18. The perfect tenses
🔴 Advanced · Lesson 18 of 23
Present perfect
past stem + -ime, -iyî, -iye, -ine (after a vowel: -me, -yî, -ye, -ne)
The endings are the copula fused to the past stem. A stem-final î shortens to i before y (nivîsî → nivîsiye).
- Intransitive: the subject is direct and the verb agrees with it: ez hatime “I have come”.
- Transitive: ergative, like every past-stem tense: min ew dîtiye “I have seen him”, with the verb agreeing with the object.
hatin (هاتن) "to come": present stem ê, past stem hat, intransitive
| person | pronoun | Present perfect | Past perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | ez | hatime هاتمە /haːtɪmɛ/ | hatibûm هاتبووم /haːtɪbuːm/ |
| 2sg | tu | hatiyî هاتیی /haːtɪjiː/ | hatibûyî هاتبوویی /haːtɪbuːjiː/ |
| 3sg | ew | hatiye هاتیە /haːtɪjɛ/ | hatibû هاتبوو /haːtɪbuː/ |
| 1pl | em | hatine هاتنە /haːtɪnɛ/ | hatibûn هاتبوون /haːtɪbuːn/ |
| 2pl | hûn | hatine هاتنە /haːtɪnɛ/ | hatibûn هاتبوون /haːtɪbuːn/ |
| 3pl | ew | hatine هاتنە /haːtɪnɛ/ | hatibûn هاتبوون /haːtɪbuːn/ |
dîtin (دیتن) "to see, to find": present stem bîn, past stem dît, transitive
| person | agent (oblique) | object (direct) | Present perfect | Past perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | min | ez | dîtime دیتمە /diːtɪmɛ/ | dîtibûm دیتبووم /diːtɪbuːm/ |
| 2sg | te | tu | dîtiyî دیتیی /diːtɪjiː/ | dîtibûyî دیتبوویی /diːtɪbuːjiː/ |
| 3sg | wî / wê | ew | dîtiye دیتیە /diːtɪjɛ/ | dîtibû دیتبوو /diːtɪbuː/ |
| 1pl | me | em | dîtine دیتنە /diːtɪnɛ/ | dîtibûn دیتبوون /diːtɪbuːn/ |
| 2pl | we | hûn | dîtine دیتنە /diːtɪnɛ/ | dîtibûn دیتبوون /diːtɪbuːn/ |
| 3pl | wan | ew | dîtine دیتنە /diːtɪnɛ/ | dîtibûn دیتبوون /diːtɪbuːn/ |
Past tenses of a transitive verb are ergative: the agent is oblique and the verb agrees with the object (the object column), e.g. min tu dîtî "I saw you".
nivîsîn (نڤیسین) "to write": present stem nivîs, past stem nivîsî, transitive
| person | agent (oblique) | object (direct) | Present perfect | Past perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | min | ez | nivîsîme نڤیسیمە | nivîsîbûm نڤیسیبووم |
| 2sg | te | tu | nivîsiyî نڤیسیی | nivîsîbûyî نڤیسیبوویی |
| 3sg | wî / wê | ew | nivîsiye نڤیسیە | nivîsîbû نڤیسیبوو |
| 1pl | me | em | nivîsîne نڤیسینە | nivîsîbûn نڤیسیبوون |
| 2pl | we | hûn | nivîsîne نڤیسینە | nivîsîbûn نڤیسیبوون |
| 3pl | wan | ew | nivîsîne نڤیسینە | nivîsîbûn نڤیسیبوون |
Past tenses of a transitive verb are ergative: the agent is oblique and the verb agrees with the object (the object column), e.g. min tu dîtî "I saw you".
Past perfect
past stem + -ibû (after a vowel -bû) + past ending
ez hatibûm “I had come”, min ew dîtibû “I had seen him”.
In sentences
| # | Kurdish | Arabic script | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ez hatime. | ئەز هاتمە. | /ɛz haːtɪmɛ/ | I have come. |
| 2 | Min ev pirtûk xwendiye. | من ئەڤ پرتووک خوەندیە. | /mɪn ɛv pɪɾtuːk xʷɛndɪjɛ/ | I have read this book. |
| 3 | Ew hîn nehatiye. | ئەو هین نەهاتیە. | /ɛw hiːn nɛhaːtɪjɛ/ | He hasn't come yet. |
| 4 | Dema ez gihîştim, ew çûbûn. | دەما ئەز گهیشتم، ئەو چووبوون. | /dɛmaː ɛz ɡɪhiːʃtɯm ɛw tʃuːbuːn/ | When I arrived, they had gone. |
| 5 | Wî name nivîsîbû. | وی نامە نڤیسیبوو. | /wiː naːmɛ nɪviːsiːbuː/ | He had written the letter. |
Meaning
As in English, for past events with present relevance. The present perfect is also used for things you know only from hearsay: ew çûye Ewropayê “he has (reportedly) gone to Europe”.
Summary
- Present perfect: past stem + -ime -iyî -iye -ine (hatime, dîtiye).
- Past perfect: past stem + -ibû + ending (hatibûm).
- Transitive perfects are ergative: min … dîtiye.