The almighty verb
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Forming verbs in Numi
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 15 Jun 2020, 22:33.
[comments] nmiverbsmorphologypolysynthesisnoun incorporation
1. Hiragana and Numi
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2. Idioms of Numi
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3. Numbers in Numi
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4. Numi nouns
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7. The almighty verb
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?FYI...
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.
ergative- (accusative) - [ (incorporated noun) - (causative/
passive/
antipassive) - (certain
adverbs) - root - (time/
locative)] - tense/
aspect
Everything within the square brackets comprises the verb stem.
Elements in bold are obligatory (usually).
| Absolutive | Ergative | Accusative | |
| 1st person | の- (no-) | に- (ni-) | も- (mo-) |
| 2nd person | る- (ru-) | す- (su-) | あ- (a-) |
| 3rd person | ゐ- (wi-) | き- (ki-) | み- (mi-) |
Intransitive Verbs
An intransitive verb always has an absolutive prefix marker which agrees in person with the subject. If the subject is plural it also adds the affix -ん (-n) after the absolutive prefix but before the verb stem. A few examples, using the verb -ごぜえ- (-gozē-), meaning to eat.
のごぜえじ。 / nogozēji
I ate.
るごぜえじ。 / rugozēji
You (singular) ate.
ゐんごぜえじ。 / wingozēji
They ate.
Transitive Verbs
A transitive verb agrees with both the agent and object. The agent is added as an ergative prefix, and the object follows as an accusative prefix. The agent agrees in number in exactly the same way as the subject for an intransitive verb, by adding -ん. If the accusative prefix is one that starts with an m, the plural marker assimilates and it becomes a geminated m. The object does not agree in number.
にあごぜえじ。 / niagozēji
I ate you.
にっみごぜえじ。 / nimmigozēji
We ate it/them.
きもごぜえじ。 / kimogozēji
He/she/it ate me/us.
Ditransitive Verbs
Ditransitive verbs have a subject, a theme, and a recipient. This can be handled in a few different ways. The default is to have the verb agree with the subject using an ergative prefix, with the recipient as an accusative prefix, and incorporate the theme into the verb using noun incorporation.
にあそひかじ。 / nisohikaji
ni
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent -a
-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient -sohi
-pen -ka
-give -ji
-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
I gave you a pen. (Literally, I pen-gave you.)
Alternatively, you can reverse the positions of the theme and the recipient on the verb by incorporating the pronoun corresponding to the recipient into the verb and adding an accusative suffix to agree with the theme. Stating the verb this way would emphasize the action and the recipient, while strongly de-emphasizing the theme. For example:
にみしゃかじ。 / nimishakaji
ni
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent -mi
-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient -sha
-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity -ka
-give -ji
-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
I gave it/them to YOU.
A third option is to keep the theme outside the verb instead of incorporating it. The verb's object agreement prefix may correspond to either the recipient or the theme. The theme noun will take the accusative case, as will the recipient, if it has an explicit noun in the sentence. The two accusative nouns can be in either order; the listener relies on context and semantics of the verb to determine which is intended as the recipient. Using this structure lets you supply more detail for the theme than is possible from within the verb, or apply other grammatical processes to it that only work for nouns.
にあかじ そひめお みっかめお。/ niakaji sohimeo mikkameo
ni-a-ka-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-give-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech sohi-meo
pen-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient mikka-meo
friend-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I gave a pen to a friend.
Subject agreement with groups
In general, groups can agree as either plural or singular, depending on whether you are referring to them as a whole group or as individuals part of that group.
If the speaker is included in the group, the verb can agree as first-person plural, to indicate group membership, as third-person plural, to distance the speaker from the group, or as third-person singular, to refer to the group collectively without making any claims about the speaker's association with them.
ののっみり にんそんごぜえしょん ぬとおや。
Nonommiri ninsongozēshon nutōya.
