
Potential
The potential is used to express ability, both due to learned skill and circumstance. Potential forms can be translated as "can, be able to". Like the necessitative, it lacks epistemic semantic value and cannot be used in sentences like "I could do it later", where English would use the otherwise equivalent can. It also does not express permission as in "You can go to the party", for which there is a dedicated mood, the permissive.
Its suffix is -s-; the past potential is formed by -ss-.
Tentative potential forms are similar to the indicative in that they express uncertainty whether the action can be performed. As such, a viable translation is "might be able to do".
Permissive
The permissive is sometimes considered a subset of the potential. Its meaning is "allowed to, may". It implies the presence of a source of authority that has the power to allow or disallow certain actions. Permissive forms are common on signs and in regulations; Jáhkarrá often employs the permissive where English would use an imperative.
The permissive has the suffix -ŧ-, or -ŧŧ- in the past tense.
Tentative permissive forms, much like in the necessitative, have a softer, less absolute meaning; in this case of recommendation. A permissive tentative form is best translated as "be suggested to do X" or "was advised to do X"
In addition to the primary moods described above, Jáhkarrá has two secondary moods, the imperative and the conditional. The distinction between primary and secondary mood is necessary because the two categories are to some extent compatible with each other. Secondary mood suffixes follow the person endings and also a possible tentative and negation suffix.
The secondary moods' semantics when interacting with the tense markers can be quite idiomatic and goes beyond mere occurrence of a mood in a certain tense. Especially the imperative forms cover a wide range of meanings.
The conditional
The conditional suffix is -ga-. Person suffixes ending in /n/ assmiliate to /ŋ/ before it.
It is used in conditional sentences to mark a verb as the protasis, that is, the condition upon which the execution of another verb's action (the apodosis) rests. It can thus also be glossed as "if". Unlike in English, where the apodosis is in a different tense from the protasis, Jáhkarrá conditional sentences share the same tense between main and dependent clause.
With indicative present forms, it describes a condition likely to be fulfilled.
Ráŋ-oh-a-ŋ-ga bonj-ea áist-a-i.
do-OBJObject (argument).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.MEDMedial (proximity)
not too far from speaker; close to addressee-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-CONDConditional (mood)
would mother-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient tell-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.SUBSubject (argument)
"If you do that, I will tell mother."
Unlikely conditions are expressed by the conditional together with a future indicative.
Ráŋ-a-d-oha-ŋ-ga bonj-ea áist-a-da-i.
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech-OBJObject (argument).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.MEDMedial (proximity)
not too far from speaker; close to addressee-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-CONDConditional (mood)
would mother-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient tell-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.SUBSubject (argument)
"If you did that, I would tell mother."
With the past indicative, the conditional suffix indicates counterfactual conditions.
Ráh-a-vv-oha-ŋ-ga bonj-ea áiss-a-vva-i.
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-OBJObject (argument).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.MEDMedial (proximity)
not too far from speaker; close to addressee-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-CONDConditional (mood)
would mother-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient tell-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.SUBSubject (argument)
"If you had done that, I would have told mother."
The conditional can be used together with the tentative in the indicative future and past. This produces forms that express hope for an action to occur (future) or an unfulfillable wish (past):
Ráŋ-a-d-oha-n-e-ga!
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech-MEDMedial (proximity)
not too far from speaker; close to addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.OBJObject (argument)-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-TNTTentative
weakens modality (e.g. must → should)-CONDConditional (mood)
would
"If only you did that!"
Ráh-a-vv-oha-n-e-ga!
"If only you had done that!"
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-MEDMedial (proximity)
not too far from speaker; close to addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.OBJObject (argument)-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-TNTTentative
weakens modality (e.g. must → should)-CONDConditional (mood)
would
The independence of the conditional from the primary moods is evident from the fact that it can occur together with most of them. These usages often have connotations of the speaker trying to convince themselves:
Á, ráŋ-a-h-eva-ŋ-ga...
oh do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-NECNecessitative mood (mood)
must, have to-PROXProximal (proximity)
close to speaker.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.OBJObject (argument)-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-CONDConditional (mood)
would
"Oh, if you really must do these things..." (necessitative)
Ráŋ-a-ža-ŋ-ga...
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-DESDesiderative (mood)
wishes, desires, wants-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-CONDConditional (mood)
would
"If you really want to do it..." (desiderative)
Ráŋ-a-sa-ŋ-ga rorbma čá-rá-h-ea.
