18. The perfect tenses
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Ev rûpel niha bi îngilîzî ye.
Present perfect: I have come, I have done
The present perfect is built on the past participle: the past stem + وو (after a consonant) or و (after ی / ا):
| infinitive | past stem | participle |
|---|---|---|
| هاتن | هات | هاتوو |
| کردن | کرد | کردوو |
| نووسین | نووسی | نووسیو |
| دان | دا | داو |
- Intransitive: participle + the copula endings: هاتوومە I have come, هاتووە he has come. This long form is the written one. The short هاتووم, هاتوویت, هاتوون is how it is said, especially around Sulaimani.
- Negative: نە goes in front: نەهاتووە, and on a transitive verb the clitic follows it: نەمکردووە.
- Transitive: participle + the agent clitic + -ە (the copula is): کردوومە I have done (lit. done-by-me-is), کردوویەتی he has done.
هاتن (hatin) "to come": present stem ێ, past stem هات, intransitive
| person | pronoun | Present perfect | Past perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | هاتوومە hatûme /haːtuːmæ/ | هاتبووم hatbûm /haːtbuːm/ |
| 2sg | تۆ | هاتوویتە hatûyte /haːtuːjtæ/ | هاتبوویت hatbûyt /haːtbuːjt/ |
| 3sg | ئەو | هاتووە hatûwe /haːtuːwæ/ | هاتبوو hatbû /haːtbuː/ |
| 1pl | ئێمە | هاتووینە hatûyne /haːtuːjnæ/ | هاتبووین hatbûyn /haːtbuːjn/ |
| 2pl | ئێوە | هاتوونە hatûne /haːtuːnæ/ | هاتبوون hatbûn /haːtbuːn/ |
| 3pl | ئەوان | هاتوونە hatûne /haːtuːnæ/ | هاتبوون hatbûn /haːtbuːn/ |
کردن (kirdin) "to do, to make": present stem کە, past stem کرد, transitive
| person | pronoun | Present perfect | Past perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | کردوومە kirdûme /k(ɯ)ɾduːmæ/ | کردبووم kirdibûm /k(ɯ)ɾd(ɯ)buːm/ |
| 2sg | تۆ | کردووتە kirdûte /k(ɯ)ɾduːtæ/ | کردبووت kirdibût /k(ɯ)ɾd(ɯ)buːt/ |
| 3sg | ئەو | کردوویەتی kirdûyetî /k(ɯ)ɾduːjætiː/ | کردبووی kirdibûy /k(ɯ)ɾd(ɯ)buːj/ |
| 1pl | ئێمە | کردوومانە kirdûmane /k(ɯ)ɾduːmaːnæ/ | کردبوومان kirdibûman /k(ɯ)ɾd(ɯ)buːmaːn/ |
| 2pl | ئێوە | کردووتانە kirdûtane /k(ɯ)ɾduːtaːnæ/ | کردبووتان kirdibûtan /k(ɯ)ɾd(ɯ)buːtaːn/ |
| 3pl | ئەوان | کردوویانە kirdûyane /k(ɯ)ɾduːjaːnæ/ | کردبوویان kirdibûyan /k(ɯ)ɾd(ɯ)buːjaːn/ |
Past tenses of a transitive verb are ergative: the person marker is the set-2 clitic (م ت ی مان تان یان) of the agent, not a verb ending.
نووسین (nûsîn) "to write": present stem نووس, past stem نووسی, transitive
| person | pronoun | Present perfect | Past perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | نووسیومە nûsîwme | نووسیبووم nûsîbûm |
| 2sg | تۆ | نووسیوتە nûsîwte | نووسیبووت nûsîbût |
| 3sg | ئەو | نووسیویەتی nûsîwyetî | نووسیبووی nûsîbûy |
| 1pl | ئێمە | نووسیومانە nûsîwmane | نووسیبوومان nûsîbûman |
| 2pl | ئێوە | نووسیوتانە nûsîwtane | نووسیبووتان nûsîbûtan |
| 3pl | ئەوان | نووسیویانە nûsîwyane | نووسیبوویان nûsîbûyan |
Past tenses of a transitive verb are ergative: the person marker is the set-2 clitic (م ت ی مان تان یان) of the agent, not a verb ending.
Past perfect: I had come, I had done
Past stem + بوو + ending (intransitive) or + بوو + clitic (transitive): هاتبووم I had come, کردبووم I had done.
With an object
As in every past tense, the agent clitic moves to the object when there is one, and the verb keeps only the copula -ە:
| # | Kurdish | Latin | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ئەم کتێبەم خوێندووە. | em kitêbem xwêndûwe. | /ʔæm k(ɯ)teːbæm xweːnduːwæ/ | I have read this book. |
| 2 | هیچم نەکردووە. | hîçim nekridûwe. | /hiːtʃ(ɯ)m nækɾ(ɯ)duːwæ/ | I haven't done anything. |
| 3 | هێشتا نەهاتووە. | hêşta nehatûwe. | /heːʃtaː næhaːtuːwæ/ | He hasn't come yet. |
| 4 | کاتێک گەیشتم، ئەوان ڕۆیشتبوون. | katêk geyşitim, ewan royşitbûn. | /kaːteːk ɡæjʃ(ɯ)t(ɯ)m ʔæwaːn roːjʃ(ɯ)tbuːn/ | When I arrived, they had left. |
| 5 | نامەکەی نووسیبوو. | namekey nûsîbû. | /naːmækæj nuːsiːbuː/ | He had written the letter. |
Meaning
The present perfect is used much as in English, for past actions with present relevance. It is also the normal way to report something you did not witness yourself: ئەو چووە بۆ ئەوروپا “he has (apparently) gone to Europe”.
Summary
- Present perfect: intransitive هاتوومە (spoken هاتووم), transitive کردوومە (clitic + ە).
- Past perfect: هاتبووم, کردبووم.
- The agent clitic still jumps to the object: کتێبەکەم خوێندووە.