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-like-NPSTNon-past (tense)
present, continuous and future fish-eat-GERGerund
verbal noun my-family.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument
My family likes to eat fish. (Including me)
きんぎよわ ぬとおやし。
Kingiyowa nutōyashi.
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-fight-PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing my-family-ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent
My family members are fighting amongst themselves. (But I'm staying out of it.)
ゐゆびわ につこでえじゃ ぬとおや。
Wiyubiwa nitsukodēja nutōya.
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-live-PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing in-house-that my-family.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument
My family lives in that house.
An object can be tied to its transitive verb in three different ways:
- The noun stands next to the verb, fully declined
- The noun's root is fully incorporated into the verb, and the verb becomes intransitive
- A simple noun is incorporated into the verb, it remains transitive, and another fully-inflected word is left outside that supplies additional information about the object
にみごぜえじ まりてえんはめお。
ni-mi-gozē-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-eat-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech mari-tēnha-meo
DEFDefinite
"the"-fruit-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I ate the piece of fruit.
のてえんはごぜえじ。
no
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument -tēnha
-fruit -gozē
-eat -ji
-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
I ate fruit. (Literally, I fruit-ate.)
にみてえんはごぜえじ まりゆるうっめお。
ni-mi-tēnha-gozē-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-fruit-eat-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech mari-yurūn-meo
DEFDefinite
"the"-plum-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I ate the plum. (Literally, I fruit-ate the plum.)
にみてえんはごぜえじ まりへぽめお。
ni-mi-tēnha-gozē-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-fruit-eat-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech mari-hepo-meo
DEFDefinite
"the"-tasty-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I ate the tasty fruit. (Literally, I fruit-ate the tasty thing.)
Incorporating the object is the most common form of noun incorporation, but you can also do it with other types of nouns, if they are accompanied by one of four prepositions which act as applicatives. (The list of four is written out in another article, under prepositions.) In the following two examples, an instrumental affix comes between the noun and the verb root to indicate its role.
のぬみぼらしっぱ。
no-numi-bora-shippa
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-numi-INSInstrumental (case)
'with', 'using'-speak
I speak Numi.
にみばえづぼらごぜえり まりなてえんはめお。
ni-mi-baedzu-bora-gozē-ri
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-knife-INSInstrumental (case)
'with', 'using'-eat-NPSTNon-past (tense)
present, continuous and future marina-tēnha-meo
DEFDefinite
"the".PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-fruit-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
He will eat the fruit with a knife.
It's possible to incorporate more than one noun. If the object of the verb is one of them, it will always be closest to the root. Multiple noun incorporation is only likely to happen with common verbs such as eating.
のばえづぼらてえんはごぜえじ。
no-baedzu-bora-tēnha-gozē-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-knife-INSInstrumental (case)
'with', 'using'-fruit-eat-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
I ate fruit with a knife.
A passive verb is one that reduces the importance of its subject. This can be done in a variety of ways.
1. An intransitive verb can be made passive by removing all person agreement. This communicates that the verb's action takes place (or state exists, for a stative verb) but that it's not necessary to say who is responsible for it.
ゐっねんゆちをんぐじ まりなぺんじ。
wi-n-nenyuchi-wongu-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-celebrate-last_night-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech marina-penji
DEFDefinite
"the".PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-man.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument
The men celebrated last night.
ねんゆちをんぐじ。
nenyuchi-wongu-ji
celebrate-last_night-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
A celebration happened last night.
2. If the verb is transitive, you can remove its subject, promote the object to a subject by changing its case to absolutive, and mark the verb as passive using one of three different passivization prefixes.
- The prefix え- is for active, intentional actions. It is the default form of the passive.
ゐえだぷまぺったじ ゐんば。
wi-e-dapuma-petta-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-be-hunt-today-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech wimba
boar.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument
Boar was hunted today. - Prefix せ- is used for accidental passive actions.
