Lexical  plural forms of verbs

Some of the Ainu verbs have a special verb form to express number. As mentioned in the intro of this lesson, the nouns are usually not marked with number/plurality markers. Instead, the number is shown with verbs when needed. There are two types of verbs: the ones with lexical plural forms and the ones with plural formed with suffix. The former, lexical plural forms, means that there are words that have a different form in plural and in singular. In some cases the singular and plural forms are completely different (these are only few, but very common words) and in some cases they use the same root and have just different endings. When the plural is formed with simply attaching the plural suffix pa, the use of plural form is not obligatory grammatically. It can just be used to highlight the fact that there are many if the speaker feels like it. But if the verb has a lexical plural form, it should be used as a default when talking about many, and using singular in these cases can be unnatural or even ungrammatical.

What does the plurality of verbs exactly mean?

Well, that is a good question, because it's not so simple as it might seem. I didn't mention what exactly is pluralized when the plural forms of the verbs are used. You might have intuitively thought that it's the subject, which is partly true. What is pluralized with the plural forms of the verbs depends on the transitivity of the verb.

Intransitive verbs in their plural form of course denote that their subject is in plural form, because intransitive verbs have only one argument and that is the subject. For example, we have learned that as means to stand. It has a plural form of roski, which means that the subject of the verb is plural.

However, the plural forms of the transitive verbs show plurality of the object or sometimes rather plurality of the actions performed. For example, we have encountered earlier in our example sentences the verb tuye 'to cut something'. This means to cut once, to cut something in two pieces. If you want to say that something is cut several times, you need to use the plural form tuypa 'to cut something (several times)'. That something in this case can be either one thing or several things, so the meaning of the verb is a bit ambiguous: cut one thing several times or cut several things once each (which of course assumes that the cutting also happens multiple times). On the other hand, there are verbs like rayke 'to kill (one person/animal)' with a plural form ronnu 'to kill (several people/animals)'. You can kill one living thing only once, so the plural in this case quite clearly refers that several things are killed and the act of killing happens several time, so both the object and the action are in plural. And sometimes, quite rarely though, also with the transitive verbs, it seems that it might refer to the plurality of the subject. So, this is a bit complicated.

OK, so, as a rule of thumb, when the plural verb is intransitive, it means the subject is in plural. If the plural verb is transitive, either the object or the times the action is performed or both are in plural. Got it! And plural means more than one, right? Not so fast! Yes, if there is one (subject/object/performance of the action), the verb is always in singular. This is what we have been learning this far. But the numbers between 1 and 5 are a bit difficult. Usually, singular form of the verbs can be used until the number of subjects/objects/performances of the action reach four. After that (from on five) the verb is usually in plural. However, it is not wrong to use the plural form with 2, 3, or 4 subjects/objects/performances of the action either, and some times you can even see singular with 5 or more subjects/objects/performances of the action. Using the plural with 2– 4 targets of pluralization just puts emphasis on the fact that there are more than one, more than expected, etc. So,

• 1 VI subject or VT object/performances of the action = verb in singular,

• 2–4 VI subjects or VT objects/performances of the actions = verb in singular or plural,

• 5 or more VI subjects or VT objects/performances of the actions = verb usually in plural.

In some other Ainu varieties the change from singular to plural occurs at six (the number six is often used in the old stories to express great number and many things) or even at ten.

Now, let's look at the plural verb forms and then some example sentences.

Verbs with completely different forms in singular and plural

Some of the singular/plural verb pairs have forms that don't have any similarity whatsoever. Fortunately (or unfortunately?), these are verbs that are used very frequently, and you should know all of the singular forms already, except maybe rayke 'to kill someone/something' that was just introduced in the last section and uk 'to take something'. Here is a list of the Ainu singular (SG) and plural (PL) verb pairs with completely different forms:

• to sit: (VI) a (SG), rok (PL)

• to exist; to be (somewhere): (VI) an (SG), oka (PL)

• (1) to put something; to place something; to put something down (2) to set something aside; to leave something behind/unfinished: (VT) anu (SG), ari (PL)

• to go: (VI) arpa (SG), paye (PL)

