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The tense/aspect/mood (TAM) system 127!

In document Subject and object marking in Bembe (Page 137-162)

Chapter 2 – A grammatical description of Bembe 20 !

2.3 Verbs and verbal categories 94!

2.3.3 The tense/aspect/mood (TAM) system 127!

This section presents the different TAM markers in Bembe and their use. Tense sets up a time framework for the listener, aspect establishes how the situation is distributed within that time framework, and (grammatical) mood expresses the speaker’s attitude towards the content of the proposition (desire, factual statement, command etc.). Bembe expresses tense and aspect in the TAM and final position, and TAM position, respectively. Both can also be expressed by the use of compound constructions. Grammatical Mood, in contrast, is expressed in either the post-post-initial or final position (e.g. indicative, subjunctive etc.). I choose to describe the tense, aspect and mood systems jointly, and the remainder of this subsection contains the conjugations attested in Bembe, which are divided into affirmative and negative conjugations. 2.3.3.1 Affirmative conjugations

General present

The general present tense is used to refer to the vast present, i.e. generic or frequent situations, and is expressed by the tense marker a- in TAM position and the final vowel

-a. It cannot be used for near future reference but may be used, instead of the progressive tense, to express that an action is ongoing.

(222) a. Mwa- a- lond- a Iddi.

2PL- PRES- search- FV 1Iddi

“You search for Iddi.”

b. Ba- a- tend- a Bembe.

2SM- PRES- speak- FV Bembe

“They speak Bembe.” Present progressive

The progressive aspect describes an action as denoted by the verb that is ongoing at the time of speaking. One productive strategy in Bembe to express the progressive aspect is to use the progressive marker mo- in the usual TAM position (223).

(223) a. Ba- mo- kol- a.

2SM PROG buy- FV

“They are drinking.”

b. Ba- mo- ly- a.

2SM PROG eat FV

“They are eating.”

Alternatively, there exists a complex form, involving a tensed and inflected copula and a verb prefixed with the marker mo-, as illustrated in (224 (see also section 3.3.5.). It seems that the synthetic form in (223) is a protracted form of the complex one (224),

from which the auxiliary has been dropped. 13

(224) Ba- le mo- kol- a.

2SM- COP PROG- buy- FV

“They are buying.”

13 According to Nurse (2008), “[p]rogressives deriving from locatives are the commonest type across Bantu”. He refers to research by Bastin (1989a, 1989b) who reports on a number of Bantu languages that show constructions which are derived from the sequence li+mu+ku (locative verb + locative prefix + verbal noun (infinitive)), which can be rendered as ‘be in/at verb-ing’.

Present prospective

The prospective is used to indicate the imminent beginning of an action denoted by a verb. Heine & Kuteva (2002: 24) refer to it as “be about to verb, on the verge of verbing”. It is formed by combining a subject marker with the prospective

morpheme -oso and an infinitival verb form.14,15

(225) a. N- oso o- kol- a.

1SG- PROS 15SM- buy- FV

“I am about to buy.”

b. Ba- oso o- y- a.

2SM- PROS 15SM- go- FV

“They are about to go home.” General past

The general past in Bembe is used to refer to the action of a verb that has terminated at least one day from the point of describing it. Two forms are used interchangeably: either the suffix -ile is added to the verb in final position, or the past tense morpheme -lo- is inserted in the TAM position. In the latter case, the final vowel is always -a. However, note that some extensions, such as the applicative, make the use of the lo- marker mandatory and prohibit the -ile form of the verb (compare (205)).

(226) a. Ba- Ø- koch- ile.

2SM- T- buy- PST

“They bought.” b. Ba- lo- kol- a.

2SM- PST- buy FV

“They bought.”

14 It may well be the case that the morpheme -oso has a lexical source. However, my informants have not been able to shed any light on this issue.

15 I do not rule out the possibility that the periphrastic construction SM-oso + o-VB-a has grammaticalised or is still in the process of grammaticaticalising into the synthetic form SM-oso- VB-a, possibly triggered by contraction of the final vowel o- of -oso and the infinitive marker o-. However, any further comment would be speculation.

Near past

The near past is used to describe events which have taken place on the same day of the utterance that makes reference to the event.

(227) a. Ba- a- chw- a.

2SM- N.PST- come- FV

“They have (just/already) come.” Far past

The far-past verb form is used to describe events which have taken place in a more distant past. It is formed with an auxiliary verb iba ‘to be’ in the past tense, and the TAM marker na- and the final vowel -a on the matrix verb.

(228) Ba- b- ile ba- na- ly- a.

