Hrmitt reference grammar

4.1. Verbal Clauses

Verbal clauses exhibit a VSO word order. The subject is usually omitted unless it is not coreferent with the possessive affix on the base noun from which the verb is derived (see section 4.1.2.3). Indirect objects generally follow any direct objects (with some exceptions: see for example section 4.8.1). The verb may be preceded by a modifier such as an imperative marker (section 4.3), an evidential marker (future tense only—see section 4.5), an interrogative marker (section 4.6), or a conjunction (section 4.8). At the end of the clause is an optional adjunctive phrase (section 4.7).

The following schematic summarizes this constituent order:

All constituents except the verb are optional in a verbal clause.

4.1.1. Simple Clauses

Simple clauses consist of a single verb formed directly from the verbalized noun or adjective; the pronominal possessive affix doubles as the person marking of the resulting verb:

When an explicit possessor is present on the base noun (section 3.1.1.2), it doubles as the subject of the verb.

4.1.2. Complex Clauses

Transitive clauses are formed by pairing the verb with one or more noun phrases in an objective case. For example:

The subject is often incorporated into the base noun from which the verb is derived as a possessor:

4.1.2.1. Direct Objects

The choice of direct object often depends not only on the meaning, but also on the verb. Thus, the object of ehrlumi “to speak” is required to be a derivation of kuh “ear”. The possessive marking on the object indicates the actual referent:

Similarly, the object of the verb ihrami “to stink” is required to be a derivation of ŋaf “nose”:

Sometimes the choice of direct object may not be mandatory, but may modify the meaning of a verb. For example, when the verb dahshtmi “to cause trouble”, “to inconvenience” is used with the object hraku, the meaning is modified to mean “to assault”:

4.1.2.2. Indirect Objects

Indirect objects may also participate in this distribution of verbal meaning across multiple nouns.

4.1.2.2.1. The Dative

Dative nouns are used for specifying direction or destination:

They may also indicate the result of an action:

Sometimes a dative noun narrows the semantic range of possible interpretations of a verbalized noun. For example:

Here, ahshapftu, the dative of ahshapf “outside”, acts as an adverbial: “You handle my glass dome out to the open”, that is, “handle it such that it opens out to the outside”. Thus the meaning “to open” is derived.

Similarly, the noun versht “inside” has a dative form vershtu that can be used in a similar adverbial sense:

Here, vershtu “to the inside” narrows the range of possible interpretations of gruŋmi “to handle” by specifying that the end result of this handling is to be shut in; hence, the overall meaning of “to shut”.

When gruŋmi is used with the dative gruŋdu, it means “to give”:

When the verb shogni “to be useful” is used with the dative gruŋdu, the meaning shifts to “to help”:

4.1.2.2.2. The Ablative/Elative

Ablative nouns indicate the source of motion, or motion away from:

The ablative of aiherl “distant skies” has the idiomatic meaning of “from the distance” or “out of nowhere”:

The ablative is also used to indicate the cause of an event:

Certain verbs also govern the ablative rather than the patientive. For example:

4.1.2.3. Separate Subjects

When the subject of a verbalized noun is not coreferential with its suffixed possessive, a separate subject in the nominative case is introduced. For example:

Here the verbalised -mi noun shifts closer to an instrumental meaning, with the nominative gruŋgen serving as subject. In contrast, if gruŋgen is omitted, then the meaning of the clause shifts dramatically:

The subject noun gruŋgen itself, in the previous example, carries part of the verbal meaning; the actual subject is “I”, but it is only implied by the pronominal possessive suffix -en. The head noun gruŋ “hands” provides part of the meaning of “feed” by specifying an action done with the hands, while the other part of the verbal meaning is supplied by the instrumental noun gorltekmi “with your food”.

Similarly, without a separate subject, any explicit possessive on the base noun of the verb doubles as the subject of the clause:

But when a separate subject is present, the explicit possessive no longer serves as the subject, but applies only to the base noun itself:

4.1.2.4. Verbal Nuances

The meaning of the clause is sensitive to the exact combination of nouns employed. Consider the following transitive clause with separate subject:

If bufen is used in place of gruŋgen, the meaning shifts slightly:

When gruŋgen “my hands” is employed, it appears to imply a more active role, hence “I fly your spaceship”. When bufen “my body / I” is used instead, a more passive role is implied, hence “I ride your spaceship”.

Some verbs are sensitive to the type of indirect object used. For example, when used with the dative, the verb shchaitmi means to be in love with, to pine for:

But when used with the ablative, it means to be currently involved in a romantic relationship with:

4.1.2.5. Animacy Distinctions

The direct and indirect objects in verbal clauses exhibit an animate / inanimate distinction. Inanimate nouns tend to appear simply with the patientive suffix -u or the dative suffix -tu, but explicit animate nouns seem to require a possessive construction involving a body part:

This possessive construction appears to be an extension of the pronominal possessives:

The explicit object “man” is rendered as a possessive construction kuhetcheŋgu “the man's ear” (lit. “ear of him the man”). The patientive suffix -u follows this embedded noun.

4.1.3. Idiosyncratic Verbs

Some -mi verbs have idiosyncratic meanings not directly derived from the instrumental meaning of the underlying noun. For example:

Here, the instrumental meaning “with glass” is not present; the interpretation “I handle your glass dome with glass” is not tenable. Rather, the verbalising suffix -mi here derives from tseŋ “glass” its characteristic action, that is, shattering. So one does not say here tseŋgemi itseŋteku, as one might expect via the usual verb construction via -mi. Rather, one supplies the nominative gruŋgen, indicating that the action is performed by the hands, under the force of which the glass undergoes its typical action, to shatter.

Similarly, the verb shkagmi, derived from shkag, a native plant species with purple leaves, has a non-obvious meaning:

Apparently, this meaning of the verb derives from the shkag being a common component of undergrowth that hinders passage through native forests.

Some idiosyncratic verbs may have drastic changes in meaning depending on the exact construction and the surrounding context. For example:

In the first instance, aunetmi has a metaphorical meaning of rushing around as if like the flight of a comet; there is no relation with comets in the resulting meaning. However, the very same verb without the possessive affix reverts its meaning to the default action of a comet: to fly. The adjunctive phrase in fai also seems to supply a context that may cause a shift in meaning, depending on the specific governed NP.

4.1.4. Involitionals

Some verbalized nouns appear to make a distinction between volitional and involitional actions. For example, the noun ŋaf “nose” gives rise to the verb ŋafemi “to smell”, “to sniff”. This verb form is used in the volitional sense:

When the involitional sense “I smell (catch a scent of)” is desired, the verbalized noun isn't used; instead, it becomes the object of another verb or an adjectival clause (see section 4.2):

Dropping the pronominal possessive affix makes the statements generic:

4.1.5. Negation

Verbal clauses are negated by the use of a negated verb (see section 3.3.5).