Mahican VTAO Indicative Direct

Conjugation Paradigms

VTAO Direct Indicative Mode

Like the VTAs there are VTAO objective and VTAO absolute means of constructing forms in direct indicative mode. Objective forms use n endings whereas absolute forms use w endings, and the both use the (ąą) direct direction marker.

VTAO Direct Indicative Mode Objective Forms: the Basic Forms

Paradigm Meaning
nu-(stem)-ąąn I — him – it,him
ku-(stem)-ąąn You — him – it, him
wu-(stem)-ąąn He — him (obviative) – it, him
nu-(stem)-ąąnaanah We — him – it, him (exclusive)
ku-(stem)-ąąnaanah We — him – it, him (inclusive)
ku-(stem)-ąąnaanah We all — him – it, him (inclusive)
ku-(stem)-ąąnaanookw We all — him – it, him (all inclusive)
ku-(stem)-ąąnaawah You (pl) — him – it, him
wu-(stem)-ąąnaawah They — him (obviative) – it, him

Miinaaw vtao give s.t. to s.o.


Numiinąąn I gave it to him. 
Kumiinąąn
Wumiinąąn
Numiinąąnaanah
Kumiinąąnaanah
Kumiinąąnaanookw
Kumiinąąnaawah
Wumiinąąnaawah

VTAO Negative Direct Indicative Mode Objective Forms – Basic Forms

Paradigm Meaning
ustah nu-(stem)-ąąwun I — him – it, him not
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąwun You — him – it, him not
ustah wu-(stem)-ąąwun He — him (obviative) – it, him not
ustah nu-(stem)-ąąwunaanah We — him – it, him not (exclusive)
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąwunaanah We — him – it, him not (inclusive)
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąwunaanookw We — him – it, him not (all inclusive)
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąwunaawah You pl — him – it, him not
ustah wu-(vowel stem)-ąąwunaanah They — him (obviative) – it, him not

Ustah numiinąąwun  I did not give it to him. 
Ustah kumiinąąwun
Ustah wumiinąąwun
Ustah numiinąąwunaanah
Ustah kumiinąąwunaanah
Ustah kumiinąąwunaanookw
Ustah kumiinąąwunaawah
Ustah wumiinąąwunaawah

These basic forms interact with various combinations of subject, object and extra object in predictable ways. These will be explained below. The subject of a vtao is always animate. The primary object is always animate, and may be singular or plural. The secondary object may be inanimate or animate, singular or plural.

Objective Forms with Inanimate Extra Object

Inanimate Extra Object forms, when objective, use the standard VTAO forms without additional endings regardless of whether the extra object is singular or plural and regardless of whether the primary object is singular or plural.

Numiinąąn wuyaaθ. I gave him the meat. 
Numiinąąn wuyaaθan. I gave him the meats. 
Numiinąąn wuyaaθ. I gave them the meat. 
Numiinąąn wuyaaθan. I gave them the meats. 

Optionally, an inanimate plural ending may be added to the verb when the extra object is plural.

Numiinąąnaanah wuyaaθan. I gave him the meats. 

Numiinąąnaanah wuyaaθan. I gave them the meats. 

Numiinąąnaanąąn wuyaaθan. We gave him the meats. 
(We gave them the meats.) 

Objective forms do not add verb endings that pertain to the primary object.
Verb endings when present pertain to the extra object in objective mode.

Objective Forms with Animate Extra Object

Animate extra object forms, when objective, use standard vtao forms with no additional markings, however the extra object, always obviative when animate, will use an obviative ending on the noun when a noun is present.

Numiinąąn tkwaxan.  I gave him, them the bread. 
Kumiinąąn tkwaxan.  You gave him, them the bread. 
Wumiinąąn tkwaxan.  He gave him, them the bread. 
Numiinąąnaanah tkwaxan. We gave him, them the bread. 

Plural obviatives also may use use standard vtao forms with no additional markings.

Numiinąąn tkwaxah.  I gave him, them the breads. 
Kumiinąąn tkwaxah.  You gave him, them the breads. 
Wumiinąąn tkwaxah.  He gave him, them the breads. 
Numiinąąnaanah tkwaxah. We gave him, them the breads. 

Optionally, an obviative ending may be added to the verb when the extra object is obviative.

Numiinąąnan tkwaxan.  I gave him, them the bread. 
Kumiinąąnan tkwaxan.  You gave him, them the bread. 
Wumiinąąnan tkwaxan.  He gave him, them (obv1) the bread (obv2).

Numiinąąnaanąąn tkwaxan. We gave him, them the bread. (sg obv)

Wumiinąąnaawąąn tkwaxan.  They gave him, them (obv1) the bread (obv2).

Optionally, a plural obviative ending may be added to the verb in addition to the plural obviative ending on the noun, if present. Verb endings follow usual patterns of contraction.

