The subjunctive is used for hypothetical or counterfactual events.
bǫCaCCo SUBJUNCTIVE PAST
bęCaCCo SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT
bęC:aCCo SUBJUNCTIVE IMMINENT FUTURE
weCaCCo SUBJUNCTIVE FUTURE
Bǫsaktęt.
stand/3SG.SUBJ.PST
'Perhaps it stood.'
Bǫntom?
eat/2SG.SUBJ.PST
'Could you have eaten?' (cf. Nǫtom? 'Did you eat?')
Ṃbǫŋąr, bǫlaktęt.
go.out/1PL.INDIC.PST win/3SG.SUBJ.PST
'Because we went out, maybe he won.'
Ṃbǫŋąr, welaktęt.
go.out/1PL.INDIC.PST win/3SG.SUBJ.FUT
'Because we went out, he might win.'
The optative is used both when stating a hoped-for outcome of an event and for making requests. Prenasalized stops become plain voiced stops.
nǫCaCCo OPTATIVE PAST
nęCaCCo OPTATIVE PRESENT
iNCa~CCo OPTATIVE IMMINENT FUTURE (nasalization spreads to the first vowel in the stem; i~ > e~)
iNCaCCo OPTATIVE FUTURE
Nǫsaktę ne.
stand/3SG.OPT.PAST perhaps
'Perhaps it stood.' (Implication: I hope it stood.)
Ą kęndo e imbąŋąk. . .
2SG ask/1SG.INDIC.PRES that go.out/1SG.OPT.IMM.FUT
'I ask you if we may go out. . .'
The jussive is used for commands, requests, and imperatives. Due to the nature of the mood, only the two future tenses can be used with it.
oNCaCCo JUSSIVE IMMINENT FUTURE
oCaCCo JUSSIVE FUTURE
Onlakot!
win/2SG.JUSS.IMM.FUT
'Win (now)!'
Olaktet.
win/3SG.JUSS.FUT
'Let him win.'
Ą kęrto, opahtet.
2SG command/1SG.INDIC.PRES die/3SG.JUSS.FUT
'I command you to let him die.'
Bęṃṃbaŋer, mę ommagel.
go.out/2PL.SUBJ.IMM.FUT 3SG.INAN buy/2PL.JUSS.IMM.FUT
'If you (are about to) go, buy it.'
And now for the passives. Hoo, boy, have I got my work cut out for me.
Subjunctives
obǫCaCCo
obęCaCCo
oC:aCCo
obiCaCCo (remade by analogy; otherwise collapses into the jussive future)
Obǫlmąk…
tell/1PL.PASS.SUBJ.PST
'If we had been told…'
Oddalti…
steal/3PL.PASS.SUBJ.PST
'Were they about to be stolen(, then)…'
Optatives
These were basically all remade by analogy because otherwise there'd be no way to tell what tense the verb was in if it wasn't the immediate future. The analogy worked like this: The -ñga- element was similar to the tense marker already, so basically when the forms merged the tense marking was added to the second vowel to distinguish it. Then, analogy kicked in again to level the immediate-future form and bring it in line with the rest of the "obvious" derivations.
oNCǫCCo
oNCęCCo
oNiC:aCCo
oNCiCCo
onlimąk
'that we (hopefully) be told'
onlikti
win/3PL.PASS.OPT.FUT
'that they (hopefully) be conquered'
Jussives
Again, analogy took place here because otherwise these would be identical to the active jussives. Basically what happened was the form was innovated on analogy with the nasal prefix of the optatives.
oñgaCaCCo
oNCaCCo
oñgalamki
inform/3PL.PASS.JUSS.IMM.FUT
'let them be told (right now)'
onlamki
inform/3PL.PASS.JUSS.FUT
'let them be told (in time)'
REFLEXIVES (a.k.a. kill me now)
Lots of analogy here as well because otherwise the system is an incredible mess. X stands for a reduplicant; N is an assimilatory nasal consonant that surfaces as /n/ in the absence of any place features.
iC:ǫXaCCo
iC:ęXaCCo
iñgaC:aCCo
iC:iXaCCo
iwwǫwagbę 'that he hit himself'
iwwęwagbę 'that he hits himself'
iñgawwagbę 'that he will hit himself (soon)'
iwwiwagbę 'that he will hit himself'
iNCǫXaCCo
iNCęXaCCo
iñgaC:aCCo
iNCiXaCCo
iñwǫwagbę 'that he (hopefully) hit himself'
iñwęwagbę 'that he (hopefully) hits himself'
iñgawwagbę 'that he (hopefully) will hit himself (soon)'
iñwiwagbę 'that he (hopefully) will hit himself'
oñgaC:aCCo (analogy here; ordinarily there would have -ṇg-)
oC:aCCo
oñgawwagbę 'let him hit himself'
owwagbę 'let him hit himself'
So let's see some of these in action.
Kęnno e iñkękanno.
want/1SG.INDIC.PRES that see/1SG.REFL.OPT.PRES
'I want to see myself.'
Kęrto e oñgawwageb.
order/1SG.INDIC.PRES that hit/2SG.REFL.JUSS.IMM.FUT
'I command you to hit yourself.'
Oñgarratep!
clean/2PL.REFL.JUSS.IMM.FUT
'Clean yourselves up!'
Oñgassakot!
stand/2SG.REFL.JUSS.IMM.FUT
'Stand up!'
This last verb, √skt 'stand', shows how a reflexive can be used on an intransitive to convey intensive force. In some daughter languages this became a full-blown intensive.
Onraṃbod e ą bǫlamko…
consider/2SG.JUSS.IMM.FUT that 2SG tell/3SG.OPT.PST
'Suppose that he told you…'
NEGATION
The negative is a particle do that follows the negated word.
Pęląk e mę indaltę do!
want/2PL.INDIC.PRES that 3SG.INAN steal/3SG.OPT.FUT NEG
'We hope nobody steals it!'
Copular constructions
There is no copula.
Mę kanan.
3SG.INAN want/NMLZ
'It is a wish.'
Mę lakap do.
3SG.INAN lie.low/NMLZ NEG
'It is not a lowland area.'
The adverb tal 'then, at that time' is used for the past tense:
Mę kanan tal.
3SG.INAN want/NMLZ then
'It was his wish.'
Mę lakap do tal.
3SG.INAN lie.low/NMLZ NEG then
'It was not a lowland area.'
The future tenses use reflexive forms of the verb √ktl 'make, create' with the postposition de 'into (state)'.
Mę kanan de ikkakatlę.
3SG.INAN want/NMLZ into.state make/3SG.REFL.INDIC.IMM.FUT
'It will be (his, e.g.) wish.'
Mę lakap de ikkatlę.
3SG.INAN lie.low/NMLZ into.state become/3SG.REFL.INDIC.FUT
'It will be a lowland area.'
Notes and work-in-progress: