3.4.13.7.
|
The Mood of Action Contrary to Earlier State of
Affairs displays ambivalent behavior vis-a-vis the negative
|
|
257 |
*1. |
a1
pfo2
coho ni-lo-mo- i-e3 |
| |
|
my1
father2
no longer can see3
|
| |
|
|
|
|
*2. |
pfo-no1
ta-lo-mo-i-e2
|
| |
|
he1
no longer can walk2
|
| |
|
|
|
|
*3. |
pfota1
ni-yi2
nie kara-mo-i-e3
|
| |
|
they (excl.pl.)1
no longer hate3
you (sg.) 2 |
| |
|
|
|
but |
|
| |
|
|
258 |
1. |
pfo-no1
ve-mo-i-e2 |
| |
|
he1
no longer steals2 |
| |
|
|
|
|
2. |
ai1
büi-mo-i-e2 |
| |
|
I1
didn’t give it up2 |
|
3.4.14.
|
The Interrogative
|
The interrogative
is found categorised into content or question-word
interrogation, ho interrogation and yes-no
interrogation. The second kind viz. ho
interrogation is neither content interrogation
because there is no question word involved (and
content is in fact in the question frame), nor
yes-no interrogation because ove ‘yes’
and mo ‘no’ can not form part of the
answer.
|
3.4.14.1.
|
Content or Question-Word Interrogation
|
There is no morphological
phonic marker for content questions except with
adi ‘what’ which is often followed in
speech by -e or -a.
|
|
259 |
adi-y-a
|
‘what (is
it)?’ |
| |
adi-y-e |
|
|
Otherwise, only question words mark the interrogative
nature of the utterance :
|
|
260 |
1. |
pfo-no1
ahie2
-ko-e0
|
| |
|
who2
(is) he1
? |
| |
|
|
|
|
2. |
ni1
ahie2
-ko-e0
|
| |
|
who2
(are) you (sg.)1
? |
| |
|
|
|
|
3. |
hihi1
adi-ye2
|
| |
|
what2
is this1
? |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3. |
ni1
mopfü cüzho3
pra-i-e4
|
| |
‘how old
are you’ |
| |
|
| |
lit. how
many3
years 2
have4
you1
become4
? |
| |
|
|
4. |
ni1
cü2
adicü3
bu-e4 |
| |
where3
is4
your1
house1
? |
| |
|
|
5. |
pfo1
cüdu-no2
vu3
le4 |
| |
when
2 will4
he1
come3
? |
| |
|
|
6. |
kopüi-hi1
ni2
na3
-ko-e0 |
| |
who (fem.sg.)1
(is) your (sg.)2
child3
? |
| |
|
|
7. |
ni1
larübvü-hi2
kota3
-ko-e0 |
| |
which3
(are) your (sg.)1
books2
? |
| |
|
|
8. |
ahikho1
adicü2 ta-e3
|
| |
where2
is Athikho1
going3
? |
| |
|
|
9. |
athie-no1
nile2
iniu3
-li4
hopfü5
dzü6
kotsü-e7 |
| |
who is the
oldest man in your (pl.) village? |
| |
|
| |
lit. who1
(is) older7
than all5
in4
your (pl)2
village3
? |
| |
|
|
10. |
ni1
pfü-no2
ko(hi)bvü-o4
bu-e5
|
| |
how4
is5
your (sg.)1
mother2
|
| |
|
|
11. |
ico1
baji2
cüzhoko3
pra-i-e4 |
| |
what is
the time now? |
| |
|
| |
lit. what3
time2
has it become4
now1
? |
| |
|
|
12. |
ni1
pfo2
kana3
-hi e0
|
| |
who3
is your (sg.)1
father2
|
| |
|
|
13. |
adahra1
adi2
so-o bu-e3 |
| |
what2
is Adahra1
doing3
? |
| |
|
|
14. |
izho
deni1
mi-krüli2
adi kohibvü-o bu-e3 |
| |
how3
is Imphal2
nowadays1
? |
|
Content questions are all information-seeking and could be
negative :
|
|
261 |
ni1
larübvü-ko-mo-khru-(müi)-su2
kohi-e3 |
| |
which3
are the ones that are not your1
books2
?
|
|
3.4.14.2.
|
ho Interrogation
|
The configuration
of ho ‘or’ straddled by two different
nouns/verbs or two tokens of the same verb/noun
in the affirmative or negative marks the fact
that the sentence is a question.
|
|
262 1. |
pfo1
ikhüi2
vu3
le4
ho5
vu6
le7
mo8
-e (v1
ho v1
neg) |
| |
will4
he1
come back3
this year 2
or 5 not8
|
|
