|
THE VERB |
| |
| 6.0.0 A verb
in Angami may be defined as a word that can be followed by tense
or aspect and/or mood marker. |
| |
| 6.1.0 The
verb is marked neither for gender (the first five examples) nor
for number (the rest of the examples) |
| |
pu 1
pu k
n2
v t 3
|
‘He1 went2
home3’ |
pu1
kmi 2
k n 3
vt4
|
‘His1 wife2
went4 home3’ |
k pth mi1 l n2
v i3
|
‘(The) teacher1 is
going3 there2’ |
kpth 1 ln2
vi3
|
‘The male teacher1 is
going3 there2’ |
kpthpf 1
ln2
vi3
|
‘The female teacher1
is going3 there2’ |
pu1
pu k
n2
vr 3
|
‘He1 came3
home2’ |
puni
k
n2
vr3
|
‘They (du.)1 came3
home2’ |
| k1
k
n2
vr3
|
‘They (pl.)1 came3
home2’ |
|
| | 1
| 6.1.1 The
verb is not marked for person either in the form of pronominal
prefix (the first three examples) except for stative verbs
expressive of emotional or mental states, processes, attributes
(the rest of the examples) |
| |
1
kwh r 2
vr3
|
‘I1 came3
to Kohima2’ |
n 1
kwhr2
vr
m 3
|
‘You1 didn’t come3
to Kohima2’ |
| pu1
kwhr2
vr3
|
‘She1 came3
to Kohima2’ |
 n
|
‘to be happy;cheerful’ |
pu1
pun
b 2
|
‘He1 is happy2’ |
| 1 n
b2
|
‘I1 am happy2’ |
| nmyi
|
‘to be angry’ |
| pu1
punmyi
b2 |
‘He1 is angry2’ |
| k1 nmyi
b2
|
‘They(pl.)1 are angry2’ |
| thdv
|
‘to be clever’ |
nh cny1
pudv2 |
‘(The) boy1 is clever2’ |
n1
 dv2
|
‘You1 are clever2’ |
|
| |
|
_________________ |
|
9Like in English, the tense auxiliary ty
can stand alone with the verb being deleted as in
(r) ty
‘I (also) will.’ In such instances, the noun should not be
construed as taking the tense marker. |
| |
n u
|
‘to be sad or sorry’ |
| 1 nu2
s3
b2
|
‘I1 am2
very3 sorry2’ |
| n1
punu2
s3
b2
|
‘Ni 1
is2 very3 sad2’ |
| n
|
‘to like’ |
| A1
pu2
hpi ny3
|
‘I1 like3
her2’ |
| pu1
tf2
puny3
|
‘She1 likes2
(the) dog2’ |
|
| |
The only
exception to the generalisation above is the verb  i
‘to be tired’ which expresses a physiological state. |
| |
| 1 i
b2
|
‘I1 am tired2’ |
| hik1
hiki
b2 |
‘We(excl. du.)1 are
tired2’ |
|
| |
| 6.1.2
Semantic classes |
| |
| Angami verbs
may be classified semantically as follows, for convenience of
description. Since we have have drawn upon these classes in the
explication of morphological and syntactic distinctions, they
may be said to be formally motivated. |
| |
| Stative
verbs denote states, conditions, attributes or
qualities-physical, physiological, cognitive or emotional. |
| |
r kri
|
‘to be tall’ |
thdv
|
‘to be clever’ |
| zv
|
‘to be beautifull’ |
rkr |
‘to remember’ |
| v |
‘to be good’ |
|
‘to know’ |
| mi
|
‘to tire; to be tired’ |
|
|
mr
|
‘to be hungry’ |
n
|
‘to like or to be happy’ |
|
| |
| Action verbs
express some actively or action with Agent or Executor as their
subjects. These verbs answer either the question ‘What X do?’ or
the question ‘What happened?’ Action verbs which answer the
question ‘what happened?’ typically are verbs of sensory or
cognitive perception or emotional feeling |
| |
| eg. |
| h
|
‘see’ |
kl
|
‘feel’(non-physical)’ |
| r
|
‘hear’ |
ki
|
‘feel’(Physical)’ |
|
| |
| or are verbs
like |
| |
k
|
‘lose’ |
hli
|
‘acquire’ |
ku
‘win’ |
| pfli
|
‘find’ |
|
|
|
|
| |
| ____________ |
|
10The terms are borrowed from Wallace L
chafe 1970 Meaning and the structure of Language, Chicago,
University of Chicago Press. |
