Legend: Definitions, Terms, <Text>, {}, [IPA], -Tags-, and "Glosses".
The morphological word classes are verbs, quantity words, nouns, pronouns, determiners, adverbs, conjunctions, and particles. All except particles may be involved in derivation; verbs, nouns, and pronouns are inflected. Many verbs, as well as the scalar quantities, are also scalar, being used for scales of comparison.
The 2 main properties of verb roots and stems are the action type and the argument structure class.
The action types are shown, along with their labels and descriptions, in the following table:
| Label | Name | Description | Group |
| VS_ | Scalar | static and can be scale of comparison | State |
| VB_ | Binary | other static | |
| VH_ | Habitual | multiple occasions or long-term | Process |
| VU_ | Unitizable | can be divided into steps | |
| VC_ | Culminating | terminates in transition into state | |
| VE_ | Event | treated as single transition | Event |
The argument structure class descriptions, along with their labels and names, are shown in the following table. Parentheses indicate that the argument can be omitted without marking the verb antipassive.
| Label | Name | Animate | Inanimate | Locational | |||
| V_A | Actional | 1 | Actor | - | - | 3 | (Route) |
| V_P | Descriptive | 2 | (Controller) | 1 | Descriptee | - | - |
| V_L | Labile | 1 | Experiencer | 2 | (Stimulus) | - | - |
| V_T | Transitive | 1 | Agent | 2 | Patient | - | - |
| V_R | Relational | 2 | (Controller) | 1 | Locatee | 3 | (Location) |
| V_D | Ditransitive | 1 | Donor | 3 | (Theme) | 2 | Recipient |
The numbers are described in the following table:
| Number | Name | Description |
| 1 | Primary | subject when direct, object when inverse (unless replaced) |
| 2 | Secondary | object when direct, subject when inverse (unless replaced) |
| 3 | Tertiary | not marked on verb |
The argument structure can be changed by an applicative or a preverb, which is how ditransitive stems are produced, since there are no ditransitive roots. If the verb stem is relational, an applicative replaces the tertiary argument with an applied argument. Otherwise, it replaces the secondary argument, and the original secondary argument may be retained as the tertiary argument.
There are 3 orders of verb forms: imperative, finite, and participial. The structure of an imperative verb form is as follows:
| # | Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Subject | imperative mood + 2nd person | |
| 2 | Polarity | Stem | |
| 3 | Preverbs | ||
| 4 | Verb Root | (required) | |
| 5 | Applicative | ||
| 6 | Object | voice or limited person & number | |
The structure of a finite verb form is as follows:
| # | Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Object | limited person | |
| 2 | Polarity | Stem | |
| 3 | Preverbs | ||
| 4 | Verb Root | (required) | |
| 5 | Applicative | ||
| 6 | Subject | person & number | |
| 7 | Inversion | for local person only | |
The structure of a participial verb form is as follows:
| # | Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Polarity | Stem | |
| 3 | Preverbs | ||
| 4 | Verb Root | (required) | |
| 5 | Applicative | ||
| 6 | Role & Gender | ||
| 7 | Number & Case | ||
Negative polarity is marked by the prefix xal xalu Neg; positive polarity is unmarked.
Preverbs combine with verb roots and applicatives to form compound verb stems. A preverb may affect either or both the action type and the argument structure class; the action type of a compound is that of the first preverb. There are 2 kinds of preverbs: those that occur only as preverbs and those that can also be independent verbs.
The 1st kind includes the state-producing preverbs Prf "have finished" and Pro "be ready to" and the process-producing preverb Prg "in the middle of"; these appear before any others.
The 1st kind also includes the habitual Hab and the semelfactive Sem. The habitual can apply to any verb that's not already habitual; it makes the stem habitual. The semelfactive applies only to habitual verbs, indicating a single occasion, and unitizable verbs, indicating a single iteration; it makes the stem an event verb.
The 2nd kind forms compound verbs with composite argument structures. Manner or action is usually prefixed to path or relation.
An applicative changes the argument structure class. They're shown in the following table (although strictly speaking, the allative and ablative aren't applicatives):
| Suffix | Tag | Name | Applies to | |
| - | - | -InsA | Instrumental | V_A, V_P, V_T |
| - | - | -LocA | Locative | V_P, V_T |
| -an | -anu | -AllA | Allative | V_R, V_T |
| -es | -esu | -AblA | Ablative | V_R, V_T |
| - | - | -BenA | Benefactive | all but V_R |
| - | - | -MalA | Malefactive | all but V_R |
| zolukozetunisilanu | |||
| zolkozetnisilan | |||
| [ZOL.KO.ZETU.NI.SI'LAN] | |||
| zol | kozet | nisil | -an |
| Prf | carry | in | -All |
| "have carried into" | |||
The imperative order subject implies a 2nd person agent. The object may be null, denoting a 3rd person argument, the antipassive suffix, the reflexive suffix, or a 1st person singular or exclusive plural suffix.
The finite order subject may be null, denoting a 3rd person argument, or a person and number suffix. The object may be null, denoting a 3rd person argument (if defined), the passive prefix, the antipassive prefix, the reflexive prefix, or the 2nd person, provided that the subject is 1st person singular or exclusive plural.
The imperative and finite personal affixes are shown in the following table:
| Prefix | Suffix | Tag | Description | ||
| - | - | -si | si | 1S | 1st person singular |
| - | - | -ki | ki | 1XP | 1st person exclusive plural |
| - | - | -ni | ni | 1NP | 1st person inclusive plural |
| no- | no | -no | no | 2 | 2nd person |
| za- | za | - | - | Imp | imperative order |
| li- | li | - | - | Pas | passive voice |
| e- | qe | -qe | qe | Ant | antipassive voice |
| xe- | xe | -xe | xe | Rfx | reflexive voice |
If a 1st or 2nd person suffix is present, a finite verb may take the inversion suffix -k ku -Inv.
A participial order form is a verbal noun taking a role and gender suffix, as shown in the following table. It's inflected like other nouns.
| Suffix | Tag | Gender | Description | |
| -en | -en | -Agt | Animate | Agent-Controller-Actor-Donor |
| -as | -as | -Obv | Patient-Descriptee-Locatee-Theme | |
| -it | -it | -Pat | Inanimate | |
| -ok | -ok | -Loc | Locational | Location-Route-Recipient |
| noxalucixotanusi | ||||
| noxalcixotansi | ||||
| [NO.XAL.CI.XO'DAM.SI] | ||||
| no- | xal- | cixot | -an | -si |
| 2- | Neg- | give | -All | -1S |
| "I — not give you" | ||||
| xatakitu | |
| xatakit | |
| [XA.DA'KITU] | |
| xatak | -it |
| break | -Pat |
| "broken" (inanimate) | |
The copula Cop has a locatee argument, which is marked on the verb as inverse voice subject, and a location argument, which isn't. It lacks stages and has no imperative order.
page started: 2018.Aug.29 Wed
current date: 2018.Sep.02 Sun
content and form originated by qiihoskeh
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