Chapter 9: BASIC CLAUSE PATTERNS AND VERB TYPES

9.1....ABBREVIATIONS FOR BASIC CLAUSE PATTERNS: Clause patterns will be described with strings of abbreviations for the names of constituents, including these:

nom. nominative noun phrase . acc. accusative noun phrase
dat. dative noun phrase gen. genitive noun phrase
V verb Vl linking verb
I infinitive .
adj. adjective adv. adverb
PP prepositional phrase PM p-mod

In the names and descriptions of basic clause patterns, abbreviations for the names of constituents will be arranged in the order in which their corresponding constituents occur in actual clauses. So, for instance, ?nom. V? will signify a clause comprising a nominative noun phrase followed by a verb.

9.2....nom. V: In this pattern, the verb may be intransitive, or among the transitive verbs that may occur without objects when the speaker wants to talk about action on unspecified patients.

9.2-1 Ik
I 		creedo.
walk. 		Verb is intransitive.

9.2-2 Jeu
You 		skarfist.
eat. 		Verb is transitive; its deleted
object stands for unspecified referent.

9.3....nom. V acc. & acc. V nom.: In these two patterns, the verb is transitive, and the nominative noun phrase is the subject, which agrees with the verb. The accusative noun phrase stands for a patient.

9.3-1a Hu
He/she 		skarfit
eats 		brauta.
bread

9.3-2a Hue
They 		hoerant
hear 		naula.
a noise.

?? ?acc. V nom.? clauses are less common than ?nom. V acc.? clauses, and can be translated with constructions in which the object noun phrase comes before other arguments. However, don?t translate ?acc. V nom.? clauses with passive voice; reserve that treatment for Goesk passive voice constructions.

9.3-1b Brauta
bread 		skarfit
eats 		hu.
he/she
It's bread he eats. Bread, he eats.

9.3-2b Naula
noise 		hoerant
hear 		hue.
they
It's a noise that they hear. A noise, they hear.

9.4....VERBS WITH REFLEXIVE OBJECTS:

a) In English, certain verbs can have reflexive meanings without taking reflexive pronoun objects.

9.4-1a to dress I dressed.
9.4-2a to stop You stopped.
9.4-3a to hurry We hurried.
9.4-4a to turn They turned.

?? In Goesk, verbs with reflexive meaning take reflexive objects.

9.4-1b rapen
to dress 		Ik rapeut doot mik.
I dressed myself.
9.4-2b halten
to stop 		Jeu haltoos doot jeuv.
You stopped yourself.
9.4-3b ailen
to hurry 		Vier ailud duent uns.
We hurried ourselves.
9.4-4b veufen
to turn 		Hue veufoom duent huen.
They turned themselves.

b) With the following verbs, it?s important to remember to use reflexive pronoun phrase objects when the corresponding English verbs are treated as intransitive.

ailen coeken rapen halten keren
to hurry to undress to dress to stop to change
.
oodyren resten skuten vacen viedyrclepen
to adapt to rest to move to wash to return

NOTE: ?viedyrclepen? means ?bring back? with most objects, but ?come back? with a reflexive object.

c) Some ordinarily causative verbs of emotion take reflexive objects and so convey the emotional state of the person or being that the subject stands for.

9.4-5a Hue camoom doot lerujozoo.
They shamed the student.
9.4-5b Hue camoom duent huen.
They shamed themselves.
They were ashamed.

9.4-6a Jeu booroos duent lerujozuen.
You bored the students.
9.4-6b Jeu booroos doot jeuv.
You bored yourself.
You were bored.

?? Don?t be misled by the close translations in 9.4-5b and 9.4-6b. English sentences like ?She bored herself.? may convey that a person or being in question did some overt act that resulted in her having a certain emotional state. However, Goesk sentences like ?Jeu booroos doot jeuv,? implicitly describe emotional states as things that people do to themselves in the privacy of their minds. Therefore note the correct translation.