Numiinąąnah tkwaxah.  I gave him, them the breads. 
Kumiinąąnah tkwaxah.  You gave him, them the breads. 
Wumiinąąnah tkwaxah.  He gave him, them (obv1) the breads (obv2).
Numiinąąnaanąą tkwaxah. We gave him, them the breads. (pl obv) nu(--)unaanah + ah
Wumiinąąnaawąą tkwaxah.  They gave him, them (obv1) the breads (obv2).

Negative examples:

Numíinąąn. Ustah kŭmiinąąwun.
I gave it, them (anim, inanim) to him, them. You did not give it, them to him, them.

Numiinąąnah. Ustah kŭmiinąąwunah.
I gave them (pl obv, inanim pl) to him, them. You did not give them (pl obv, inanim pl) to him, them. 

Absolute Direct VTAO forms

Absolute forms pair a verb with a noun (or participle) to denote a vague, indefinite quality to the extra object of a ditransitive verb.

As is the case with other verb types, the noun in the verb-noun pairing carries the endings to indicate plurality or obviative status and the verb carries endings that will unambiguously identify who are the subject and object.

This differs from the above described objective forms which do not require a noun to be paired with the verb, and verbs in the objective mode denote a specific extra object that is precise and definite. Endings on the verb in objective mode optionally change to indicate the plurality or objective status of the extra object, and do not add endings to distinguish between a sg or pl primary object. In other words the verb form is the same for phrases of the type: “I gave him – primary object the book” and “I gave them – primary object the book”.

Absolute TAO verbs will use different verb forms for these types of phrases and should be translated using the indefinite article, “a or some”. “I gave him a book”.

To use a VTAO with an absolute extra object, one conjugates the verb like a VTA, i.e. the w endings and the direction marker (ąą) are used as if there was no extra object present. A noun is required to show the presence of an extra object.

More general comments about these verb types:

Could the noun for the extra object be confused with a regular vta object?

No because (1) an inanimate noun would not belong in a VTA phrase so there should be no doubt that the noun if inanimate is an extra object. See example (a) below. (2) It should also be clear that the noun is an extra object when it is animate because it will be marked as obviative, whereas the object of a VTA would be proximate in all but 3rd person forms. See example (b).

(a) Numíinąąw wąąpasąąnay.   
        I gave him, her a blanket. (inanimate noun)

(b) Numíinąąw tkwaxan.   
    I gave him, her a loaf of bread.   
    (The obviative marking on (tkwax-an) bread shows its status as an extra object, therefore VTAO use)  

(c) Numíinąąw tkwax.   
    I gave the bread.  
    (non-obviative marking indicates status as a primary object, VTA use)  

(d) Wmiinąąn tkwaxan.
I gave him the bread. (vtao use) or I gave the bread. (vta use)

Animate extra objects are always obviative in direct vtao constructs, because the animate primary object outranks the extra object.

Peripheral verb endings here, are used differently than is the case with the objective direct forms using n endings. Here, peripheral endings(-ak plural and -an sg obviative, and -ah pl obv as in vta forms reference the primary object.

Numiinąąk xíikan.   
I gave them a knife.  

Numiinąąk tkwaxan.   
I gave them a loaf of bread. 

Wumiinąąn xiikan.   
He gave him (obv) a knife.  

Wumiinąą tkwaxan. 
He gave them a loaf of bread. 

VTAO Absolute Forms or Noun required construction


inflects like a regular TA verb

VTAO Direct Absolute Forms

Paradigm Meaning
nu-(stem)-ąąw I — him – noun
ku-(stem)-ąąw You — him – noun
wu-(stem)-ąąn He — him (obv) – noun
nu-(stem)-ąąnah We — him – noun
ku-(stem)-ąąnah We — him – noun
ku-(stem)-ąąnookw We all — him – noun (all inclusive)
ku-(stem)-ąąwah You (pl) — him – noun
wu-(stem)-ąąwąąn They — him (obv) – noun

noun = a sg or plural animate or inanimate noun with a indefinite article such as “a” or “some”


Negative forms are the same as the corresponding VTA negative forms

VTAO Negative Direct Absolute Forms

Paradigm Meaning
ustah nu-(stem)-ąąw I — him – noun not
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąw You — him – noun not
ustah wu-(stem)-ąąwiin He — him (obv) – noun not
ustah nu-(stem)-ąąwiinah We — him – noun not
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąwiinah We — him – noun not
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąwiinookw We all — him – noun not (all includive)
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąwiiwah You (pl) — him – noun not
ustah wu-(stem)-ąąwiiwąąn They — him (obv) – noun not

noun = a sg or plural animate or inanimate noun with a indefinite article such as “a” or “some”; the noun uses usual markings of plural or obviative status as appropriate

Examples

anumawaaw do, hand s.t. to s.o.
miinaaw give s.t. to s.o.

