Shemspreg sentences

Syntax is the study of how words are combined into phrases and sentences. In this chapter I will focus on the structure of sentences; there are references throughout this grammar to phrases of various sorts, so I will not treat them here. I begin by describing simple sentences and sentences using the verb es 'to be' and elaborations of these simple sentence types; I then discuss coordinate and other complex sentences.

Simple sentences

With respect to basic sentence structure, Shemspreg is much like English, though not identical. The basic word order for transitive sentences is Subject + Verb + Object (= SVO). Transitive sentences are sentences with a subject, a verb, and a direct object.

maater thees sos tekom.

maater	thee	-s	so	-s	tek	-om
mother	suckle	-PRES	3s	-GEN	child	-OBL

'The mother is suckling her child.'

ej edi tree abelesom.

ej	e-	d	-i	tree	abel	-es	-om
1s:NOM	PERF-	eat:0	-PAST	three	apple	-PL	-OBL

'I ate three apples.'

owi skekwi echwosom.

owi	ske-	kw	-i	echwo	-s	-om
sheep	PERF-	see:0	PAST	horse	-PL	-OBL

'The sheep saw horses.'

While SVO is the normal word order in Shemspreg transitive sentences, other orders are also common to focus or place emphasis on a particular constituent.

so wiro epi abelesom.

so	wiro	e-	p	-i	abel	-es	-om
that	man	IMPF-	pick:0	-PAST	apple	-PL	-OBL

'That man was picking apples.'

abelesom epi so wiro.

abel	-es	-om	e-	p	-i	so	wiro
apple	-PL	-OBL	IMPF-	pick:0	-PAST	that	man

'It was apples that that man was picking.'

abel-epi so wiro.

abel	e-	p	-i	so	wiro
apple	IMPF-	pick:0	-PAST	that	man

'Picking apples is what that man was doing.'

The sentences below are examples of intransitive sentences, which have a subject and a verb, but no object. As with transitive sentences, there is some flexibility of word order when sentence elements other than the subject appear.

me swekru-vraater weses.

me	swekru	fraater	wes	-es
1s:GEN	in.law	brother	stay.overnight	-PRES

'My brother-in-law is staying overnight.'

so gwegumi ad domomswe.

so	gwe-	gum	-i	ad	dom	-om	=swe
3s:NOM	PERF-	come:0	-PAST	at	house	-OBL	=REFL

'He arrived at his (own) house.'

owi weuri oochu en arum.

owi	we-	wr	-i	oochu	en	aru	-m
sheep	PERF-	turn.away:0	-PAST	swiftly	in	field	-OBL

'The sheep swiftly turned away into the field.'

oochu weuri owi en arum.

oochu	we-	wr	-i	owi	en	aru	-m
swiftly	PERF-	turn.away:0	-PAST	sheep	in	field	-OBL

'The sheep swiftly turned away into the field.'

en arum weuri owi oochu.

en	aru	-m	we-	wr	-i	owi	oochu
in	field	-OBL	PERF-	turn.away:0	-PAST	sheep	swiftly

'The sheep swiftly turned away into the field.'

Ditransitive sentences require two arguments besides the subject. In such sentences one distinguishes between a direct object, which is inflected for oblique case as in a simple transitive sentence, and an indirect object, which occurs in Shemspreg as a prepositional phrase.

gwena dodoi yaam kwonom ad tekom.

gwena	do-	do	-i	yaam	kwon	-om	ad	tek	-om
woman	PERF-	give:0	-PAST	already	dog	-OBL	to	child	-OBL

'The woman already gave a dog to the child.'

wiro stetli chestrom an dezhomom.

wiro	ste-	tl	-i	chestro	-m	an	dezhom	-om
man	PERF-	place:0	-PAST	knife	-OBL	on	ground	-OBL

The man put the knife on the ground.

gwena meles meltom ad me.

gwena	mel	-es	melto	-m	ad	me
woman	tell	-PRES	story	-OBL	to	1s:OBL

'The woman is telling me a story.'

'BE' sentences

There are three kinds of sentences which use the verb es 'be'. They are: i) equational sentences, ii) existential sentences, and iii) possessive sentences.