?? Here are more verbs that pattern like the ones just shown.

eklen to disgust w/reflexive: to be disgusted
galen to frighten w/ reflexive: to be afraid
glueken to make happy w/ reflexive: to be happy
racen to surprise w/ reflexive: to be surprised
raizen to excite w/ reflexive: to be excited
trueben to sadden w/ reflexive: to be sad
zinsen to interest w/ reflexive: to be interested
zooren to anger w/ reflexive: to be angry

d) Some verbs translate differently depending on whether they take reflexive objects. For instance, witness ?heeben? (raise/rise), ?liecen? (lay/lie), and ?seten? (set/sit).

9.4-7a Ik hebeut cleetyla.
I raised a tool.

9.4-7b Ik hebeut doot mik.
I raised myself.
correctly: I rose. I got up.

9.4-8a U liecunt eeta fuer need.
Y'all put some food down.

9.4-8b U liecunt duent ulie fuer need.
Y'all laid yourselves down.
corectly: Y'all lay down.

9.4-9a Hu seteus eeta fuer need.
He/She set some food down.

9.4-9b Hu seteus doot hoo fuer need.
He/She set him/herself down.
correctly: He/She sat down.

?? When these verbs take reflexive objects, those reflexive objects are dative.

ctimen to determine w/ reflexive: to decide
ctoebyren remind w/ reflexive: remember
steezen forbid w/ reflexive: abstain from

9.4-10 Vier ctimud dums uns.
We determined to ourselves.
correctly: We decided. We came to a decision.

e) Yes, reflexive objects can occur first in ?acc. V nom.? sentences.

9.4-11 Duent huen toetoom hue.
Themselves killed they.
correctly: Killed themselves, they did.

9.5....DATIVE PATTERNS: Clause patterns that begin with nominatives are most common, but accusatives and datives can be fronted if they signify the topic of a clause.

nom. V acc. dat. acc. V nom. dat. dat. V nom. acc.
nom. V dat. acc. acc. V dat. nom. dat. V acc. nom.

9.5-1a Vier gebud kuekezuen huem.
We gave cookies to them.

9.5-1b Vier gebud huem kuekezuen.
We gave them cookies.

9.5-2a Kuekezuen gebud vier huem.
Cookies gave we to them.
correctly: Cookies are what we gave them.

9.5-2b Kuekezuen gebud huem vier.
Cookies gave them we.
correctly: Gave cookies to them, (that's what) we did.

9.5-3a Huem gebud vier hautuen.
To them gave we hats.
correctly: They're the ones we gave hats to.

9.5-3b Huem gebud hauten vier.
To them gave hats we.
correctly: To them, we gave hats.

9.6....DATIVE VERBS: We?ll call verbs that take indirect objects ?dative verbs.?

a) Some dative verbs may take either dative and accusative objects, OR just accusative objects.

biegen blablazen cildyren clepen cueten
to buy to recite to describe to bring to pour
.
fasen geben kapizen kleren lasen
to catch to give to copy to explain to leave
.
laizen macen renden senden toeten
to lend to make to rent to send to kill

9.6-1a Dus paklinu blablazeus uns dixtueciz.
The boy recited to us a poem.
9.6-1b Dus paklinu blablazeus dixtueciza.
They boy recited a poem.

9.6-2a Vier clepud jees brauta.
We brought you bread.
9.6-2b Vier clepud brauta.
We brought bread.

c) Other dative verbs may take dative and accusative, OR just accusative, OR just dative objects.

aiden ansyren crieben dienen fragen
to promise to answer to write to serve to ask
.
kooxen kruenen leezen telen
to cook to sing to read to tell

9.6-3a Dus umu aideus mis autoza.
This uncle promised me a car.
9.6-3b Dus umu aideus autoza.
This uncle promised a car (to someone).
9.6-3c Dus umu aideus mis.
This uncle promised me (something).

9.6-4a Jeu ansyroos fraga mis.
You answered a question for me.
9.6-4b Jeu ansyroos fraga.
You answered a question.
9.6-4c Jeu ansyroos mis.
You answered me.

