Béu : Chapter 3 : The Verb
..... The 5 verb forms
... The infinitive verb form
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The infinitive is called the hipe
About 32% of multi syllable verbs end in "a".
About 16% of multi syllable verbs end in "e", and the same for "o".
About 9% of multi syllable verbs end in "au", and the same for "oi", "eu" and "ai".
To form a negative infinitive the word jù is placed immediately in front of the verb. For example ...
doika = to walk
jù doika = to not walk .... not to walk
hipekas = ( NP) hipe (NP) (other clausal adjuncts)
Where the RHNP is the O argument.
The hipekas is a noun.
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... The imperative verb form
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This is used for giving orders. When you utter an imperative you do not expect a discussion about the appropriateness of the action (although a discussion about the best way to perform the action is possible).
For non-monosyllabic verbs ...
1) First the final vowel of the infinitive is deleted and replaced with u.
doika = to walk
doiku = walk !
For monosyllabic verbs u is prefixed.
dó = to do
udo = do it !
The negative imperative is formed by putting the particle kyà before the infinitive.
kyà doika = Don't walk !
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... The indicative verb form
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The indicative is the most complicated verb form by far.
The indicative is called the hukəpe*
But first we must introduce a new letter.
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This letter has not been mentioned so far because it doesn't occur in any words as such.
If you hear "r", you know you are hearing the main verb of a clause.
This "r" and the suffixes attached to it, are what is known as the verb-train (translated from beu)
On quirk of the beu orthography is that all instances of "o" are dropped. A quirk of the ORTHOGRAPHY not the phonology, so remember to pronounce these "o"s.
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.. The doer
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The first piece of information that must be given in the indicative is who does the action. To do this you first ...
1) Deleted the final vowel from the infinitive.
2) Then one of the 7 vowels below is must be added. These indicate the doer..
Notice that there are 2 entries that represent the 1st person plural subject (i.e. we). The top one represents first person inclusive and the bottom one represents first person exclusive.
Note that the ai form is used when you are talking about generalities ... the so called "impersonal form" ... English uses "you" or "one" for this function.
The above defines the "person" of the verb. Then follows an "r" which indicates the word is an verb in the indicative mood. For example ...
doika = to walk
doikar = I walk
doikir = you walk
doikor = he/she/it walks ... However (following a quirk of beu orthgraphy), I will write this as doikr from now on.
etc. etc.
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.. The tense/aspect
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The bare "r" is for timeless statements, also tends to be used for habitual statements, especially when an adverb of time is mentioned. We can call this the "aortist".
For the past tense you add "i" after the "r".
doikari = I walked
For the future tense you add "u" after the "r".
doikaru = I will walk
For the present tense you use the copula and a participle.
sar doikala = I am walking
And of course by tensing the copula you can make the following.
sari doikala = I was walking ... (past imperfect ?)
saru doikala = I will be walking ... (future imperfect ?)
For the perfect you add "a" after the "r".
And for the pluperfect you add "ai" after the "r".
And for the future perfect you add "au" after the "r".
So there we are ... we have 9 tense/aspect distinctions in all.
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.. The negator
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To negate any of the above, you add a "j" before the tense/aspect vowel and after the indicative "r".
For the aortist, the negative is formed by adding "jo". For example ...
doikarjo = I do not walk ... However (following a quirk of beu orthgraphy), I will write this as doikarj from now on.
Note ... "not yet" is translated by the word jindin after the negated verb. Or jindin can be used by itself in answer to a question. "already" can be translated by the word duˋ after the verb. Or duˋ can be used by itself in answer to a "yes/no" question given using the perfect.
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.. The evidence
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There are three markers that cites on what evidence the speaker is saying what he is saying. You do not have to stipulate on what evidence you are saying what you are saying. Most occurrences of indicative "r" do not have an evidence marker.
The markers are as follows ...
a) doikrin = "he walked" or "I guess that he walked" ... That is, worked out from some clues.
b) doikris = "he walked" or "They say he walked" ....... That is you have been told by some third party.
c) doikrir = "he walked, I saw him"
For the aortist, the evidence affixes are "on", "os" and "or". ... However (following a quirk of beu orthgraphy), I will write these as n, s and r.