ゐせめやじ まりあらん。
wi-se-meya-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-be.accident-forget-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech mari-aran
DEFDefinite
"the"-book.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument
The book was forgotten. - Prefix で- gives the verb a permissive or abilitative sense.
ゐでごぜえわ ひんこんでん つお。
wi-de-gozē-wa
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-be.ABILAbilitative (mood)
expresses ability-eat-PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing hinkonden
mushroom.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument tsuo
white.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument
The white mushroom can be eaten.
3. A verb that is intransitive but that has a locative or noun phrase that is introduced by a preposition can also remove its subject and use the same transitive passive markers combined with the preposition to promote the location/noun into the new subject of the passive verb.
のにんがちょせしげをんぐじ。
no-ninga-cho-seshi-ge-wongu-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-sleep-on-bed-this-last_night-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
I slept on this bed last night. ゐちょえにんがをんぐじ せしげ。
wi-cho-e-ninga-wongu-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-on-be-sleep-last_night-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
This bed was slept on last night.
seshi-ge
bed.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-this
4. A passive that was formed from a transitive verb can optionally keep its original subject explicit by including it with no case marker elsewhere in the clause (usually at the end) preceded by the preposition み (mi).
のせまえざじ みちゃあん だぎ。
no-se-maeza-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-be.accident-wake-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech mi-chān
by-crash dagi
loud
I was awakened by a loud crash.
5. If a ditransitive verb becomes passive, its direct object becomes the subject, and the indirect object is promoted to direct object. The new subject and object would not be incorporated into the verb.
きもえかじ そひし みみっか。
ki-mo-e-ka-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-be-give-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech sohi-shi
pen-ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent mi-mikka
by-friend
The pen was given to me by a friend.
6. Finally, with a transitive or ditransitive verb you can remove the subject but leave the object in the accusative case. This structure is not common, but can be used for certain specific rhetorical effects: when the subject is unknown but significant to the action, or when the speaker wants to emphasize the object's lack of agency (often for contrast with another clause).
みぱよおてやじ まりこっとめお。
mi-payō-teya-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-roll-away-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech mari-kotto-meo
DEFDefinite
"the"-stone-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
The stone was rolled away.
An antipassive verb, on the other hand, aims to reduce the importance of the object. It can only apply to verbs with at least two arguments, so transitive or ditransitive verbs. There are several ways to use antipassives:
1. Change the subject from ergative to absolutive case, remove the object-verb agreement, and move the object to an oblique position with a preposition and no explicit case marker. This preposition み (mi) is the same one used in passive constructions that mention the subject in an oblique. Phrasing it this way means that the "object" was involved in the situation, but it is unimportant or its exact nature doesn't matter in the conversation.
のごぜえじ みにんそん。
no-gozē-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-eat-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech mi-ninson
of-fish
I ate (fish or something).
Another use case for this antipassive form is with hortative statements, which require the first person plural subject prefix but don't allow the verb to carry a direct object.
のんごぜえり みにんそん！
no-n-gozē-ri
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-eat-NPSTNon-past (tense)
present, continuous and future mi-ninson
of-fish
Let's eat fish!
Note: The regular object incorporation process that I described in a section above does also shift the subject from ergative to absolutive, but it is not a true antipassive as defined here because it actually emphasizes the importance of the object by making it a core part of the verb.
2. If the verb is ditransitive, promote the indirect object to direct object, remove the initial object completely, and mark the verb as antipassive with the prefix およ-.
にみおよかじ そひめお。
ni-mi-oyo-ka-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-ANTIPAntipassive voice (valency)
valency is decreased by one-give-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech sohi-meo
pen-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I gave the pen away (to someone, unknown or unstated).
3. Use およ- as a derivational morpheme to convert a verb from transitive to intransitive. This prefix is not fully productive, since many verbs are ambitransitive (can be either transitive or intransitive without changing their forms). A verb formed with this prefix generally implies an unstated object.
