| (vi)
PP.P ± NP+V moy pap nimiti beya payse |
| |
1 2
3 4 5 6 |
| ‘I feel sorry for
my sin’ |
| (lit. I sin for
bad receive past) |
|
1 2 3 4 5
6 |
| pp.p+v moy nimiti
kam korise ‘worked for me’ |
|
1 2 3
4 (lit. I for work do past) |
|
1 2 3 4 5 |
Functionally, the
NPs occurring in a VP are the objects of the verb. Every verb in
transitive construction will have a NP as its object and every
diatranstitive verb will have a direct object (NP1)
and an indirect object (NP2). These NPs would
show the case relations respectively of accusative and dative. As
mentioned earlier, NP1 and NP2
can interchange their places but the NPs must necessarily be preposed
to the nucleus verb and postposed to the adv. phrase, if any.
|
Locative verb as
nucleus of a VP
|
The discussion of
a VP that had preceded so far had a principal verb as its nucleus. In
lieu of a principal verb, a VP could al1o have
alocative verb as its nucleus. A few illustrative examples are given:
|
(a) itu kukur  sile
‘it was a dog’
(b) itu kukur nse1
‘it is not a dog’
(c) tay yate se
‘she/he is here’
(d) moy duy puali se
‘I have two daughters’, etc.
|
The illustrative
examples given above show that in set: (a) NP1
is identified by or equated with NP2 (b) NP1
is located in the adverb phrase an (c) NP1 is
identified as the owner/possessor of the item referred to by NP2.
The locative verb as the nucleus of the VP will have the following
structure.
|
VP
®
 adv
+LV |
The structure of
the VPs having a LV or a principal verb can now be put in a single
frame, as in:
|
VP
® |
1In
the non-negative present tense, NP1, NP2
construction occurs, as in : itu kukur ‘it (is) a dog’.
|
The VP in a
sentence in this language is identical with the predicate of the
sentence in which it occurs. If the VP has a NP1
as its constituent1 the NP concerned is the
grammatical object of the sentence.
|
The different
types of phrases available is this language were discussed in this
chapter. Unless otherwise specifically required, all the examples of a
VP, hereafter, would be realised by a single verb. The different types
of clauses available in this language are discussed in the next
chapter.
|
3.6.
|
Clauses |
A
clause may be defined as a group of words with its own subject and
predicate provided the same is included in a longer utterance, as in :
|
jodi
tay hubo moy jabo ‘If she sleeps I will go’
|
The
illustrative examples given above has two clauses, viz., jodi tay hubo
‘It she sleeps’ and moy jabo ‘I will go’. Each of the clauses has its
own subject and predicate, for instance, tay and moy are the subjects
respectively of the first and second clause and hubo ‘will sleep’ and
jabo ‘will go’ are the predicates respectively of the two clauses.
|
3.6.1.
|
Types of Clauses |
A
clause was defined earlier as a group of words with its own subject
and predicate included in a larger utterance. Despite a definition of
this nature, it would not be appropriate to claim that such larger
utterances are the combinations of two or more simple sentences. Take
for instance, the two clauses that formed the larger utterance
illustrated earlier wherein it could be seen that the second clause,
viz., moy jabo ‘I will go’ is dependent upon the completion of the
action referred to in clause one, that is, moy jabo 'I will go'
provide jodi tay hubo 'if she sleeps'. This condition is marked by the
conditional marker jodi 'if'. Even through the completion action
referred to in the second clause is dependent upon the happening of
the action referred to in clause one, the latter clause can by itself
occur as an independent sentence, whereas the first clause, jodi tay
hubo 'If she sleeps' cannot occur as a simple sentence, rather it must
necessarily occur as a part of a larger sentence.2
|
1
This excludes NPs that are functionally adverbs, adjectives and also
predicated complements.
|
2
There is an appartent exception to such statements when the
subordinate marker is not overly marked for instance, in the
utterance:
|
| |
saulitu kowise
tay monso khayse
' The girl said that she ate meat' |
tay
monso khayse 'she ate meat' can occur elsewhere as an independent
sentence, while here it is a subordinate clause- a noun clause-
having the function of an object. The entire clause can be substituted
by a word for 'every thing' sob, as in:
|
Sualitu sob kowise 'the girlk said everything'. But the word order
changes, as in a simple sentence principle clause) nothing is
postponed to a verb.
|
