Proto-Turkic/Verbals

Welcome to eighth lesson of Proto-Turkic!

In the previous leasons, we learned about the verb tense suffixes like *-mIĺ, *-dI, or *-Ur, but in this lesson we will learn more verb suffixes.

Verbal Nouns

*-mAk, *-mA

They exist so that we can use the verb in a noun clause.

• I want to go - Bẹ barmaknï/barmanï kǖsedi.
• Everbody wants to be loved - Bār kiĺi sebilmekni/sebilmeni kǖser.
• Staying is harder than leaving - Kiālma(k), kē(y)tme(k)den kạtï.
• Isn't it easy to get into a heart? - Köyŋilke kīrme(k) keŋes ermeŕ mi?

However, *-mA form is the same as *-mA- negation suffix, and since both are for verbs, sometimes the meaning distinction can only be made by reading the sentence or by hearing the accent (or tone). You can also use both at the same time. For example; sebmeme ("to not loving"), barmama ("to not going").

Modern usage

	Turkish - Anadolu Türkçesi	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Eve gitmek/gitmeyi istedim çünkü burada kötü anılarım var.	Ҫулсем хӑйсенне илеҫҫӗ, ватӑ ҫынсене, тен, утма, ҫиме тата мӗн те пулин асра тытма йывӑртарах та йывӑртарах пулса пырать.
Transcription	(the text is already written in latin script)	Çulsem хӑysenne ileççӗ, vatӑ çınsene, ten, utma, çime tata mӗn te pulin aspa tıtma yıvӑrtarax ta yıvӑrtarax pulsa pırat'.
English translation	I wanted to go home because I have bad memories here.	As the years take their toll, older ones may find it increasingly difficult to walk, eat, and remember.

Verbal Adjectives

*-gAn

Indicates how through the verb.

• dog who love me - bẹni sebgen it

• falcon that snatches its hunt - ābïnï kapgan kïrguy
• the fish that eaten by - yēngen bālïk

Usage notes

Sometimes verbal adjectives turn into an adjective pronoun and become stereotyped for one thing. For example; ‎*sïč- (“to shit”) + ‎-gan → ‎*sïčgan (“(someone) who shit”) became stereotyped for rat, mouse; ‎*tabïĺ- (“to run”) + ‎-gan → ‎*tabïĺgan (“(someone) who run”) became stereotyped for hare.

In some of modern Turkic languages, this suffix changed its meaning to past tenses (indefinite value, but also sometimes used as past participles).

	Volga Bulgar - البلغَاڔِى	Old Turkic - 𐰚𐰜𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜𐰲𐰀	Kyrgyz - Кыргызча
Original	غُلَمَاڛَمنَ سَوَان مَسجِذڛَمنَ غَمَاڔَة طَنَان آكِل خَيرَاتلُ الُوي بَڔَكاتلُ موُن سُوَاڔ يَالِ	𐰚𐰘𐰚: 𐰘𐰃𐰘𐰇: 𐱃𐰉𐰽𐰍𐰣: 𐰘𐰘𐰇: 𐰆𐰞𐰺𐰆𐰺: 𐰼𐱅𐰢𐰕: 𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣: 𐰉𐰆𐰍𐰕𐰃: 𐱃𐰸: 𐰼𐱅𐰃:	Сен үйгө келгенде мен сага тамак жасаган адам болбойм.
Transcription	Golemasemne sewen mesjidsemne ğemaret tanan ekilé xayratlü, elüwi bereketlü Mün Suwar yalı.	Kiyik yiyü, tabışgan yiyü olurur ertimiz. Bodun boguzı tok erti.	Sen üygö kelgende men saga tamak jasagan adam bolboym.
English translation	Who loved the scholars, who built mosques, gracious, benefactor, from the clan of Mün-Suvar.	We used to eat deer, eat rabbit and sit. The throats of the tribes were full.	I won't be the one who cook for you when you get home.

*-dUk

Synonym of *-gAn.