Equational sentences

Equational sentences are sentences which assert that the subject is characterized by some property or identity, or that it is located in some place. In English these sentences generally have the form: NP be AP/NP/PP.

John is a man.

The milk is sour.

The mouse is in the bowl.

Equational sentences in Shemspreg work similarly to those of English; the noun phrase subject is equated with some property or identity by means of the verb es 'be'. The Shemspreg equivalents of the English sentences above are given below.

Jan es wiro.

Jan	es	wiro
John	be:PRES	man

'John is (a) man.'

glakt es suuro.

glakt	es	suuro
milk	be:PRES	sour

'The milk is sour.'

muus es en kwerom.

muus	es	en	kwer	-om
mouse	be:PRES	in	bowl	-OBL

'The mouse is in the bowl.'

Existential sentences

Existential sentences are sentences which assert that some state of affairs exists. In English, existential sentences are introduced by "There is/was...". In Shemspreg, they are introduced by (so) es .... Some examples of existential sentences are given below.

so es muus en kwerom.

so	es	muus	en	kwer	-om
3s:NOM	be:PRES	mouse	in	bowl	-OBL

'There's a mouse in the bowl.'

es thevu leuk deyent.

es	thev	leuk	dei	-ent
be:PRES	small	light	shine	-PTC

'There's a small light shining.'

Possessive sentences

Possessive sentences are identical in form to existential sentences since they are also introduced by so es ... 'it is'. The possessor is expressed by a prepositional phrase headed by ad 'to'. Possessive sentences assert ownership, kinship, or a part/whole relationship, as the following sentences show.

so es dom ad me.

so	es	dom	ad	me
3s:NOM	be:PRES	house	to	1s:OBL

'I have a house.'

so es poti ad Marim.

so	es	poti	ad	Mari	-m
3s:NOM	be:PRES	husband	to	Mary	-OBL

'Mary has a husband.'

so es ach ardi ad chestrom.

so	es	ach	ardi	ad	chestro	-m
3s:NOM	be:PRES	sharp	point	to	knife	-OBL

'The knife has a sharp point.'

Elaborations of simple sentences

Imperative sentences

Imperative sentences are used to give commands and make requests. In Shemspreg, there are two features which distinguish imperative sentences from simple sentences. First, imperative sentences often do not have an subject. Since an imperative is used to give an order, the implied subject of the sentence is either tu 'you (sg)' or or yu 'you (pl)', both of which are second person pronouns. Second, imperative sentences use the imperative verb form, which is simply the full grade of the verb without any inflection. While imperative sentences generally do not occur with a subject (which is always 2nd person), they may do so to make clear whether a single person or more than one person is being addressed. Some examples of imperative sentences are given below.

prech te maaterom!

prech	te	maater	-om
ask:IMP	2s:GEN	mother	-OBL

'Ask your mother!'

ed abelom kirnosomwe!

ed	abel	-om	kirno	-s	-om	=we
eat:IMP	apple	-OBL	cherry	-PL	-OBL	=or

'Eat (an) apple or (some) cherries!'

Negative sentences

Forming negative sentences in Shemspreg is fairly straightforward; the negation particle ne is placed immediately before the verb. The examples below contain simple sentences from earlier in this chapter which have been negated by adding ne.

so wiro ne epi abelesom.

so	wiro	ne	e-	p	-i	abel	-es	-om
that	man	not	IMPF-	pick:0	-PAST	apple	-PL	-OBL

'That man was not picking apples.'

me swekru-vraater ne weses.

me	swekru	fraater	ne	wes	-es
1s:GEN	in.law	brother	not	stay.overnight	-PRES

'My brother-in-law is not staying overnight.'

Jan ne dodoi kwonom ad putlom.

Jan	ne	do-	do	-i	kwon	-om	ad	putlo	-m
John	not	PERF-	give:0	-PAST	dog	-OBL	to	boy	-OBL

'John didn't give a dog to the boy.'

muus ne es en kwerom.

muus	ne	es	en	kwer	-om
mouse	not	be:PRES	in	bowl	-OBL

'The mouse isn't in the bowl.'

so ne es muus en kwerom.

so	ne	es	muus	en	kwer	-om
3s:NOM	not	be:PRES	mouse	in	bowl	-OBL

'There isn't a mouse in the bowl.'

ne prech te maaterom!

ne	prech	te	maater	-om
not	ask:IMP	2s:GEN	mother	-OBL

'Don't ask your mother!'

