Seuna verbs (2)
Three valency changing constructions
The reflexive
The causative
Verse 2
hukahekahee metapu sinaa kenipa eaqa kitile.
hu= | 0- | kahekahee | meta | =pu | sinaa | kenipa | e= | 0- | aqa | kiti | =le |
and= | 3>3'- | find:DIST:B | region | =in | Shinar | mesa | SS= | 3- | journey | east | =from |
hukate yu.
hu= | 0- | kate | yu |
and= | 3- | dwell | there |
And they found in the land Shinar a mesa as they journey from the East. And they dwelt there.
The passive
Two participles
There are two participles. The passed passive is the infinite with oi replacing the original vowel. The present active is the infinite with eu replacing the original vowel.
These participles can appear in compounds. For example;- hand.makeoi = handmade
wife.beatla = wifebeater
It could be said that there is a third participle. The infinitive can be used to mean "that must be". For example "shirt" "to wash" means the shirt that must be washed.
A Ø-marked participle
Auxiliary verbs
The equivalents of the English words may and can are given by auxiliary verbs in Seuna.
However the three Seuna words used are not "defective" as their English equivalents are.
The verb fronted by the auxiliary verb is always in its infinitive form (called source form (consider Arabic "maSdar")).
wai
wai is used in situations where it is possible to xxxx because one has physical strength or skill.
wai:ari to lift chair = I could not lift the chair
children wai:uro to swim = the children can swim
bisa
bisa is used in situations where it is possible to xxxx because one has permission.
children bisuro to swim in lake = the children can swim in the lake
bisire to leave = you may leave
weka
weka is used in situations where it is possible to xxxx because one has knowledge or mental ability (to know how to ...).
wekoro to name all the prime numbers upto one thousand = S/he can name ...
weka is also used in situations where it is possible to xxxx because of external factors.
??? wekoro to walk across lake llll in winter time = One can walk ....
(actually how would Seuna express the above ??)
Index
- Introduction to Seuna
- Seuna : Chapter 1
- Seuna word shape
- The script of Seuna
- Seuna sentence structure
- Seuna pronouns
- Seuna nouns
- Seuna verbs (1)
- Seuna adjectives
- Seuna demonstratives
- Seuna verbs (2)
- Asking a question in Seuna
- Seuna relative clauses
- Seuna verbs (3)
- Methods for deriving words in Seuna
- List of all Seuna derivational affixes
- Numbers in Seuna
- Naming people in Seuna
- The Seuna calendar
- Seuna units