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.'
