20 Tense

Tense is a grammatical pattern that indicates the time of a situation. We have seen that the present tense has no special marker in Mvskoke.

We have also seen the future tense and the near future, which are marked with -vrē and -vhan.

Mvskoke has more distinctions in the past tense. Mvskoke has a system of measured tense, which means that there are different tenses based on how far back a situation was.

There are five categories of past time. This means that a verb like wvnvyetv ‘to tie’ has five different past tense forms.

Past 1: mehces ‘he/she did it (today/last night)’

Past 1 is a time period extending from a few minutes ago to last night (so up to about sundown of yesterday).

• The aspirating grade (h-grade) is one way to express the Past 1. The aspirating grade is used for an event that was successfully completed once. We can call this the Past 1 Perfective.

  hecetv

  ‘to look, see’

  hehcis

  ‘I looked (today/last night)’

  hehcetskes

  ‘you looked (today/last night)’

  hehces

  ‘he/she looked (today/last night)’

  hehcēs

  ‘we looked (today/last night)’

  hehcatskes

  ‘you all looked (today/last night)’

  hecahkes

  ‘they looked (today/last night)’

• A different pattern is used for Past 1 when the action wasn’t completed. We can call this the Past 1 Imperfective. In this case:

✓ The verb stem is placed in the lengthened grade.

✓A suffix -îs is added to the verb stem. (The accent ^ is used here to indicate that the pitch falls on this suffix.)

✓ The sequence -îs + -es is normally contracted to -îs.

• You can add agent person markers and plural -vk before -îs.

  nesetv

  ‘to buy’

  nēsvyîs

  ‘I was buying it’

  nēsetskîs

  ‘you were buying it’

  nēsîs

  ‘he/she was buying it’

  nēseyîs

  ‘we were buying it’

  nēsatskîs

  ‘you all were buying it’

  nesakîs

  ‘they were buying it’

Here are guidelines for using the two Past 1 tenses.

• When the event is successfully completed, use the h-grade.
• When the action was in progress, use -îs.

  hompetv

  ‘to eat’

  hompîs

  ‘he/she was eating’

• For an adjective, use -îs on the verb owetv ‘to be’. (Adjectives describe states, and so aren’t completed.)

  hiyē

  ‘hot’

  hiyēt owîs

  ‘it was hot (today/last night)’

• For a negative verb, use -îs (since the action was not completed).

  nesetv

  ‘to buy’

  nesekîs

  ‘he/she didn’t buy it’

Past 2: mēcvnks ‘he/she did it (yesterday to a year ago)’

• Past 2 is formed by using the falling-tone grade with the suffix -vnk.

  nesetv ‘to buy’

  nes- + f-grade + -vnk + -es

  nē̂svnks

  ‘he/she bought it (yesterday to a year ago)’

  nes- + f-grade + -vnk + -v

  nē̂svnkv?

  ‘did he/she buy it (yesterday to a year ago)’

  mēcetv ‘to do’

  mēc- + f-grade + -vnk + -es

  mē̂cvnks

  ‘he/she did it (yesterday to a year ago)’

  mēc- + f-grade + -vnk + -v

  mē̂cvnkv?

  ‘did he/she do it (yesterday to a year ago)?’

  hompetv ‘to eat’

  homp- + f-grade + -vnk + -es

  hômpvnks

  ‘he/she ate (yesterday to a year ago)’

  homp- + f-grade + -vnk + -v

  hômpvnkv?

  ‘did he/she eat (yesterday to a year ago)?’