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-POTPotential (mood)
likely events, ability-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-CONDConditional (mood)
would work 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)-ALLAllative (case)
'to, onto'-be-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
"If you can do it, the job is yours." (potential)
Ho, ráŋ-a-ŧa-ŋ-ga...
well, do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-PERMPermissive (mood)
the action is permitted-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-CONDConditional (mood)
would
"Well, if you have permission to do it..." (permissive)
The imperative
The Jáhkarrá imperative, marked by -jo, is a lot more complex than the imperative of many other languages. It actually encompasses two very different modalities, distinguished by interplay with the tense suffixes. The semantic split of the imperative is between the present on one hand and the past and future on the other hand.
Directive usage
Attaching the imperative suffix to present indicative forms yields commands and requests, subsumed under the term directive modality. Depending on the person of the subject, the following interpretations are possible:
The first person singular is a request or an exhortation to a third party to grant the speaker permission. In the dual or plural, it expresses the same if used with the exclusive forms (as an request to let two or more people do something), while with the inclusive forms it has a cohortative meaning.
Ráŋ-a-j-jo!
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Let me do it!"
Ráh-a-j-jo! (plural ráheajjo)
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).1DFirst person dual (person)
we two (inclusive or exclusive).SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Let's do it!" (together, inclusive)
Ráh-a-d-jo! (plural ráheadjo)
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).1DEFirst person dual exclusive (person)
two speakers, excluding listener.SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Let us do it!" (permit us to do it, exclusive)
Second person forms are true imperatives corresponding to the forms found in most languages:
Ráŋ-a-n-jo! (ráhanjo/ráheainjo for dual/plural)
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Do it!"
Third person imperatives are jussives, commanding a third party to carry out an action. They are fully compatible with the indefinite agreement markers:
Ráŋ-a-jo!
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"He is to do it!/May he do it!"
Ráŋ-a-re-jo!
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).someone.SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Someone do it!"
Ráŋ-a-ge-jo!
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).everyone.SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Everyone do it!"
The tentative forms appear again with a softening, less absolute meaning and roughly correspond to adding "please" to an imperative in English.
Suna-ra-h-an-e-jo.
inside-INEInessive (case)
'inside'-be-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)-TNTTentative
weakens modality (e.g. must → should)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Please come in." (lit. "please be into the inside")
Dámm-i-i-ve-jo.
swim-INTRIntransitive (valency)
has one argument-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-TNTTentative
weakens modality (e.g. must → should)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Let me go for a swim, please."
A peculiar aspect of the Jáhkarrá imperative is its compatibility with non-indicative moods:
Ráŋ-a-ha-n-jo!
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-NECNecessitative mood (mood)
must, have to-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Have to do it!" (Force yourself to do it.)
Ráŋ-a-sa-n-jo!
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-POTPotential (mood)
likely events, ability-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Be able to do it!" (Obtain the skills necessary to do it.)
Ráŋ-a-ža-n-jo!
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-DESDesiderative (mood)
wishes, desires, wants-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Want to do it!" (Motivate yourself to do it.)
Ráŋ-a-ŧa-n-jo!
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-PERMPermissive (mood)
the action is permitted-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"Be allowed to do it!" (Obtain permission to do it.)
Epistemic usage
The other use of the imperative suffix is very different from its role as a command marker. If the imperative suffix follows a verb in the past or future tense, it is interpreted as an inferential or deductive marker. The unifying logic behind the directive and the epistemic is that what is termed "imperative" here really expresses nothing more than "something the speaker wants to be true", and if confronted with evidence or probable cause of something happening, they will assert its truth value.
Both in the past and future, imperatives express that something happens with certainty. In the past, a statement like this is often based on evidence, while for the future it is based on knowledge the speaker has (or believes to have) at present. The future-imperative combination can also refer to the present - things happening right now of whose truthfulness the speaker is convinced.
Čorca rasp-i. Suna-ra-hi-vva-re-jo.
door be_open-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee | inside-INEInessive (case)
'inside'-be-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-someone.SUBSubject (argument)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"The door is open. Someone must have gone in."
Mov-i-vv-in! Árba oaibm-áž-i-d-i-jo.
win-INTRIntransitive (valency)
has one argument-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) | mother be_happy-very-INTRIntransitive (valency)
has one argument-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"You won! Your mother must be beside herself with joy."
