24 Possibility and helping verbs
‘can, able’ : mēcvko tayēs ‘I can’t do it’
- The word tayē means ‘able, can, may, could’.
| Vyvko tayēs. | ‘I can’t go.’ |
| Hompetskē tayv? | ‘Can you eat?’ |
‘might’ : mēcē witēs ‘he/she might do it’
- The verb witēs means ‘might’. It’s used after a verb stem in the lengthened grade ending in -ē.
| Nēsē witēs. | ‘He/she might buy it.’ |
| Ayē witēs. | ‘He/she might go.’ |
If the main verb normally uses agent person markers, these go instead on witēs.
| Nēsē witvyēs. | ‘I might buy it.’ |
| Ayē witvyēs. | ‘I might go.’ |
‘I wish’: oskatē! ‘I wish it would rain!’
- You can add -atē to a verb to mean you wish that action would happen.
| Oskatē! | ‘I wish it would rain!’ |
| Mv tenētkat cvyayakatē! | ‘I wish that thunder would be quiet!’ |
‘must, have to’: mēcetvt owēs ‘it has to be done’
- You can say something has to be done with this pattern.
| Mēcetvt owēs. | ‘It has to be done.’ |
- You can also use tvlkēs ‘be only’ for a similar meaning.
| Mēcetv tvlkēs. | ‘It should be done/has to be done.’ |
| Mēcvhanvyat tvlkēs. | ‘I have to do it.’ |
Inferences: Efvt wohkvcoks ‘there’s a dog barking’
- A suffix -vcok is used when you surmise something.
| Tvlako nokrēpvcoks. | ‘The beans are burning [you smell them].’ |
| Oskvhanvcoks. | ‘It looks like it’s going to rain [you see clouds].’ |
| Sally ahuehkvcoks. | ‘Sally’s calling [you heard her on the phone].’ |
| Fvckēt owvcoks./Fvckētacoks. | ‘[A restaurant] looks full [you see cars outside].’ |
- The same suffix or a variant -vcek is often used with verbs meaning ‘hear’.
| Kaccvt arvceken pohvyvnks. | ‘I hear a tiger going around.’ |
| Mv honvnwvt fettvn vtotket | ‘I heard the man working |
| vrę̄pvcoken pohhis. | and going around outside.’ |
Getting and becoming: hiyē-hayē hakes ‘it’s getting really hot’
- Use the verb haketv for ‘to get, become’.
| Fettv hiyē-hayē hakes. | ‘It’s getting really hot outside.’ |
| Cvcvpakkē haket os. | ‘I’m getting mad.’ |
| Wotko-este cvhaket os. | ‘I’ve become a monkey.’ |
| Osikof, hvsottē hahkes. | ‘After it rained, it became sunny.’ |
Monkes ‘still’
- You can use the verb monkes after another verb to mean ‘still’.
| Efv hompē monkes. | ‘The dog is still eating.’ |
| Mv cokv oh-onayē monkes. | ‘He’s still reading the book.’ |
| Cvkisse wvnayvyē monkvnks. | ‘I was still tying my hair.’ |
Mahes ‘keep (doing something)’
- You can use the verb mahes to mean ‘keep (doing something)’.
| Mēce-mahes. | ‘He/she keeps doing it.’ |
| Latke-mahes. | ‘He/she keeps falling.’ |
| Lētke-mahes. | ‘He/she keeps running.’ |
You can also use this verb to encourage others.
| Yvhike-mahvs! | ‘Keep singing!’ |
| Vpēle-mahvs! | ‘Keep laughing!’ |
| Vtotke-mahvs! | ‘Keep working!’ |
‘almost’: homipvhohkis ‘I almost ate it’
- You can say you almost did something by adding -vhok to a verb stem. The verb stem is put in the h-grade.
| wvnvyetv | ‘to tie’ |
| wvnvy- | ‘tie (stem)’ |
| wvnahy- | ‘tie (h-grade)’ |
| wvnahy-vhok- | ‘almost tie it’ |
| wvnahyvhohkis | ‘I almost tied it (today/last night)’ |
| wvnahyvhohketskes | ‘you almost tied it (today/last night)’ |
| wvnahyvhohketskes | ‘he/she almost tied it (today/last night)’ |
| wvnahyvhohkēs | ‘we almost tied it (today/last night)’ |
| wvnahyvhohkatskes | ‘you (pl.) almost tied it (today/last night)’ |
| wvnvyahkvhohkes | ‘they almost tied it (today/last night)’ |
Here are other examples:
| Cvlvtikvhohkes. | ‘I almost fell (today/last night).’ |
| Efvt vcvkikvhohkes. | ‘The dog almost bit me (today/last night).’ |
| Cvlentapiyvhohkes. | ‘I almost tripped (today/last night).’ |
| Nakcokv alvtikvhohkes. | ‘The book almost fell off (today/last night).’ |
In the examples above, -vhok is in the h-grade (for recent past). It can appear in different tenses, though.
| Efvt vcvkikvhokvnks. | ‘The dog almost bit me (yesterday).’ |
‘accidentally’: wvnvyehpvyvttis ‘I accidentally tied it’
- You can say you accidentally did something by adding -ep to a verb, placing that stem in the h-grade, and then adding -vtētis or -vttis ‘it came about that’.
| wvnvyetv | ‘to tie’ |
| wvnvy- | ‘tie (stem)’ |
| wvnvy-ep- | ‘tie (spontaneous)’ |
| wvnvy-ehp- | ‘tie (spontaneous, h-grade)’ |
| wvnvyehpvyvttis | ‘I accidentally tied it’ |
| wvnvyehpetskvttis | ‘you accidentally tied it’ |
| wvnvyehpvttis | ‘he/she accidentally tied it’ |
| wvnvyehpeyvttis | ‘we accidentally tied it’ |
| wvnvyehpatskvttis | ‘you (pl.) accidentally tied it’ |
| wvnvyvkehpvttis | ‘they accidentally tied it’ |
‘just about to’: wvnvyvhąnusvyēt os ‘I’m just about to tie it’
- You can add -vhan to a verb stem to mean ‘going to’. If you nasalize that and add -us, it means ‘just about going to’.
| wvnvyetv | ‘to tie’ |
| wvnvy- | ‘tie (stem)’ |
| wvnvy-vhan- | ‘going to tie’ |
| wvnvyvhąnusvyēt os | ‘I am just about to tie it’ |
| wvnvyvhąnusetskēt os | ‘you are just about to tie it’ |
| wvnvyvhąnusēt os | ‘he/she is just about to tie it’ |
| wvnvyvhąnuseyēt os | ‘we are just about to tie it’ |
| wvnvyvhąnusatskēt os | ‘you (pl.) are just about to tie it’ |
| wvnvyvkvhąnusēt os | ‘they are just about to tie it’ |
Other examples:
| Hompvhąnusvyēt os. | ‘I’m just about to eat.’ |
| Hompvhąnusvyēt owvyis. | ‘I was just about to eat.’ |
| Nocepvhąnusēt owvyis. | ‘I was just about to go to sleep.’ |
