14. The past tense II: transitive verbs and ergativity
🟡 Intermediate · Lesson 14 of 23
The surprise
Compare:
| present | past | |
|---|---|---|
| intransitive come | دێم I come | هاتم I came |
| transitive do | دەکەم I do | کردم I did |
So far nothing looks different. But try I ate bread:
| # | Kurdish | Latin | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | من نان دەخۆم. | min nan dexom. | /m(ɯ)n naːn dæxoːm/ | I eat bread. |
| 2 | من نانم خوارد. | min nanim xward. | /m(ɯ)n naːn(ɯ)m xwaːɾd/ | I ate bread. |
In the past, the -م that means I has jumped from the verb onto نان! This is ergativity, the most famous feature of Kurdish grammar.
What is going on
In the past tenses of transitive verbs, the doer (the agent) is not marked by a verb ending. It is marked by a personal clitic, the same م ت ی مان تان یان you learned as my, your, … in lesson 11. Think of I ate bread as something like bread was eaten by-me.
| person | clitic | خواردن to eat, no object | with the object نان |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | -م | خواردم I ate | نانم خوارد |
| 2sg | -ت | خواردت you ate | نانت خوارد |
| 3sg | -ی | خواردی he/she ate | نانی خوارد |
| 1pl | -مان | خواردمان we ate | نانمان خوارد |
| 2pl | -تان | خواردتان you ate | نانتان خوارد |
| 3pl | -یان | خواردیان they ate | نانیان خوارد |
Where the clitic goes
The agent clitic goes:
- if there is an object, on the object, whatever the verb: نانم خوارد, پەنجەرەکەتان داخست;
- with no object, on a preverb or compound verb, after its first part: هەڵم گرت, چارەسەرم کرد (lesson 20);
- with no object, on a simple verb: after نە (نەمخوارد I didn’t eat), after دە (دەمخوارد I was eating), inside the perfect (خواردوومە), otherwise at the end (خواردم).
The pronoun subject (من، تۆ…) can be added for emphasis, but it is not what carries the person: من نانم خوارد.
Generated paradigms
کردن (kirdin) "to do, to make": present stem کە, past stem کرد, transitive
| person | pronoun | Simple past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | کردم kirdim | نەمکرد nemkird |
| 2sg | تۆ | کردت kirdit | نەتکرد netkird |
| 3sg | ئەو | کردی kirdî | نەیکرد neykird |
| 1pl | ئێمە | کردمان kirdiman | نەمانکرد nemankird |
| 2pl | ئێوە | کردتان kirditan | نەتانکرد netankird |
| 3pl | ئەوان | کردیان kirdyan | نەیانکرد neyankird |
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 | Simple past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | نووسیم nûsîm | نەمنووسی nemnûsî |
| 2sg | تۆ | نووسیت nûsît | نەتنووسی netnûsî |
| 3sg | ئەو | نووسیی nûsîy | نەینووسی neynûsî |
| 1pl | ئێمە | نووسیمان nûsîman | نەماننووسی nemannûsî |
| 2pl | ئێوە | نووسیتان nûsîtan | نەتاننووسی netannûsî |
| 3pl | ئەوان | نووسییان nûsîyan | نەیاننووسی neyannûsî |
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.
بینین (bînîn) "to see": present stem بین, past stem بینی, transitive
| person | pronoun | Simple past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | بینیم bînîm | نەمبینی nembînî |
| 2sg | تۆ | بینیت bînît | نەتبینی netbînî |
| 3sg | ئەو | بینیی bînîy | نەیبینی neybînî |
| 1pl | ئێمە | بینیمان bînîman | نەمانبینی nemanbînî |
| 2pl | ئێوە | بینیتان bînîtan | نەتانبینی netanbînî |
| 3pl | ئەوان | بینییان bînîyan | نەیانبینی neyanbînî |
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.
In sentences
| # | Kurdish | Latin | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | نامەیەکم نووسی. | nameyekim nûsî. | /naːmæjæk(ɯ)m nuːsiː/ | I wrote a letter. |
| 2 | کتێبەکەت خوێند؟ | kitêbeket xwênd? | /k(ɯ)teːbækæt xweːnd/ | Did you read the book? |
| 3 | ئەو هیچی نەگوت. | ew hîçî negut. | /ʔæw hiːtʃiː næɡut/ | He didn't say anything. |
| 4 | ئێمە ئۆتۆمبێلێکمان کڕی. | ême otombêlêkman kirrî. | /ʔeːmæ ʔoːtoːmbeːleːkmaːn k(ɯ)riː/ | We bought a car. |
| 5 | پیاوەکەیان بینی. | pyawekeyan bînî. | /pjaːwækæjaːn biːniː/ | They saw the man. |
Notice پیاوەکەیان بینی: -یان on پیاوەکە here means they, not their. Only the past transitive verb tells you which. In the present, پیاوەکەیان دەبینن would mean they (or you all) see their man.
Why it matters
Ergativity is where learners and grammar checkers make the most mistakes. Three typical errors:
| wrong | right | problem |
|---|---|---|
| * من نان خواردم | من نانم خوارد | the clitic must go on the first element (the object) |
| * نانم خواردم | نانم خوارد | the agent is marked twice |
| * نەخواردم | نەمخوارد | in the negative the clitic goes on نە |
The first one, من نان خواردم, is common in speech in some dialects. The written standard prefers نانم خوارد.
Practice
- You wrote., You wrote the letter (نامەکە).
- They didn’t buy bread.
- We saw., We didn’t see.
Answers
- نووسیت, نامەکەت نووسی
- نانیان نەکڕی
- بینیمان, نەمانبینی
Summary
- Past of transitive verbs: the agent is a clitic (م ت ی مان تان یان), not an ending.
- The clitic follows the object; failing that, the first part of the verb, نە or دە; otherwise it ends the verb.
- Intransitive verbs keep normal endings (هاتم); only transitive verbs are ergative.