Usages

	Volga Bulgar - البلغَاڔِى	Old Turkic - 𐰚𐰜𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜𐰲𐰀	Turkish - İstanbul Türkçesi
Original	اَوْڔاَن اَولِ وُڔُمْ اَلِبْ بلوُي كُ رَحمَﺔُ الَلهِ عَلِيهِ رَحمَه دُنياَڔاَن ڛَفَڔْ طَنْڔُوى تَاڔِيخَ جِياَتِ جُوڔِ طُخِڔ حَال ڔَحَبْ اَيْخِ وَنِم كُواَن اَت	𐰋𐰃𐰠𐰢𐰓𐰇𐰚𐰤: 𐰇𐰲𐰇𐰤: 𐰋𐰃𐰕𐰭𐰀: 𐰖𐰭𐰞𐰑𐰸𐰃𐰤: 𐰖𐰕𐰃𐰦𐰸𐰃𐰤: 𐰇𐰲𐰇𐰤: 𐰴𐰍𐰣𐰃: 𐰇𐰠𐱅𐰃	Gidilmedik, bakılmadık yer kalmadı ama bir adım dahi ilerleyemedik. Aramaya başladığımızda nerede isek yine aynı o yerdeyiz.
Transcription	Ävrän awlï Wurum Alïb belüwi ku. Raxmetu-l-lāhi 'alayhi raxmatan wāsiatan dünyā-ran safar tanruwi tārix-a jiyēti jüür toxïr jāl Rajab ayxï wanïm küwēn eti.	Bilmedükin üçün; biziŋe yaŋıldukın, yazındukın üçün kaganı ölti.	(The text is already written in Latin script)
English translation	This is the monument of Ävrän's son Wurum Alïb. The mercy of God, be upon him with mercy abundant, the day that he cruised from world was tenth day of Rajab month in the year seven hundred nine.	His khan died because he didn't know, because he was wrong against us, because he became alienated from us.	There is no place that we did not go, that we did not look, but we could not advance even one step. We are in the same place where we were when we started the search.

See lesson: 12 to clear up confusion in usages.

Verbal Adverbs

*-sA

1. This suffix gives the verb the meaning of "by ...ing, while ...ing".
2. Gives the meaning of "if". (preposition)

In today's Turkic languages, the meaning of the verbal adverb has lost its existence by being overshadowed by the new suffixes. But the old Shaz Turkic inscriptions, Volga Bulgar inscriptions and Chuvash language prove that this meaning belongs to Proto-Turkic. Let's base it on a few examples of these uses.

While/by ...ing

	Volga Bulgar - البلغَاڔِى	Old Turkic - 𐰚𐰜𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜𐰲𐰀	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	جرِمسَن شِونَ بَرسَ وَلتِ	𐰋𐰃𐰼: 𐰚𐰃𐰾𐰃: 𐰖𐰍𐰞𐰽𐰺: 𐰆𐰍𐱁𐰃: 𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣𐰃: 𐰋𐰃𐰾𐰰𐰃𐰭𐰀: 𐱅𐰏𐰃: 𐰶𐰃𐰑𐰢𐰕:𐰼𐰢𐰾	Пӗр ҫур сехетрен,— каласа парать Ронда,— центр патне машина пырса тӑчӗ те унтан виҫӗ тӑван тухрӗ.
Transcription	Çerimsen şıvına barsa velti.	Bir kişi yaŋılsar oguşı, bodunı, bişükiŋe tegi kıdmaz ermiş.	Pӗr çur sexetren,— kalasa parat' Ronda,— tsentr patne maşina pırsa tӑçӗ te untan viçӗ tӑvan tuxrӗ.
English translation	He died while going to the Çerimsen water.	A person does not kill his son, his tribe, his cradle by being mistaken. (second or more-degree past tense, it's a proverb)	Rhonda recalls(by recalling): “About half an hour later, three brothers got out while a car coming into the center."

When the meaning of 'if' is meant, a Farsi word eger can be added to the beginning in modern languages.

If (not a verbal)

	Turkish - Anadolu Türkçesi	Kazakh - Қазақша	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	(Eğer) gelmeyecek( i)sen senin yerine ben gidebilirim.	(Егер) мені сүйсең, сезіміңді дәлелде.	(Эхер) кӑсӑклӑ кӗнеке курсассӑн тархасшӑн мана валли ил.
Transcription	(the text is already written in latin script)	(Eger) meni süyseñ, sezimiñdi dälilde.	(Exer) kӑsӑklӑ kӗneke kursassӑn tarxasşӑn mana valli il.
English translation	If you won't come, I can go instead of you.	If you love me, prove your feelings.	If you see an interesting book, please buy it to me.