Ljeažž-i-d-ii-jo.
come-INTRIntransitive (valency)
has one argument-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"I'll certainly come."
The tentative forms, again, weaken the speaker's absolute convicedness. Whereas the epistemic imperatives translate to "certainly" or "must", the tentatives amount to "probably" or "quite likely".
Ljeažž-i-d-i-ve-jo.
come-INTRIntransitive (valency)
has one argument-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-TNTTentative
weakens modality (e.g. must → should)-IMPImperative (mood)
command
"He'll probably come."
Áiss-a-vva-re-ve-jo oa-ran.
tell-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument)-someone.SUBSubject (argument)-TNTTentative
weakens modality (e.g. must → should)-IMPImperative (mood)
command 4SFourth person singular (person)
obviative-ELAElative (case)
'out of, from'
"Somebody probably told her about it."
To negate a verb, the suffix -(a)rea is attached to the end of the finite form, losing its initial vowel if the verb also ends in a vowel.
The scope of Jáhkarrá negation is entirely confined to the verb - there are no independent negative indefinite pronouns and no negative particles that can negate nouns independently from verbs. Thus, the equivalent of "nobody does that" would be "everybody does not do that", while "not everybody does that" corresponds to "someone does not do that".
Ráŋ-oha-ge-rea.
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-MEDMedial (proximity)
not too far from speaker; close to addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.OBJObject (argument)-everyone.SUBSubject (argument)-NEGNegative (polarity)
not
"Nobody does that."
Ráŋ-oha-re-rea.
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-MEDMedial (proximity)
not too far from speaker; close to addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.OBJObject (argument)-someone.SUBSubject (argument)-NEGNegative (polarity)
not
"Not everyone does that."
Likewise, "no man can kill me" would be translated as "all men cannot kill me":
Orkŋ-in orbm-a-sa-na-ge-rea.
man-NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few kill-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-POTPotential (mood)
likely events, ability-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.OBJObject (argument)-everyone.SUBSubject (argument)-NEGNegative (polarity)
not
"No man can kill me."
On the whole, the difference between the conjugations is not in the suffixes they employ, but in the stem vowel and the way it changes in the plural. The exception are the object suffixes of the passive conjugation.
Subject suffixes
The subject suffixes are the same across all conjugations. There is a single set of endings that does not vary with number - the distinction between singular and dual is achieved solely by consonant gradation, while the plural is marked by a change in the stem vowel. For further information, see below on the various conjugations.
The fifth person is marked with -ja-; this suffix occurs only in the subject slot of the non-passive conjugations. In the passive it is zero-marked, falling together with the "someone" indefinite agreement suffixes.
| Person | Suffix |
|---|---|
| 1 | i |
| 1, exclusive | d |
| 2 | n |
| 3, absolute | - |
| 3, proximal | le |
| 3, medial | lo |
| 3, distal | lu |
| 3, existential animate | re |
| 3, existential inanimate | rne |
| 3, resemblance animate | ze |
| 3, resemblance inanimate | zea |
| 3, alternative animate | va |
| 3, alternative inanimate | vi |
| 3, universal animate | ge |
| 3, universal inanimate | ŋe |
| 4, absolute | s |
| 4, proximal | se |
| 4, medial | so |
| 4, distal | su |
| 5 | ja |
Object suffixes
The object suffixes of the transitive conjugation are the same for singular and plural, with the dual distinct. The exception is the third person, where the marking is different for all three numbers: zero in the singular, -ja- in the dual and va in the plural. In the passive, all three numbers have distinct sets in the absolute set, with singular and plural again falling together in the deictic set.
The fifth person has no object suffix. Presence of the subject fifth person -ja- without an explicit object marker is understood to mean "someone did X to a 3rd person/X was done to a third person" (or, because of syncretism with the 3rd person dual, "a 3rd person did X to two 3rd persons").
The indefinite endings never vary according to number and are the same for the transitive and passive.
Before plural object suffixes, the stem vowel undergoes a change, much like it does before subject suffixes. The -a- of the transitive conjugation becomes ea, while the -u- of the passive conjugation becomes uo.