• to stand: (VI) as (SG), roski (PL)

• to come: (VI) ek (SG), arki (PL)

• something is somewhere (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ); something is located somewhere (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ); something is positioned somewhere (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ); something is put on/in/at something (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ); something goes in/on something (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ): (VT) oma (SG), o (PL)

• to kill someone/something: (VT) rayke (SG), ronnu (PL)

• (1) to take something (2) to get something; to obtain something (3) to take away something; to rob of something; to steal something: (VT) uk (SG), uyna (PL)

So, there, now we have seen our first singular/plural pairs. Remembering all these different forms can be quite hard at the start but these verbs are used frequently, so you'll see and hear them a lot. If you try to find a common theme among these verbs, you can see that the intransitive verbs have all something to do with movement (either moving or not moving, that is, staying in place) and the transitive verbs somehow change their object (place it (anu/ari); make it dead (rayke/ronnu); introduce a new item on/at/into them (oma/o), or make it move from a place to another (uk/uyna). If you are not convinced of the latter theme (making a change), you can see this better a bit later in another type of singular/plural verb group later in this chapter.

These verbs are used as a part of many other verbs and idiomatic expressions. For example, the verb use anu/ari 'to take something off; to pull something out' is formed from adverb úse 'only that separately' (notice the exceptional accent) and the verb anu/ari 'to put something; to place something'. The person marker is attached to the verb and the adverb comes right before the verb, so for example 'I take off my shoes' would be ku-keri use k-anu. Literally this means 'I place only my shoes separately'. 

• (1) to take something out; to pull something out; to draw something out (2) to take off something (clothes, shoes); to take off (personal accessories); to undress: (VT) use anu (SG), use ari (PL)

There are some other verbs, too, that are compounds with an/oka 'to exist; to be (somewhere)' as the final component and they naturally have distinct singular and plural forms.

• to find something interesting; to find something amusing; to find something funny: (old fashioned word) (VT) ekiroroan (SG), ekirorooka (PL)

• to know something; to understand something; to realize something; to remember something; to learn something: (VT) eram(u)an (SG), eramuoka (PL)

• to say: (VI) hawean (SG), haweoka (PL)

• to travel; to walk around; to go here and there: (VI) omanan (SG), payoka (PL)

For the singular eram(u)an, there are two forms eramuan and eraman. The latter is used in the areas down from the midstream of the Saru River and the former in other regions.

The verb pair omanan/payeoka 'to travel' is formed from the verbs 'to go' (oman/paye) and 'to exist' (an/oka). However, in the Saru variety—the variety we are learning here—the singular form of the verb 'to go' is arpa, not oman. Oman 'to go' is used in many other Ainu varieties/dialects but it pops up as part of compounds or derived words also in Saru variety. So, oman 'to go' and an 'to exist' is omanan 'to travel'. In the plural form, the last vowel of paye 'to go' is merged with the first vowel of oka 'to exists' and the word for 'to travel' is payoka.

Examples 1

1. menoko utar rok korka okkayo utar roski.

   • The women sit but the men stand.

2. cironnup poronno isepo ronnu.

   • The fox killed many rabbits.

3. Kusur un paye wa arki.

   • They went to Kushiro and came (back).

4. ku-tokuye tane teta oka korka nani oyak un paye.

   • My friends are now here but they will soon go elsewhere.

5. poronno wakka su or o wa su atte.

   • A lot of water is in the pot and he put the pot over fire.

6. hekattar keri teyne kusu kerihi use ari wa ape sam ta ari.

   • The children's shoes were wet, so they took off their shoes and placed them by the fire.

The transitive verb pair oma/o 'something is somewhere (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ); something is put on/in/at something (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ)' is quite unique in the sense that it doesn't show who does the action of putting or placing. The subject of the verb is the thing that is put somewhere (in the example sentence 5 'water') and the object is the place or location where the subject is (or has been or will be) placed (in example sentence 5 'the pot'). If you want to show who does the action of putting in, there is a ditransitive verb omare 'to put something on/in/at something (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ)' you can use instead. Omare doesn't have a specific plural form.

