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 vtotketvrę̄pvcoken pohhis.
- ‘I heard the man workingand 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.’
