13. The past tense I: intransitive verbs
🟡 Intermediate · Lesson 13 of 23
Transitive or intransitive?
From now on you must know whether a verb is transitive (it takes a direct object: eat something, see someone) or intransitive (it does not: come, go, fall, sleep). Kurmanji builds the past of the two kinds in completely different ways. This lesson covers the easy kind, intransitive verbs. The verb reference marks every verb.
The simple past
past stem + personal ending (the subject is in the direct case)
| person | after a consonant | after a vowel |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | -im | -m |
| 2sg | -î | -yî |
| 3sg | · | · |
| pl | -in | -n |
hatin (هاتن) "to come": present stem ê, past stem hat, intransitive
| person | pronoun | Simple past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | ez | hatim هاتم | nehatim نەهاتم |
| 2sg | tu | hatî هاتی | nehatî نەهاتی |
| 3sg | ew | hat هات | nehat نەهات |
| 1pl | em | hatin هاتن | nehatin نەهاتن |
| 2pl | hûn | hatin هاتن | nehatin نەهاتن |
| 3pl | ew | hatin هاتن | nehatin نەهاتن |
çûn (چوون) "to go": present stem ç, past stem çû, intransitive
| person | pronoun | Simple past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | ez | çûm چووم | neçûm نەچووم |
| 2sg | tu | çûyî چوویی | neçûyî نەچوویی |
| 3sg | ew | çû چوو | neçû نەچوو |
| 1pl | em | çûn چوون | neçûn نەچوون |
| 2pl | hûn | çûn چوون | neçûn نەچوون |
| 3pl | ew | çûn چوون | neçûn نەچوون |
ketin (کەتن) "to fall, to enter": present stem kev, past stem ket, intransitive
| person | pronoun | Simple past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | ez | ketim کەتم | neketim نەکەتم |
| 2sg | tu | ketî کەتی | neketî نەکەتی |
| 3sg | ew | ket کەت | neket نەکەت |
| 1pl | em | ketin کەتن | neketin نەکەتن |
| 2pl | hûn | ketin کەتن | neketin نەکەتن |
| 3pl | ew | ketin کەتن | neketin نەکەتن |
man (مان) "to stay, to remain": present stem mîn, past stem ma, intransitive
| person | pronoun | Simple past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | ez | mam مام | nemam نەمام |
| 2sg | tu | mayî مایی | nemayî نەمایی |
| 3sg | ew | ma ما | nema نەما |
| 1pl | em | man مان | neman نەمان |
| 2pl | hûn | man مان | neman نەمان |
| 3pl | ew | man مان | neman نەمان |
The negative is ne-: nehatim “I didn’t come”.
In sentences
| # | Kurdish | Arabic script | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ez duh hatim. | ئەز دوه هاتم. | /ɛz dʊh haːtɯm/ | I came yesterday. |
| 2 | Ew çûn bazarê. | ئەو چوون بازارێ. | /ɛw tʃuːn baːzaːɾeː/ | They went to the market. |
| 3 | Zarok ket. | زارۆک کەت. | /zaːɾoːk kɛt/ | The child fell. |
| 4 | Tu çima nehatî? | تو چما نەهاتی؟ | /tʊ tʃɪmaː nɛhaːtiː/ | Why didn't you come? |
| 5 | Em li malê man. | ئەم ل مالێ مان. | /ɛm lɪ maːleː maːn/ | We stayed at home. |
The subject is direct (ez, tu, ew) and the verb agrees with it, just as in English. In the next lesson this changes.
Practice
Put into the past: ez diçim, ew tê, em dimînin.
Answers
ez çûm, ew hat, em man.
Summary
- Intransitive past = past stem + -im -î, -in; negative ne-.
- Subject in the direct case; the verb agrees with it.