By the way, if you want to say that there is a lot of something, you can use the adverb poronno 'a lot; much; many' together with either the singular verbs (ex. an  'to exist', oma 'something is placed somewhere') or plural verb (ex. oka 'to exist', o 'something is placed somewhere'). If you want to especially highlight the great number or amount of that something, use the plural. There doesn't seem to be difference in the verb choice depending on if the noun is countable or uncountable (cf. example sentences 2 and 5).

Vocabulary 1

• menoko utar (N-PL) — women
  • menoko (N) — woman
  • utar (N/SUF) — (1) people (2) -s (forms a plural of a word that refers animate things; exceptionally and rarely used with inanimate things)
• rok (VI PL) — to sit
• korka (CONJ) — but
• okkayo utar (N-PL) — men
  • okkayo (N) — man
• roski (VI PL) — to stand
• cironnup (N) — fox
• isepo (N) — rabbit
• poronno (ADV) — a lot; much; many
• ronnu (VT PL) — to kill someone/something
• Kusur (PN) — Kushiro
• un (CASEPRT) — to (a place); towards (a place)
• paye (VI PL) — to go
• wa (CONJ) — and; and then; and as a result; and that's why
• arki (VI PL) — to come
• tokuye (N-AFF) — (close) friend
• tane (ADV) — now
• teta (ADV) — here
• oka (VI PL) — to exist; to be (somewhere)
• nani (ADV) — soon
• oyak (N-REL) — other place; somewhere else
• su (N) — pot; kettle
• or (N-REL) — (at) the place of; on; in; inside
• wakka (N) — water
• o (VT PL) — something is somewhere (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ); something is located somewhere (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ); something is positioned somewhere (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ); something is put on/in/at something (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ); something goes in/on something (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ)
• atte (VT) — to hang something up; to hang something over fire
• hekattar (N PL) — children
• keri(hi) (N-AFF) — someone's shoes
• teyne (VI STAT) — to be wet
• kusu (CONJ) — (1) because; so; for that reason (2) in order to
• use ari (VT PL) — to take off something
• wa (CONJ) — and; and then; and as a result; and that's why
• ape sam (EXP N-REL) — fireside; (on) the fireside; next to fire(place)
  • ape (N) — fire
  • sam (N-REL) — next to; by; beside; (on) the side; near
• ari (VT PL) — to put something; to place something; to put something down

Verbs ending with -n in singular and with -p in plural

Now we get to learn verbs with more regular patterns in their singular/plural forms. These are all movement related intransitive verbs. The singular ends with a -n and the plural with a -p ('plural ends with p', a good mnemonic!). We have already been using some of the singular forms of these.

• to enter; to go inside: (VI) ahun (SG), ahup (PL)

• to come out; to appear; to come forth: (VI) asin (SG), asip (PL)

• to come down; to go down; to descend: (VI) ran (SG), rap (PL)

• to rise; to go up; to ascend: (VI) rikin (SG), rikip (PL)

• (1) to go/come down the river; to go/come towards downstream; to go/come down from the mountains to the village; to flow down (2) to move towards the fireplace/hearth: (VI) san (SG), sap (PL)

• (1) to land; to go ashore; to come ashore (2) to go to Hokkaido; to come to Hokkaido; to return to Hokkaido: (VI) yan (SG), yap (PL)

Now is a good time to remind yourself of the place nouns we learned in lesson 7. Do these verbs look somehow familiar to you? Well, that is because the base of the verb comes from the place nouns. For example, we learned aw 'inside', ra 'low place', rik 'high place', sa 'the front part; the part close to the entrance', and ya '(towards) the shore; (towards) the continent'. After the base, there is sometimes a filler vowel and then the ending -n for singular and -p for plural. The aw 'inside' changes into ah-, probably for easier pronunciation.

The verb pair asin/asip 'to come out' seems to have very specific uses only in the Saru variety ('to be given a compensation'; 'the smoke comes puffing out'), and so it's quite rarely used, but I added it to the list for completion. It seems to be more generally used in other dialects. In the Saru variety, the verb soyne/soyene and its plural form soyenpa are used instead when talking about someone coming out from inside (see the next section).

