Peyaa sha'ii. Sha'ii peyaach nyillyches.
What is the buzzard doing?
Sha'iich wenak.
What is the buzzard doing?
Sha'iich wenak.
Kewuuw: In this lesson we will learn the simple present and past tense of verbs, conjugated for the third-person singular.
- Subjects of sentences often have the -ch suffix, showing who or what is doing the action.
- Verbs are usually at the end of sentences.
- If a sentence has no subject, there is an implied "he/she/it" doing the action. If there is no object, "him/her/it" may be implied.
- The verbs in this lesson are in the simple present and past tense, which are identical in 'Iipay Aa. For example, "wenak" means "he/she/it sits" and "he/she/it sat". It does NOT mean "he/she/it is/was sitting." We will get to that in a future lesson.
- Verbs in this tense can also indicate habitual actions, as in "he usually. . ."
A Dog's Day (pretend it's the same dog)
"Gayeen wesaaw" It/he eats the chicken.
If a noun in a sentence does not have the nominative -ch ending, it may be an object.
If a noun in a sentence does not have the nominative -ch ending, it may be an object.
Pily 'ehattch 'uumak ewaa.
'Aapit helyepay ewaah umaaw. 'Uumak 'uuch ewii? Puy wamp wenuw, hemaa wesaawh umaaw. 'Ehatt hechalypches. 'Ehatt kuhchalypch kekway. |
'uumak outside in the back
'uuch what? ewii does puy there wenuw runs wamp wenuw walks and runs kekway wanders |
"'Ehatt kuhchalyp wenuw."
"The happy dog runs."
A prefix is added to verbs to make them nouns. Hechalyp "he is happy" becomes kuhechalyp "the one who is happy".
Whenever the prefix is used, if the penultimate (second to last) syllable of the word contains a shwa (e), that letter is dropped. For example, hepeshiw becomes kuhepshiw.
"The happy dog runs."
A prefix is added to verbs to make them nouns. Hechalyp "he is happy" becomes kuhechalyp "the one who is happy".
Whenever the prefix is used, if the penultimate (second to last) syllable of the word contains a shwa (e), that letter is dropped. For example, hepeshiw becomes kuhepshiw.
When the prefix ku- is applied to a word beginning with a glottal stop such as 'ehwatt, the prefix becomes kwa-.
Haylly 'ehattch 'uumak ewaa. Pily 'uumak ewaah umaaw; 'uuyuk ewaas.
Puy kekway 'esuw hemay. Wenuwh umaaw; wamp.
Heyally 'aashaa ewuuw yip. Pily ewuuwh umaaw. 'Uuch ewuuw?
'uuyuk outside in front
Puy kekway 'esuw hemay. Wenuwh umaaw; wamp.
Heyally 'aashaa ewuuw yip. Pily ewuuwh umaaw. 'Uuch ewuuw?
'uuyuk outside in front
'Uuyuk hellyaaw kwa'stikch ewaa. Hellyaawch 'uuch ewii?
Chuuyaayh umaaw, wemanh umaaw, wamph umaaw, wiph umaaw.
Hellyaawch wenak. Rii wii 'itt wii. Puuch 'ehatt kwaaykuu ewuuw.
hellyaaw cottontail rabbit
kwa'stik from 'estik
rii wii is still
'itt wii is silent
puuch he (used for emphasis)
kwaaykuu the big one (ku/kw + 'iikuu)
Chuuyaayh umaaw, wemanh umaaw, wamph umaaw, wiph umaaw.
Hellyaawch wenak. Rii wii 'itt wii. Puuch 'ehatt kwaaykuu ewuuw.
hellyaaw cottontail rabbit
kwa'stik from 'estik
rii wii is still
'itt wii is silent
puuch he (used for emphasis)
kwaaykuu the big one (ku/kw + 'iikuu)
Pes 'ehattch rii wiih umaaw. 'Uuyuk wamp, hellyaaw ewuuw.
'Itt wiih umaaw. Nyinyuy wip, hellyaawch yip.
'Ehattch hellyaaw kunemshiiw wehwii.
Nyinyuy 'ehattch nyiiwar. Hellyaaw wenyay wesaawhlly war.
Nyaapum hellyaaw kuwnak hemay akewii.
'Ehattch wenuw hellyaawch nyemach wenuw.
'Ehattch akewii. Hellyaawch akewiih umaaw pes wenuw.
wenyay hunts
wenyay wesaawhlly war wants to hunt and eat
kuwnak from wenak
akewii chases
'Itt wiih umaaw. Nyinyuy wip, hellyaawch yip.
'Ehattch hellyaaw kunemshiiw wehwii.
Nyinyuy 'ehattch nyiiwar. Hellyaaw wenyay wesaawhlly war.