9.7....LINKING VERB PATTERNS: Linking verbs take noun phrases, adjectives, or prepositional phrases as complements. The most important linking verb is ?sienen? (to be). Linking verb patterns are as follows:

nom. Vl nom. nom. Vl gen. nom. Vl dat.

nom. Vl adj. nom. Vl PP nom. Vl PM

9.7-1 Johanu
nom.
Johan 		sienit
Vl
is 		mencu.
nom.
a person.
9.7-2 De hund
nom.
This dog 		sienit
Vl
is 		gretazoes.
gen.
Greta's
9.7-3 De hund.
nom.
This dog 		sienit
Vl
is 		gretazum.
dat.
for Greta.
9.7-4 De hund
nom.
This dog 		sienit
Vl
is 		groos.
adj.
big.
9.7-5 Ik
nom.
I 		sieno
Vl
am 		in hausai.
PP
in a house.
9.7-6 Ik
nom.
I 		sieno
Vl
am 		doer need.
PM
down here.

a) Although a predicate genitive usually denotes a possessor, it may sometimes denote the source of a signal or sign. For example, upon hearing a sound or seeing a footprint, one might say ...

9.7-7 Hetre
It 		sienit
is 		johanoes.
of Johan.
Said in response to a doorbell or a ringing phone, this sentence can translate as "It's Johan."

b) A predicate genitive that stands for something inanimate stands for something with which the referent of the subject is said to belong: as a part belongs to a whole; or as a matching thing belongs to its mate.

9.7-8 De been sienit dast papas.
This leg is of the doll.
correctly: This leg goes with/belongs to the doll.

9.7-9 De vaums sienit dast hoozas.
This jacket is of the pants.
correctly: This jacket belongs with/goes with these pants.

c) Here are the most important linking verbs.

cainen
to seem (to beO		 nooxen
to remain, to still be		 sienen
to be		 verden
to become

9.7-10a Hetre cainit kleen.
It seems little.
9.7-10b Hu cainit mencu.
He seems to be a person.

9.7-11 Ik nooxo mencu.
I am still a person.

9.7-12 Jeu verdoos arestu.
You became a doctor.

c) When the verb ?verden? takes prepositional or p-mod complements, it can translate as ?end up? or ?wind up.?

9.7-13 De kat verdeus in kaustai.
This cat became in the box.
correctly: This cat ended up/wound up in the box.

c) The prefix ?be-? makes linking verbs out of verbs of sensation or experience.

augen cmeken fuelen hoeren smelen
to see to taste to feel to hear to smell
.
bezaugen becmeken befuelen behoeren besmelen
to look (like) to taste (like) to feel (like) to sound (like) to smell (like)

9.7-14a Hetre bezaugit kleen.
It looks little.
9.7-14b Hetre bezaugit mencu.
It looks like a person.

9.8....THE VERB ?LAGEN?: This unique linking verb can occur without a complement, or take adverbs, p-mods, and prepositional phrases as complements.

nom. lag- nom. lag- adv. nom. lag- PP nom. lag- PM

a) In ?nom. V? clauses, ?lagen? means ?to exist? or ?to be the case.?

9.8-1 Ik lago.
I exist.

9.8-2 Zetre lagit.
That exists. That is the case.

b) Adverbs that serve as complements of lagen are those of location and time.

9.8-3 Hetre lagit doer.
It is here.

9.8-4 Detre lagit jest.
This is now.

c) With prepositional or p-mod complements, ?lagen? is synonymous with ?sienen.?

9.8-7 De kaust lagit/sienit at dais hausai.
The box is at this house.

9.8-8 Doot camu lagit/sienit doer boeftin.
The man is back there.

9.9....EXISTENTIAL & IMPERSONAL CLAUSES: The verb ?lagen? also occurs in existential and impersonal clauses. Both kinds of clauses begin with a third person neuter pronoun used as a filler. In existential clauses, the complement is a nominative. In impersonal clauses, the complement is an infinitive. Hence these patterns:

existential 3rd nominative neuter or plural pronoun lag- nom.

impersonal 3rd nominative neuter or plural pronoun lag- I

a) The existential subject and finite verb are singular if the complement is singular, and plural if the complement is plural.