In addition to the ones listed, there are also verbs kimun 'to go to the mountains' and repun 'to go to the open sea', which presuppose that there are also plural verbs kimup and repup, but I have no idea if these are attested in the Saru variety of Ainu. In other varieties,  there is the verb makan 'to go towards the inner part', too, which is paired with the plural makap, but again, I don't know if these are used in the variety we are learning here.

Examples 2

7. sinewe utar Satporopet wano Tomakomay un sap.

   • The visitors go from Sapporo to Tomakomai.

8. seta mun tum un hoyupu kusu cikap kimatek wa nisor un rikip.

   • The dog run into the grass, so the birds got startled and rose in the sky.

9. aynu ahup a ahup a ayne cise sikno ne. (adapted from NAM Ainu Language Archive)

   • People came in and came in and finally the house was full.

10. kimunkamuy kamuycep e kusu pet or un rap.

    • The bears came down to the river to eat salmon.

Vocabulary 2

• sinewe utar (N) — visitors; guests
• wano (CASEPRT) — from; starting from on
• un (CASEPRT) — to (a place); towards (a place); X from (around) Y (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ)
• sap (VI PL) — (1) to go down the river; to go towards downstream; to go down from the mountains to the village; to flow down (2) to move towards the fireplace/hearth
• mun (N) — (1) grass; non-edible plant (2) garbage; trash; rubbish
• tum (N-REL) — (1) inside (something that is evenly packed with something) (2) among; amongst; out of
• hoyupu (VI SG) — to run; to leap
• kusu (CONJ) — (1) because; so; for that reason (2) in order to
• cikap (N) — bird
• kimatek (VI) — (1) to get startled; to be surprised; to be frightened (2) to be flustered; to panic; to rush
• wa (CONJ) — and; and then; and as a result; and that's why
• nisor (N-PLACE) — sky; heavens
• rikip (VI PL) — to rise; to go up; to ascend
• aynu (N) — (1) human being; person (2) man (3) Ainu 
• ahup (VI PL) — to enter; to go inside
• a... a... (EXP) — to <ᴠᴇʀʙ> and <ᴠᴇʀʙ> (expresses prolonged continuity of the action)
• ayne (CONJ) — and finally; and at last
• cise (N) — house; building
• sikno (ADV) — full; crowded; packed; filled with; brimming with
• kimunkamuy (N) — bear
• kamuycep (N) — salmon
• pet (N) — river
• rap (VI PL) — to come down; to go down; to descend

The verb san/sap 'to go/come down (the river; from the mountains)' in the example sentence 7 is used when someone moves the way the water flows, for example, goes down the river or comes down from the mountains. You don't really use the verbs arpa/paye 'to go' or ek/arki 'to come' in these cases. For example, if you are in Sapporo and you are going to Otaru, or Ishikari (both by the Sea of Japan), or Tomakomay (by the Pacific Ocean), you need to use the verb san, because you are moving downstream towards the sea/ocean. This applies also when you go to visit a friend that lives downstream from the place you are. So, basically you need to know where you are located in in relation to the river system and sea/ocean to be able to use this verb. The verbs arpa/paye 'to go' or ek/arki 'to come' can be used when you move upstream.

The word nisor 'sky; heavens' in example sentence 8 is obviously a combination of common noun nis 'sky' and the relative noun or '(at) the place of; on; in; inside' but it is used as a single word. It is of course a place noun because of its origins and it doesn't require a relative noun after it when used together with case particles expressing movement.

Verbs ending with a vowel in singular and '-pa' plural

The next type of singular/plural verbs has also regular pattern: the singular ends in a vowel and in the plural, that last vowel is dropped and -pa is attached. These are numerous, especially the transitive verbs, so even if there a lot of verbs listed here, I assume the list is still incomplete.

First the intransitive verbs. These also have all something to do with movement. Most of these verbs are very obvious about the movement ('to rise up', 'to come out', 'to dance', etc.), however, some of are more abstract movement ('to work hard' or 'to yell').

