Inflectional Verbal Morphology
Subject Marking
Sereer verbs agree in person and number with their subject. The language exhibits three subject agreement patterns, the use of which depends on morphological factors discussed below:
Basic subject marking: Gloss Sereer Gloss Sereer 1SG -(u)m 1PL i= 2SG -o/Ø 2PL nu= 3SG a= 3PL a=
The set of "strong" subject markers is used in contexts such as subordinate clauses, relative clauses, and switch-referent situations.
"Strong" subject marking: Gloss Sereer Gloss Sereer 1SG in/=n, (u)m 1PL i= 2SG o= 2PL nu= 3SG te= 3PL de=
A third pattern of subject agreement is used with the conditional -ang, as well as constructions with the auxiliaries xan, fat, and bar. This third pattern is termed "mixed" as it makes use of agreement clitics taken from both of the other two agreement patterns. Note the absence of any overt marker for the first person singular.
Mixed subject marking: Gloss Sereer Gloss Sereer 1SG Ø 1PL i= 2SG o= 2PL nu= 3SG a= 3PL a=
In addition to these suffixes and clitics, number agreement is indicated by initial consonant mutation, with unmutated verb forms agreeing with singular subjects, and nasal grade verb forms agreeing with plural subjects.
Negation
Negation is expressed by verbal suffixes of the form -ee(r), -i(r), -ii. These allomorphs are not strictly phonologically conditioned. The negative suffix appears closer to the root than subject or object marking suffixes. The negative marker co-occurring with the singular subject agreement morphemes are given below. The third person agreement proclitic a= does not appear with negative verbs, unless the verb is also inflected for extraction or conditionality (see below). In all cases, the plural forms of negative-marked verbs differ from the third person singular only in the agreement proclitic (for 1st and 2nd pl.), and initial consonant mutation.
Negative marking: Gloss Sereer 1SG -ii-m 2SG -ir-o 3SG -ee(r)
Finiteness
Verb forms are either finite or non-finite. A verb form is finite if it contains one of four morphemes: the "default vowel" -a, the extraction marker -u, the passive suffix -e, or the negative suffix -eer (or any of their allomorphs). The "default vowel" (glossed DV) appears in a variety of finite verb forms, and caries no consistent semantic information other than finiteness. It has an allomorph -aa when immediately preceding the suffixes -(u)m "1s subject", -(i)n "3s object", and (o)ng "2s object" (see below).
Non-finite forms
There are two types of non-finite verb forms; infinitives and progressive participles. The infinitive is the bare verb stem. The progressive participle is formed by affixing the suffix -aa (glossed PROG) to the stem, though when co-occuring with certain other suffixes, the allomorph -a appears. Though object, passive, tense, and aspect suffixes can appear on the both types of non-finite verbs, subject agreement suffixes cannot, nor can they inflect for negation. Subject agreement proclitics (both basic and strong) can occur on non-finite forms, for example in subordinate clauses. Non-finite forms always exhibit initial consonant mutation to agree with their subject, if one exists. Non-finite verb forms can serve as the subject or object of clauses. They are often preceded by the non-finite particle o (glossed INF), though not obligatorily.
<gl fontsize=11> a mbar-a (o) maafir \gll a mbar-a o maaf-ir 3 must.pl-DV INF fall-RECIP \trans They had to wrestle </gl>
<gl fontsize=11> bugaam o jawaa maalo \gll bug-aa-m o jaw-aa maalo want-DV-1s INF cook-PROG rice \trans I want to be cooking rice OR I like cooking rice </gl>
Non-finite forms with strong agreement
Non-finite verb forms can appear with the strong agreement clitics...
Non-finite forms with mixed agreement
Non-finite forms are used with the mixed agreement pattern to indicate...
Imperative
Imperative forms exist for second person adressees only. The singular imperative is formed with the suffix -i, and the plural imperative with the suffixes -y-o. Note that object markers intervene between the suffixes -y and -o (see below).
Imperative marking: Gloss Sereer 2SG -i 2PL -y-o
The forms discussed so far are given below for the verb fal "kick."
kick Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 falaam i mbala 1 faliim i mbalee(r) 2 fala nu mbala 2 faliro nu mbalee(r) 3 a fala a mbala 3 falee(r) mbalee(r) Infinitive fal mbal Prog. Part. falaa mbalaa Imperative fali mbalyo
Object Marking
Incorporated object pronouns ("object markers") exist as affixes for singular objects. These affixes directly precede the subject suffixes, if any are present, though combinations of object markers and other suffixes are often highly idiosyncratic. Of especial note is the element -ax which appears in various forms involving a first person singular participant.