The difference between transitive and passive object suffixes is twofold:
- the third person singular is zero-marked in the transitive, but bears the suffix -ha- in the passive
- the singular and dual object suffixes of the transitive have single consonants, while in the passive these consonants are geminated. The plural does not undergo gemination. These geminated object suffixes cause consonant gradation, unlike the single-consonant suffixes of the transitive, where the subject suffix alone determines the grade in the plural and the singular and dual forms are fixed to the first and second grade respectively. This leads to a very different gradation pattern in the passive.
Transitive object suffixes
| Person | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | na | nja | na |
| 1, exclusive | N/A | dja | da |
| 2 | sa | ša | sa |
| 3, absolute | - | ja | va |
| 3, proximal | eha | eja | eva |
| 3, medial | oha | oja | ova |
| 3, distal | uha | uja | uva |
| 3, existential animate | ra | ||
| 3, existential inanimate | rna | ||
| 3, resemblance animate | za | ||
| 3, resemblance inanimate | zá | ||
| 3, alternative animate | vu | ||
| 3, alternative inanimate | vie | ||
| 3, universal animate | gá | ||
| 3, universal inanimate | ŋá | ||
| 4, absolute | la | lja | la |
| 4, proximal | ela | elja | ela |
| 4, medial | ola | olja | ola |
| 4, distal | ula | ulja | ula |
Passive object suffixes
| Person | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | nna | nnja | na |
| 1, exclusive | N/A | ddja | da |
| 2 | ssa | šša | sa |
| 3, absolute | ha | jja | va |
| 3, proximal | eha | ejja | eva |
| 3, medial | oha | ojja | ova |
| 3, distal | uha | ujja | uva |
| 3, existential animate | ra | ||
| 3, existential inanimate | rna | ||
| 3, resemblance animate | za | ||
| 3, resemblance inanimate | zá | ||
| 3, alternative animate | vu | ||
| 3, alternative inanimate | vie | ||
| 3, universal animate | gá | ||
| 3, universal inanimate | ŋá | ||
| 4, absolute | lla | llja | la |
| 4, proximal | ella | ellja | ela |
| 4, medial | olla | ollja | ola |
| 4, distal | ulla | ullja | ula |
TODO fix fifth person, is number-neutral
| Number | Person | Object suffix | Subject suffix | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | 1 | -an | -ai | 1 |
| 2 | -as | -an | ||
| 3, absolute | - | -a | ||
| 3, proximal | -eh | -ale | ||
| 3, medial | -oh | -alo | ||
| 3, distal | -uh | -alu | ||
| 4, absolute | -al | -as | ||
| 4, proximal | -el | -ase | ||
| 4, medial | -ol | -aso | ||
| 4, distal | -ul | -asu | ||
| 5 | - | -aja | ||
| Dual | 1 | -anj | -ai | 2 |
| 1, exclusive | -adj | -ad | ||
| 2 | -aš | -an | ||
| 3, absolute | -aj | -a | ||
| 3, proximal | -ej | -ale | ||
| 3, medial | -oj | -alo | ||
| 3, distal | -uj | -alu | ||
| 4, absolute | -alj | -as | ||
| 4, proximal | -elj | -ase | ||
| 4, medial | -olj | -aso | ||
| 4, distal | -ulj | -asu | ||
| 5 | - | -aja | ||
| Plural | 1 | -ean | -ái | 2 |
| 1, exclusive | -ead | -áid | 3 | |
| 2 | -eas | -áin | ||
| 3, absolute | -eav | -á | 1 | |
| 3, proximal | -ev | -ále | ||
| 3, medial | -ov | -álo | ||
| 3, distal | -uv | -álu | ||
| 4, absolute | -eal | -ás | 2 | |
| 4, proximal | -el | -áse | 1 | |
| 4, medial | -ol | -áso | ||
| 4, distal | -ul | -ásu | ||
| 5 | - | -ája |
| Number | Person | Subject suffix | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | 1 | -ii | 1 |
| 2 | -in | ||
| 3, absolute | -i | ||
| 3, proximal | -ile | ||
| 3, medial | -ilo | ||
| 3, distal | -ilu | ||
| 4, absolute | -is | ||
| 4, proximal | -ise | ||
| 4, medial | -iso | ||
| 4, distal | -isu | ||
| 5 | -ija | ||
| Dual | 1 | -ii | 2 |
| 1, exclusive | -id | ||
| 2 | -in | ||
| 3, absolute | -i | ||
| 3, proximal | -ile | ||
| 3, medial | -ilo | ||
| 3, distal | -ilu | ||
| 4, absolute | -is | ||
| 4, proximal | -ise | ||
| 4, medial | -iso | ||
| 4, distal | -isu | ||
| 5 | -ija | ||
| Plural | 1 | -eai | 2 |
| 1, exclusive | -eaid | 3 | |
| 2 | -eain | ||
| 3, absolute | -ea | 1 | |
| 3, proximal | -eale | ||
| 3, medial | -ealo | ||
| 3, distal | -ealu | ||
| 4, absolute | -eas | 2 | |
| 4, proximal | -ease | 1 | |
| 4, medial | -easo | ||
| 4, distal | -easu | ||
| 5 | -eaja |
| Number | Person | Finite form |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | 1 | rehpii |
| 2 | rehpin | |
| 3, absolute | rehpi | |
| 3, proximal | rehpile | |
| 3, medial | rehpilo | |
| 3, distal | rehpilu | |
| 4, absolute | rehpis | |
| 4, proximal | rehpise | |
| 4, medial | rehpiso | |
| 4, distal | rehpisu | |
| 5 | rehpija | |
| Dual | 1 | rehppii |
| 1, exclusive | rehppid | |
| 2 | rehppin | |
| 3, absolute | rehppi | |
| 3, proximal | rehppile | |
| 3, medial | rehppilo | |
| 3, distal | rehppilu | |
| 4, absolute | rehppis | |
| 4, proximal | rehppise | |
| 4, medial | rehppiso | |
| 4, distal | rehppisu | |
| 5 | rehppija | |
| Plural | 1 | rehppeai |
| 1, exclusive | reveaid | |
| 2 | reveain | |
| 3, absolute | rehpea | |
| 3, proximal | rehpeale | |
| 3, medial | rehpealo | |
| 3, distal | rehpealu | |
| 4, absolute | rehppeas | |
| 4, proximal | rehpease | |
| 4, medial | rehpeaso | |
| 4, distal | rehpeasu | |
| 5 | rehpeaja |
| Indefinite | Animacy | Object | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| some | animate | ra | re |
| inanimate | rna | rne | |
| some like | animate | za | ze |
| inanimate | zá | zea | |
| all | animate | gá | ge |
| inanimate | ŋá | ŋe | |
| another | animate | vu | va |
| inanimate | vie | vi |
Subject forms may assimilate:
iza (1st person)
nza (2nd person)
ssa (4th person, from s-za)
zza (1st person exclusive, from d-za)
Čabb-a-da-na-za-n-area o-rai.
find-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.OBJObject (argument)-someone_like-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-NEGNegative (polarity)
not MEDMedial (proximity)
not too far from speaker; close to addressee-INEInessive (case)
'inside'
"You will not find someone like me there."
Čajja-hp-i-za.
bad-SUPSuperlative (comparison)
English 'most', '-est'-INTRIntransitive (valency)
has one argument-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.someone_like
"People like him are the worst." (lit. “someone like him is the worst”)
Ráŋ-a-sa-ŋá-n-za.
do-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-POTPotential (mood)
likely events, ability-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument)-everything-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).SUBSubject (argument)-someone_like
"Someone like you can do anything."
A participle is formed by adding a tense/mood suffix to a verb stem, followed by the participle marker suffix -á. The indicative, which has no suffix of its own, uses -l-, giving the forms -lá, -lvá, -ldá for present, past and future. Participles are used both to express relative clauses (attributive participles) and adverbial clauses (adverbial participles). The participle system of Jáhkarrá is sophisticated enough that the language has virtually no conjunctions. Every tense/mood combination has a corresponding participle.
Attributive participles
A relative clause is expressed by a participle that precedes the noun it modifies. The syntactic role this head noun plays in the relative clause is not explicitly stated but must be inferred, although it is possible to make it explicit (see below). (TODO)
rehp-i-l-á orgŋo
sleep-INTRIntransitive (valency)
has one argument-INDIndicative mood (mood)
a common form of realis.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PCPParticiple
adjectival form of a verb man
"a sleeping man"
áll-ea sáb-a-l-v-á orgŋo
woman-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity meet-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood)
a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple
adjectival form of a verb man
"the man who met the woman"
álla sáb-a-l-v-á orgŋo
woman meet-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood)
a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple
adjectival form of a verb man
"the man whom the woman met"
rargŋ-ea orgŋo čoss-a-l-v-á čahpu
dog-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity man hit-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood)
a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple
adjectival form of a verb stick
"the stick that the man hit the dog [with]"
áll-ea orgŋo hoast-a-l-v-á áistama
woman-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient man give-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood)
a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple
adjectival form of a verb book
"the book that the man gave the woman/the book that the man begave the woman [with]"
(Note that in a main clause, the book would receive comitative marking: állea orgŋo hoassavvi áistamirru "the man begave the woman with a book", as Jáhkarrá is a secundative language. In the relative clause, the intrument role of the book is implicit.)