きみぐうんわ ふやらめお。
ki-mi-gūn-wa
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-worry-PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing hu-yara-meo
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has-daughter-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
She is worrying about her daughter.
ゐおよぐうんわ。
wi-oyo-gūn-wa
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-ANTIPAntipassive voice (valency)
valency is decreased by one-worry-PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing
She is worrying.
Reflexive verbs (He looked at himself) and reciprocal verbs (They looked at each other) are both formed by using the ergative agreement prefix with no accusative prefix. When spoken aloud, this is easily recognizable because the stress falls on the second syllable, which normally would not happen after an ergative prefix.
きんひんじ。
ki-n-hin-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-look-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
They looked at each other. / They looked at themselves.
If individual participating nouns are stated in the sentence, they will all take the ergative case.
きっにわほじ ぬまろし よ ぬゑえこし。
ki-n-niwaho-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-disagree-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech nu-maro-shi
my-mother-ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent yo
and nu-wēko-shi
my-brother-ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent
My mother and brother disagreed with each other.
If a reciprocal or reflexive verb has an object, it will be incorporated into the verb if possible. If not, it will be added as an oblique with the preposition み- (mi-), rather than as a direct object. If the verb must be transitive, it has to use the antipassive.
におよざっぽじ みをお ねざはん。
ni-oyo-zappo-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-ANTIPAntipassive voice (valency)
valency is decreased by one-narrate-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech mi-wō
of-story nezahan
interesting
I told myself an interesting story.
A reciprocal action can also be described by chaining two clauses together with the prefix けや- (keya-), which swaps the roles of the two actors on the verb and indicates that the two verbs take place at the same time. I have described the structure of clause chaining in greater depth in another article.
きもひんじ けやひん。
ki-mo-hin-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-look-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech keya-hin
swap.while-look
He looked at me as I looked at him. / We looked at each other.
Locatives are words that come at the end of a verb stem to place the verb's action either in space or in time. It can appear alone or with a preposition that joins it to the root to define the time or place more precisely. Most locatives can also appear outside the verb as either adverbs or prepositional phrases.
にあえかやどっなり。
ni-a-eka-yadonna-ri
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-meet-Thursday-NPSTNon-past (tense)
present, continuous and future
I'll meet you on Thursday.
ゐっものごちゅまおりおまじ。
wi-n-mongo-chumao-rioma-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-sit-encircling-table-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
They sat around the table.
If a verb has locatives for both time and space, theoretically they can come in either order, but in practice I almost always put the time locative second so that it is next to the tense/aspect suffix on the verb.
のんごぜえこでえぐっぼり。
no-n-gozē-kodē-gubbo-ri
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-eat-house-tonight-NPSTNon-past (tense)
present, continuous and future
We will eat at home tonight.
If a verb has perfective aspect, it will take one of two suffixes, depending on tense:
Past: -じ (-ji)
Nonpast: -い/り (-i/ri)
The nonpast suffix is -り, unless it is following a syllable that ends with n, in which case it becomes -い.
Because those two suffixes are very common, I will usually gloss and talk about them as simply past/nonpast tenses, to save having to add "perfective" every time. The other aspects do not have different forms depending on tense; instead each aspect has an inherent "tense" or position in time relative to the time of speaking.
| Aspect | Suffix | Inherent position in time |
|---|---|---|
| Progressive | -わ (wa) | Present, continuing into future |
| Inchoative | -で (de) | Past |
| Cessative | -だん (dan) | Past |
A verb can be placed more precisely in time by using a time locative as a suffix to the verb, or an adverb/adverbial phrase outside the verb. Such adverbs can apply equally whether the verb is perfective or imperfective, but are required if the verb needs to be placed in a time other than an imperfective aspect's inherent time setting. Some examples:
げのめ (genome) : now
どっさ (dossa) : before
どぶ (dobu) : after
ゐぽ (wipo) : soon
ぺった (petta) : today
ろじょった (rojotta) : yesterday
ろじった (rojitta) : tomorrow
をんぐ (wongu) : last night
すうり (sūri) : far future
きももいっちゃかをんぐじ のじょづみで ふろじった うろじった。
ki-mo-moiccha-ka-wongu-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-outline-give-last_night-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech no-jodzumi-de
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-write-INCHInchoative (aspect)
'beginning, becoming' hu-rojitta
POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has.3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-tomorrow u-rojitta
GENGenitive (case)
possessive-tomorrow
He gave me the outline last night, and I will start writing the day after tomorrow.
