13. The past tense I: intransitive verbs
🟡 Intermediate · Lesson 13 of 23
Transitive and intransitive
From now on it matters whether a verb is transitive (it can take a direct object: to eat something, to see someone) or intransitive (it cannot: to come, to go, to sleep). Sorani builds the past of the two kinds differently. This lesson covers intransitive verbs, which work just like English; lesson 14 covers transitive ones.
Every verb page in the reference says which kind a verb is.
The simple past
past stem + set-1 ending (م یت, ین ن ن)
The past stem is the infinitive without ن. The 3sg has no ending:
هاتن (hatin) "to come": present stem ێ, past stem هات, intransitive
| person | pronoun | Simple past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | هاتم hatim | نەهاتم nehatim |
| 2sg | تۆ | هاتیت hatît | نەهاتیت nehatît |
| 3sg | ئەو | هات hat | نەهات nehat |
| 1pl | ئێمە | هاتین hatîn | نەهاتین nehatîn |
| 2pl | ئێوە | هاتن hatin | نەهاتن nehatin |
| 3pl | ئەوان | هاتن hatin | نەهاتن nehatin |
چوون (çûn) "to go": present stem چ, past stem چوو, intransitive
| person | pronoun | Simple past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | چووم çûm | نەچووم neçûm |
| 2sg | تۆ | چوویت çûyt | نەچوویت neçûyt |
| 3sg | ئەو | چوو çû | نەچوو neçû |
| 1pl | ئێمە | چووین çûyn | نەچووین neçûyn |
| 2pl | ئێوە | چوون çûn | نەچوون neçûn |
| 3pl | ئەوان | چوون çûn | نەچوون neçûn |
کەوتن (kewtin) "to fall": present stem کەو, past stem کەوت, intransitive
| person | pronoun | Simple past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | کەوتم kewtim | نەکەوتم nekewtim |
| 2sg | تۆ | کەوتیت kewtît | نەکەوتیت nekewtît |
| 3sg | ئەو | کەوت kewt | نەکەوت nekewt |
| 1pl | ئێمە | کەوتین kewtîn | نەکەوتین nekewtîn |
| 2pl | ئێوە | کەوتن kewtin | نەکەوتن nekewtin |
| 3pl | ئەوان | کەوتن kewtin | نەکەوتن nekewtin |
نووستن (nûstin) "to sleep": present stem نوو, past stem نووست, intransitive
| person | pronoun | Simple past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | نووستم nûstim | نەنووستم nenûstim |
| 2sg | تۆ | نووستیت nûstît | نەنووستیت nenûstît |
| 3sg | ئەو | نووست nûst | نەنووست nenûst |
| 1pl | ئێمە | نووستین nûstîn | نەنووستین nenûstîn |
| 2pl | ئێوە | نووستن nûstin | نەنووستن nenûstin |
| 3pl | ئەوان | نووستن nûstin | نەنووستن nenûstin |
The negative adds نە: هاتم I came → نەهاتم I didn’t come.
In speech the 2sg is often shortened to -ی: هاتی you came.
In sentences
| # | Kurdish | Latin | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | دوێنێ هاتم. | dwênê hatim. | /dweːneː haːt(ɯ)m/ | I came yesterday. |
| 2 | ئەوان چوون بۆ بازاڕ. | ewan çûn bo bazarr. | /ʔæwaːn tʃuːn boː baːzaːr/ | They went to the market. |
| 3 | منداڵەکە کەوت. | mindalleke kewt. | /m(ɯ)ndaːɫækæ kæwt/ | The child fell. |
| 4 | بۆچی نەهاتیت؟ | boçî nehatît? | /boːtʃiː næhaːtiːt/ | Why didn't you come? |
| 5 | ئێمە زوو نووستین. | ême zû nûstîn. | /ʔeːmæ zuː nuːstiːn/ | We slept early. |
Notice that the subject (من I, ئەوان they) is the same as in the present. The verb agrees with it, as in English. Hold on to that; in the next lesson it changes.
Practice
Put into the past: دەڕۆم (I go), دەمرێت (he dies), دەگەین (we arrive).
Answers
ڕۆیشتم, مرد, گەیشتین, check them in the tables:
ڕۆیشتن (royşitin) "to go, to walk, to leave": present stem ڕۆ, past stem ڕۆیشت, intransitive
| person | pronoun | Simple past |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | ڕۆیشتم royşitim |
| 2sg | تۆ | ڕۆیشتیت royştît |
| 3sg | ئەو | ڕۆیشت royşt |
| 1pl | ئێمە | ڕۆیشتین royştîn |
| 2pl | ئێوە | ڕۆیشتن royşitin |
| 3pl | ئەوان | ڕۆیشتن royşitin |
Summary
- Intransitive past = past stem + م یت, ین ن ن; negative نە.
- The 3sg is the bare past stem: هات he came.