So doikrr = he/she/it walks (I have seen it myself) ..... but remember to pronounce it DOIKOROR ! ... R being an approximant.
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... The subjunctive verb form
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The subjunctive is called the sudəpe
The subjunctive verb form comprises the same person/number component as the indicative, followed by "s".
Now the main thing about the subjunctive is that it is not "asserted" ... it is not insisted upon ... there is a shadow of doubt as to whether the action will actually take place.
This is in contrast to the indicative mood. In the indicative mood things definitely happen.
[ Of course you can add some doubt to the indicative by fronting the verb with the particle màs or lói. These particles are never added to any other mood. ]
There are a few places that the subjunctive turns up. First of all there are a set of leading verbs that always change there trailing verbs to the subjunctive. For example ....
"want", "wish", "prefer", "request/ask for", "suggest", "recommend", "be afraid", "demand/command", "let/allow", "advise", "forbid" etc.
Now the trailing clause in these sentences started off by the above verbs, can either have an initial bò (equivalent to one of the uses of "that") or not have an initial bò. But this makes no difference to the trailing verbs, they must all be in the subjunctive mood.
Note ... whether the tail clause starts with a bò or not, depends upon a number of things. But basically the more complex the tail clause is, the more likely you are to have bò.
You can also see the subjunctive in clauses which stand alone. Again the key thing to remember is "non-assertion". In this case it is almost as if the clause is a question, that is how far the non-assertion goes. The speaker wants to have a discussion with the listener about the proposition. For example ...
In the first person ...
doikas = shall I walk [ suggestion or question ] can be translated variously as "maybe I should walk", "should I walk ?", "how about me walking", "may I walk"
['doikas could in some situations be translated as "if only I could walk" ... however it is best to analyse this as a sentence where "I wish" has been dropped.]
doikais = Let's walk [ suggestion or question ] ... ( urge.urge doikais = come on, lets walk )
In the second person ...
doikis = walk [ mild imperative ] can be translated variously as "maybe you should walk", "why don't you walk", "how about you walking", "may you walk"
doikes ... the same as above but talking to more than one person.
And occasions it can have an optative meaning ... i.e. have a good holiday
In the third person ...
doikos = may he walk [ optative ... that is it conveys the wishes of the speaker ], and can also be translated as a mild imperative, i.e. "let him walk",
[ For the second and third person ... depending upon the verb ... it can have an optative meaning. For example ...
May she live 100 years.
May the devil take him ]
The negative subjunctive is formed by adding ka. For example ...
doikoska = best not to let him walk. ( lest he walk ??? is this right ?? ... we gave him money lest he starve to death ))
(I gave him money to buy food .... I gave him money lest he be hungry)
A third place where the subjunctive can turn up is in conditional sentences. Both verbs in a conditional sentence are in the subjunctive mood.
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... The subjunctive 2 verb form
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he subjunctive 2 verb form comprises the same person/number component as the indicative, followed by "si".
Now the main thing about the subjunctive 2 verb is that the action did not take place. However even tho' the action never happened, we still want to talk about the contingency ... we want to talk about "what might have been".
The subjunctive 2 verb form is made negative by the same method as the infinitive is made negative.
This is a different mood ( I guess ) needs a different name ??? How about calling them the "base form", "command form", "tell form", "do-able form" and the "non-do-able form". ..
..... Short verb
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In a previous lesson we saw that the first step for making an indicative, subjunctive or imperative verb form is to delete the final vowel from the infinitive. However this is only applicable for multi-syllabe words.
With monosyllabic verbs the rules are different.
For a monosyllabic verbs the indicative endings and subjunctive suffixes are simply added on at the end of the infinitive. For example ...
swó = to fear ... swo.ar = I fear ... swo.ir = you fear ... swo.or = she fears ... swo.uske = lest they fear ...... etc.
For a monosyllabic verb ending in ai or oi, the final i => y for the indicative and subjunctive. For example ...
gái = to ache, to be in pain ... gayar = I am in pain ... gayir = you are in pain ... etc. etc.