2SM- COP- PST 2SM- F.PST- eat- FV

“They had eaten already.” Past Perfective

In order to express a perfective aspect of the past tense, i.e. that an action in the past has been completed, Bembe speakers make use of the verb iwa ‘to finish’ in connection with the inflected auxiliary verb iba ‘to be’ and an infinitve form of the verb.

(229) a. Ba- b- ile ba- a- w- a.

2SM- COP- PST 2SM- T- finish- FV

(Lit.: “They had finished.”)

b. Ba- b- ile ba- a- w- a o- ly- a.

2SM- COP- PST 2SM- T- finish- FV 15SM- eat- FV

(Lit. “They had finished to eat”) “They had eaten (already).” Past progressive

In order to express the progressive aspect of a verb in the past, the auxiliary of the periphrastic form of the present progressive (cf. (224)) is inflected with the past-tense morpheme, as shown in (230). Note that the past progressive is also used to express actions that are habitually undertaken in the past (cf. (238)).

(230) a. Baana ba- b- ile mo- tenda- a.

2child 2SM- COP- PST PROG- speak- FV

“The children were speaking.” Past prospective

The past tense of the prospective is formed by adding the auxiliary verb i-ba ‘to be’, inflected with the past-tense morpheme, to the present prospective, as shown in (231) (compare also with (225)).

(231) a. Ni- b- ile n- oso o- te- a.

1SG- COP- PST 1SG- PROS 15SM- cook- FV

“I was about to cook.”

b. Ba- b- ile ba- so o- lal- a.

1SG- COP- PST 1SG- PROS 15SM- sleep- FV

“They were about to sleep.”

c. Ni-b-ile n-oso o-y-a lo-ba-hingech-ile m-ehomba.

1SG-COP-PST 1SG-PROS 15SM-go-FV when-2SM-enter-PST 18LOC-9room

“I was about to go when they entered (into) the room.” Near future (Future I)

The near future in Bembe is formed with the near future morpheme -o-. The forms for the second (232b) and third person singular (232c) are irregular and show portmanteau morphemes, i.e. low-toned -ò- for the second person singular and high-toned -ó- for the third person singular.

(232) a. N- o- tend- a.

1SG- FUTI- speak- FV

“I will speak.” b. Ò-tend-a.

2SG.FUTI-speak-FV

c. Ó-tend-a.

1SM.FUTI-speak-FV

“S/he will speak.” d. T-o-tend-a. 1PL-FUTI-speak-FV

“We will speak.” e. M-o-tend-a. 2PL-FUTI-speak-FV

“You will speak.” f. B-o-tend-a. 2SM-FUTI-speak-FV

“They will speak.”

There exists a second near future tense which, however, is used only when an action in the future is described as being in succession to an anterior one, in the sense of ‘and then X will do Y’. I refer to this tense as successive future. It cannot be employed in isolation, i.e. not without making reference to an anterior action. In order to form it, the future marker shi- is placed after the subject marker in the usual TAM position and the final vowel –e is suffixed, as illustrated in (233).

(233) a. N-o-tend-a, na- shi- kemb- e.

1SG-FUTI-speak-FV 1SG- S.FUT- sing- FV

“I will speak (and then) I will sing.”

b. N-o-tend-a, mwa- shi- tend- e.

1SG-FUTI-speak-FV 2PL- S.FUT- speak- FV

“I will speak (and then) you (pl.) will speak.” Far Future (Future II)

The distant future tense in Bembe is formed by prefixing a high-toned marker í- to the verb, followed by a subject marker, as shown in the paradigm in (234).

(234) a. í- na- lep- a.16

FUTII- 1SG- pay- FV

“I am going to pay.”

b. í- wa- lep- a.

FUTII- 2SG- pay- FV

“You are going to pay.”

c. í- a- lep- a.

FUTII- 1SM- pay- FV

“S/he is going to pay.”

d. í- twa- lep- a.

FUTII- 1PL- pay- FV

“We are going to pay.”

e. í- mwa- lep- a.

FUTII- 2PL- pay- FV

“You are going to pay.”

f. í- ba- lep- a.

FUTII- 2SM- pay- FV

“They are going to pay.” Perfective future

In order to express that an action will be completed in the future, Bembe speakers employ the conjugated verb iwa ‘to finish’ in conjunction with the far future morpheme í- on the copular verb and an infinitive form of the verb.

(235) í-na-b-a na-a-w-a o-tend-a.

FUTII-1SG-COP-FV 1SG-N.PST-finish-FV 15SM-speak-FV

(Lit. “I am going to be I have finished to speak.”) “I will have spoken.”

