Tigrinya Grammar - Verbs

Verbs

In Tigrinya, as in other Semitic languages, a verb is a complex object, the result of selections by the speaker/writer along at least four separate dimensions.

Root

At the heart of a Semitic verb is its root, most often consisting of three consonants. This determines the basic lexical meaning of the verb. For example, the Tigrinya root meaning 'break' consists of the three consonants {sbr}.

Derivational pattern

The root may be altered in one of several ways that modify the basic meaning of the verb. In Tigrinya there are five such possibilities (though not all are possible for each verb). For example, the verb can be made passive: the sense 'be broken' is derived from the root {sbr} 'break' with the addition of the morpheme, though the form's actual realization depends on choices on other dimensions.

Tense/Aspect/Mood

The root must be assigned a particular basic tense/aspect/mood (TAM). In Tigrinya there are four possibilities, conventionally referred to as perfect, imperfect, jussive/imperative, and gerundive. Once a lexical root, possibly altered through the addition of a derivational element, has been assigned a basic TAM, it becomes a pronounceable stem, though still not a complete word. For example, {sbr}+ 'be broken' in the imperfect becomes sǝbbär 'is broken'.

Conjugation

Semitic verbs are conjugated; that is, they agree with the verb's subject in person, number, and gender. For example, if the subject of the imperfect of the passive of {sbr} is third person plural masculine ('they'), the form becomes the word ይስበሩ yǝsǝbbäru 'they are broken'.

In addition to these basic dimensions of variation characterizing all Tigrinya verbs, there are four additional possible modifications.

1. A direct object or prepositional object suffix (see #Personal pronouns) may be added to the verb. For example, the prepositional object -läy 'for me' could be suffixed to the word ይስበሩ yǝsǝbbäru 'they are broken' to give ይስበሩለይ yǝsǝbbäruläy 'they are broken for me'.
2. The verb may be negated. This requires a prefix and sometimes a suffix. For example, the word ይስበሩለይ yǝsǝbbäruläy 'they are broken for me' is negated by the prefixing of ay- and the suffixing of -n: ኣይስበሩለይን ayyǝsǝbbäruläyǝn 'they are not broken for me'.
3. One or more morphemes including the relativizing morpheme zǝ- and various prepositions and conjunctions may be prefixed to the verb. For example, with the relativizing prefix, the form ኣይስበሩለይን ayyǝsǝbbäruläyǝn 'they are not broken for me' becomes ዘይስበሩለይ zäyyǝsǝbbäruläy '(those) that are not broken for me'. (The negative suffix -n does not occur in subordinate clauses.)
4. The aspect of the verb may be modified through the addition of an auxiliary verb. Auxiliaries are usually treated as separate words in Tigrinya but in some cases are written as suffixes on the main verb. For example, with the auxiliary allo in its third person plural masculine form, the word ዘይስበሩለይ zäyyǝsǝbbäruläy '(those) that are not broken for me' takes on continuous aspect: ዘይስበሩለይ ዘለዉ zäyyǝsǝbbäruläy zälläwu '(those) which are not being broken for me'. (The relativizing prefix zǝ- must also appear on the auxiliary.)