(no subject)
Dec. 3rd, 2012 04:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moonflower77refers to the absence of a particular action (the fact that it is not performed).
the action is usually a secondary one and is dependent on the primary action, which is referred to by a finite verb. this secondary action may have the same agent as the primary action, or a different one. this influences the degree to which the negative form is dependent on the finite verb: it is much more dependent if the agent is the same, and considerably less dependent if not (in the latter case there can be no agreement with regard to person or number - the person is always different, the number may be any). may also be used to refer to the absence of a primary action, i.e. may serve as the predicate of a complete sentence, either on its own or as one of the components within an analytical unit.
since negative verb forms are non-finite and not marked for person, if they are used on their own, the subject (and the direct object if the verb is transitive) will, as a rule, be expressed lexically: corresponding personal pronouns for the 1st and 2nd person, a personal pronoun or a nominal part of speech for the 3rd person.
negative verb forms have none of the categories that characterize finite verb forms (person, number, tense, mood, perf. vs. imperf.). if necessary, these are expressed instead through an auxilary verb, which then forms an analytical unit with the negative verb form. such units can be constructed using either of the two negative forms.
there are two separate negative verb forms.
1.
ɛ-...-(ɨ)kɛ (stem begins with a consonant, weak vowels): ɛchimgjukɛ without thinking [chimgjuk to think], ɛtɛnkɛvŋɨkɛ without fixing, correcting [tɛnkɛvŋɨk to fix, to mend, to repair, to correct]
a-...-(ɨ)ka (stem begins with a consonant, strong vowels): atɛrgatka without crying, weeping [tɛrgatɨk to cry, to weep], aragtɨka without going home [ragtɨk to go home]
...-(ɨ)kɛ (stem begins with a vowel, weak vowels): ulvɛvkɛ without stopping [ulvɛvɨk to stop, to pause], irjɨtvɨkɛ without undressing [irjɨtvɨk to undress, to remove one's clothes]
...-(ɨ)ka (stem begins with a vowel, strong vowels): ochɨtkoka without constantly saying "yes" [ochɨtkok to constantly say "yes" (to show approval or agreement)]
refers to the absence of an action in general; its duration is not specified and may be indefinite. two main uses:
i) when combined with the temporal particle jen "(not) yet": used to indicate that the action has not (yet) been performed as per the moment of speaking.
the subject of the sentence, or, in some cases, both the subject and the direct object (for transitive verbs) can be omitted. such sentences are most commonly found in spoken dialogue, where the subject (and, for transitive verbs, also the direct object) is known to the two interlocutors and/or is the speaker or listener himself. however, with transitive verbs, it is much more common to omit the subject, but to give lexical expression to the direct object.
ii) when combined with the negative particle ɨnŋɛ "no, don't, (there is) no need (to do sth.), (there is) no necessity (to do sth.)": used for the negative imperative (prohibition to perform an action).
may refer only to an action performed by a 2nd or 3rd person agent, that is, anyone other than the speaker (as the 1st person agent is always the speaker himself). a 3rd person agent must always be mentioned, as they are not participating in the conversation directly. a 2nd person agent may be omitted; in these cases, though the negative verb form as such is not marked for person, it will be seen as having a 2nd person meaning by default. if the negative verb form serves as the predicate, i.e. if it refers to the main action, the negative particle may also be omitted, but then the agent has to be mentioned instead. in other words, the negative particle ɨnŋɛ and the lexical 2nd person subject - which may be both singular and plural, but will more commonly be plural - are interchangeable.
may also take the special prefix pl(ɨ)-, which follows directly after the negative prefix a- / ɛ- and is inserted between that and the stem. used to refer to an incomplete or insufficient action. ɛpl(ɨ)-...-(ɨ)kɛ, apl(ɨ)-...-(ɨ)ka may in turn take the additional prefix lüŋ- / lon-, which makes the meaning of incompleteness or insufficiency stronger ("totally, utterly, completely, entirely incomplete/insufficient")
may refer to a secondary action (combine with a finite verb) or an independent/main action (be the predicate of a complete sentence).
the agent may be the same or different. in the latter case, the negative verb form is much less grammatically dependent on the finite verb, and its meaning is closer to that of a supplementary action in a compound sentence.
may combine with a finite verb in any tense or mood.