• You can add agent person markers and plural -vk before -vnk.

  nesetv

  ‘to buy’

  nē̂svyvnks

  ‘I bought it (yest. to a year ago)’

  nē̂setskvnks

  ‘you bought it (yest. to a year ago)’

  nē̂svnks

  ‘he/she bought it (yest. to a year ago)’

  nē̂seyvnks

  ‘we bought it (yest. to a year ago)’

  nē̂satskvnks

  ‘you all bought it (yest. to a year ago)’

  nesâkvnks

  ‘they bought it (yest. to a year ago)’

• When the verb is negative, use the zero grade instead of the f-grade. This verb uses the negative agent person markers.

  nesetv

  ‘to buy’

  nesvkvnks

  ‘I didn’t buy it (yest. to a year ago)’

  nesetskekvnks

  ‘you didn’t buy it (yest. to a year ago)’

  nesekvnks

  ‘he/she didn’t buy it (yest. to a year ago)’

  nesēkvnks

  ‘we didn’t buy it (yest. to a year ago)’

  nesatskekvnks

  ‘you all didn’t buy it (yest. to a year ago)’

  nesvkvkekvnks

  ‘they didn’t buy it (yest. to a year ago)’

• With an adjective, use Past 2 on the verb owetv ‘to be’.

  kvsvppē

  ‘cold’

  kvsvppēt ôwvnks

  ‘it was cold’

Past 3: mēcemvts ‘he/she did it (a year ago up to 20 years ago)’

• Past 3 is formed by using the falling-tone grade with the suffix -emvte. -emvte is usually shortened to -emvt, except in questions.

  nesetv ‘to buy’

  nes- + f-grade + -emvte + -es

  nē̂semvts

  ‘he/she bought it (1-20 years ago)’

  nes- + f-grade + -emvte + -∅

  nē̂semvte?

  ‘did he/she buy it (1-20 years ago)?’

  mēcetv ‘to do’

  mēc- + f-grade + -emvte + -es

  mē̂cemvts

  ‘he/she did it (1-20 years ago)’

  mēc- + f-grade + -emvte + -∅

  mē̂cemvte?

  ‘did he/she do it (1-20 years ago)?’

  hompetv ‘to eat’

  homp- + f-grade + -emvte + -es

  hômpemvts

  ‘he/she ate (1-20 years ago)’

  homp- + f-grade + -emvte + -∅

  hômpemvte?

  ‘did he/she eat (1-20 years ago)?’

• You can add agent person markers and plural -vk before -vnk.

  nesetv

  ‘to buy’

  nē̂simvts

  ‘I bought it (1-20 years ago)’

  nē̂setskemvts

  ‘you bought it (1-20 years ago)’

  nē̂semvts

  ‘he/she bought it (1-20 years ago)’

  nē̂sēmvts

  ‘we bought it (1-20 years ago)’

  nē̂satskemvts

  ‘you all bought it (1-20 years ago)’

  nesâkemvts

  ‘they bought it (1-20 years ago)’

• When the verb is negative, use the zero grade instead of the f-grade. This verb uses the negative agent person markers.

  nesetv

  ‘to buy’

  nesvkomvts

  ‘I didn’t buy it (1-20 years ago)’

  nesetskekomvts

  ‘you didn’t buy it (1-20 years ago)’

  nesekomvts

  ‘he/she didn’t buy it (1-20 years ago)’

  nesēkomvts

  ‘we didn’t buy it (1-20 years ago)’

  nesatskekomvts

  ‘you all didn’t buy it (1-20 years ago)’

• With an adjective, use owetv ‘to be’ in Past 3.

  kvsvppē

  ‘cold’

  kvsvppēt ôwemvts

  ‘it was cold (1-20 years ago)’

Past 4: mēcvntvs ‘he/she did it (long ago)’

Past 4 is not used much today, though Earnest Gouge used it in 1914 in recounting stories he had heard. It may have been used with the lengthened grade.

