wolof grammar pt. ii
Dec. 11th, 2013 10:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moonflower77Negative: -ul
Usual form Elongated form
for double verb constitutions
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | ||
1st person | -uma/-umë | -unu/ -uñu | 1st person | -umaa | -unoo/ -uñoo |
2nd person | -ulóo | -uleen | 2nd person | -uloo | -uleena |
3rd person | -ul | -uñu | 3rd person | -ula | -uñoo |
Impersonal form: -eesul
Amuma santu Wolof. I don't have a Wolof name.
Demuma. I did not go. / I am not going. / I will not go. / I do not want to go.
Notes:
1. With active verbs it indicates the negative of a completed action.
Ñëwul. He did not come.
With stative verbs it indicates the negative of the present tense.
Saful. It is not spicy.
2. This form usually carries the sense that an action has not occurred or a state does not exist without emphasising subject, noun or verb. This is the usual way of negating most verb modes except dina. Hence all the following usually have the same negative form, demu fa: moo fa dem (subject emphasis); mu nga fa dem (presentative); fa la dem (object predicator); dafa dem (explicative); mu dem fa (minimal verb construction); dem na fa (completed).
3. However, each of these verb modes can be expressed in the negative to guard its distinctive by adding -ul as an invariable suffix (unconjugated) to the verb stem, leaving the rest of the construction the same as the positive form.
Hence:
West bi moo ko neexul. It is the vest which he was not pleased about.
Moom laa xamul. It was that which I did not know.
Yëfu tribunaal dafa gaawul. It is that the affairs of the tribunal are not fast.
Muñ gu àndul ak jooytu ji. Patience not accompanied by complaining.
Loolu moo tax mu indiwul am xar. That is why he did not bring a sheep.
4. The affix -ul is used to indicate the negative in a subordinate conditional clause marking opposition with -ee.
Bu ñëwul, na nga ma ko wax! If he does not come, please tell me!
5. Before the object pronoun, ci or fi, the 3rd person singular negative drops the “l”, i.e. -ul ± -u.
nekk to be - nekkul he/she/it is not - nekku fi he/she/it is not here
6. If a verb ends in a vowel, a “w ” is added to the negative forms, i.e. they become
Singular | Plural | |
1st person | -wuma | -wunu |
2nd person | -wuloo/-woo | -wuleen |
3rd person | -wul | -wuñu |
7. When the negated verb is the last syllable before a second verb in a double verb construction, the elongated form of the negative is used, e.g. mënumaa dem.
8. Man (to be able), mas (to have ever) change stem in the negatyve.
man ± mën e.g. mënumaa dem
xamuma is contracted to xawma (I don't know)
9. Geographical variations in usage.
i) 2nd person singular:
-ula / -wula: gisula dara you have not seen anything
-oo / -woo: Yaw tabewoo, amoo njariñ, faroo ba ax..... You are not generous or useful, nor good.
dajalewoo ko / dajalewulo o ko
When added to an auxiliary verb the “u” of -ut tends to disappear:
ku mënta ñëw = ku mënula ñëw (he who cannot come).
10. -agul: indicates “not yet”, opposite of -agum “to have already done”.
Singular | Plural | |
1st person | -aguma | -agunu /-aguñu |
2nd person | -aguloo/-agoo | -aguleen |
3rd person | -agul | -aguñu |
Pareeguma dee. I am not ready to die yet.
Amagul jëkkër. She does not yet have a husband.
As for -ul, the “l” of the 3rd person singular (-agul) is dropped before an object pronoun, ci or fi.
Waxagu ko ko. He has not yet told it to him.
11. -atul: indicates “no longer”, negative of -ati “to be still doing/being or repetition”
Singular | Plural | |
1st person | -atuma | -atunu /-atuñu |
2nd person | -atuloo/-atoo | -atuleen |
3rd person | -atul | -atuñu |
Amatul sama caabi. He no longer has my key. c.f. Amati na sama caabi. He still has my key.
Singular | Plural | |
1st person | dootuma | dootunu/ dootuñu |
2nd person | dootuloo/dootoo/dootula | dootuleen |
3rd person | dootul | dootuñu |
Dootuma ko gis. I will no longer see him.
Astu dootul janq. Astou is no longer a young girl.
B. Negative: Du
Formation: du (conjugated) [+/- object pronoun] + verb/noun
Singular | Plural | |
1st person | duma | dunu/ duñu |
2nd person | doo | dungeen/dooleen |
3rd person | du | duñu |
* dooleen is commonly heard only in Dakar
Lii téere lë. This is a book.