Yes/no questions

Yes/no questions are formed by placing the verb before the subject of the sentence, in a pattern familiar from languages like German and French. Some examples are given below.

epi so wiro abelesom?

e-	p	-i	so	wiro	abel	-es	-om
IMPF-	pick:0	-PAST	that	man	apple	-PL	-OBL

'Was that man picking apples?'

weses me swekru-vraater?

wes	-es	me	swekru	fraater
stay.overnight	-PRES	1s:GEN	in.law	brother

'Is my brother-in-law staying overnight?'

dodoi Jan kwonom ad putlom?

do-	do	-i	Jan	kwon	-om	ad	putlo	-m
PERF-	give:0	-PAST	John	dog	-OBL	to	boy	-OBL

'Did John give a dog to the boy?'

es muus en kwerom?

muus	es	en	kwer	-om
be:PRES	mouse	in	bowl	-OBL

'Is the mouse in the bowl?'

es so muus en kwerom?

es	so	muus	en	kwer	-om
be:PRES	3s:NOM	mouse	in	bowl	-OBL

'Is there a mouse in the bowl?'

peprichi tu te maaterom?

pe-	prich	-i	tu	te	maater	-om
PERF-	ask	-PAST	2s:NOM	2s:GEN	mother	-OBL

'Did you ask your mother?'

Wh-questions

By 'wh-question' is meant the kind of question which is introduced by a word such as who, what, where, why and so forth. In Shemspreg, the "wh-words" are better named "kw-words", but I will keep the labels "wh-word", "wh-phrase", "wh-expression" and "wh-question" since they will be familiar to many English speakers. In Shemspreg, wh-questions are formed by fronting the wh-expression to the initial position of the sentence. The verb immediately follows the wh-expression. Some examples are given below.

kwi api abelesom?

kwi	a-	p	-i	abel	-es	-om
who	PERF-	pick:0	-PAST	apple	-PL	-OBL

'Who picked the apples?'

kwim eskwi tu?

kwi	-m	e-	skw	-i	tu
who	-OBL	PERF-	see:0	-PAST	2s:NOM

'Who did you see?'

kwis kwon edi shuum?

kwi	-s	kwon	e-	d	-i	shuu	-m
who	-GEN	dog	PERF-	eat:0	-PAST	fish	-OBL

'Whose dog ate the fish?'

kwinu gweguni so wiro?

kwinu	gwe-	gun	-i	so	wiro
when	PERF-	come:0	-PAST	that	man

'When did that man arrive?'

kwicho es wech?

kwicho	es	wech
where	be:PRES	village

'Where is the village?'

kwige woses Jan kwonom?

kwige	wos	-es	Jan	kwon	-om
why	sell	-PRES	John	dog	-OBL

'Why is John selling the dog?'

kwimod gweguni so wiro?

kwimod	gwe-	gun	-i	so	wiro
How	PERF-	come:0	-PAST	that	man

'How did that man arrive?'

Coordinate sentences

The particle =kwe 'and' may be used to join words or phrases together. It may also be used to join two or more complete sentences together in a coordinate sentence. When =kwe is used in this way, it immediately follows the first word of the second sentence, as the following examples show.

so ewidi kaaveyo esi chel, sokwe popoi som.

so

e-

wid

-i

kaave

=yo

e-

s

-i

chel

so

=kwe

po-

po

-i

so

-m

3s:NOM

IMPF-

know:0

-PAST

coffee

=SUB

IMPF-

be:0

-PAST

cold

3s:NOM

=and

PERF-

drink:0

-PAST

3s

-OBL

'He knew that the coffee was cold, but he drank it (anyway).'

sos gwer wezhom, sos mej gemom deukentom, soskwe shemom oochu ferentom

so

-s

gwer

wezho

-m

so

-s

mej

gem

-om

deuk

-ent

-om

so

-s

=kwe

shem-

fer

-ent

-om

oochu

that

-GEN

heavy

wagon

-OBL

that

-GEN

large

load

-OBL

pull

-PTC

-OBL

that

-GEN

=and

human-

bear

-PTC

-OBL

quickly

'that (one) pulling a heavy wagon, that (one) a large load; and that (one) bearing a human quickly.'