Habitual

The habitual refers to “a situation […] characteristic of an extended period of time, so extended […] that the situation […] is viewed […] as a characteristic feature of a whole

period” (Comrie 1976: 27-28). In Bembe, the habitual is formed with the habitual marker ikyo-. The marker is derived from the verb i-ky-a ‘to know’, and my informants contend that the final vowel o in -ikyo- is what used to be the infinitival marker o- in periphrastic constructions like (236b), which have fused into the synthetic form, which is used today, as illustrated in (236a).

(236) a. Ba- ikyo- tend- a. 2SM- HAB- speak- FV

“They (habitually) speak.”

b. Ba-iky-a o-tend-a.

2SM-know-FV 15SM-speak-FV

“They know to speak.”

Further examples of habitual sentences are shown in (237).

(237) a. Baana ba-ikyo-nyemi-w-a na mwene na ɛbᴐ.

2child 2SM-HAB-value-PASS-FV by 1owner of them

(Lit.“Children are valued by the owner of them.”)

“One cherishes (the value of) offspring once one has it.” (proverb)

b. Wetu bawambaka ta-ba-ikyo-sangan-a misea.

2PL.POSS 2boy NEG-2SM-HAB-meet-FV 4girls

“Our boys (usually) do not meet girls.”

In order to express that an action as denoted by the verb was undertaken habitually in the past, Bembe speakers resort to the past tense form of the progressive tense.

(238) Ba- b- ile mo- chw- a

2SM- COP- PST PROG- come- FV

(Lit. “They were coming.”) “They (habitually) came.”

According to my language informants, speakers of the Bembe varieties spoken in Lulenge and Ngandcha (like for instance by the Basimimbi clan) make use of a dedicated habitual marker békyak- in conjunction with a past tense morpheme, as shown

in (239). This habitual marker, however, is not used by speakers of the Itombwe variety, the variety of Bembe described in this thesis.

(239) Ba- békyak- ile mo- kol- a.

2SM- HAB- PST PROG- buy- FV

(Lit.: “They knew to buy.”)

“They used to buy.” Persistive

The persistive expresses that an action as denoted by the verb has been performed continuously since a certain point in time stretching to the time of the utterance. Whereas other languages have a tendency to express this aspect lexically, it is a

grammatical category in Bembe and expressed via the marker e-.17 In both present and

past tense forms it is the auxiliary ‘to be’ which bears the tense morphology while the main verb is always marked for progressive aspect, as illustrated in (240) for the present tense and (241) for the past tense.

(240) a. To- e- le mo- tend- a.

1PL- PERS- COP PROG- speak- FV

“We are still speaking.”

b. Ba- e- le mo- koch- a bitongolo.

2SM- PERS- COP PROG- buy- FV 8onion

“They are still buying onions.”

(241) a. To-b-ile to-e-le mo-tend-a lw-a-ch-ule

1PL-COP-PST 1PL-PERS-COP PROG-speak-FV when-1SM-come-PST

“We were still speaking when he came.”

b. Ba-b-ile ba-e-le mo-koch-a bitongolo.

2SM-COP-PST 2SM-PERS-COP PROG-buy-FV 8onion

“They were still buying onions.”

17 The persistive marker e- could be a reflex of Proto-Bantu *kí (cf. Nurse 2008: 145). Shi (D53) employs ci- for the same purpose.

Imperative

The imperative expresses a command. It is characterised morphologically by the absence of any subject marking, thus there is no distinction as to whether the command is directed at a single addressee or at a multitude of addressees. Examples are given in (242). Note that in some case, an epenthetic vowel is inserted at the beginning, as shown in (242c).18 (242) a. Tend-a! speak-FV “Speak!” b. Chw-a! come-FV “Come!” c. Ely-a! eat-FV “Eat!” Hortative

The hortative expresses a wish or desire on part of the speaker. However, it differs from the optative insofar as it includes an appeal on part of the speaker towards the addressee to make the desire true. That is, the speaker “is encouraging or inciting someone to action” (Bybee et al. 1994: 119, 179). To form the hortative, a subject marker and the final vowel -e is suffixed to a verb.

(243) a. To-y-e o-mboka

2PL-go-FV 17LOC-3village

“Let us go to the village.” b. Ni-ly-e.

1SG-eat-FV

“Let me eat.”

18 My language informants contend that speakers of the Lulenge variety of Bembe do not insert an epenthetic vowel in this case. However, I remain agnostic as to whether this is a phonological trait that delineates one Bembe variety from another, as I do not have sufficient data (other than the assertions of my informants) that could warrant such generalisations.

