3 The present tense and grades
Mvskoke has no special mark for the present tense. Verbs undergo changes, though, based on their ASPECT. Aspect is what distinguishes a STATE or condition like being scared from an EVENT or happening like getting scared. Here are some examples of verbs that can be used either as states or as events.
| Infinitive: | Present state/event: | |
| penkvletv ‘to get scared’ | penkvlēs ‘he/she is scared’ | |
| penkales ‘he/she is getting scared’ | ||
| yopaklvtketv ‘to fall behind’ | yopaklvtkēs ‘he/she is behind’ | |
| yopaklatkes ‘he/she is falling behind’ | ||
| hecetv ‘to look’ | hecēs ‘he/she sees, can see’ | |
| hēces ‘he/she is looking at it’ |
As you can see, a verb stem (the part before –etv) changes its shape depending on its meaning. The verb stem penkvl-, for example, changes to penkal– when it indicates an action. Both penkvlēs and penkales are present tense, but the first describes a state while the second describes an action.
These changes in shape are called GRADES: changes to a verb stem that show a change in aspect. We can refer to a bare stem like penkvl– as a ZERO GRADE stem, and the stem penkal– as the LENGTHENED GRADE or l-grade stem.
Present states: kvsvppēs ‘it is cold’
A STATE is a steady condition.
- To turn an infinitive into a present state, drop the infinitive suffix -etv. Then attach a suffix –ē. Then add –es for a statement.
Infinitive: Present state: kvsvppetv ‘to be cold’ kvsvpp- + -ē + -s kvsvppēs ‘it is cold’ kvsvppēt os ‘it is cold (telling someone)’ hvtketv ‘to be white’ hvtk- + -ē + -s hvtkēs ‘it is white’ hvtkēt os ‘it is white (telling someone)’ cvmpetv ‘to be sweet’ cvmp- + -ē + -s cvmpēs ‘it is sweet’ cvmpēt ‘it is sweet (telling someone)’ enokketv ‘to be sick’ enokk- + -ē + -s enokkēs ‘he/she is sick’ enokkēt os ‘he/she is sick (telling someone)’
As the forms above show, you can also use the verb owetv ‘to be’ with a state.
- A verb stem in the zero grade + –ē generally translates as an adjective in English. This is the general pattern used for adjectives in the present tense.
Present events: mēces ‘he/she is doing it’
An EVENT is a happening (as opposed to a steady state).
- To turn an infinitive into a present tense event, drop the infinitive suffix -etv. Then lengthen the last vowel of the verb stem and add -es for a statement. This process of lengthening is called the LENGTHENED GRADE or L-GRADE. The short vowels v, e, and u change to the long vowels a, ē, and o.
v → a (wvnvy- ‘tie’ → wvnay- ) e → ē (letk- ‘run’ → lētk-) u → o (hetut- ‘freeze’ → hetot-)
Examples:
| Infinitive: | Lengthened grade: | |
| vyetv ‘(one) to go’ | ||
| vy- + lgr. + -es | ayes ‘he/she is going’ | |
| vtetv ‘(one) to come’ | ||
| vt- + lgr. + -es | ates ‘he/she is coming’ | |
| nvfketv ‘to hit’ | ||
| nvfk- + lgr. + -es | nafkes ‘he/she is hitting it’ | |
| wvnvyetv ‘to tie’ | ||
| wvnvy- + lgr. + -es | wvnayes ‘he/she is tying it’ | |
| letketv ‘to run’ | ||
| letk- + lgr. + -es | lētkes ‘he/she is running’ | |
| esketv ‘to drink’ | ||
| esk- + lgr. + -es | ēskes ‘he/she is drinking’ | |
| vpeletv ‘to laugh’ | ||
| vpel- + lgr. + -es | vpēles ‘he/she is laughing’ | |
| esetv ‘to take (one)’ | ||
| es- + lgr. + -es | ēses ‘he/she is taking it’ | |
| kerretv ‘to learn, know’ | ||
| kerr- + lgr. + -es | kērres ‘he/she is learning’ | |
| hetutetv ‘to freeze’ | ||
| hetut- + lgr. + -es | hetotes ‘it is freezing’ |
- If the last vowel of the stem is already long (a, e, o) or a diphthong (i, ue), you don’t make any change.
