Auxiliaries
Auxiliaries are a type of verb, however, they are sufficiently different from main verbs for them to be treated separately in this grammar. They are used to mark tense (the time at which an action takes place) and aspect (the nature of the passage of time during the action). The auxiliary can be dropped from a sentence if it is obvious from context, or is the same as that of the sentence immediately prior. They are a closed class.
| dynamic | stative | negative | habitual | gnomic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| past | qixa ねざ | pi ぴ | qilu ねを | taku たく | rusa るさ |
| present | cani やに | ra’u らう | ji じ | na な | ru る |
| future | lanu わぬ | nagi なぎ | funi ふに | hu ほ | ruku るく |
past:
present:
future:
Auxiliary stacking gives a poetic or archaic nuance.
ʔusu rusarukuru lu’i fu.
。うするさるくるをいふ。
1int pst;gno-fut;gno-prs;gno love 2tra.
“I have always and will always love you.”
Tense
The three tenses are past, present and future. In conversation, the tenses tend to mark the time at which the action began or occurred.
On the other hand, narratives are mainly told in present tense. The other tenses are then used relatively, so that past tense is used for things that happened earlier than the narrative present, and the future tense for things that happened later.
Quhu qixa dasi si’apa pada, jimuli cani janni qu, lanu haruqikanni la kiluqu.
。もほねざだせせあぱぱだ、じむえやに ・ ぢっにも、わぬはるねかっにわきをも。
quhu qixa dasi si’apa pada, jimuli cani janni qu, lanu haru-qikanni la kiluqu.
3ani;tra pst;dyn eat meal and_then, outside prs;dyn move and, fut;dyn with-dog do walk.
lit.: She did eat the meal, and then is going outside, and will do a walk with a dog.
“She ate the meal, went outside and walked the dog.”
Aspect
The aspects of positive polarity can be categorised in two different ways. Each of these has two possibilities, and thus there are four altogether:
| episodic | generic | |
|---|---|---|
| activity | dynamic | habitual |
| state | stative | gnomic |
There is a single category of auxiliaries with the opposite polarity — the negative.
Episodic and Generic
The difference between episodic and generic markers is one of extent. Events in episodic sentences take place over a finite duration; generic ones are prototypically unbounded, although this doesn’t literally have to cover all of time.
Pannaxa cani ’ibibu. / Pannaxa na ’ibibu.
。ぱっなざないびぶ。ぱっなざやにいびぶ .
pannaxa cani ’ibibu. / pannaxa na ’ibibu.
warrior prs;dyn complain. / warrior prs;hab complain.
Episodic: “The warrior is complaining now.” / Generic: “The warrior always complains.”
Activity versus State
The difference between activity and state for most verbs is one of focus, ie.: emphasis can be placed on the event itself (activity), or on the results (state).
ʔa’ima cani duci sunu. / ʔa’ima pi duci sunu.
。あいまぴどちすぬ。あいまねざどちすぬ。
’a’ima qixa duci sunu. / ’a’ima pi duci sunu.
traveller pst;dyn possess cloak. / traveller pst;sta possess cloak.
Activity: “The traveller gained a cloak.” / State: “The traveller owned a cloak.”
Perceptive verbs are treated slightly differently. Here, dynamic and habitual markers act as normal, however, the stative and gnomic are used to denote an ability to perceive a stimulus.
Fu ’usa gufu’iribuma cani? / Filli ’usa gufu’iribuma ra’u?
。べっえうさぐふいりぶまらう。ふうさぐふいりぶま やに。
fu ’usa gufu’iribuma cani? / filli ’usa gufu’iribuma ra’u?
2tra see television prs;dyn? / 2int see television prs;sta?
Activity: “Are you watching the TV?” / State: “Can you see the TV?”
Negative
The negative aspect is used for actions, attributes and perceptions which do not occur. These act as the negation of any other aspectual marker. That is, while positive sentences can be classified by aspect, negative sentences all use the same auxiliaries.