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(b) A sentence with the verb in the potential or probability mood :-For negating a verb in either of these moods, the negative marker mla is put between the modal marker and the tense marker. However, However, when a verb in the non-past potential mood is negatived, the negative marker mla substitutes the future tense marker, as in :

Neg + wúlu nanì _ wúlumla `can not go’
Neg + asi cúlu nanì _ asi cúlumla `cannot eat meat’
Neg + asi cúlue _ asi cúlumlae `could not eat meat’
Neg + wúlue _ wúlumale `could not go’
Neg + wúluwi _ wúlumalawi `might not go’
Neg + cúluwi _ cúlumalawi `might not eat, etc.

(c) A simple sentence with a verb in different aspects and simple tenses.- The negative marker mo is used for negating all constructions other than the ones mentioned above. This would include a verb in different aspects and simple tenses. The negative marker mo is pre-posed to the tense marker. If the verb has an aspect marker, mo is post-posed to the aspect marker, otherwise post-posed to the verb root. Thus its construction would be : VR ± aspect + Neg ± tense, as in :

Neg + z anì - zamo `is not sleeping’
Neg + wú cèni - wúamo `is not going’
Neg + ze - zmoe `did not sleep’
Neg + khae - Khamoe `did not close’ etc.

Description of negative markers
1. Since the negative marker mo negates a VP that does not show any overt modal markers, it is     designated as simple negative and numerbed as negative one, as it has the maximal distribution.
2. Since the negative marker kumo negates equative sentences, it is designated as equative negative     and numbered as negative two.
3. Since the negative marker köha negates the existence of any object/item, it is designated as     existential negative.As it substitutes the locative verb, it could also be called a verbal negative;     however, the former term is preferred. It is marked negative three.
4. The negative marker kewi/ke negates a VP in the imperative. It is, therefore, designated as      imperative negative and marked as negative four.
5. The negative marker mla negates a VP in its potential and probability moods. It is designated as     potential negative and marked negative five.
The system of negation of simple affirmative sentences in Sema was discussed. It might be pertinent to note here that there is no difference in negating an affirmative and interrogative sentences, for instance.
Neg + noye okì lakhì anì
noye ok lakh kha
 
`you have no house’
okì lakhì anì kyá
do you have a house’?
okì lakhì kha kyá?
`haven’t you got a house?
It was mentioned at the beginning of this section that the negative verb mtha `don’t know’ is used for giving a negative expression. An illustrative example is given for this.
noi nii mtha1
`neither you nor I know’
 1 2 3 4 5
(lit. you also I also dont’ know)’
1 2 3 4 5
The system of negation in Sema can now be stated in a schematic formulae.
T- {Tpr/p} Tpr/p - present/past tenses
{Tf } Tf - future tense
  a - auxiliary/locative verb
  A - Aspect
  VR - verb root
  {Neg1 - mo
  {Neg2 - kumo
Negative- {Neg3 - köha
  {Neg4 - kewi/ke
  {Neg5 - mla
Illustrative examples of the operation of these formulae are given below :
1 Neg + VR + a + T - VR + a+Neg1+ Tpr/p as in :
  Neg + zanì - zamo `is not sleeping’
  Neg + zay - zamoy `was not sleeping’
1.
mtha seems to have been derived from motha `no knowledge’ and later the vowel might have been dropped. tha in the sense of `knowledge’ occurs as an independent word in this language.
2.
In the illustrative examples given above, the VPs have been realized by a single verb in its intransitive construction. It makes no difference to this scheme, even if the VPs have adverb phrases and/or noun phrases as these constituents in such an event would be pre-posed to the verb root. This is true of other formulae also.
 

 

 

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