Negation in verb clauses

*-mA-

1. Negating the verb (as in "I don't come")

Like the section above, do not to be confused with *-mA in the sense of verbal nouns. Contrary to the rule that Proto-Turkic words were stressed in the last syllable, in many of Turkic languages, *-mA- are always unstressed while as the verbal noun are always stressed (i.e. sebme, "don't love (it)", sebme, "to love"). To make negation to other tenses, place this suffix between the verb's stem and the tense ending (sebmedi "(he) don't love (it)", sebmemiĺ "(he's) seems not love (it)").

However, when negating the present tense (-Ur), it becomes *-mAŕ, with irregular palatalization on final -r → -ŕ (it is already explained on the previous lesson 2: Basics). However, some languages featured alteration between Common Turkic -z (< -ŕ) : -r, as in Turkmen gelmerin "I don't come": gelmez "he doesn't come". This alteration is because the palatalization on final -r- affected by unstressed -ĭ, the third-person singular copula suffix for verbs (see section below), in early times: sebmér-ĭ → sebméŕĭ > sebméŕ.

Copula

Unlike the English verb be, Proto-Turkic has multiple copulas, but not conjugated as one suppletive verb. Bōlma(k) is the regular verb for "to be", while erme(k) is the auxiliary verb. However, the latter verb is defective, usually only exists in positive clear and unclear past tenses (erdi, ermiĺ), conditional (erse), negative present (ermeŕ) (this tense exists in languages such as Uzbek, Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Salar...) and the verbal adjective (ergen). However, the auxiliary one was likely fully conjugated in Old Turkic, as in the present form erür.

In addition to those verbs, we can use personal pronouns after the noun or adjective. Copulas can also left without overt marking (teŋiŕ kȫk "the sea is blue", note the absence of "is"), a rule of zero copula, which happens in many languages. Also in the third person singular, the verb form turur (< turma(k) "to stand") is also used for emphasis.

*it ben/bẹ	"I'm (a/the) dog"
*it sen/sẹ	"you're (sg.) (a/the) dog"
*it (ol), it turur	"he's (a/the) dog"
*it biŕ	"we're (a/the) dog"
*it siŕ	"you're (pl.) (a/the) dog"
*it olar (unclear)	"they're (a/the) dog"

To negate nouns or adjectives, add ermeŕ into front of them, except as we said before this form only exists in some languages.

*it ermeŕ	"he's not (a/the) dog"

The another choice is using degül plus forms of erme(k) or bōlmak (for forms unfilled by former except present tense, negative forms of both verbs were excluded, however as we said before in Old Turkic the former verb was fully conjugated). It is found in all branches except Lir. Therefore, we cannot include it in the Proto-Turkic language, but Proto-Shaz-Turkic.

*it degül	"he's not a dog"
*it degül erti	"he was not a dog"
*it degül bōlmalïg/ermeli (discussed in the next lesson)	"he should not a dog"

Verbal "copula"

Verbal copulas are inflections for number and person. It only exists in the clear past and conditional tenses, but because we have explained it in previous lessons in the case of past tense, it will not explained in this section.

Most tenses, however, are not inflected for person and number, it is again done by adding personal pronouns after verb forms as in above (kẹlür ben "I come"), except turur is not allowed in the third person singular, unlike nouns or adjectives.

However, certain tenses, including the tenses past seen, negative present, conditional, are inflected for person and numbers. Unlike other tenses, these tenses do not require pronouns after the verbs. The set of endings were initially similar to that of possessive ones, except there is no -sI allophony in the third person (he/she/it/they). Because of this, instead of expected forms **kẹlti ben and kẹlse ben you will found kẹltim and kẹlsem instead (however, the analytic alternative forms for kẹlsem, kẹlse ben is found in Old Turkic).

Components
Subject pronoun (English)	Suffix
I	-m
you	-ŋ
he/she/it/they	-∅
we	-mXŕ
you (plural)	-ŋXŕ

Historically, the third person form ends in **-I, but later unmarked (-∅ meant being unmarked). However, this ending preserved in -mAŕ (negative present, plus the unstressed **-I) and -gAy (either future or optative tense, it will explained in future lessons). However, the latter suffix always requires pronouns and does not have synthetic inflection (there is no such expected **-gAm, **-gAŋ, **-gAmXŕ, ...), while the former one is added here due to Turkmen alteration in the section above (that is, the inflections were originally **-mArXm, **-mArXŋ, ..., note depalatalization of final -ŕ-).

The first person plural ending in most languages, including the Oghuz, Karluk, Kipchak branches, however used the ending -k instead of -mXŕ.

Next lesson: Optatives, necessitatives and questions