o yis     Verb valency

Verb valency

All O Yis verbs possess a natural valency - the maximum number of objects (nouns or noun phrases) which the verb requires to make grammatical sense:

• A few O Yis verbs are atransitive - they have a natural valency of 0, meaning that they can only accept oblique objects as arguments. These verbs mostly fall within the stative class (though a few, such as píto, rain, are found in the spatial class) and include verbs that describe the time of day, weather states, etc.

• Xseba piito
• seba píto
• ʦəbæ piˑtɔ
• it's raining

• Xsemba piito g'doc som
• semba píto g'doc som
• ʦəmbæ piˑtɔ g'ðɔs ʦɔm
• it was raining a moment ago

• Xul sebuk piito
• ul sebuk píto
• ul ʦəbuk piˑtɔ
• it's stopped raining now

• Xsevambe piito e doc som
• sevambe píto e doc som
• ʦəwæmbə piˑtɔ ə ðɔs ʦɔm
• (I think) it will rain soon

• The majority of motive and spatial class verbs are intransitive with a natural valency of 1; some sensual and outcome verbs are also intransitive. These verbs take a subject (generally the undertaker of the action, though some verbs expect the experiencer of an action to be the subject), with any other object in the clause being oblique.

• Xhauk tiiNa di maar y riDa ipjamid
• hauk tíŋa di már y ridza ipjamid
• hæuk tiˑŋæ ði mæˑɾ ɐ ɾiʤæ ipjæmið
• Mary rode (eastwards) to town

• Xhaa keet g'doc trop de Don y pvarz ipjamid
• há két g'doc trop de dzon y pvarz ipjamid
• hæˑ kəˑt g'ðɔs tɾɔp ðə ʤɔn ɐ pwæɾʒ ipjæmið
• John was running (eastwards) to the market

• The commonest type of verb is the transitive verb, requiring both a subject (the agent of the action) and a direct object (the patient of the action). All transitive verbs have a natural valency of 2.

• Xhiuk vollo rec rean ze cmal n'iin maav
• hiuk vollo rec rean ze cmal n'ín máv
• hiuk wɔlːɔ ɾəs ɾəæn ʒə smæl n'iˑn mæˑw
• the girl (said she) saw a little cat

• Xal uurag hauk to kaNke g'doc trop o fezg em di Daan
• al úrag hauk to kaŋke g'doc trop o fezg em di dzán
• æl uˑɾæg hæuk tɔ kæŋkə g'ðɔs tɾɔp ɔ fəʒg əm ði ʤæˑn
• I've knocked on Jane's door twice

No O Yis verb has a natural valency of more than 2.