Unit 10 – Verbs with Human Objects
Unit 10 – Verbs with Human Objects
Contents
- Unit 10 – Verbs with Human Objects
- 10.1 Dialogue.
- 10.2 Vocabulary: More transitive verbs.
- 10.3 Third person objects.
- 10.4 Third person subject.
- HOMEWORK 21: Third Person Objects of Transitives
- 10.5 First and second person objects.
- 10.6 Third person subject + first person object.
- HOMEWORK 22: First Person Objects of Transitives
- Interactive Activities
10.1 Dialogue.
| A. | ni yəxʷ ʔaʔa ctamət łə nə ten. | ‘I wonder what happened to my mother.’ |
| B. | ni ʔə čxʷ temət? | ‘Did you call her?’ |
| A. | heʔe. ni cən wəł temət. | ‘Yes. I already called her.’ |
| m̓i ƛ̓aməsθám̓xəs. | ‘She’s coming to pick me up.’ | |
| B. | ʔi ʔə čxʷ ʔal̓məct? | ‘Are you waiting for her?’ |
| A. | heʔe. ʔi cən ʔəw̓ ʔal̓məct ʔal̓. | ‘Yes. I’m just waiting for her.’ |
| B. | ni yəxʷ t̓ᶿet̓ᶿəp̓. | ‘She must be busy.’ |
| A. | heʔe. ƛ̓im̓ ʔəw̓ t̓ᶿet̓ᶿəp̓. | ‘Yes. Really busy.’ |
| B. | ƛ̓a ʔi wəł tecəl. | ‘That’s her arriving now.’ |
10.2 Vocabulary: More transitive verbs.
| ʔəlməct | ‘wait for him/her/it’ |
| t̓iwiʔəłt | ‘pray for him/her/it’ |
| c̓i:t | ‘thank him/her/it’ |
| c̓ewət | ‘help him/her/it’ |
| k̓ʷecət | ‘look at him/her/it’ |
| kʷənət | ‘take him/her/it’ |
| ʔa:t | ‘call for him/her/it’ |
| temət | ‘call/telephone him/her/it’ |
| pasət | ‘hit him/her/it with a thrown object’ |
| x̌łət | ‘hurt him/her/it’ |
| yənyənt | ‘laugh at him/her/it’ |
| q̓ayt | ‘kill him/her/it’ |
| k̓ʷiyét | ‘stop him/her/it’ |
10.3 Third person objects.
As we saw in Unit 8, when the transitive verb has a third person object, that is an object translated ‘him’, ‘her’, ‘it’, or ‘them’, simply use the verb in the transitive form (that is, with the suffix -t).
10.3a The object can be a noun phrase. The noun phrase appears after the verb.
| ni cən c̓ewət kʷθə swəy̓qeʔ. | ‘I helped the man.’ |
| ni ʔə ce:p ʔəlməct łə q̓em̓iʔ? | ‘Did you (pl) wait for the girl?’ |
| ni ct t̓iwiʔəłt kʷθən men. | ‘We prayed for your father.’ |
10.3b Transitive verbs can also be used without a noun phrase. This corresponds to an English sentence with a pronoun as the object.
| ni cən c̓i:t. | ‘I thanked him/her.’ |
| ni ʔə čxʷ kʷənət? | ‘Did you take him/her/it?’ |
| ni ct k̓ʷecət. | ‘We looked at him/her/it.’ |
| ni ce:p yənyənt. | ‘You (pl) laughed at him/her/it.’ |
10.4 Third person subject.
Recall that when there is a transitive verb with a third person subject, the suffix -əs appears on the verb. The object noun phrase can follow the verb. Or both a subject noun phrase and an object noun phrase can follow the verb.
| ni kʷənətəs. | ‘He/she took him/her/it.’ |
| ni ʔə q̓aytəs? | ‘Did he/she kill him/her/it?’ |
| ni c̓i:təs łə siʔém̓. | ‘He/she thanked the honored woman.’ |
| ni ʔə ʔa:təs kʷθə nə men? | ‘Did he call my father?’ |
| ni ʔəlməctəs kʷθə swiw̓ləs kʷθə sqeʔeqs. | ‘The boy waited for his younger brother.’ |
| ni k̓ʷecətəs kʷθə swəy̓qeʔ łə słeniʔ. | ‘The man looked at the woman.’ |
HOMEWORK 21: Third Person Objects of Transitives
10.5 First and second person objects.
When there is a transitive verb with a first or second person object, a special suffix is used on the verb. These suffixes are:
| Object Suffixes | ||
|---|---|---|
| first person | second person | |
| singular | -θám̓x | -θámə |
| plural | -tál̓xʷ | -tálə |
The suffix for first person singular object ‘me’ is -θám̓x. This appears on the verb instead of the transitive suffix -t.
| ni ʔə čxʷ k̓ʷecəθám̓x? | ‘Did you look at me?’ |
| ni ʔə ce:p ʔəlməcθám̓x? | ‘Did you (pl) wait for me?’ |
The suffix for second person singular object ‘you’ is -θámə.
| ni cən k̓ʷecəθámə. | ‘I looked at you.’ |
| ni ct ʔəlməcθámə. | ‘We waited for you.’ |
The suffix for first person plural object ‘us’ is -tál̓xʷ.
| ni ʔə čxʷ k̓ʷecətál̓xʷ? | ‘Did you look at us?’ |
| ni ʔə ce:p ʔəlməctál̓xʷ? | ‘Did you (pl) wait for us?’ |
The suffix for second person plural object ‘you (pl)’ is -tálə.
| ni cən k̓ʷecətálə. | ‘I looked at you (pl).’ |
| ni ct ʔəlməctálə. | ‘We waited for you (pl).’ |
10.6 Third person subject + first person object.
When a transitive sentence has a third person subject, the suffix -əs appears on the verb.
Note: Sentences with third person subjects and second person objects cannot be expressed with a transitive verb. See the discussion of passive in the next unit.
Here are some examples of -əs following the first person singular object suffix.
| ni c̓i:θám̓xəs. | ‘He/she thanked me.’ |
| ni teməθám̓xəs łə nə ten. | ‘My mother called me.’ |
Here are some examples of -əs following the first person plural object suffix.
| ni ʔəlməctál̓xʷəs. | ‘He/she waited for us.’ |
| ni k̓ʷecətál̓xʷəs kʷθə swiw̓ləs. | ‘The boy looked at us.’ |