čorvon-č-a e-rai-hi-l-á orgŋo
car-POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee PROXProximal (proximity)
close to speaker-INEInessive (case)
'inside'-be-INDIndicative mood (mood)
a common form of realis.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PCPParticiple
adjectival form of a verb man
"the man whose car is here" (lit. "the [his car is here] man")
If participle constructions involve pronominal references, these are expressed by possessive suffixes. The subject suffix is understood to point to the clause head if it is 3rd person; if it references a subject NP inside the relative clause, it is in the 4th person.
The possessive suffixes are described in more detail here (TODO).
mižahá-ran eaŧŧinj-ea jehč-a-l-á-č-ai
city-ELAElative (case)
'out of, from' news-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity bring-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood)
a common form of realis.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PCPParticiple
adjectival form of a verb-POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.SUBSubject (argument)
"I, who brings news from the city"
sáb-a-l-v-á-č-as orgŋo
meet-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood)
a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple
adjectival form of a verb-POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has-4SFourth person singular (person)
obviative man
"the man whom he/she met"
sáb-a-l-v-á-č-a orgŋo
meet-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood)
a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple
adjectival form of a verb-POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
"the man who met him/her"
A participle can also stand on its own, acting like a noun that is possibly modified by a relative clause:
raŋá-in áll-a-l-á-ča-sa-gá
child-NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few like-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood)
a common form of realis.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PCPParticiple
adjectival form of a verb-POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has-4SFourth person singular (person)
obviative.OBJObject (argument)-all.SUBSubject (argument)
"someone whom all children like"
raŋŋ-ea áll-a-l-á-ča-gá
child-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity like-TRANSTransitive (valency)
has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood)
a common form of realis.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PCPParticiple
adjectival form of a verb-POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has-all.OBJObject (argument).3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SUBSubject (argument)
"someone who likes every child"
Adverbial participles
Inflecting participles in the local cases forms adverbial participles or gerunds, which replace conjunctions. The case suffix is always in the singular, and the participle must agree with both the subject and object, again via possessive suffixes. An explicit subject is in the genitive while all other cases stay the same.
| Clause type | Case | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| temporal | Inessive | while | rehp-i-l-v-á-rai-č-ai sleep-INTRIntransitive (valency) has one argument-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense) action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-POSSPossessive (case) owns, has-1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I "while I was sleeping" |
| Translative | until | čoss-a-l-v-á-ri-č-a hit-TRANSTransitive (valency) has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense) action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-TRANSLTranslative (case) becoming-POSSPossessive (case) owns, has-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.SUBSubject (argument) "until he hit him" | |
| Elative | since | dahč-i-l-v-á-ran-č-a leave-INTRIntransitive (valency) has one argument-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense) action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-ELAElative (case) 'out of, from'-POSSPossessive (case) owns, has-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee "since he left" | |
| Ablative | after | čoss-a-l-v-á-rán-č-a hit-TRANSTransitive (valency) has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense) action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-ABLAblative (case) away from-POSSPossessive (case) owns, has-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.SUBSubject (argument) "after he hit him" | |
| Allative | before | dahč-i-l-v-á-rá-č-a leave-INTRIntransitive (valency) has one argument-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense) action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-ALLAllative (case) 'to, onto'-POSSPossessive (case) owns, has-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee "before he left" | |
| Essive | when | ljeažž-i-l-á-rii-č-a come-INTRIntransitive (valency) has one argument-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-ESSEssive (case) 'as, similar'-POSSPossessive (case) owns, has-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee "when he comes" | |
