Kirtumur: Difference between revisions
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===Verbs=== | ===Verbs=== | ||
A clause is a grammatical unit that consists of a predicate and the elements that accompany it. Kirtumur has nominal, copular and verbal clauses, the predicate of the latter is a verb. Verbs refer to a large variety of actions and states. The number and kinds of participants involved differ between different actions and states and thus between different verbs. Kirtumur distinguishes between intransitive and transitive verbs. An intransitive verbal clause is a construction with an intransitive subject and a predicate, while a transitive clause also includes one or more objects, different from a transitive subject. Thus different relations between the parts of a clause are possible: ergative, accusative and tripartite. Kirtumur is a tripartite language, because it treats all three functions (intransitive subject, transitive subject and objects) differently. Its case marking on nouns is entirely on an ergative basis, meaning that the transitive subject is in the ergative case, while both the direct object and the intransitive subject are in the absolutive case. On the other hand, intransitive verbs receive different person markers that transitive verbs, thus marking the intransitive subject and the direct object differently. The imperative form of verbs show the accusative system in which both the transitive and intransitive subjects are treated in the same way. Subjunctive forms also used to show the accusative system, but it fully changed to the ergative system early in the history of Kirtumur. Some archaic non-finite constructions also follow the accusative system, for example: ''Ikur xatathiweis entiru ualanu'' "the great gods (are) about to become one", where ''tatheis'' is a future active infinitive meaning "about to become". Here ''entiru'' "two gods" is in the absolutive, despite being a subject. These constructions are rare outside fixed expressions and old texts. | |||
While direct objects are by definition only found in transitive clauses, indirect and oblique objects may occur in transitive and intransitive clauses alike. These two types of object show some overlap in form but are nevertheless formally and functionally quite distinct. If an indirect object is expressed by a noun phrase, it is in the dative case. An oblique object can be in the locative or the absolutive case, rarely also in the dative case just as an indirect object. On the verbs they are expressed with corresponding person prefixes. An indirect and an oblique object are not mutually exclusive. A clause may contain both at the same time: | |||
''muzaktal cinathattē heim'' (pendant-sg.Abs 3sg.IN.Obl-3rd.AN.IndObj-give.Perf-3sg.Subj.3sg.DO house-sg.Abs) | |||
"She/he has given a pendant to her/him in the house". Here the indirect object is marked on a verb with a prefix ''na-'', while the oblique object ''heim'' ("house") is marked with a prefix ''ci-''. | |||
[[Category:Languages]] | [[Category:Languages]] | ||