The first person singular object marker is -(a)am.
kick me Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 — — 1 — — 2 falaxamo nu mbalaxam 2 faliraamo nu mbaliraam 3 a falaxam a mbalaxam 3 faliraam mbaliraam Infinitive falaam mbalaam Prog. Part. falaxam mbalaxam Imperative falaam mbalyaamo
The second person singular object marker is -(o)ng.
kick you Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 falaxong i mbalaang 1 falirong i mbalirang 2 — — 2 — — 3 a falaang a mbalaang 3 falirang mbalirang Infinitive falong mbalong Prog. Part. falang mbalang Imperative — —
The third person singular object marker is -(i)n. Note the allomorphs of the imperative suffixes that occur when alongside this object marker.
kick him Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 falaanum i mbalaan 1 falinum i mbaliran 2 falaano nu mbalaan 2 falino nu mbaliran 3 a falaan a mbalaan 3 faliran mbaliran Infinitive falin mbalin Prog. Part. falan mbalan Imperative faleen (mbalyeeno)
Free Object Pronouns
Free pronouns exist in addition to the incorporated object pronouns (object markers) discussed above.
Free object pronouns: Gloss Sereer Gloss Sereer 1SG mi' 1PL 'in(o) 2SG wo' 2PL nuun 3SG ten 3PL den(o)
These free pronouns can be used in either object or subject position. When used as a subject, they do not take the place of the subject agreement clitic or suffix, as these are truly agreement markers. When used as an object, these free pronouns do take the place of the object markers, as the object markers are truly incorporated pronouns. Use of a free pronoun is the only way to express a plural pronominal object. For singular objects, the free pronouns can optionally be used instead of the object markers, and are necessary when expressing multiple third person singular objects.
Reflexives
Reflexivity is indicated by use of the noun xoox (sg.) qoox (pl.) "head/self," along with the appropriate possessor (possessive adjective for a singular participant, free pronoun in genitive position for a plural participant).
Reflexive pronouns: Gloss Sereer Gloss Sereer 1SG xoox um 1PL qoox 'in 2SG xoox of 2PL qoox nuun 3SG xoox um 3PL qoox den
These reflexive pronouns are generally preceded by the differential object marking preposition a, unless for some reason the participant is inanimate.
Position of object pronouns
In complex clauses, such as those involving the verb bug "want" or ɓaat "do again," the object pronoun, whether incorporated (object marker), or free, can appear on (after) either the higher or lower verb. The former configuration (on/after the higher verb) is generally preferred, despite the fact that the object is truly that of the lower verb.
<gl fontsize=11> bugaam o warong \gll bug-aa-m o war-ong want-DV-1s INF kill-2s.obj \trans I want to kill you. </gl>
<gl fontsize=11> bugaaxong o war \gll bug-aa-x-ong o war want-DV-AX.1s-2s.obj INF kill \trans I want to kill you. </gl>
<gl fontsize=11> ɓaata (o) foon a 'in \gll ɓaat-a o foon a 'in add-2s INF kiss OBJ 1p \trans You kiss us again. </gl>
<gl fontsize=11> ɓaata (a) 'in o foon \gll ɓaat-a (a) 'in o foon add-2s obj 1pl INF kiss \trans You kiss us again. </gl>
Focus extraction marking
In cases of focus extraction, different forms of the verb appear. These are marked by the suffix -u, which has a zero allomorph when preceding a vowel-initial suffix. This suffix -u takes the place of the default vowel -a. In addition to subject marking, these extraction forms of the verb can include negative marking and object marking. In cases of subject extraction, the verb shows no agreement affixes (though it does exhibit the proper mutation for number agreement). The rows marked with "S" in the paradigms below indicate these subject-extraction forms. When some other element is extracted, the verb does exhibit subject agreement. Note that non-finite forms cannot take extraction morphology.
kick (w/ extraction) Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 falum i mbalu 1 faleerum i mbaleeru 2 falo nu mbalu 2 faleero nu mbaleeru 3 a falu a mbalu 3 a faleeru a mbaleeru S falu mbalu S faleeru mbaleeru
kick me (w/ extraction) Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 — — 1 — — 2 2 3 3 S S
kick you (w/ extraction) Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 1 2 — — 2 — — 3 3 S falong S
kick him (w/ extraction) Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 1 2 2 3 a falun a mbalun 3 S falun mbalun S
Passive
The passive forms of the verb are formed with the suffix -(e)e. The passive infinitive if marked by the suffix -el, and the passive progressive participle by -eel. Object markers cannot appear on passive forms of the verb. Any object that is present must be expressed as a free pronoun or NP. Negative forms of passive verbs take the suffix -aand, which co-occurs with the passive suffix only in first and second singular forms.
kick Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 faleem i mbale 1 falaandeem i mbalaand 2 falee nu mbale 2 falaandee nu mbalaand 3 a fale a mbale 3 falaand mbalaand Infinitive falel mbalel Prog. Part. faleel mbaleel Imperative ? ?