• You can add agent person markers and plural -vk before -vntv.

  nesetv

  ‘to buy’

  nēsvyvnt(v)s

  ‘I bought it (long ago)’

  nēsetskvnt(v)s

  ‘you bought it (long ago)’

  nēsvnt(v)s

  ‘he/she bought it (long ago)’

  nēseyvnt(v)s

  ‘we bought it (long ago)’

  nēsatskvnt(v)s

  ‘you all bought it (long ago)’

  nesakvnt(v)s

  ‘they bought it (long ago)’

Past 5: mēcvtēs ‘he/she did it (very long ago)’

Past 5 is generally used for something very long ago. It’s the main tense used in traditional stories. Someone who’s very old can use it about their childhood.

• Past 5 is formed by using the lengthened grade with the suffix -vtē. Statements end in -s and questions end in -te (not -v).

  nesetv   ‘to buy’

  nes- + l-grade + -vtē + -s

  nēsvtēs

  ‘he/she bought it (very long ago)’

  nes- + l-grade + -vtē + -te

  nēsvtēte?

  ‘did he/she buy it (very long ago)?’

• You can add agent person markers and plural -vk before -vtē.

  nesetv

  ‘to buy’

  nēsvyvtēs

  ‘I bought it (very long ago)’

  nēsetskvtēs

  ‘you bought it (very long ago)’

  nēsvtēs

  ‘he/she bought it (very long ago)’

  nēseyvtēs

  ‘we bought it (very long ago)’

  nēsatskvtēs

  ‘you all bought it (very long ago)’

  nesakvtēs

  ‘they bought it (very long ago)’

• When the verb is negative, use the zero grade instead of the l-grade. This verb uses the negative agent person markers. The suffixes -eko + -vtē contract as -ekatē.

  nesetv

  ‘to buy’

  nesvkatēs

  ‘I didn’t buy it (very long ago)’

  nesetskekatēs

  ‘you didn’t buy it (very long ago)’

  nesekatēs

  ‘he/she didn’t buy it (very long ago)’

  nesēkatēs

  ‘we didn’t buy it (very long ago)’

  nesatskekatēs

  ‘you all didn’t buy it (very long ago)’

• With an adjective, use owetv ‘to be’ in Past 5.

  kvsvppē

  ‘cold’

  kvsvppēt ôwvtēs

  ‘it was cold (1-20 years ago)’

• The suffix -vtē has other uses that are not Past 5. When it’s used with the falling-tone grade, it can describe a more recent event.

  nē̂svtēs

  ‘he/she bought it (could be a few days ago)’

Future: mēcvrēs ‘he/she will do it’

• Future tense is shown with -vrē. -vrē attaches to the verb stem with no lengthening. Statements end in -s and questions end in -te (not -v).

• Agent person markers appear before future -vrē. The following are the agent person markers in the future. Notice that the first person singular is –arē.

Negative future forms are possible. The suffix -eko ‘not’ and -vrē ‘will’ combine as -ekarē.

Near future: mēcvhanes ‘he/she is going to do it’

• The suffix -vhan is a near future marker meaning ‘going to’. -vhan attaches to the verb stem (without lengthening).

  mēcetv

  ‘to do’

  mēcvhanes

  ‘he/she is going to do it’

  esketv

  ‘to drink’

  eskvhanes

  ‘he/she is going to drink’

  hompetv

  ‘to eat’

  hompvhanes

  ‘he/she is going to eat’

  yvhiketv

  ‘to sing’

  yvhikvhanes

  ‘he/she going to sing’

  vtotketv

  ‘to work’

  vtotkvhanes

  ‘he/she is going to work’

  hecetv

  ‘to see, look’

  hecvhanes

  ‘he/she is going to see, look’

• The question form uses -v.

  mēcvhanv?

  ‘is he/she going to do it?’

  eskvhanv?

  ‘is he/she going to drink?’