2)
lüŋ(ɨ)-...-tɛ (stem ends in a vowel, weak vowels): lüŋriŋɛtɛ without taking off [riŋɛk to take off (of a plane, bird, other entity that flies)], lüŋɨplɨtkutɛ without finishing [plɨtkuk to end, to finish, to complete
löŋ(ɨ)-...-ta (stem ends in a vowel, strong vowels): löŋkaglöta without missing (sth./sb.) [kaglök to miss, to long for, to year for (sb./sth.)], löŋɨntota without exiting, coming out (of a dwelling) [ŋɨtok to exit, to come out (of a dwelling)]
lüŋ(ɨ)-...-ɛ (stem ends in a consonant, weak vowels): lüŋgichivɛ without amusing oneself, enjoying oneself [gichivɨk to amuse oneself, to enjoy oneself, to have a good time], lüŋtɛjkɛ without making (sth.) [tɛjkɨk to make, to forge, to shape (a tangible physical object with one's hands)]
löŋ(ɨ)-...-a (stem ends in a consonant, strong vowels): löŋatchata without overturning, capsizing [atchatɨk], löŋkajolga without collapsing [kajolgɨk to collapse, to crumble, to crash down]
refers to the absence of an action whose duration is limited to a certain interval of time (does not continue indefinitely). it has to be a perfective action, one that is in the past and has already been finished by the time of speaking. unlike the first negative form, not limited to a particular person and not connected to any specific particles.
the subject may be omitted. however, such incomplete sentences are used only in separate dialects or when the subject's (agent's) identity is clear from the context.
can only combine with a finite verb in a past tense. for example present II/present-past, which can be used in combination with the first negative form, would not be used here.
however, if this negative verb form refers to an independent action, i,e, serves as one of the predicates within a compound sentence, the second predicate may take other tense-mood forms as well.
the same applies to cases when the negative verb form does refer to a dependent action, but the main and dependent actions are performed by different agents. will then combine relatively freely with finite verbs in various tense-mood forms (in this case, though the sentence is technically complex, its meaning is closer to that of a compound one, and it would be more correct to say that the negative verb form refers to a supplementary action rather than a dependent one).
NB! both the second negative form and the complex form lüŋɛpl(ɨ)-...-(ɨ)kɛ, löŋapl(ɨ)-...-(ɨ)ka are more commonly used in combination with an auxiliary verb, both when they refer to a primary (main, independent) action and a secondary (dependent) action.
the action is usually a secondary one and is dependent on the primary action, which is referred to by a finite verb. this secondary action may have the same agent as the primary action, or a different one. this influences the degree to which the negative form is dependent on the finite verb: it is much more dependent if the agent is the same, and considerably less dependent if not (in the latter case there can be no agreement with regard to person or number - the person is always different, the number may be any). may also be used to refer to the absence of a primary action, i.e. may serve as the predicate of a complete sentence, either on its own or as one of the components within an analytical unit.
since negative verb forms are non-finite and not marked for person, if they are used on their own, the subject (and the direct object if the verb is transitive) will, as a rule, be expressed lexically: corresponding personal pronouns for the 1st and 2nd person, a personal pronoun or a nominal part of speech for the 3rd person.
negative verb forms have none of the categories that characterize finite verb forms (person, number, tense, mood, perf. vs. imperf.). if necessary, these are expressed instead through an auxilary verb, which then forms an analytical unit with the negative verb form. such units can be constructed using either of the two negative forms.
there are two separate negative verb forms.
1.
ɛ-...-(ɨ)kɛ (stem begins with a consonant, weak vowels): ɛchimgjukɛ without thinking [chimgjuk to think], ɛtɛnkɛvŋɨkɛ without fixing, correcting [tɛnkɛvŋɨk to fix, to mend, to repair, to correct]
a-...-(ɨ)ka (stem begins with a consonant, strong vowels): atɛrgatka without crying, weeping [tɛrgatɨk to cry, to weep], aragtɨka without going home [ragtɨk to go home]
...-(ɨ)kɛ (stem begins with a vowel, weak vowels): ulvɛvkɛ without stopping [ulvɛvɨk to stop, to pause], irjɨtvɨkɛ without undressing [irjɨtvɨk to undress, to remove one's clothes]
...-(ɨ)ka (stem begins with a vowel, strong vowels): ochɨtkoka without constantly saying "yes" [ochɨtkok to constantly say "yes" (to show approval or agreement)]
refers to the absence of an action in general; its duration is not specified and may be indefinite. two main uses:
i) when combined with the temporal particle jen "(not) yet": used to indicate that the action has not (yet) been performed as per the moment of speaking.