Nyaapum hellyaaw kuwnak hemay akewii.
'Ehattch wenuw hellyaawch nyemach wenuw.
'Ehattch akewii. Hellyaawch akewiih umaaw pes wenuw.
wenyay hunts
wenyay wesaawhlly war wants to hunt and eat
kuwnak from wenak
akewii chases
'Ehattch huuly wii hellyaaw akewii, pes kwa'stik ewillpches. Hellyaawch chepams; pily 'uuyuk ewaah umaaw. 'Ehatt ewuuwh umaaw; 'ehattch ewuuwh umaaw.
'Ehatt kunyiiwarch waam hemaas. Hellyaaw kuhchalypch hemaas.
huuly wii moves fast
ewillp is faster
chepam escapes
'Ehatt kunyiiwarch waam hemaas. Hellyaaw kuhchalypch hemaas.
huuly wii moves fast
ewillp is faster
chepam escapes
Reread the above text as many times as you need until you can remember all the words without looking at the translation.
Ketema'!
Peyaa 'uuchechu? Review the new nouns from this lesson:
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'Uuch ewii? For each picture below, state what is going on, stating both the subject and object if possible. Be specific: Where is the subject? Are they big, small, or of a certain color? What other actions are they doing?
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Write down your answers on a sheet of paper. Later, come back and see if you can still understand them.
Grammar Review
Let's review what we learned in this lesson:
1. Words such as 'ekwas are verbs.
There are no real adjectives in 'Iipay Aa, but verbs that do the same function.
2. Verbs can take a prefix ku- or kwa- to become nouns
When a verb such as 'estik, to be big, is given the prefix kwa-, becoming kwa'stik, it becomes a noun meaning the little one or the one that is little. This new word can be used on its own or placed behind a noun to describe it, e.g. 'aashaa kwa'stik weman, the little bird flies.
Which form to use?
If the verb you are converting starts with a normal consonant as in nyilly, hechalyp, or saay, the ku- prefix is used, becoming kunyilly, kuhchalyp, and kusaay.
If the verb starts with a glottal stop as in 'ehwatt or 'ekwas, kwa- is used: kwa'hwatt, kwa'kwas.
'Iikuu is irregular and becomes kway'kuu or kwaaykuu (depending on your preference).
Remember: If there is a shwa (e) in the second to last syllable of the verb, it will be dropped upon conversion.
Which form to use?
If the verb you are converting starts with a normal consonant as in nyilly, hechalyp, or saay, the ku- prefix is used, becoming kunyilly, kuhchalyp, and kusaay.
If the verb starts with a glottal stop as in 'ehwatt or 'ekwas, kwa- is used: kwa'hwatt, kwa'kwas.
'Iikuu is irregular and becomes kway'kuu or kwaaykuu (depending on your preference).
Remember: If there is a shwa (e) in the second to last syllable of the verb, it will be dropped upon conversion.
3. Subject - Object - Verb Word Order
In 'Iipay Aa, it is perfectly grammatical to say 'ehatt 'aashaa ewuuw to mean "the dog saw the bird." By changing the order to 'aashaa 'ehatt ewuuw, we say "the bird saw the dog." Thus, the default word order in 'Iipay Aa is SOV, and this alone can be used to indicate which noun is the subject and which is the object.
4. Case marking with -ch
Despite what was explained above, nouns are almost always marked to show whether they are doing or receiving the action. This adds to clarity and gives us the option of deviating from SOV word order.
The nominative suffix you learned was -ch, placed at the end of the subject of a sentence. If the subject is multiple words such as 'aashaa kwa'hwatt, the suffix is placed on only the last word: 'aashaa kwa'hwatt. This suffix can be used in sentences with all verbs, including intransitive ones like hemaa and transitive ones like yip.
If a word has no suffix, it is most likely in the accusative case, meaning it is the object of the sentence, receiving the action. In sha'iich 'ephar wenyay, 'ephar has no suffix, so it is the thing being hunted. Similarly, a sentence like 'ehatt kuwip yip is more likely to mean "he/she/it hears the barking dog" than "the barking dog hears/listens." Look out for context and meaning: in 'aashaa weman, though 'aashaa has no suffix, it is clearly the subject of the sentence because there is no other option; you can't "fly" something.
The nominative suffix you learned was -ch, placed at the end of the subject of a sentence. If the subject is multiple words such as 'aashaa kwa'hwatt, the suffix is placed on only the last word: 'aashaa kwa'hwatt. This suffix can be used in sentences with all verbs, including intransitive ones like hemaa and transitive ones like yip.