Complex sentences

Complex sentences are those which have one or more other sentences embedded in them. Sentences that are embedded in another sentence are called subordinate clauses or dependent clauses, and the sentences they are embedded in are called main clauses. Embedded clauses can serve a number of functions; the most common of these are adverbial, conditional, complement, or modifying.

Embedded clauses are marked with a particle or a relative pronoun. A short list of particles is given below.

=yo	'as, while'
=ye	'if'
pos	'after'
pro	'before'
ge	'because'

In the sections which follow, I present examples of subordinate clauses filling various functions.

Adverbial clauses

Adverbial clauses are clauses which indicate notions such as when, where, how, because, and so on. Several different kinds of adverbial clauses are shown below.

[weyo ekni], esdi seno wiro swepent.

we	=yo	e-	kn	-i	e-	sd	-i	seno	wiro	swep	-ent
1p:NOM	=as	IMPF-	sing:0	-PAST	IMPF-	sit:0	-PAST	old	man	sleep	-PTC

'While we were singing, the old man sat sleeping.'

[pos so gwegumi], weuri we kwim so dustetli.

pos

so

gwe-

gum

-i

we-

wr

-i

we

kwi

-m

so

dus-

ste-

tl

-i

after

3s:NOM

PERF-

go:0

-PAST

PERF-

find:0

-PAST

1p:NOM

REL

-OBL

3s:NOM

wrong-

PERF-

place:0

-PAST

'After he left, we found what he had lost (lit: misplaced)'

Janos threukh weusi som [soyo estirgi].

Jan

-os

threukh

we-

ws

-i

so

-m

so

=yo

e-

stirg

-i

John

-GEN

friend

PERF-

visit:0

-PAST

3s

-OBL

3s:NOM

=as

IMPF-

be.sick:0

-PAST

Janos threukh weusi som [ge so estirgi].

Jan

-os

threukh

we-

ws

-i

so

-m

ge

so

e-

stirg

-i

John

-GEN

friend

PERF-

visit:0

-PAST

3s

-OBL

because

3s:NOM

IMPF-

be.sick:0

-PAST

'John's friend went to see him when he was sick.'

Conditional clauses

A conditional clause is an embedded clause which serves to present an assumption, which may be a real or hypothetical state of affairs, while the main clause presents the logical consequence of that assumption; these are often referred to in English as "if-then" statements. Conditional clauses in Shemspreg are normally marked with =ye 'if'. Some examples are given below.

tu feus kach [tuye ne edes].

tu	feu	-s	kach	tu	=ye	ne	ed	-es
2s:NOM	become	-PRES	skinny	2s:NOM	=if	not	eat	-PRES

'You'll get skinny if you don't eat.'

[tuye ne edes] tu feus kach.

tu	=ye	ne	ed	-es	tu	feu	-s	kach
2s:NOM	=if	not	eat	-PRES	2s:NOM	become	-PRES	skinny

'If you don't eat, you'll get skinny.'

Subject/object clauses

Subject and object clauses are sentences which fill the grammatical functions of subject and object. Subject clauses may be finite clauses, as in the following:

[soyo kores] nidheghwes me.

so	=yo	kor	-es	ni-	theghw	-es	me
3s:NOM	=SUB	make.noise	-PRES	down-	anger	-PRES	1s:OBL

'That he makes so much noise annoys me.'

But it is more usual to see participial phrases as subject clauses.

[sos korent] nidheghwes me.

so	-s	kor	-ent	ni-	theghw	-es	me
3s:NOM	-GEN	make.noise	-PTC	down-	anger	-PRES	1s:OBL

'His making so much noise annoys me.'