| Infinitive: | Lengthened grade: | |||
| satetv | ‘to mark’ | sates | ‘he/she is marking it’ | |
| mēcetv | ‘to do’ | mēces | ‘he/she is doing it’ | |
| vtotketv | ‘to work’ | vtotkes | ‘he/she is working’ | |
| yvhiketv | ‘to sing’ | yvhikes | ‘he/she is singing’ | |
| liketv | ‘(one) to sit down’ | likes | ‘he/she is sitting down’ | |
| hoccicetv | ‘to write’ | hoccices | ‘he/she is writing’ | |
| hueretv | ‘(one) to stand’ | hueres | ‘he/she is standing up’ | |
- A general rule in Mvskoke is that a long vowel cannot be followed by l, m, or n in the same syllable. Lengthening does not apply when it would lead to syllables ending in al, am, an, ēl, ēm, ēn, ol, om, on.
| hvlketv | ‘to crawl’ | hvlkes | ‘he/she is crawling’ |
| ‘svfvlletv | ‘to throw’ | ‘svfvlles | ‘he/she is throwing it’ |
| tvmketv | ‘(one) to fly’ | tvmkes | ‘he/she is flying’ |
| vfvnketv | ‘to kiss’ | vfvnkes | ‘he/she is kissing’ |
The lengthened grade is used in all the persons. Here are the different persons of esetv ‘to take (one)’.
| ēsis | ‘I’m taking it’ | ēsvyv? | ‘am I taking it?’ | |
| ēsetskes | ‘you’re taking it’ | ēsetskv? | ‘are you taking it?’ | |
| ēses | ‘he/she is taking it’ | ēsv? | ‘is he/she taking it?’ | |
| ēsēs | ‘we are taking it’ | ēseyv? | ‘are we taking it?’ | |
| ēsatskes | ‘you all are taking it’ | ēsatskv? | ‘are you all taking it?’ |
Present resulting states: ē̂ses ‘he/she has it’
A RESULTING STATE is a condition existing as a result of something happening. When you put on a hat, that’s an event or action. When you have a hat on, that’s a resulting state.
- Resulting states are expressed with what is called the FALLING TONE GRADE or F-GRADE. It’s formed the same way as the lengthened grade. The only difference is that the last vowel of the stem receives falling tone in this pattern. Falling tone on the last syllable of the stem means that the voice drops on that syllable (gets lower in pitch).
Falling tone is not normally spelled in Mvskoke. For learners, this tone is shown here with a hat (^) over the vowel.
- With verbs describing positions, the lengthened grade is used for the event of getting into a position. The falling-tone grade or f-grade is used for the position that results.
Infinitive: Lengthened grade/Falling-tone grade: liketv ‘(one) to sit down’ lik- + l-grade + -es likes ‘he/she is getting seated’ lik- + f-grade + -es lîkes ‘he/she is sitting’ hueretv ‘(one) to stand up’ huer- + l-grade + -es hueres ‘he/she is standing up’ huer- + f-grade + -es hûeres ‘he/she is standing’ vpiketv ‘(one) to get in’ vpik- + l-grade + -es vpikes ‘he/she is getting in it’ vpik- + f-grade + -es vpîkes ‘he/she is in it’ - With verbs that describe putting on clothing, the lengthened grade is used for the action, and the falling-tone grade is used for the resulting state of wearing the clothing.
vccetv ‘to put on (a shirt)’ vcc- + l-grade + -es acces ‘he/she is putting on (a shirt)’ vcc- + f-grade + -es âcces ‘he/she is wearing (a shirt)’
The following are other verbs that commonly occur in the falling-tone grade for a resulting state.
| esetv ‘to take (one)’ | ||
| es- + l-grade + -es | ēses ‘he/she is taking it’ | |
| es- + f-grade + -es | ē̂ses ‘he/she is holding it’ | |
| kerretv ‘to learn, know’ | ||
| kerr- + l-grade + -es | kērres ‘he/she is learning’ | |
| kerr- + f-grade + -es | kē̂rres ‘he/she knows’ hecetv ‘to look, see’ | |
| hecetv ‘to look, see’ | ||
| hec- + l-grade + -es | hēces ‘he/she is looking’ | |
| hec- + f-grade + -es | hē̂ces ‘he/she sees’ |
The verb eyacetv ‘to want’ is normally in the falling-tone grade: eyâces ‘he/she wants’. The commonest verb in the falling-tone grade is ometv ‘to be’. This verb occurs in the falling-tone grade whenever it follows a noun or a verb or adjective ending in –ē.
| efvt ômes~efvt ôs | ‘it is a dog’ | |
| lvstēt ômes~lvstēt ôs | ‘it is black’ |