If a word has no suffix, it is most likely in the accusative case, meaning it is the object of the sentence, receiving the action. In sha'iich 'ephar wenyay, 'ephar has no suffix, so it is the thing being hunted. Similarly, a sentence like 'ehatt kuwip yip is more likely to mean "he/she/it hears the barking dog" than "the barking dog hears/listens." Look out for context and meaning: in 'aashaa weman, though 'aashaa has no suffix, it is clearly the subject of the sentence because there is no other option; you can't "fly" something.
5. Implied "he/she/it" and "him/her/it"
Sentences like yip, ewuuw, and wesaaw can mean "he hears", "she sees", and "it eats", but can also mean "he sees it", "she hears her", and "it eats him". The context will likely provide the correct meaning. Until you get used to it, always examine whether a sentence like "yip" or "wenyay" could take an object or not given the context.
6. Negative statements with -h umaaw
Making a statement negative in 'Iipay Aa is simple. Take a sentence such as 'elymaam 'iikwichech hemaa, add -h to the verb, and add umaaw to the end: 'elymaam 'iikwichech hemaah umaaw.
-h is an ending added to verbs whenever the action is imaginary or did not actually take place, as in negative statements.
umaaw is a verb meaning "not". It can also be said on its own to mean "no".
Side note: 'iikwichech is what happens when you add -ch onto a word that already ends in ch.
This is pronounced ii-KWICH-ech.
-h is an ending added to verbs whenever the action is imaginary or did not actually take place, as in negative statements.
umaaw is a verb meaning "not". It can also be said on its own to mean "no".
Side note: 'iikwichech is what happens when you add -ch onto a word that already ends in ch.
This is pronounced ii-KWICH-ech.
6. Saying "he wants to do something" with -hlly war
'Ehatt wenuw. The dog runs. To make this "the dog wants to run", we add -hlly to the main verb, then add on the verb war, "he wants".
'Ehatt wenuwhlly war. Once again, the h after the main verb means the action isn't actually taking place.
To negate this sentence and say, "the dog doesn't want to run," we keep all the current endings and negate the verb war:
'Ehatt wenuwhlly warh umaaw.
'Ehatt wenuwhlly war. Once again, the h after the main verb means the action isn't actually taking place.
To negate this sentence and say, "the dog doesn't want to run," we keep all the current endings and negate the verb war:
'Ehatt wenuwhlly warh umaaw.
7. Implied "and"
A separate word for "and" is not necessary in 'Iipay Aa, and you can simply list subjects one after another to say ". . . and . . . and . . ."
For example: 'Aashaach chuuyaay weman. The bird sings and flies.
You can also connect separate statements this way:
'Eparch wenuw hattepaach akewii. The brush rabbit runs and the coyote chased him.
Whenever you see two adjacent words that are both of the same part of speech or conversely, have no apparent connection, see if there could be an implied "and" between them. It may also help to read the entire sentence and locate all the nouns and verbs rather than reading and translating word-by-word.
For example: 'Aashaach chuuyaay weman. The bird sings and flies.
You can also connect separate statements this way:
'Eparch wenuw hattepaach akewii. The brush rabbit runs and the coyote chased him.
Whenever you see two adjacent words that are both of the same part of speech or conversely, have no apparent connection, see if there could be an implied "and" between them. It may also help to read the entire sentence and locate all the nouns and verbs rather than reading and translating word-by-word.
7. Suffix -s
The suffix -s placed at the end of a sentence, mostly after verbs, can add a bit of emotion to your sentence. According to Couro's textbook Let's Talk 'Iipay Aa, it adds positivity to your sentence and can help indicate when one sentence is complete. It can also emphasize a certain point, as you can see from the following examples:
'Nyiiwars. Wesaawhlly wars. He's real hungry. He really wants to eat.
Wemans! He flew, alright!
Chuuyaays. She sure did sing.
'Nyiiwars. Wesaawhlly wars. He's real hungry. He really wants to eat.
Wemans! He flew, alright!
Chuuyaays. She sure did sing.
8. Identical present/past tense verbs
Verbs do not usually indicate time in 'Iipay Aa as they do in English and many other languages. Therefore, wesii can mean "he drinks" or "he drank". Time, if it needs to be specified, is indicated with other words, of which the few we learned here are:
Haylly before, earlier
Heyally recently
Maaykaa at dawn
Nyaapum then, after that
Nyinyuy again
Nyuk already
Pily now
Another useful one is heyaay, long ago.
This pattern will continue as we go on to learn the progressive tense, in which the same form can mean "he is doing" and "he was doing."
Haylly before, earlier
Heyally recently
Maaykaa at dawn
Nyaapum then, after that
Nyinyuy again
Nyuk already
Pily now
Another useful one is heyaay, long ago.
This pattern will continue as we go on to learn the progressive tense, in which the same form can mean "he is doing" and "he was doing."