Object clauses usually appear as finite clauses rather than as participial phrases.

so emli [akwayo pekwes].

so	e-	ml	-i	akwa	=yo	pekw	-es
3s:NOM	IMPF-	say:0	-PAST	water	=SUB	cook	-PRES

'She said that the water is boiling.'

so ewidi [kaaveyo esi chel], sokwe popoi som.

so

e-

wid

-i

kaave

=yo

e-

s

-i

chel

so

=kwe

po-

po

-i

so

-m

3s:NOM

IMPF-

know:0

-PAST

coffee

=SUB

IMPF-

be:0

-PAST

cold

3s:NOM

=and

PERF-

drink:0

-PAST

3s

-OBL

'He knew that the coffee was cold, but he drank it (anyway).'

Modality

Modal verbs are verbs which indicate something of the speaker's attitude toward a situation, including the speaker's belief in its reality or likelihood. There are two modal verbs in Shemspreg; pot- and som-. The modal verb som- has the meanings of necessity or obligation, which in English are expressed with modal verbs like 'must' and 'should'. The modal pot- expresses possibility or permission, which in English are expressed by modals like 'may' and 'can'.

Modal verbs take complement clauses; these complements may occasionally be participle phrases, but are more usually full subordinate clauses. These subordinate clauses are marked with the particle =yo. An interesting feature of constructions with modal verbs is that very often the subject of these sentences is a non-referential third person pronoun:

so potes [Janyo poos glaktom].

so	pot	-es	Jan	=yo	poo	-s	glakt	-om
3s:NOM	NEC	-PRES	John	=SUB	drink	-PRES	milk	-OBL

'John must drink milk./John should drink milk.'

A more familiar construction with a referential subject is also possible:

Jan potes [soyo poos glaktom].

Jan	pot	-es	so	=yo	poo	-s	glakt	-om
John	NEC	-PRES	3s:NOM	=SUB	drink	-PRES	milk	-OBL

'John must drink milk./John should drink milk.'

Other verbs which often take complement clauses include wel- 'want', aazh- 'need', woid- 'know', sekw- 'see', and chleu- 'hear'. Complements consisting of a participle phrase are common with these verbs.

Jan weles [soyo domeyes].

Jan	wel	-es	so	=yo	dom-	ei	-es
John	want	-PRES	3s:NOM	=SUB	house-	go	-PRES

'John wants to go home.'

Jan weles sos domeentom.

Jan	wel	-es	so	-s	dom-	ei	-nt	-om
John	want	-PRES	3s	-GEN	house-	go	-PTC	-OBL

'John wants to go home.'

Relative clauses

Relative clauses modify nouns in much the same way that adjectives do; for this reason, they are also called modifying clauses or adjectival clauses. Relative clauses always have understood in them a noun phrase indentical with the one they are modifying in the main sentence, and so they are relative to it. Relative clauses in Shemspreg are always introduced by relative pronouns which substitute for the noun phrase missing in them; this relative pronoun is an inflected form of kwi.

ej eskwi wirom [kwi paas owisom].

ej	e-	skw	-i	wiro	-m	kwi	paa	-s	owi	-s	-om
1s:NOM	IMPF-	see:0	-PAST	man	-OBL	REL	feed	-PRES	sheep	-PL	-OBL

'I saw the man who feeds the sheep.'

emlai soyo's thevu leuk deyent [kwim we ne sekwes]

e-

ml

-a

-i

so

=yo

es

thevu

leuk

dey

-ent

kwi

-m

we

ne

sekw

-es

IMPF-

say.0

-PASS

-PAST

3s:NOM

=SUB

be.PRES

small

light

shine

-PTC

REL

-OBL

1p

not

see

-PRES

'They say that there's a small light shining which we don't see.'

ej edi patatom [kwim Hasan dodoi ad Sinanom].

ej

e-

d

-i

patat

-om

kwi

-m

Hasan

do-

do

-i

ad

Sinan

-om

1s:NOM

PERF-

eat.0

-PAST

potato

-OBL

REL

-OBL

Hasan

PERF-

give

-PAST

to

Sinan

-OBL

'I ate the potato that Hasan gave to Sinan.'

Index

1. Introduction to Shemspreg
2. Shemspreg sounds
3. Shemspreg nouns
4. Shemspreg pronouns and other particles
5. Shemspreg verbs
6. Shemspreg adjectives
7. Shemspreg sentences

• Proto-Indo-European to Shemspreg
• Shemspreg texts
• Glossary of grammatical terms
• Shemspreg-English Lexicon