22. Clitic placement and ergative syntax in depth
🔴 Advanced · Lesson 22 of 23
The personal clitics (م ت ی مان تان یان) are the heart of Sorani syntax. This lesson collects every rule about where they go and what they mean.
Five jobs of the clitics
| job | tense | example | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| possessor | any | کتێبەکەم | my book |
| agent (doer) | past of transitive verbs | نانم خوارد | I ate bread |
| object | present of transitive verbs | دەیبینم | I see him/her |
| object | past, beside the agent | گرتمی | he caught me |
| complement (to, from, with me) | any, on an adposition | بۆم هێنا | he brought it to me |
The set-1 endings (present م یت ێت/ات ین ن ن; past م یت, ین ن ن) do the opposite job in each tense. Kurdish school books number these differently: کۆمەڵەی یەکەم is م ت ی مان تان یان, دووەم the past endings, سێیەم the present endings and چوارەم the imperative ە ن.
| tense | agent (doer) marked by | object marked by |
|---|---|---|
| present (دەبینم) | set-1 ending | clitic |
| past (بینیم) | clitic | set-1 ending |
This role reversal is Sorani ergativity in a nutshell:
| # | Kurdish | Latin | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | دەتبینم. | detbînim. | /dætbiːn(ɯ)m/ | I see you. (ت = you object, م = I subject) |
| 2 | دەمبینیت. | dembînît. | /dæmbiːniːt/ | You see me. |
| 3 | بینیمیت. | bînîmît. | /biːniːmiːt/ | I saw you. (م = I agent, یت = you object) |
| 4 | بینیتم. | bînîtim. | /biːniːt(ɯ)m/ | You saw me. |
The hosting rule
A clitic attaches to the first element of the verb phrase that can host it. In order of priority:
- the object, whatever the verb: نانم خوارد;
- with no object, a preverb or the noun part of a compound verb: هەڵم گرت, دەستم پێ کرد;
- on a simple verb, the negation نە: نەمخوارد;
- on a simple verb, the aspect prefix دە: دەمخوارد I was eating;
- inside the perfect: خواردوومە;
- otherwise the end of the verb: خواردم.
A clitic on an adposition is the agent only if there is no object and no other clitic: لێم پرسی I asked him. In نامەکەی بۆم هێنا, ی is the agent and م means to me, and بۆمی هێنا keeps both on بۆ.
With a third person agent, an object clitic comes first: گرتمی he caught me. With a first or second person agent, the object ending comes last: بینیمیت I saw you. Up to three clitics can appear together (بۆتی دەنێرم).
Only one agent clitic appears in the verb phrase. A subject pronoun can precede everything for emphasis: من نانم خوارد.
Present tense: the object clitic
In the present, a pronoun object is usually a clitic placed after دە / نا (or the preverb): دەیبینم I see him, ناتناسم I don’t know you, هەڵیدەگرم I pick it up.
| # | Kurdish | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | کتێبەکە دەخوێنم. | kitêbeke dexwênim. | I read the book. (object is a noun → no clitic) |
| 2 | دەیخوێنم. | deyxwênim. | I read it. |
| 3 | نایناسم. | naynasim. | I don't know him. |
| 4 | هەڵیدەگرم. | hellîdegrim. | I pick it up. |
Checking agreement
The ergative pattern is where most writing mistakes happen, so it is the first thing a grammar checker for Sorani must verify:
| sentence | correct? | why |
|---|---|---|
| من نانم خوارد. | ✔ | agent clitic on the object |
| * من نان خواردم. | ✘ (standard) | clitic on the verb although an object precedes it |
| * ئەوان هاتیان. | ✘ | هاتن is intransitive: هاتن they came |
| * من دەمخوارد نان. | ✘ | the object must precede the verb |
zimankit’s sentence parser warns about the first two kinds of mistake in its notes: a past transitive verb with no agent, and a clitic on an intransitive verb.
Summary
- Clitics = possessor, past agent, present object, past object, adposition complement; endings = present subject, past object.
- The clitic goes on the object; failing that, on the first part of the verb, and on a simple verb after نە or دە, inside the perfect, or at the end.
- Intransitive verbs never take an agent clitic.