One special time-modifying adverb is むい (mui), which positions a verb in some time frame that is clear from context or was previously established in the conversation. When used with an imperfective aspect, it flags the verb as being not in the inherent time frame but doesn't specify any further.
There is an exception to the rule requiring a time-specifying adverb. If the verb is part of an imperfective dependent clause, it leans on its independent clause to define its place in time. In the following example, the progressive aspect has its inherent 'present into future' sense only in relation to the past tense of the independent verb.
りめ ゐんきよわ せなけぽ にみわんどじ まりつないめお。
rime
when.IPFVImperfective (aspect)
'interrupted or incomplete' wi-n-kiyo-wa
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-green-PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing sena-kepo
PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-leaf.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument ni-mi-wando-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-travel-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech mari-tsunai-meo
DEFDefinite
"the"-city-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
When the leaves were green, I traveled to the city.
In a dependent clause where the verb has the same tense and aspect as the independent clause, its tense/aspect marker is optional and will usually be left off.
((Example))
Gnomic statements of generality are stated without any tense or aspect marker.
のんごぜえ。 / nongozē
We eat. (As in, all humans eat.)
A habitual statement is formed with the progressive aspect and another adverb.
ぜい (zei) : always
ちょぽ (chopo) : often, with regularity
ないた (naita) : sometimes, from time to time
かるやどお (karuyadō) : every day
のえんぜんわ ちょぽ おじょば。/ Noenzenwa chopo ojoba.
I usually arrive early.
A speaker can express his or her attitude or relationship to an utterance by using one of the adverbs of modality that come immediately after a verb.
のねわゐぽり きね。
no-n-ewa-wipo-ri
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-leave-soon-NPSTNon-past (tense)
present, continuous and future kine
should
We should leave soon.
Some examples (not an exhaustive list):
- きね (kine) : should, hope, the speaker desires for it to happen
- すり (suri) : must, obligation external to the actor, from the speaker, circumstances, or society at large
- ぱへ (pahe) : have to, the verb's actor feels compelled to do it
- ぽじ (poji) : mustn't, never, the speaker feels strongly against it (requires negation of the clause)
- でい (dei) : can, abilitative, it is possible or allowed
- づしゅ (dzushu) : obviously, the speaker thinks it should go without saying
- やっこ (yakko) : certain, the speaker is absolutely sure
- らえし (raeshi) : probably, the speaker feels confident while still expressing some doubt
- おいて (oite) : might, possibility, but the speaker thinks it unlikely
- あふろじ (ahuroji) : suppose, concluded, deduced, figured out or hypothesized by the speaker
- りと (rito) : think that, feel that, the speaker's personal opinion
- ろえ (roe) : wonder, speaker feels doubt or curiosity
- とぱ (topa) : wish, speaker wants or wishes it to be true, or regrets that it's not
- がひと (gahito) : regret, speaker wishes it weren't true
- ざら (zara) : glad, speaker is happy about it
- んづ (ndzu) : amazing, speaker is surprised, usually in a good way
- ふわん (huwan) : creepy, speaker is creeped or freaked out by it
Some adverbs can be included in a verb stem, directly before the root. They form a closed class of words that alter the manner of a verb happening. The following list is all of the adverbs that can behave that way, and their effects on the verb:
- あわ (awa) : successfully completed (not necessarily past)
- あぜ (aze) : try, with effort or intention to attempt, may or may not get completed
- いむ (imu) : done truly, with integrity, reflecting a deep truth
- いっぼん (ibbon) : thoroughly, deeply, to the fullest extent possible
- ひゆ (hiyu) : carelessly, without complete or proper attention
- おはく (ohaku) : done together or jointly (plural subjects)
- じぇん (jen) : done again, repeated after a gap
- でぞ (dezo) : done for the first time
- なめ (name) : gradually
- はり (hari) : most, used in some comparative structures
- へろ (hero) : more, intensifier of the verb
- ほの (hono) : less, de-intensifier of the verb
- むき (muki) : done in one go, without stopping
- えそ (eso) : unexpectedly, surprisingly
Numi has a causative marker さ (sa), which serves to demote a verb's main actor to direct object and increase the verb's transitivity by one.