Relative marking
Relative Clauses include relativized forms of the verb, marked with the suffix -(ii)(n)a. This suffix combines with subject and object markers very idiosyncratically. These relative forms appear in two principle contexts: relative clauses, and following y- words (e.g. ye, ya, yaaga) "when/while." In a subject-headed relative clause (e.g. 'the man that kicked'), no subject agreement is present. These forms are given in the tables below in the rows marked "S".
that (__) kick(s) Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 faluuma i mbalna 1 faleeruuma i mbaleerna 2 faloona nu mbalna 2 faleeroona nu mbaleerna 3 te falna de mbalne 3 te faleerna de mbaleerna S falna mbalna S faleerna mbaleerna
Relative verb forms including object markers are given below:
that/when (__) kick(s) me Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 — — 1 — — 2 falaxoona nu mbalaxama 2 (faleeraxoona) (nu mbaleeraxama) 3 te falaxama de mbalaxama 3 (te faleeraxama) (de mbaleeraxama) S falaxama mbalaxama S faleeraxama mbaleeraxama
that/when (__) kick(s) you Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 in faloonga i mbaloonga 1 (in faleeroonga) (i mbaleeroonga) 2 — — 2 — — 3 te faloonga de mbaloonga 3 (te faleeroonga) (de mbaleeroonga) S faloonga mbaloonga S faleeroonga mbaleeroonga
that/when (__) kick(s) him Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 falanuuma i mbaluuna 1 (faleeranuuma) (i mbaleeruuna) 2 falanoona nu mbaluuna 2 (faleeranoona) (nu mbaleeruuna) 3 te faluuna de mbaluuna 3 (te faleeruuna) (de mbaleeruuna) S faluuna mbaluuna S faleeruuna mbaleeruuna
Passive verb forms can also be relativized.
that/when (__) am/are/is kicked Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 1 2 2 3 te faleena de mbaleena 3 te falaandeena de mbalaandeena S faleena mbaleena S falaandeena mbalaandeena
The allomorph -iina of the relative suffix appears when co-occuring with the tense/aspect suffixes -' (past), -k (future), and -eeg (past imperfect) (see below).
Conditional marking
The suffix -ang is used to express conditionality (o falanga "if you kick"). Conditional verbs take the "mixed" subject agreement pattern. These verb forms cannot appear in isolation, and require the presence of some other clause to indicate what happens if the condition is met.
if (__) kick(s) Positive sg. pl. Negative sg. pl. 1 falanga i mbalanga 1 falangee i mbalangee 2 o falanga nu mbalanga 2 o falangee nu mbalangee 3 a falanga a mbalanga 3 a falangee a mbalangee
Conditional forms can appear with object marking:
(fill in when we have it)
Tense and aspect
All of the examples given so far are in the "default" perfect tense. There are three tense/aspect suffixes which attach directly after the stem. All of the finite forms listed above can take take these tense/aspect suffixes, as can the infinitive. The progressive participle cannot take these suffixes.
Tense/aspect suffixes: Gloss Sereer Past -' Future -k Past imperfect -eeg Past conditional -k-eeg
The past conditional suffix -k-eeg ("would have __") is composed of the future and past imperfect suffixes, but as its meaning is very much non-compositional given the meaning of these two suffixes, it would be possible to analyze -keeg as a single suffix.
The precise semantics of these tense/aspect affixes is discussed in Tense and Aspect. The first person singular forms of fal "kick" are given below with each of these tense/aspect suffixes:
Basic subject marking: Gloss Sereer I kicked fal'aam I will kick falkaam I was kicking faleegaam I would have kicked falkeegaam
Complex Constructions
In addition to the "tenses" described above, there are a number of complex TAM (tense, aspect, mood) constructions formed by the use of various auxiliaries, generally consisting of an auxiliary followed by a non-finite verb form.
Axe copula
The copula -xe is inflected irregularly for subject agreement, and can take no other inflection.
The copula -xe: Gloss Sereer Gloss Sereer 1SG me-xe 1PL in-we 2SG we-xe / wo-xe 2PL nun-we 3SG a-xe 3PL a-we
This copular verb can appear in a construction whereby a lexical verb form directly follows it. Most commonly, it is followed by a progressive participle.
<gl fontsize=11> mexe ñaamaa maalo \gll me-xe ñaam-aa maalo 1s-COP eat-PROG rice \trans I am eating rice. </gl>
However, it is also possible for certain finite verbs to occur in this position; namely, a positive, active, non-extracted verb.