the subject of the sentence, or, in some cases, both the subject and the direct object (for transitive verbs) can be omitted. such sentences are most commonly found in spoken dialogue, where the subject (and, for transitive verbs, also the direct object) is known to the two interlocutors and/or is the speaker or listener himself. however, with transitive verbs, it is much more common to omit the subject, but to give lexical expression to the direct object.
ii) when combined with the negative particle ɨnŋɛ "no, don't, (there is) no need (to do sth.), (there is) no necessity (to do sth.)": used for the negative imperative (prohibition to perform an action).
may refer only to an action performed by a 2nd or 3rd person agent, that is, anyone other than the speaker (as the 1st person agent is always the speaker himself). a 3rd person agent must always be mentioned, as they are not participating in the conversation directly. a 2nd person agent may be omitted; in these cases, though the negative verb form as such is not marked for person, it will be seen as having a 2nd person meaning by default. if the negative verb form serves as the predicate, i.e. if it refers to the main action, the negative particle may also be omitted, but then the agent has to be mentioned instead. in other words, the negative particle ɨnŋɛ and the lexical 2nd person subject - which may be both singular and plural, but will more commonly be plural - are interchangeable.
may also take the special prefix pl(ɨ)-, which follows directly after the negative prefix a- / ɛ- and is inserted between that and the stem. used to refer to an incomplete or insufficient action. ɛpl(ɨ)-...-(ɨ)kɛ, apl(ɨ)-...-(ɨ)ka may in turn take the additional prefix lüŋ- / lon-, which makes the meaning of incompleteness or insufficiency stronger ("totally, utterly, completely, entirely incomplete/insufficient")
may refer to a secondary action (combine with a finite verb) or an independent/main action (be the predicate of a complete sentence).
the agent may be the same or different. in the latter case, the negative verb form is much less grammatically dependent on the finite verb, and its meaning is closer to that of a supplementary action in a compound sentence.
may combine with a finite verb in any tense or mood.
2)
lüŋ(ɨ)-...-tɛ (stem ends in a vowel, weak vowels): lüŋriŋɛtɛ without taking off [riŋɛk to take off (of a plane, bird, other entity that flies)], lüŋɨplɨtkutɛ without finishing [plɨtkuk to end, to finish, to complete
löŋ(ɨ)-...-ta (stem ends in a vowel, strong vowels): löŋkaglöta without missing (sth./sb.) [kaglök to miss, to long for, to year for (sb./sth.)], löŋɨntota without exiting, coming out (of a dwelling) [ŋɨtok to exit, to come out (of a dwelling)]
lüŋ(ɨ)-...-ɛ (stem ends in a consonant, weak vowels): lüŋgichivɛ without amusing oneself, enjoying oneself [gichivɨk to amuse oneself, to enjoy oneself, to have a good time], lüŋtɛjkɛ without making (sth.) [tɛjkɨk to make, to forge, to shape (a tangible physical object with one's hands)]
löŋ(ɨ)-...-a (stem ends in a consonant, strong vowels): löŋatchata without overturning, capsizing [atchatɨk], löŋkajolga without collapsing [kajolgɨk to collapse, to crumble, to crash down]
refers to the absence of an action whose duration is limited to a certain interval of time (does not continue indefinitely). it has to be a perfective action, one that is in the past and has already been finished by the time of speaking. unlike the first negative form, not limited to a particular person and not connected to any specific particles.
the subject may be omitted. however, such incomplete sentences are used only in separate dialects or when the subject's (agent's) identity is clear from the context.
can only combine with a finite verb in a past tense. for example present II/present-past, which can be used in combination with the first negative form, would not be used here.
however, if this negative verb form refers to an independent action, i,e, serves as one of the predicates within a compound sentence, the second predicate may take other tense-mood forms as well.
the same applies to cases when the negative verb form does refer to a dependent action, but the main and dependent actions are performed by different agents. will then combine relatively freely with finite verbs in various tense-mood forms (in this case, though the sentence is technically complex, its meaning is closer to that of a compound one, and it would be more correct to say that the negative verb form refers to a supplementary action rather than a dependent one).
NB! both the second negative form and the complex form lüŋɛpl(ɨ)-...-(ɨ)kɛ, löŋapl(ɨ)-...-(ɨ)ka are more commonly used in combination with an auxiliary verb, both when they refer to a primary (main, independent) action and a secondary (dependent) action.