ąąθoon ni hat
tihooθna teakettle

Numiinąąw ąąθoon. Ustah kumiinąąw ąąθoon.  
I gave him a hat. You did not give him a hat.   

Ndunumawąąw tihooθan.  
I handed him a teakettle (obv). 

Ktunumawąąw tkwaxah.   
You handed him some loaves of bread (pl obv).  

Wumiinąąn ąąθoon. Ustah wumiinąąwiin tihooθan  
He gave him a hat. He did not give him a teakettle. 

Ktunumawąąnookw ąąθoonan.
We all handed him some hats. 

Kumiinąąwah tihooθah.   
You (pl) gave him teakettles (pl obv). 

Wtunumawąąwąąn wuyaaθ.   
They handed him (obv) some meat.  

Plural primary object with absolute inanimate secondary object

VTAO Direct Absolute Forms with Plural Object

Meaning Paradigm
I — them – (noun) nu-(stem)-ąąk
You — them – (noun) ku-(stem)-ąąk
He — them (pl obv) – (noun) wu-(stem)-ąą
We — them – (noun) nu-(stem)-ąąnąąk
We — them – (noun) ku-(stem)-ąąnąąk
We all — them – (noun) ku-(stem)-ąąnookw
You (pl) — them – (noun) ku-(stem)-ąąwąąk
They — them (pl obv) – (noun) wu-(stem)-ąąwąą

VTAO Negative Direct Absolute Forms with plural object

Paradigm Meaning
ustah nu-(stem)-ąąwiik I — them – noun not
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąwiik You — them – noun not
ustah wu-(stem)-ąąwiiwah He — them (pl obv) – noun not
ustah nu-(stem)-ąąwiinąąk We — them – noun not
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąwiinąąk We — them – noun not
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąwiinookw We all — them – noun not (all inclusive)
ustah ku-(stem)-ąąwiiwąąk You (pl) — them – noun not
ustah wu-(stem)-ąąwiiwąą They — them (pl obv) – noun not

noun = a sg or plural animate or inanimate noun with a indefinite article such as “a” or “some”; the noun uses usual markings of plural or obviative status as appropriate

Examples with plural (primary) object:

Numiinąąk ąąhooθ.   
I gave them a hat.  

Kumiinąąk ąąθoonan.   
You gave them some hats.   

Kumiinąąk tihooθ.   
You gave them a teakettle.   

Wumiinąą ąąθoonan.   
He gave them some hats.   

Wumiinąą tihooθah.   
He gave them some teakettles.   


Numiinąąnąąk ąąθoonan.   
We gave them some hats.  

Numíinąąw mahkθunan wąąk míichuwąąkan
I gave him shoes and food. 

Wtunumawąąwąą tkwaxah. 
They handed them some bread. 

Negative examples with plural (primary) object:

Ustah numiinąąwiik ąąhooθ.   
I did not give them a hat.  

Ustah kumiinąąwiik ąąθoonan.   
You didn't give them any hats.   

Ustah kumiinąąwiik tihooθ.   
You didn't give them a teakettle.   

Ustah wumiinąąwiiwah ąąθoonan.   
He didn't give them any hats.   

Ustah wumiinąąwiiwah tihooθah.   
He didn't give them any teakettles.   


Ustah numiinąąwiinąąk ąąθoonan.   
We didn't give them any hats.  

Ustah numíinąąw mahkθunan wąąk míichuwąąkan
I didn't give him shoes and food.   

Ustah wtunumawąąwiiwąą tkwaxah. 
They did not hand them (pl obv) any bread (further obviative). 

Note on 3rd person forms:

3rd person forms with an animate extra object have three 3rd person participants, one proximate and 2 obviatives. Determining which obviative is the primary object and which obviative is the extra object is possible using word order in similar fashion to noun possessive morphology for objective forms, but a possessive construction would not be appropriate to an absolute type of construct, because the possessee of a possessive cannot be indefinite.

(Aissen, J. (1997). On the syntax of obviation. Language, 705-750. See p718,719 Ranked obviatives and obviative span.)

He gave him (obv) a him (further obv)  

VTA vs VTAO side by side comparison:

VTA
Objective: Numíinąąw tihooθ. I gave the teakettle.
Absolute: Numíinah tihooθ. I gave a teakettle.

VTAO:
Objective: Numíinąąn tihooθan. I gave him the teakettle.
Absolute: Numíinąąw tihooθan. I gave him a teakettle.

The form numíinąąw with an noun in obviative form signals the presence of two 3rd person participants indicating VTAO use. Numíinąąw with a non-obviative noun has to be an VTA objective form, because only one 3rd person participant is present.

Example with a possessed noun

Wkataaw-miinąąn ooxan ąąθoon.
He is going to give his father a hat.   

Example with different word order

Mąąniiθ tkwaxan numíinąąw.
I gave her, Molly a loaf of bread. 
(Obviative form on tkwax tells us which animate is the 2nd mentioned)

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