Proto-Mila Coursebook Chapter 7: view article

Chapter 7 Verbs

We now come to other verbs besides to be. We have concentrated on to be for so long, because all other verbs use this verb in their sentence structure. Unlike to be all other verbs always show the tense particle.

Transitive verbs

In order to say, for example, I am writing a book we would translate something similar to I am a book a-writing the dictionary form for to write is ‘piɟla’ (the same form as book) which gives us the sentence ‘Ápcu ibíɟla’. The verb is always placed at the end of the sentence. Notice the present particle ‘ir-‘ has been added to the verb. In the same way I wrote a book becomes ‘Ápcu inbíɟla’ and I will write a book is ‘Ápcu uhpíɟla’.

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Intransitive verbs

There are two ways to express intransitive verbs. For the first and most common way we need to introduce an empty object in much the same way as we did for to be with prepositional phrases. I am eating a meal, being transitive is ‘Ámlic imíjba’. If however we just wish to say I am eating we would introduce the empty pronoun it giving I am eating it (note whatever I am eating is within reach so will use the immediate vicinity pronoun) giving ‘At imíjba’. A phrase such as Are you eating? gives us ‘Ta ulimíjba?’.

An older form and stylistically considered more beautiful, so the form found often in writing and oral poetry and storytelling but not so often in everyday speech, is to treat the verb as an object. Instead of saying then for I am eating ‘at imíjba’ we would say ‘ámjup’. Therefore also Are you eating would become ‘umájba’.

This form is however used to express verbs which are more intrinsic to the subject and give the impression of a more intimate or permanent relationship between the two. If for example we say I don’t understand and use the first form we get ‘Ap ilúpcuk’. (Note that we use the form ‘ap’ and not ‘at’ here. This form is used for abstract concepts as well as objects which are not present. With eating it’s implied that we are eating something which is why it may be present, or at least near the subject.) This will tell the listener that you haven’t understood because they were too quiet, or you need it explained in a different way. If however the second form is used giving ‘Álpicka’ this would mean that you speaker hasn’t understood because the listener was speaking in a foreign language that the speaker didn’t understand, or that they were talking about a concept beyond the understanding of the speaker.

A common euphemism for death would be ‘huláh’ meaning she is sleeping but with a more intimate and permanent meaning than ‘ba ihúha’ which simply means that she is asleep.

It’s important to be aware that adjectives and verbs as we know them do not really exist in Mila and can be interchangeably used. The predicate position is reserved for attributes of the subject (and the indirect object as we have already seen). The verbal position adds a more active role. In the example above of understand when this is in the predicate position we have a state of the speaker. They don’t understand and they can’t do anything about it. As an active verb though, they are willing to do something about it. If we have an adjective such as hungry ‘mupca’ in predicate position it is the state of the person, an adjective with just the meaning of hungry. If however this is placed in the verbal position then we get a more active meaning and as such the adjective in this case is intensified. In the verbal position it would thus mean I am starving. So ‘ambic’ is I am hungry whereas ‘ap imúpca’ is I am starving. This difference of meaning can be applied to most adjectives, but sometimes there will be a slight change of meaning between the predicate and the verbal positions. Clever is ‘pupha’. As an adjective (in predicate position) we get the meaning of someone being clever. In verbal position though it takes a more active role and implies someone is doing something to become clever, so here it means to learn.

This form is also used with modals when asking questions and will be covered in chapter 12.

Exercise***

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Passives

There is no exact form for the passive as in English. In Mila, passives are expressed by putting the passive noun into the predicate and inserting the form of the verb ‘to be’. The sentence then the book was put on the table gives (put = lukta) ‘Igúma piɟál inlúkta’ which could also be translated as he/she put the book on the table.

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