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Lesson 16: Verb Complexes

Vocabulary


	bédi		to promise; promise
	dom		to remember; remembering
	nédeshub		intent; to intend
	thad		to be able; ability
	them		to need; need
	ul		to hope; hope

Additional Vocabulary


	na–		Prefix (verb): to begin to VERB; to start VERBing
	nem		pearl
	ri		to record
	sherídan		niece/nephew

There are verb prefixes that seem, in the English translation, like Verb Complexes, but in Láadan they are just ways you can modify any verb. One such is “na–” (begin to VERB; start VERBing), listed above. Other examples of this type of verb prefix are “du–” (try to VERB) and “dó–” (cause to VERB), both of which we have seen previously.

Verb Complexes

[(Aux) Verb Complex (Neg) CP–S (CP–O)]

The sequence “to want + to VERB” in Láadan forms a single unit called a Verb Complex, which is used just like an ordinary verb. The auxiliary goes before it, the negative follows it, and nothing can go between its two parts. Since two verbs are used, both must be marked plural if either is.

Linguistic note: The underlying form here is that of an embedded sentence whose subject is the same as the subject of the sentence as a whole. An example of this would be the sentence “I want to help you.” Its underlying structure is the sentence “I want [I help you],” with “I help you” as the embedded sentence. It is common practice in such cases among human languages to drop the duplicate subject of the embedded sentence. In English we usually substitute “to” in that place; in Láadan we treat the two verbs as a Verb Complex. We will address other types of embedded sentences in Láadan in other lessons.

There are many verbs in addition to “néde” (to want) that can become the first element in a Verb Complex; some of these form the bulk of our vocabulary for this lesson.

Examples


	Bíi néde le (anath) wa.		I want (food).
	Bíi di le wa.		I speak.
	Bíi néde di le wa.		I want to speak.

	Bíi aril methad lezh wa.		We will be able.
	Bíi aril mehen lezh wa.		We will understand.
	Bíi aril methad mehen lezh wa.		We will be able to understand.

Notice that the auxiliary marking time applies equally to both verbs in the Verb Complex. If we need to put different times on the two verbs, a different type of embedding would be required. We will study the other types of embedding in future lessons.


	Bíi rilrili bédi ne wa.		You might promise.
	Bíi rilrili bédi ra ne wa.		You might not promise.
	Bíi rilrili yod ne wa.		You might eat.
	Bíi rilirili yod ra ne wa.		You might not eat.
	Bíi rilrili bédi yod ne wa.		You might promise to eat.
	Bíi rilrili bédi yod ra ne wa.		You might not promise to eat. You might promise not to eat. You might not promise not to eat.

Notice that the Verb Complex structure in the negative does not allow the speaker to disambiguate whether the negative applies to the first or second verb. There are other types of embedding that will; we will study them in subsequent lessons.


	Bíi eril om le wa.		I taught.
	Bíi eril néde om le wa.		I wanted to teach.
	Bíi eril nahom le wa.		I began to teach.

	Bíi aril dom be wa.		She will remember.
	Bíi aril dódom le beth wa.		I shall cause her to remember.

Sometimes surface similarities can occur in any language. Notice that “beth” in the example above is “be” (third person singular pronoun) + “–th” (object case ending), not “beth” (home).

Exercises

Translate the following into English.


1	Báa eril néde lalom be?
2	Bíi aril mehul medi with Láadan wáa.
3	Báa aril medom mehal sherídan?
4	Bíi ril them áana henahid wa.
5	Bíi héeya yod wobalin wodená baleth wáa.
6	Bíi nédeshub doth womíi wohebalá ditheth wa.

Transform the following into Verb Complex form & translate into Láadan.


7	They (few) promised [they record the language].
8	I intended [I have a pearl].
9	Steven may want [Steven be warm].
10	The menopausal worker hopes, now, [the menopausal worker teach peace].
11	The child is able [the child care for the alien creature].
12	Who needs [who be safe]?

Translate the following into Láadan.


13	We (few) were afraid to laugh.
14	Can’t the green plants be beautiful now?
15	Will the aunt promise to try to make a picture?
16	The grandmother tries to attend but begins to be weary.
17	Who (plural) want to know the family?
18	The pregnant teacher hopes to be strong.

Did you notice that #16 is a “trick question?” It doesn’t actually involve a Verb Complex. Instead we have a compound verb, each verb of which uses a prefix to impart one of those meanings that might be mistaken for Verb Complexes.

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Answers


1	Did she want to sing?
2	The women hoped to speak Láadan.
3	Will the nieces remember to work?
4	The birth-brother needs to sleep now.
5	The old assistant is afraid to eat the bread.
6	The amazed baker intends to follow the voice.

7	They (few) promised to record the language.
7	Bíi eril mebédi meri bezh daneth wa.
8	I intended to have a pearl.
8	Bíi eril nédeshub thi le nemeth wa.
9	Steven may want to be warm.
9	Bíi rilrili néde owa Thíben wa.
10	The menopausal worker now hopes to teach peace.
10	Bíi ril ul om wozháadin wohalá shoneth wa.
11	The child is able to care for the alien creature.
11	Bíi thad naya háawith wonée womideth wáa.
12	Who needs to be safe?
12	Báa them yom bebáa?

13	Bíi eril mehéeya mehada lezh wáa.
14	Báa ril methad meháya ra mewoliyen wodala?
15	Báa aril bédi duhel berídan dademeth?
16	Bíi duham izh nahóoha hothul wáa.
17	Báa menéde mehan bebáa onidath?
18	Bíi ul do wolawida wohomá wa.

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