Kala Verbs
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- A typical verb denotes the occurrence or abandonment of an action (run, stop), a relationship (have, lose), or a state (stand, melt). Most verbs can be reused without change as a noun.
tense
| tense | suffix | gloss | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| remote past | -yai | REM | nam inayai We ate a long while ago. |
| recent past | -yao | REC | nam inayao We just ate. |
| past | -ye | PST | nam inaye We ate. |
| present | not marked | nam ina We eat. / We are eating. / We do eat. | |
| future | -tli | FUT | nam inatli We will eat. |
| immediate future | -tlao | IMM | nam inatlao We will eat soon/now. |
| distant future | -tlai | DIS | nam inatlai We will eat a long while from now. |
- The remote and recent pasts, as well as the immediate and distant futures are negated by the preceding negative nke rather than the negative suffix -k.
- Kala does not distinguish perfect and imperfect aspects of the verb (e.g. "I ate", "I used to eat", "I have eaten", "I had eaten").
- If a temporal adverb is used, the tense suffix may be omitted.
- Example: We ate yesterday.
yomaye nam ina day-pst 1pl eat
modifiers
| usage | suffix | from | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ability, can | -pa | pala to be able, can |
na yalapa I am able to go. |
| attempt, try | -pya | upya to attempt; to try |
na yalapya I am trying to leave. |
| negation | -k | nke no, not; negative |
na yalak I am not going. |
| beginning, initiate | -mu | mula start; begin |
na yalamu I begin to go. / I'm starting to leave. |
| permission; allow | -myo | myonta to allow; permit |
na yalamyo I am allowed to go. |
| should, ought to | -ne | neya should, to ought to |
na yalane I should go. |
| need, necessity | -he | heya to need; require |
na yalahe I need to go. |
| deintensify | -hi | ahi small; little |
na inahi I am snacking. |
| appear, seem | -tse | tse'e to seem; appearance |
ha yalatse He seems to be going. |
| want, desire | -ue | ueha to want; desire |
na yalaue I want to go. |
| intention, volition | -ue | ueyo to intend to |
na yalaue I intend to go. |
conditional
- They would be happy if the sun were shining.
sama a yatli kam noya sun be if-X-then-Y 3pl happy
- We doubted he would go.
na'am ke ha yala ketsaye 1pl.excl top 3sg go doubt-pst
- she would have been a good musician