9.9-1a Hetre lagit fleeg in dais supai meen
It exists, a fly in this soup mine.
correctly: There's a fly in my soup.
9.9-1b Hue lagant fleegue in dais supai meen.
They exist, flies in this soup mine.
correctly: There are flies in my soup.

b) Impersonal clauses have the active infinitives as complements. These infinitives pertain to weather, life in general, and actions with unspecified participants. The subject of an impersonal clause is always singular ?hetre.?

weather verbs
bliken donyren haglen histen kalten
to lightning to thunder to hail to be hot to be cold
.
misten moxen onteren regen sonen
to be foggy to be muggy to storm to rain to be sunny
.
troken vaisen vinden voelken
to be dry to snow to be windy to be overcast

verbs of life-in-general
clexten gooden sliepen
(for life) to suck (for life) to be good (for life) to be so-so

9.9-2 Hetre lagit regen.
It exists to rain.
correctly: It is raining.

9.9-3 Hetre lageus vinden.
It existed to be windy.
correctly: It was windy.

9.9-4 Hetre lagyl vaisen.
It will exist to snow.
correctly: It will snow.

9.9-5 Hetre lagit gooden.
It exists to be good.
correctly: Things are good.

9.9-6 Hetre lagit rauxen doer.
It exists smoking here.
correctly: There is smoking here.

9.9-7 Hetre lageus vadelaik daunsen.
It existed a-lot (adv.) to dance.
closer to English: There was dancing frequently-or-commonly.

9.10 OBJECT COMPLEMENTS: These can be accusatives or adjectives.

a) Clauses with accusative object complements often have verbs like these:

andyren farben kuepen namen
to change to color, to call, to characterize as to keep to name

9.10-1 Jeu andyroos camoo lervyroo.
You changed/made a man into a teacher.

9.10-2 Vier farbud huen voelfue.
We called them wolves.

9.10-3 Hue kuepoom gretazoo barnoo.
They kept Greta a child.
correctly: They kept a child for Greta.

9.10-4 Hue namoom hoo gretazoo.
They named her Greta.

b) Clauses with accusative object complements may also have verbs that stand for an actions that transform an object into something else.

9.10-5 Hue beunoom ha pelmuen.
They burned it (to) ashes.

9.10-6 Hue cnigoom ha brokuen.
They cut it to pieces.

c) Undeclined adjectives serve as object complements in clauses with this pattern, which may have the verbs ?andyren,? ?farben,? ?kuepen,? or any verb that stands for an action whose effect on a patient can be summarized by one adjective.

9.10-7 Jeu andyroos camoo zoor.
You made a man angry.

9.10-8 Vier farbud huen groos.
We characterized them (as) big.

9.10-9 Hue kuepoom salizoo froo.
They kept Sally happy.

9.10-10 Dus camu cozeus mik dak.
The man talked me gloomy.
correctly: The man talked to me until I was gloomy.

c) In clauses with object complements, the nominative subject can switch places with either the accusative object or the accusative object-complement. Adjectival object complements are always clause final. Here are the object complement patterns:

nom. V acc.-object acc.-complement
.
acc.-object V nom. acc.-complement
.
acc.-object V nom. adj.
.
acc.-complement V acc.-object nom.

?? These word order changes are uncommon in declarative sentences and don?t occur in imperatives, but make it possible for interrogative objects and object complements to be fronted in WH questions. (See section 11.3.)

9.10-11 Camoo andryoos jeu lervyroo.
A man made you (into) a teacher.

9.10-12 Camoo andyroos jeu zoor.
A man made you angry.

9.10-13 Lervyroo andyroos camoo jeu.
Into a teacher, a man made you.
correctly: A teacher is what the man made you into.

9.11 SUMMARY OF CLAUSE PATTERNS:

simple patterns
nom. V nom. V acc. acc. V nom.

dative patterns
nom. V acc. dat. acc. V nom. dat. dat. V nom. acc.
nom. V. dat. acc. acc. V dat. nom. dat. V acc. nom.

linking verb patterns
nom. Vl nom. nom. Vl gen. nom. Vl dat. nom. lag-
nom. Vl adj. nom. Vl PP nom. Vl PM nom. lag- adv.

existential & impersonal patterns
Hetre/hue lag- nom. Hetre lag- I

patterns w/ object complements
nom. V acc-ob. acc-comp. nom. V acc-ob adj.
acc-ob V nom. acc-cmp acc-ob V nom. adj. acc-ob V acc-ob nom.

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