For a monosyllabic verb ending in au or eu, the final u => w for the indicative and subjunctive. For example ...
ʔáu = to take, to pick up ... ʔawar = I take ... etc. etc.
dàu = to arrive
cái = to depart
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The above is the general rules for short verbs, however the 37 short verbs below the rules are different.
Their vowels of the infinitive are completely deleted for the indicative and subjunctive verb forms. For example ...
myàr gì = I love you ........................ not * mye.ar gì
pòr nambo = he enters the house ... not *poi.or nambo
| ʔái = to want | |||
| mài = to get | myè = to like, to love | ||
| yái = to have | |||
| jòi = to go | jwèu = to undergo, to bear, to endure, to stand | ||
| fà = to know | fyá = to tell | flò = to eat | |
| bái = to ascend | byó = ??? | blèu = to hold | bwá = to exit |
| gàu = to descend | glà = to store | gwói = to pass | |
| dó = to do | dwé = to come | ||
| lái = to change | |||
| cài = to use | cwá = to cross | ||
| sàu = to be | slè = ??? | swé = to speak, to say | |
| kó = to see | kyò = to show | klói = to think | kwèu = to turn |
| pòi = to enter | pyói = ??? | plèu = to follow | |
| tèu = to put | twé = to meet | ||
| wàu = to own | |||
| náu = to give | nyáu = to return | ||
| háu = to be good |
The imperative suffix is -ya for singular and plural for all short verbs. For example ...
nyauya nambo = go home !
swoya = fear !
gaiya = be in pain !
ʔauya ʃì = take it !
Some nouns related to the above ... yaivan = possessions, property, flovan = food, dovan = products, nauvan = tax, tribute, glavan = reserves, dó = things that must be done, dwái = deeds, acts, actions, behaviour.
A particle related to the above ... yú ... a particle that indicates possession, occurs after the "possessed" and before the "possessor.
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..... The copula
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There is one copula in beuba.
Its infinitive is sàu. Following the method of other verbs, its negative is jù sàu.
The indicative mood is derived from the infinitive in the usual method. So ...
sàr = I am
ʃìr = you are
sòr = he/she/it is
... and so on
In fact, the sàu copula is completely regular over all 5 verb moods, apart from one thing ... the indicative negative is formed by suffixing -ke instead of -ju. For example ...
sorke = he/she/it is not
Actually the (present tense, positive) copula is usually dropped if there is no chance of a misunderstanding.
It is mostly used for emphasis; like when you are refuting a claim
Person A) ... ʃirke moltai = You aren't a doctor
Person b) ... sàr moltai = I AM a doctor
Another situation where the (present tense, positive) copula tends to be used is when either the subject or the copula complement are longish trains of words. For example ...
solbua alkyo ʔá dori sùr sawoi = Those alcoholic drinks that she has made are delicious.
Unlike the other verbs, the copula has a different form for the past tense and a different form for the future tense. These are ...
tàr = I was
jàr = I will be
jarke = I won't be
etc. etc.etc.
(You could say that taiku sàr => tàr and jauku sàr => jàr)
The forms ‘’’sor’’’ and ‘’’sur’’’ are invariably shortened to simply -‘’’r’’’ and stuck on to the end of the copula subject. ........................................XXX colour light green ................................
Similarly the forms ‘’’sorke’’’ and ‘’’surke’’’ are invariably shortened to simply -‘’’rke’’’ and stuck on to the end of the copula subject. ...............XXX colour light green ................................
Note ... In copular sentences there is not free word order. They must be "copula subject" followed by "copula" followed by "object". Copula subject does not take the ergative suffix -s.
The subjunctive forms are ...
sas and saske ... uses ???
There are only two imperative forms ... jiya and jeya
In a later chapter ...
tari = I was already
taru = I was not yet
sari = I am already
saru = I am not yet
jari = I will be already
jaru = I will not yet be
There are 2 more words that might be considered copulaa ...
