Unit 9 – Verbs of Motion

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Unit 9 – Verbs of Motion

9.1     Dialogue.

   
A.nem̓ čxʷ ʔaʔa xʷcel?‘Where are you going?’
B.nem̓ cən yət̓át̓əxʷ.‘I’m going down to the beach.’
A.ni ʔənəcə kʷθən sqeʔeq?‘Where’s your little brother?’
B.ni ca:m ʔə kʷθə sme:nt yəsq̓əq̓aʔ ʔə kʷθə nə šxʷəm̓níkʷ.‘He went up to the mountains
A.ʔi ʔə wəł tecəl kʷθən men?‘Did your father get here already?’
B.ʔi wəł m̓i t̓ak̓ʷ.‘He must have already come home.’
 ʔi ʔəw̓ ʔi tə snəxʷəłs.‘His car is here.’

9.2     Vocabulary: Motion verbs.

  
ca:m‘go up into the mountains’, ‘come up from the beach’
t̓axʷ‘come down from the mountains,’ ‘go down to the beach’
t̓ak̓ʷ‘come home’, ‘go home’
p̓əkʷ‘come to the surface of the water’, ‘float’
nəqəm‘dive down into the water’
xaqʷəl‘go across to the other side’
tecəl‘get here’
təs‘get there’
xʷiwəl‘move to the front’
ʔileʔeqəm‘go to the back’, ‘go to the stern’, ‘get in the back seat’
q̓łanəm‘go forward’, ‘go to the bow’, ‘get in the front seat’
m̓i ʔewə‘come here’
təyəl‘go upstream’

9.3     wəł  ‘already’.

Use the particle wəł to convey the meaning that something has already been done. wəł follows the auxiliaries ni and ʔi.

  
ni wəł ca:m kʷθə nə stiwən.‘My nephew already went up to the mountains.’
ni wəł t̓ak̓ʷ kʷθə John.‘John already went home.’
ni ʔə čxʷ wəł xaqʷəl?‘Did you already go across?’
ʔi ct wəł tecəl.‘We are already here.’
ʔi wəł təyəl kʷθə nə men.‘My father already went upstream.’
ʔi ct wəł q̓łanəm.‘We’re already in the front of the boat/front seat of the car.’

9.4     yəxʷ  ‘must’.

The particle yəxʷ expresses supposition. Use yəxʷ if you are fairly certain of something based on logic or circ̓əmstantial evidence. yəxʷ follows the auxiliaries ni and ʔi.

  
ni yəxʷ t̓ak̓ʷ kʷθə nə men.‘My father must have gone home.’
ni yəxʷ nəqəm kʷθə John.‘John must have dived down.’
ni yəxʷ ʔileʔeqəm tə qeqələ.‘The baby must have gone to the back (of the boat, car, van).’
ʔi yəxʷ xʷiwəl kʷθə sce:łtən.‘The salmon must be upstream here now.’
ʔi yəxʷ m̓i tecəl kʷθə John.‘John must have come here.’
ʔi yəxʷ t̓axʷ kʷθə nə šxʷəm̓níkʷ.‘My uncle must have come down from the mountains.’

9.5     c̓ə  ‘hearsay’.

The particle c̓ə means that the speaker has found out the information second-hand, through hearsay.

  
ni c̓ə həyeʔ kʷθə John.‘John left, I’m told.’
ni c̓ə q̓aq̓əy̓ łə Mary.‘Mary is sick, they say.’
tecəl c̓ə ceʔ kʷθə Bob.‘Bob will arrive, I’m told.’
ni c̓ə t̓ak̓ʷ kʷθə nə men.‘My father went home, they say.’
ni c̓ə xaqʷəl kʷθə nə sqeʔeq.‘My little brother went across, they say.’

9.6     m̓ə  ‘indeed’.

The particle m̓ə means ‘certain’, ‘indeed’, ‘for sure’.

  
pukʷ m̓ə tiʔi.‘This is indeed a book.’
ni m̓ə həyeʔ kʷθə John.‘John left for sure.’
ʔi m̓ə q̓aq̓əy̓ łə Mary.‘Mary is sick, I’m certain.’
ʔi m̓ə tecəl kʷθə Bob.‘Bob did indeed arrive.’

9.7     Combinations.

The particles  wəł, yəxʷ, c̓ə, and m̓ə can be combined.

  
ni yəxʷ wəł t̓ak̓ʷ.‘He must have already gone home.’
ʔi yəxʷ wəł tecəl.‘He must have already arrived.’
ʔi ceʔ m̓ə ʔəw̓ tecəl kʷθə John.‘John will indeed get here.’
nem̓ c̓ə ceʔ həyeʔ łə Mary.‘Mary will leave, I’m told.’
ni c̓ m̓ə wəł nem̓.‘He has indeed gone, I’m told.’

HOMEWORK 19: Using Modals and Evidentials

Translate:

  1. ni c̓ə ʔiməx kʷθə John.
  2. ni yəxʷ wəł ca:m kʷθə John.
  3. ni čxʷ m̓ə wəł ʔayəm.
  4. John must have walked.
  5. John is sick, they say.
  6. John must have already left.

9.8     Progressives.

A special form of the verb, the progressive, is used to convey that an action is continuing for a while or happening now. Every verb has a special progressive form. You often find reduplication (repetition of some sounds) and glottalization in progressives. Certain consonants, including n, change to h when they are reduplicated. Also, motion verbs often add the prefix yə-, which conveys the meaning of going along doing something.  Here are the progressive forms of some motion verbs.

   
t̓axʷyət̓át̓əxʷ‘coming down from the mountains’
t̓ak̓ʷyət̓át̓ək̓ʷ‘going home’
p̓əkʷyəp̓əp̓əkʷ‘coming to the surface’
nəqəmyəhən̓qəm̓‘diving down’
xaqʷəl(yə)xáʔxʷəʔqʷəl̓‘going across’

9.9     Where are you going?

  
nem̓ čxʷ ʔaʔa xʷcel?‘Where are you going?’
nem̓ ce:p ʔaʔa xʷcel?‘Where are you (pl) going?’

9.10  Two words for ‘where’.

There are two words translated ‘where’? ʔənəcə is used when asking where someone or something is located. xʷcel is used when asking where someone is going

  
ni ʔənəcə łən ten?‘Where is your mother?’
nem̓ čxʷ ʔaʔa xʷcel?‘Where are you going?’

HOMEWORK 20: Verbs of Motion

Translate

  1. ni ʔə čxʷ wəł xaqʷəl?
  2. nem̓ ce:p ʔileʔeqəm!
  3. ʔi yəxʷ t̓ak̓ʷ łə nə ten.
  4. ni yəxʷ nem̓ t̓ak̓ʷ łə nə sc̓am̓əqʷ.
  5. Did you (pl) go down to the beach already?
  6. The boy must have dived down in the water.
  7. Wherever are you (pl) going?
  8. My son must have already got there.

Interactive Activities