16 ‘with’ and comparisons
- Mvskoke adds different prefixes to verbs to add secondary elements to sentences.
- hompetv
- ‘to eat’
- eshompis
- ‘I’m eating with it’
- mahē
- ‘tall’
- ’svnmahēt os
- ‘he/she is taller than me’
- opvnetv
- ‘to dance’
- avm opanes
- ‘he/she is dancing with me’
‘with (something)’: eshompis ‘I am eating with it’: Instrumental es-
- A prefix es- on verbs means ‘with (a tool, etc.)’. It comes from esetv ‘to take’.
- Hompes.
- ‘He/she is eating.’
- Eslafkvn eshompes.
- ‘He/she is eating with a knife.’
Before vowels, the prefix is usually shortened to ’s-.
- akkopvnetv
- ‘to play’
- ’sakkopvnetv
- ‘to play with (a toy, etc.)’
- With verbs of motion, es- may indicate that the subject is taking another person or item along, driving a car, or riding a horse.
- vyetv
- ‘(one) to go’
- ’svyetv
- ‘(one) to go with (someone), take’
- vtetv
- ‘(one) to come’
- ’svtetv
- ‘(one) to come with, bring’
- akcēyetv
- ‘(one) to enter water’
- ’sakcēyetv
- ‘(one) to take underwater’
- vretv
- ‘(one) to go around’
- ’svretv
- ‘(one) to go around with, date’
- When es- is added to a verb, the verb may take another object and may use patient person markers for the added object.
- ayes
- ‘he/she is going’
- ’svcayes
- ‘he/she is taking me’
The verb vyetv ‘(one) to go’ doesn’t normally take an object. The verb ’svyetv ‘(one) to go with, take’ does take an object, however: ’svcayes ‘he/she is going with me’, ’secēyes ‘he/she is going with you’, etc.
- The prefix es- is also used when something contains something else.
- ’Sesketvn ēsis.
- ‘I’m holding a cup (empty).’
- ’Sesketvn ’sēsis.
- ‘I’m holding a cup (with something in it).’
- Books and signs contain words. These may require es-.
- Pokkon ēsis.
- I’m holding a ball.
- Cokvn ’sēsis.
- ‘I’m holding a book.’
- Other items with salient parts (signs, dentures, eyeglasses, a headdress, a watch, a harness, a tree with fruit) may also call for es- on associated verbs.
- The prefix es- is often used in the names of tools and utensils.
- foyetv
- ‘to saw’
- esfoy-
- ‘saw with’
- esfokv
- ‘a saw, what you saw with
- akkopvn-
- ‘to play’
- ’sakkopvn-
- ‘play with’
- ’sakkopvnkv
- ‘toy, what you play with’
- esketv
- ‘to drink’
- ’sesk-
- ‘drink with’
- ’sesketv
- ‘cup, what you drink with’
- letketv
- ‘(one) to run’
- esletk-
- ‘run with’
- esletketv
- ‘bicycle, what you run with’
Comparisons: Escem mahvyēt os ‘I’m taller than you’
- The prefix es- ‘with’ can be used to add a sense of comparison (‘than’, ‘taking as a
comparison’).- Fettv hotvle-mahēt os.
- It’s very windy outside.
- Fettv ’svhotvle-mahēt os.
- The wind is getting stronger outside.
- The sequence es- + em can be used for comparison to someone. In this pattern, es- means ‘than’ and em agrees with the person you’re making the comparison to.
- Mahēt os.
- He/she is tall.
- ’Svm mahēt os.
- He/she is taller than me.
- Escem mahēt os.
- He/she is taller than you.
- ’Sem mahēt os.
- He/she is taller than him/her.
- Espum mahēt os.
- He/she is taller than us.
The following sentences show how the pattern is used.
- Bill yv eto ’sem mahēt os.
- Bill is taller than this tree.
- Mary ’svm mahēt os.
- Mary is taller than me.
- Yv etuce ’sencvpkekot os.
- It’s not as long as this stick.
Adjectives like mahē normally use cv- prefixes for their subjects.
- Cvmahēt os.
- I’m tall.
- When adding es- + em to adjectives, the person marker shifts to the agent set.
- Escem mahvyēt os.
- I’m taller than you.
- Bill ’sem mahvyēt os.
- I’m taller than Bill.
- Mary ’sem mahvkot os.
- I’m not taller than Mary.
- Yv cvto ’senrakketskē te?
- Are you bigger than this rock?
‘with (someone)’: avm opanes ‘he/she is dancing with me’
The a- prefix is used with the dative person markers to mean ‘with (a person)’. These prefixes combine in slightly unexpected ways.
- opanes
- ‘he/she is dancing’
- avm opanes
- ‘he/she is dancing with me’ (a-+vm)
- iecem opanes
- ‘he/she is dancing with you’ (a-+cem)
- iem opanes
- ‘he/she is dancing with him/her’ (a-+em)
- iepum opanes
- ‘he/she is dancing with us’ (a-+pum)
- yvhikes
- ‘he/she is singing’
- avnyvhikes
- ‘he/she is singing with me’
- iecenyvhikes
- ‘he/she is singing with you’
- ienyvhikes
- ‘he/she is singing with him/her’
- iepunyvhikes
- ‘he/she is singing with us’
Some people use different spellings, such as a em opanes instead of iem opanes.