• Plural -vk appears before -vhan.

  mēc- + -vk + -vhan + -es

  mēcvkvhanes

  ‘they are going to do it’

• Agent person markers follow -vhan.

  mēcis

  ‘I’m doing it’

  mēcvhanis

  ‘I am going to do it’

  mēcetskes

  ‘you’re doing it’

  mēcvhanetskes

  ‘you are going to do it’

  mēces

  ‘he/she is doing it’

  mēcvhanes

  ‘he/she is going to do it’

  mēcēs

  ‘we are doing it’

  mēcvhanēs

  ‘we are going to do it’

  mēcatskes

  ‘you all are doing it’

  mēcvhanatskes

  ‘you all are going to do it’

• Notice that the agent person markers follow -vhan ‘going to’, but they come before -vrē ‘will’.

  mēc- + -vhan + -etsk + -es

  mēcvhanetskes

  ‘you are going to do it’

  mēc- + -etsk + -vrē + -s

  mēcetskvrēs

  ‘you will do it’

• The negative of -vhan is -vhan-eko, where -eko has different agent forms.

  mēcvhanvkos

  ‘I am not going to do it’

  mēcvhanetskekos

  ‘you are not going to do it’

  mēcvhanekos

  ‘he/she is not going to do it’

  mēcvhanēkos

  ‘we are not going to do it’

  mēcvhanatskekos

  ‘you all are not going to do it’

• The suffix -vhan ‘going to’ is used for casual statements about something that is going to happen (often in the near future). Future -vrē is used for promises, pledges, or proposals.

hēcetskvtēt owv? ‘have you ever seen it?’

• To ask ‘Have you ever seen it?’, you use this pattern.

  hecetv  ‘to see’

  hec- + l-grade + -etsk + -vtēt owv?

  Hēcetskvtēt owv?

  ‘Have you ever seen it?’

• To say you’ve never done something, a verb in the zero grade is marked for person and followed by -vtē. Then sekot os ‘doesn’t exist’ is added.

  hecetv  ‘to see’

  hec- + zero grade + -vy + -vtē sekot os

  hecvyvt(ē) sekot os

  ‘I’ve never seen it’

mehcvtēt os ‘it seems he/she did it’

• When you use past 1, 2, or 3 to make a statement about an action, the hearer will assume that you saw the action take place.

  Nereyisē mehces.

  ‘He did it last night (implies you saw it).’

• If you didn’t see the action, then you could qualify your statement with -vtē ‘seem, appear’.

  Nereyisē mehcvtēt os.

  ‘It seems he did it last night.’

• In words like this, -vtē can be confused with the Past 5 marker.

  Nereyisē mehcvtēt os.

  ‘It seems he did it last night.’

  Hofǫnof mēcet owvtēs.

  ‘He did it long ago (past 5).’

When it means ‘seem, appear’, -vtē appears on the main verb, and the stem is in the h-grade or falling tone grade. When it indicates Past 5, -vtē is on ometv ‘to be’, and the main verb and auxiliary are in the lengthened grade.

• You can also use -vtē ‘seem, appear’ for statements like the following.

  Vancouver Canada ofvn likepēt os.

  ‘Vancouver is in Canada.’

  Vancouver Canada ofvn likepvtēt os.

  ‘Vancouver is apparently in Canada.’

mē̂cvtēs: recent -vtē

The suffix -vtē has two uses.

• With a verb in the lengthened grade, -vtē refers to a distant past.

  Mēcvtēs.

  ‘He/she did it long ago.’

  Mēcet owvtēs.

  ‘He/she did it long ago.’

• With a verb in the falling-tone grade, -vtē can refer to a more recent past (maybe only a week ago).

  Mē̂cvtēs.

  ‘He/she did it (could be a week ago).’

  Mē̂cvtēt ôs.

  ‘He/she did it (could be a week ago).’

Notice that -vtē for a recent past is placed on the main verb, while -vtē for a distant past appears on auxiliary owetv ‘to be’.

kvrpētt os ‘it’s dried’

Tvlsen vtvyēs ‘I come from Tulsa’

Some verbs can refer to events in the lengthened grade and to states in the zero grade + -ē.

The pattern of zero grade + -ē is also used for events that describe a general property of someone or something.