<gl fontsize=11> wil es axe ɓalga \gll wil es a-xe ɓalg-a hair my 3-COP be.black-DV \trans My hair is black. </gl>
Furthermore, this finite verb can be in the past imperfect tense. No other tense/aspect affixes (-' nor -k) can appear on a verb in this construction.
<gl fontsize=11> axe jaweega \gll a-xe jaw-eeg-a 3-COP cook-P.IMP-DV \trans He was cooking. </gl>
Note that this last construction is semantically equivalent to simply using a past imperfect form without the copula. Thus, the above sentence is equivalent to a jaweega.
The auxiliaries xan, fat, and bar
The auxiliaries xan (future), fat (obligation), and bar (prohibition) occur with any non-finite verb form. These constructions make use of "mixed" subject agreement marking pattern.
The auxiliary xan is used to indicate future tense. The semantic distinctions between xan and the tense/aspect suffix -k are discussed in Tense and Aspect.
<gl fontsize=11> xan o moof \gll xan o= moof FUT 2s sit \trans You will sit. </gl>
<gl fontsize=11> xan nu ngimaa \gll xan nu= ngim-aa FUT 2p sing.pl-PROG \trans You all will be singing. </gl>
There exists an optional variant xam when agreeing with a first person singular subject, though this is dispreferred to xan.
<gl fontsize=11> xam/xan ga'in \gll xam/xan ga'-in FUT see-3s.obj \trans I'll see him. </gl>
The auxiliary fat is used to express obligation.
<gl fontsize=11> fat o ret \gll fat o= ret OBLIG 2s go \trans You have to go. </gl>
<gl fontsize=11> fat i njaw-aa \gll fat i= njaw OBLIG 1p cook.pl \trans We have to be cooking. </gl>
The auxiliary bar is used to express prohibition. It can occur with any subject, but is most commonly found with second person subjects.
<gl fontsize=11> bar o nafaam \gll bar o= naf-aam PROHIB 2s hit-1s.obj \trans Don't hit me! </gl>
<gl fontsize=11> bar i ndet \gll bar i= ndet PROHIB 1p go.pl \trans Let's not go. </gl>
With a second singular subject, an optional abbreviated form exists in which the final r of the auxiliary and the clitic o is omitted.
<gl fontsize=11> ba lool \gll ba lool OBLIG.2s cry \trans Don't cry! </gl>
The auxiliary kaa
...
The auxiliary naa
...
Examples of TAM combinations
The following are examples of each attested TAM combination in Sereer thus far:
Present progressive: <gl fontsize=11> mexe laca \gll me-xe lac-aa 1s-PRG ask-PROX \trans I’m asking (065) </gl>
Proximal:
<gl fontsize=11>
ŋasaam
\gll ŋas-aa-m
play-PROX-1S
\trans I play (096)
</gl>
Future progressive:
<gl fontsize=11>
\gll xan nafaa aJegaan
xan naf-aa a-Jegaan
FUT hit-PROX OBJ-Jegan
\trans I will be hitting Jegan repeatedly (108)
</gl>
Future: <gl fontsize=11> \gll xan naf aJegaan xan naf a-Jegaan FUT hit OBJ-Jegan \trans I will hit Jegan (once) (108) </gl>
Past: <gl fontsize=11> \gll sob 'am sob ’a-m be.clumsy PST-1s \trans I was clumsy (068) </gl>
Progressive past (1):
<gl fontsize=11>
\gll feceegam
fec-eega-m
dance-PRG.PST-1s
\trans I used to dance (133)
</gl>
Progressive past (2):
<gl fontsize=11>
\gll mexe fooleega
me-xe fool-eega
1s-prg. jump-pst.prg
\trans I was jumping (repeatedly) (108)
</gl>
ka-
Sereer allows a proclitic ka- to appear with tense and aspect morphology. The exact semantics of ka- are yet to be determined. Ka- often occurs with the progressive aspect -aa. However, it is not inherently linked to the progressive semantics like as the auxiliary "xe/we" is when combined with the proximal "-aa" suffix. Similarly, though, ka- also takes special subject marking (See section on Subject Marking).
Progressive KA- reading: <gl fontsize=11> \gll kam labaa ka-m lab-aa KA-1S drown-PROX \trans I'm drowning (166) </gl>
Non-progressive KA- reading: <gl fontsize=11> \gll kam lab ka-m lab KA-1S drown \trans I (already) drowned (166) </gl>
However, this progressive/non-progressive reading distinction only occurs with atelic verbs. The exact function of ka- is yet to be determined. This morpheme could also have focus/extraction function (See note in Focus section)