| Exessive | as soon as | rehp-i-l-á-rin-č-a sleep-INTRIntransitive (valency) has one argument-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-EXESSExessive (case) 'from a state'-POSSPossessive (case) owns, has-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee "as soon as he is asleep" | |
| purposive | Sublative + future | so that | stirgalv-a-l-d-á-roa-č-an read-TRANSTransitive (valency) has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis-FUTFuture (tense) action occurring after the moment of speech-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-SUBLSublative (case) onto, down onto-POSSPossessive (case) owns, has-2SSecond person singular (person) addressee (you) "so that you will read it" |
| reason | Subessive | because | čoss-a-l-v-á-roai-n-a hit-TRANSTransitive (valency) has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense) action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-SUBESubessive (case) 'under'-1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I.OBJObject (argument)-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.SUBSubject (argument) "because he hit me" |
| concession | Delative | although | čoss-a-l-v-á-rean-n-a hit-TRANSTransitive (valency) has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis-PSTPast (tense) action occurred before moment of speech-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-DELDelative (case) 'off of'-1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I.OBJObject (argument)-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.SUBSubject (argument) "although he hit me" |
| manner | Comitative | by, via | čoss-a-l-á-rru-č-ai hit-TRANSTransitive (valency) has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-COMComitative (case) 'together with'-POSSPossessive (case) owns, has-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.OBJObject (argument).1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I.SUBSubject (argument) "by me hitting him" |
| adversative | Subelative | instead of | rorbm-i-l-á-roan-č-a work-INTRIntransitive (valency) has one argument-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-SUBESubessive (case) 'under'-POSSPossessive (case) owns, has-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee "instead of [him] working" |
| exception | Abessive + conditional | unless | sáb-a-l-á-rre-n-a-ga meet-TRANSTransitive (valency) has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-ABEAbessive (case) without-1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I.OBJObject (argument)-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.SUBSubject (argument)-CONDConditional (mood) would "unless he meets me" |
| hypothetical | Supralative + conditional | even if | sáb-a-l-á-rea-n-a-ga meet-TRANSTransitive (valency) has two arguments-INDIndicative mood (mood) a common form of realis.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PCPParticiple adjectival form of a verb-SUPLSupralative (case) motion over-1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I.OBJObject (argument)-3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.SUBSubject (argument)-CONDConditional (mood) would "even if he meets me" |
The infinitive is used whenever a clause replaces an argument of a verb. Its suffix is -id, attaching to the stem vowel; the /u/ of the passive is deleted. The base form of the infinitive is equivalent to the verbal noun and serves as the citation form of verbs. Infinitives inflect for tense and case and take possessive suffixes to indicate the arguments of the verb form, as do participles.
The inflectional stem of the infinitive is obtained by removing the -d. The result is a stem ending in /j/, to which the tense suffixes attach. In the indicative, these are identical to the participle suffixes, with the present marked by zero, the past by /v/ and the future by /d/. All other moods use the same suffixes as in finite forms. The spelling deviates from the usual conventions: in the present, both the stem-final /j/ and the mood suffixes are short and spelled with a single letter while in the past the mood suffix is long and spelled with a double letter.
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on 22/06/21 11:43+36[Deactivated User] bb
on 05/03/19 14:22-2[Deactivated User]fff
on 04/03/19 21:230[Deactivated User]tense and vase, the eff
on 12/12/18 19:14+884[Deactivated User]wörk on infinitive
on 06/12/18 19:44+43[Deactivated User]5th person is indifferent to number
on 06/12/18 18:43+758[Deactivated User]fifth person integration
on 06/12/18 18:25+103[Deactivated User]fifth person
on 22/11/18 20:55-1[Deactivated User]fixes
on 22/11/18 10:30+2[Deactivated User]gloss fix
on 22/11/18 10:29+801[Deactivated User]Finished secondary moods
on 21/11/18 16:59+27[Deactivated User]todo
on 21/11/18 16:57-9[Deactivated User]typo
on 21/11/18 16:16-29[Deactivated User]correction
on 21/11/18 12:34+988[Deactivated User]Suffix order
on 21/11/18 12:09+3194[Deactivated User]Conditional
on 20/11/18 09:53+283[Deactivated User]more on indefinites
on 20/11/18 09:41+763[Deactivated User]negatives and indefinites
on 20/11/18 09:13-53[Deactivated User]new table of contents
on 16/11/18 16:15+31[Deactivated User]Nicer headings
on 16/11/18 14:50+667[Deactivated User]glosses