There exists an alternative way of politely appealing towards an addressee to make a desire true. In order to do so, Bembe speakers employ the verb itanga ‘to put forward’ in conjunction with an infinitive form of the verb. Importantly, this verb form is only used when an action denoted by the verb will be followed by another action. Note that the final vowel is a- and not e-, as in the primary hortative verb-form.

(244) a. To-tang-a o-lya.

2PL-put.forward-FV 15SM-eat

(Lit. “We put forward to eat”.) “Let us eat (first).”

b. Ni-tang-a o-o-toch-a.

1SG-put.forward-FV 15SM-2SG.OM-ask-FV

(Lit. “I put forward to ask you.”) “Let me ask you (something first).” Optative

The optative expresses a wish or desire on part of the speaker. However, it differs from the imperative and hortative insofar as it does not include an appeal on part of the speaker towards the addressee to make the desire true. In order to form the optative in Bembe, the conditional marker na- and the successive-future tense marker shi- combine, and appear with a second, infinitival verb form.

(245) a. O-na-shi-ile o-lo-a.

15EXPL-POT-S.FUT-PST 15SM-rain-FV

(Lit. “If it would will have to rain.”) “If (only) it would rain.”

b. O-na-shi-ile o-ly-a.

2SG-POT-S.FUT-PST 15SM-eat-FV

(Lit. “If you would have will have to eat.”) “If (only) you would eat.”

In order to express a wish or desire in the past, the main verb form and the past tense morpheme -ile in final position are suffixed to the optative verb-form.

(246) a. O-na-shi-lo-ile.

15EXPL-POT-S.FUT-rain-PST

“If (only) it would have rained.” b. O-na-shi-l-ile.

2SG-POT-S.FUT-eat-PST

“If (only) you would have eaten.” c. Ba-na-shi-tend-ile.

2SM-POT-S.FUT-speak-PST

“If (only) they would have spoken.” 2.3.3.2 Non-affirmative conjugations

This section illustrates the negated forms of the conjugations presented in section 2.3.3.1.

General present

Negated forms of the general present are formed with the negation marker ta-. For the first person singular, however, the negation marker sha- is employed.

(247) a. Ta-twa-a-kol-a bibemba.

NEG-1PL-N.PST-buy-FV 8pumpkin

“We do not buy (any) pumpkins.” b. Sha-a-kemb-a.

NEG-PRES-sing-FV

“I do not sing.” c. Ta-ba-a-kemb-a.

NEG-2SM-PRES-sing-FV

“They do not sing.” Present progressive

The present progressive verb-form is negated by prefixing the negation marker ta- to the stem of the synthetic verb-form, as shown in (248), or to the stem of the auxiliary verb in the periphrastic construction, as in (249).

(248) a. Ta-na-mo-lep-a.

NEG-1SG-PROG-pay-FV

“I am not paying.” b. Ta-ba-mo-kol-a.

NEG-2SM-PROG-buy-FV

“They are not buying.”

(249) a. Ta-ba-le mo-sol-a.

NEG-2SM-COP PROG-drink-FV

“They are not drinking.”

b. Ta-ba-le mo-o-ly-a.

NEG-2SM-COP PROG-15SM-eat-FV

“They are not eating.” Present Prospective

Negated forms of the present prospective take the ta- negation marker, except for the first person singular, which shows the portmanteau morpheme shi- and which encodes first person singular and negation, as shown in (250).

(250) a. Shi-so o-tend-a.

NEG.1SG-PROS 15SM-speak-FV

“I am not about to speak.”

b. Ta-ba-so o-tend-a.

NEG-2SM-PROS 15SM-speak-FV

“They are not about to speak.” General past

Negated forms of the general past take the ta- negation marker, except for the first person singular, which shows the portmanteau morpheme sha- and encodes first person singular and negation, as illustrated in (251).

(251) a. Sha-mon-ine ɛwe.

NEG.1SG-see-PST him

b. Ta- ba- lo- kol- a mleka.

NEG- 2SM- PST- buy FV 3beans

“They did not buy (any) beans.” Near past

The near-past tense is negated with the ta- negation marker. For the first person singular, negation and person are expressed by the portmanteau morpheme sha-.

(252) a. Sha-a-tend-a.

NEG.1SG-N.PST-speak-FV

“I have not spoken.”

b. Ta-twa-a-kol-a etabo.

NEG-1PL-N.PST-buy-FV 7book

“We have not bought any book.” Far past

The far-past tense is negated by prefixing the negation marker ta- to the inflected auxiliary verb.

(253) Ta-ba-b-ile ba-na-ly-a.

NEG-2SM- COP -PST 2SM-F.PST-eat-FV

“They had not eaten (yet).”

In document Subject and object marking in Bembe (Page 137-162)

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