Difference between revisions of "Adverbs"
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<gl id="ex1" fontsize=12> |
<gl id="ex1" fontsize=12> |
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| − | \gll gim -am |
+ | \gll gim -am <b>apax/tok</b> |
| − | sing 1sg very |
+ | sing 1sg very/a-lot |
| − | \trans I sing loudly |
+ | \trans I sing loudly. |
</gl> |
</gl> |
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<gl id="ex2" fontsize=12> |
<gl id="ex2" fontsize=12> |
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| − | \gll |
+ | \gll <b>apax/tok</b> gim -am |
| − | very |
+ | <b>very/a-lot</b> sing 1sg |
| − | \trans |
+ | \trans I sing loudly. |
</gl> |
</gl> |
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<gl id="ex3" fontsize=12> |
<gl id="ex3" fontsize=12> |
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| − | \gll nang -am weʄ -a legleg |
+ | \gll nang -am weʄ -a <b>legleg</b> |
habitual 1sg swim INF sometimes |
habitual 1sg swim INF sometimes |
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| − | \trans I swim often |
+ | \trans I swim often. |
</gl> |
</gl> |
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<gl id="ex4" fontsize=12> |
<gl id="ex4" fontsize=12> |
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| − | \gll legleg nang -am weʄ -a |
+ | \gll <b>legleg</b> nang -am weʄ -a |
| − | sometimes habitual 1sg swim INF |
+ | sometimes habitual 1sg swim INF |
| − | \trans |
+ | \trans I swim often. |
</gl> |
</gl> |
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| − | When adverbs modify adjectives, they cannot intervene between the stative verb and bare adjective with those adjectives that have a verb-adjective form, like |
+ | When adverbs modify adjectives, they can come before or after the verb phrase, but cannot intervene between the stative verb and bare adjective with those adjectives that have a verb-adjective form, like <i>ɓalig</i> 'black': |
| + | (5) |
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oɓoxole fop aɓalga ɓalig |
oɓoxole fop aɓalga ɓalig |
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oɓoxole aɓalga ɓalig fop |
oɓoxole aɓalga ɓalig fop |
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The adverb fop can also mean 'both': |
The adverb fop can also mean 'both': |
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| + | (6) |
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| − | okoor fo |
+ | okoor fo otew fop aƈiʄ |
‘the boy and girl all are smart’ |
‘the boy and girl all are smart’ |
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| − | + | The most remarkable thing about adverbs in Sereer is that, like adjectives, there is a group of words that can serve adverbial, adjectival and even verbal functions. For instance, <i>fop</i> can be the adverb 'completely', or the quantifier 'all' in a partitive construction: |
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| + | (7) |
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fop no ɓoxole aɓalga ɓalig |
fop no ɓoxole aɓalga ɓalig |
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‘All of the dogs are black.’ |
‘All of the dogs are black.’ |
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The ability of adverbs to be used as verbs can be illustrated with these minimal pairs: |
The ability of adverbs to be used as verbs can be illustrated with these minimal pairs: |
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| + | (8) |
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retam ñofu ñofam o ret |
retam ñofu ñofam o ret |
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‘I go quickly.’ ‘I hurry up and go.’ |
‘I go quickly.’ ‘I hurry up and go.’ |
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‘Swim quickly!’ ‘Hurry up and swim!' |
‘Swim quickly!’ ‘Hurry up and swim!' |
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| − | The most remarkable think about adverbs in Sereer is that, like adjectives, there is a group of words that can serve adverbial, adjectival and even verbal functions. |
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| + | The sentences in (8) illustrate how adverbs can be verbs. |
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Latest revision as of 21:58, 16 May 2013
The positioning of adverbs in the sentence is as flexible in Sereer as in English, as examples (1) to (4) show:
<gl id="ex1" fontsize=12> \gll gim -am apax/tok sing 1sg very/a-lot \trans I sing loudly. </gl>
<gl id="ex2" fontsize=12> \gll apax/tok gim -am very/a-lot sing 1sg \trans I sing loudly. </gl>
<gl id="ex3" fontsize=12> \gll nang -am weʄ -a legleg habitual 1sg swim INF sometimes \trans I swim often. </gl>
<gl id="ex4" fontsize=12> \gll legleg nang -am weʄ -a sometimes habitual 1sg swim INF \trans I swim often. </gl>
When adverbs modify adjectives, they can come before or after the verb phrase, but cannot intervene between the stative verb and bare adjective with those adjectives that have a verb-adjective form, like ɓalig 'black':
(5)
oɓoxole fop aɓalga ɓalig oɓoxole aɓalga ɓalig fop *oɓoxole aɓalga fop ɓalig 'The dog is completely black.'
The adverb fop can also mean 'both':
(6)
okoor fo otew fop aƈiʄ ‘the boy and girl all are smart’
The most remarkable thing about adverbs in Sereer is that, like adjectives, there is a group of words that can serve adverbial, adjectival and even verbal functions. For instance, fop can be the adverb 'completely', or the quantifier 'all' in a partitive construction:
(7)
fop no ɓoxole aɓalga ɓalig ‘All of the dogs are black.’
The ability of adverbs to be used as verbs can be illustrated with these minimal pairs:
(8)
retam ñofu ñofam o ret ‘I go quickly.’ ‘I hurry up and go.’
weʄi ñofu ñofi weʄ ‘Swim quickly!’ ‘Hurry up and swim!'
The sentences in (8) illustrate how adverbs can be verbs.
Go back to: Sereer Grammar
Oana 00:47, 8 December 2012 (UTC)