ゐかちゃり べんひだ。 にみさかちゃじ。
wi-kacha-ri
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-broken-NPSTNon-past (tense)
present, continuous and future benhida.
kettle.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument ni-mi-sa-kacaha-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-CAUSCausative (valency/mood)
cause an action to occur, force another argument to act-broken-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
The kettle is broken. I broke it.
のあらんいえしいじ。 すもあらんさいえしいじ。
no-aran-ieshii-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-book-borrow-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech su-mo-aran-sa-ieshii-ji
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-book-CAUSCausative (valency/mood)
cause an action to occur, force another argument to act-borrow-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
I borrowed a book. You lent me a book.
If a verb is already transitive or ditransitive and has a causative applied, it behaves like other ditransitive verbs, with multiple objects marked in the accusative case. It will likely be rife with potential ambiguity, but context should make the meaning clear.
すもさかじ ぬまろめお りっなめお。
su-mo-sa-ka-ji
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-CAUSCausative (valency/mood)
cause an action to occur, force another argument to act-give-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech nu-maro-meo
my-mother-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient rinna-meo
kitten-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
You made me give the kitten to my mother.
Some verbs have irregular forms for direct and causative senses. For example, うらぜ (uraze), to go upwards; ぜぬう (zenū), to lift something upwards; and ざらず (zarazu), to indirectly cause something to move upwards. Those three words are clearly related, but they do not use さ in its regular productive form.
Other verbs do not use the causative marker because they are ambitransitive and have both active and causative meanings. This is something you just have to learn word-by-word, but you see it most frequently in the language with all of the verbs of motion. For instance, ぱよお (payō) means both to move by rolling, and to cause something to move by rolling.
ゐぱよおいらひちゃごじ あっちん。
wi-payō-ira-hichago-ji
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-roll-across-floor-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech acchin
can.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument
The can rolled across the floor.
にみぱよおらもぽおむじ ふかんてめお うぬえぶ。
ni-mi-payō-ramo-pōmu-ji
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-roll-to-forest-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech hu-kante-meo
POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has.3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-car-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient u-nu-ebu
GENGenitive (case)
possessive-my-father
I drove my father's car to the forest.
Stress generally falls on the first syllable of a verb's stem, ignoring the person-agreement prefixes. This means that primary stress may be on the first, second, or third syllable, depending on the affixes.
ごぜえり。 Gozēri. Eat. (imperative)
のんごぜえり。Nongozēri. We eat.
にみごぜえり。Nimigozēri. I eat it.
If content words come before the root within the verb stem and are three or more syllables long (most likely with an incorporated noun), the first syllable of the verb root will also be stressed, at a slightly lower secondary stress level.
のひんこんでんごぜえじ。
Nohinkondengozēji.
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument-mushroom-eat-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
I ate a mushroom.
When counting syllables, a long vowel counts as two, a syllabic n counts as one, but a syllable-final/coda n is not counted separately.
ち : chi : 1 syllable
そお : sō : 2 syllables
まん : man : 1 syllable
んご : ngo : 2 syllables
りいん : riin : 2 syllables
ひんこんでん : hinkonden : 3 syllables ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
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