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and the subgrouping of the verbs are attempted on the basis of these features. A discussion of these follows :
3.3.1. Morphological construction
The tense, aspect and the modal markers occurring with a verb has fixed order which can be seen from the illustrative examples given below :
    `eat/ate’
  cúlò   `eat (imp)’
  cúkelò   `do not eat (imp)’
  cúpe   `cause to eat’
  cúpekewilò   `do not cause to eat’
  cúwà   `ate’
  cúnanì   `will eat’
  cúanì   `is eating’
  cúcenì   `eats (habitual)’
  cúluwe   `could eat’
  cúmowe   `did not eat’
  cúamo   `is/was not eating’
  cúcemo   `does not eat (habitual)’
  cúmla/culumla   `cannot eat’
  cúmlawe   `could not eat’ etc.
From the illustrative examples given above, it can be seen that a verb root may have either a modal marker or an aspectual marker and not both. The tense marker can occur either immediately after the root or after the modal/aspectual marker. And whenever the tense marker occurs, it functions as the closure. As far as the occurrence of the negatives are concerned, a two-way structure is noticed. i.e., in the case of all modals except the imperative, the negative follows the modal marker, if any. In the case of the imperative, the modal marker follows the negative. The morphological construction of a verb in Sema can therefore be presented schematically as under :
VR± { aspect } ± Neg1 ±T
    {modals1 }    
VR± C ± Neg2 + M2    
The scheme presented above can be described as under :
VR —>   verb root
C —>   causative
Modals1 —>   indicative, permissive and potential
Modal2 —>   imperative
Aspect —>   progressive and habitual
Neg1 —>   all negatives except the imperative negative
Neg2 —>   imperative negative —> lò
T —>   tense —> past and future tenses.
The scheme presented above has two restrictions in that neither the causative nor the modal1 nor an aspectual marker can be a form-closing suffix. If any one of them occurs in a verbal construction, the occurrence of either the negative1 or tense is a must. Similarly a negative particle without any other suffixes cannot occur with a verb root. On the basis of the scheme presented above, the morphological construction of a verb in Sema could have the following possibilities.
  verb root alone   cú `eat’
  VR + M2   `cúlò `eat’ (imp)’
  VR + Neg2 + M2   `cúkewilò `do not eat (imp)’
  VR + Causative + M2   `cúpelò `cause to eat (imp)’
  VR + Causative + Neg2 + M2   `cúpekewilò `do not cause to eat’ (imp)’
  VR + tense   `cúwe `ate’
  VR + Neg1 + tense   `cúmoe `did not eat’
  VR + Causative + tense   `cúpewe `caused to eat’
  VR + Asp + tense   `cúay `was eating’
  VR + Asp + Neg1   `cúamo `is not eating’
  VR + Causative + asp + tense   `cúpeay `was causing to eat’
  VR + Causative + Asp + Neg1   `cúpeamo `is not causing to eat’
  VR + Asp + Neg1 + tenseVR + Causative + Asp +   `cúamoe `was not eating’
  Neg1 + tense   `cúpeamoe `was not causing to eat’
  VR + Modal1 + Neg1   `cúlumla `cannot eat’
  VR + Modal1 + tense   `cúlunanì `can eat’
  VR + modal1 + Neg1 + tense   `cúlumlae `could not eat’s
  VR + Causative + Modal1 +
Neg1
  `cúpelumla `cannot cause . . to eat’

 

 

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