1) twài = to be located, to be placed .... perhaps an eroded form of a participle of tèu "to place"
2) yór = to exist ... a third person indicative form of the verb yái "to have". The third person indicative meaning is completely bleached in this usage.
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..... The Ordinal Numbers & Fractions
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To get an fractional number (regarded as specifiers ... as all numbers are) you just attach s- to the front of the cardinal number. So we have ;-
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| a unit | saja |
| a half | sauva |
| a third | saiba |
| a quarter | sida |
| etc. | etc. |
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These are fully numbers. They are written in the same way as numbers, except the have a squiggle above them. The squiggle looks like an "8" on its side that hasn't fully closed.
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To get an ordinal number (regarded as adjectives) you just attach n- to the front of the cardinal number. So we have ;-
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| first | naja |
| second | nauva |
| third | naiba |
| fourth | nida |
| etc. | etc. |
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May be this form originally came from an amalgamation of nò plus the number.
These forms are adjectives 100% and are always written out in full.
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To get (I don't know what these are called) (regarded as a noun) you just attach b- to the front of the cardinal number. So we have ;-
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| alone, single | baja |
| a double, a twosome, a duality | bauva |
| a threesome, a trinity | baiba |
| a foursome, a quartet | bida |
| etc. | etc. |
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Note bajai = lonely
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..... The time of the day
kòi = sun, day (24 hours)
The béu day begins at sunrise. 6 o'clock in the morning is called cuaju
The time of day is counted from cuaju. 24 hours is considered one unit. 8 o'clock in the morning would be called ajai (normally just called ajai, but cúa ajai or ajai yanfa might also be heard sometimes).
| 6 o'clock in the morning | cuaju |
| 8 o'clock in the morning | ajai |
| 10 o'clock in the morning | ufai |
| midday | ibai |
| 2 o'clock in the afternoon | agai |
| 4 o'clock in the afternoon | idai |
| 6 o'clock in the evening | ulai |
| 8 o'clock in the evening | icai |
| 10 o'clock at night | ezai |
| midnight | okai |
| 2 o'clock in the morning | apai |
| 4 o'clock in the morning | atai |
Just for example, let us now consider the time between 4 and 6 in the afternoon.
16:00 would be idai : 16:10 would be idaijau : 16:20 would be idaifau .... all the way up to .... 17:50 which would be idaitau
Now all these names have in common the element idai, hence the period from 4 o'clock to 6 o'clock is called idaia (the plural of idai). This is exactly the same as us calling the period from 1960 -> 1969, "the sixties".
The perion from 6 o'clock to 8 o'clock in the morning is called cuajua. This is a back formation. People noticed that the two hour period after the point in time ajai was called ajaia(etc. etc.) and so felt that the two hour period after the point in time cuaju should be called cuajua. By the way, all points of time between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. MUST have an initial cuaju. For example "ten past six in the morning" would be cuaju ajau, "twenty past six" would be cuaju afau and so on.
If something happened in the period from 4 o'clock to 6 o'clock, it would be said to have happened idaia.pi
Usually you talk about points of time rather than periods of time. If you arrange to meet somebody at 2 o'clock morning, you would meet them apaiʔe.
But we refer to periods of time occasionally. If some action continued for 20 minutes, it will have continued nàn ufau, for 2 hours : nàn ajai (nàn means "a long time")
In English we divide the day up into hours, minutes and seconds. In béu they only have the yanfa. The yanfa is equivalent to 5 seconds. We would translate "moment" as in "just a moment" as yanfa also.
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..... Index
- Introduction to Béu
- Béu : Chapter 1 : The Sounds
- Béu : Chapter 2 : The Noun
- Béu : Chapter 3 : The Verb
- Béu : Chapter 4 : Adjective
- Béu : Chapter 5 : Questions
- Béu : Chapter 6 : Derivations
- Béu : Chapter 7 : Way of Life 1
- Béu : Chapter 8 : Way of life 2
- Béu : Chapter 9 : Word Building
- Béu : Chapter 10 : Gerund Phrase
- Béu : Discarded Stuff
- A statistical explanation for the counter-factual/past-tense conflation in conditional sentences