Lii du téere. This is not a book.
Kii sama baay lë. He is my father.
Kii du sama baay. He is not my father.
Notes:
1. Usage:
a. It is used as the negative form of the complement predicator (negative of la), in which case it precedes the noun or noun clause.
Lii simis lë. This is a shirt.
Lii du simis. This is not a shirt.
Man Australian la. I am Australian.
Man duma Australian. I am not Australian.
b. It is used as the negative form of non-completed actions, i.e. negative of dafay/dina. Hence, in this case it is used to deny an action which is in the process of happening, or a future action.
c. It is used to deny an habitual action, used in combination with di/y or sometimes ci.
Duma xiif suba. I will not be hungry tomorrow.
Dumay xiif suba/ci suba. I am not hungry in the mornings.
d. When expressed as a question, it is a polite way of asking for something (indicated by intonation). In t his case it is not a negative but expresses an affirmative in the same way that “Is it not Joe?” does in English. It is functionally equivalent to “please”. In other words, the intonation changes the sense of the phrase to the opposite.
Du dëgg. It's not true
Du dëgg? Is that not true?
Doo dem? Will you not go?
e. It can also be used to express a question in the negative which begs a positive response. In this case du precedes the phrase in any mode in much the same way as ndax is used.
Du xam nga sama jabar? Do you not know my wife?
Du moo wax ne kenn nekku fi? Is it not he who said there is no-one here?
Du mi ngi dem Ndar suba? Will he not go to St Louis tomorrow?
Du fii laa ko gis? Is it not here that I saw him?
Du dan gaa feebar? (But) are you not sick?
2. The full negative form dul can occur when a negated di has the function of a verbal particle (and not an auxiliary verb as in duma). It is relatively rare apart from with the MVC form.
Moo dul wax. It is he who won't speak (negative of Mooy wax). [Subject emphasis]
Dara laa dul ràbb. I will not weave anything. [Complement predicator]
Duma nangu nit ku dul liggéey. I will not accept a man who does not work. [MVC]
3. Take note of the overlap in meaning between the two negative forms:
duma dem I am not going, I won't be going; demuma I am not going, I haven't gone
4. Du is sometimes used in a proverbial or absolute sense with no article attached to the noun.
Proverbial: Gumba du jiite yoon. A blind man doesn't lead the way.
Absoliute: Mbonaat du jar mukk 500cfa. A turtle doesn't ever cost 500CFA.
C. Negative: Bañ
To distinguish between the negative of a completed action (na) and negative of presentative (angi) the verb bañ (to refuse to) can be used as an auxillary verb before the main verb.
lekk nga ± bañ ngaa lekk
maa ngi lekk ± maa ngi baña lekk
One may use MVC pronouns + verb + -ul (negative) only in relative temporal clauses. In other expressions using MVC pronouns (narrative & subjunctive) one must use other structures, such as bañ.
D. Suffix -adi
When added to a noun or a verb this indicates a limitation so severe to be equivalent of being without, i.e. denies a state or an action.
jekkadi to be unacceptable (c.f. jekk - to be acceptable)
xamadi ignorance, to be ignorant (c.f. xam - to know)
déggadi to be stubborn (c.f. dégg - to hear, to obey)
teddadi to not be worthy of respect (c.f. tedd - to be worthy of respect)
Past time marker: -oon
1. Formation:
a. In non-negated sentences without di the past time marker is suffixed as -oon if the verb ends in a consonant, and -woon if the verb ends in a vowel. The structure otherwise remains unchanged. It represents a simple past or past perfect with active verbs, and the imperfect with stative verbs. In general -oon is the last of the suffixes added to a word. In double verb structures -oon is attached to the first verb.
waxoon naa I spoke/I had spoken (completive) c.f. wax naa I spoke/ I have spoken
moom lañu indiwoon we/they (had) brought it (object emphasis) c.f. moom lañu indi we/they have brought it
dafa woyoon what he did was sing (explicative) c.f. dafa woy what I am doing is singing
maa waxoon I spoke/ I had spoken (subject emphasis) c.f. maa wax I have spoken
Bëggoon naa koo gis. I wanted to see them.
b. In negated sentences without di, woon as independent form is added after the negation.
non-negated | negated | |
completive | Demoon naa Dakar | Demuma woon Dakar |
object emphasis | Dakar laa demoon | Dakar laa demul woon |
explicative | Dama demoon Dakar | Dama demul woon Dakar |
subject emphasis | (Man) Maa demoon Dakar | Maa demul woon Dakar |