• to work hard; to do one's best; to try one's hardest: (VI) arikiki (SG) arikikpa/arikikipa (PL)

• to burst open; to split open: (VI) hecawe (SG), hecawpa (PL)

• to bloom; to open (of a flower): (VI) hecirasa (SG), heciraspa (PL)

• to rise up the river (of fish); to go up; to climb up: (VI) hemesu (SG), hemespa (PL)

• (1) to turn; to bend; to wind; to twist (2) to drop in (at); to drop by; to stop by: (VI) henoye (SG), henoypa (PL)

• to raise one's head; to flourish; to become abundant and rich: (VI) hepuni (SG), hepunpa (PL)

• to come out; to be born; to sprout; to grow (of plants): (VI) hetuku (SG), hetukpa (PL)

• (1) to rise up; to stand up (2) to fly: (VI) hopuni (SG), hopunpa (PL)

• to dance: (VI) horipi (SG), horippa (PL)

• to look back; to turn around; to look over one's shoulder: (VI) hosari (SG), hosarpa (PL)

• to return; to go back; to go back home: (VI) hosipi (SG), hosippa (PL)

• to call out; to yell; to shout: (VI) hotuye (SG), hotuypa (PL)

• to run; to leap: (VI) hoyupu (SG), hoyuppa (PL)

• to wash clothes: (VI) ihuraye (SG), ihuraypa (PL)

• to alternate; to counterchange; to switch; to take turns: (VI) itasa (SG), itaspa (PL)

• (1) to turn (toward); to face (a certain direction); to change one's orientation; to change direction (2) to go to the afterworld: (VI) sikiru (SG), sikirpa (PL)

• to resign; to quit (one's job); to leave (one's job); to retire: (VT) simakoraye (SG), simakoraypa (PL)

• to go and visit (a friend); to go to visit (a friend): (VI) sinewe (SG), sinewpa (PL)

• to spread out; to extend; to widen: (VI) sipirasa (SG), sipiraspa (PL)

• to rise; to go up; to be lifted; to be raised: (VI) sipuni (SG), sipunpa (PL)

• to draw back; to withdraw: (VI) sietaye (SG), sietaypa (PL)

• to tighten; to be tightened; to be tight: (VI) siyupu (SG), siyuppa (PL)

• to go out; to exit: (VI) soyne/soyene (SG), soyenpa (PL)

• to be a married couple; to be a man and a wife; to live together: (VI) uhekote (SG), uhekotpa (PL)

The last one—uhekote/uhekotpa—is a bit special case, because it has been derived from a transitive verb hekote/hekotpa '(1) to turn towards something (2) to be married to; to be a couple with' by attaching the prefix u- 'mutually; each other; one another', so it doesn't really show movement. The same goes with hotuye/hotuypa 'to yell': it's probably derived from ho- 'buttocks' and tuye/hotuypa 'to cut' (don't ask why cutting buttocks becomes yell).

Notice that the plural of soyne 'to go out' is also soyenpa, because the form soynppa * is against Ainu phonetic rules, so plural is the same as the singular form soyene has. The form soyne is used in the downstream area of the Saru River, and both soyne and the form soyene around the mid-stream of the Saru River.

In addition to arikikpa, there is also another possible plural form for arikiki 'to work hard; to do one's best', namely arikikipa, without the i dropped.

Next the transitive verbs with -pa plural, I also slipped in one ditransitive verb. As you can see, these are many and the list here is still incomplete (I'll supplement it if I find new ones). You probably figure out yourself from their English translations which ones are used often and useful to learn first and which ones are not.

Meaning-wise, generally, these verbs have something to do with causing a change in their objects. It can be a bit questionable if for example liking something or thinking about something causes a change to it, though. Maybe the change is what happens in the mind of the liker or the thinker when they start to like something or think about something.

• to hold something; to have something in one's hands/arms; hold in one's arms: (VT) ani (SG), anpa (PL)

• to scatter something; to spread something: (VT) cari (SG), carpa (PL)

• to sprinkle something around; to scatter something everywhere: (VT) catcari (SG), catcarpa (PL)

• to make something round; to roll something up; to make something narrower: (VT) cupu (SG), cuppa (PL)

• to pull something; to draw something: (VT) etaye (SG), etaypa (PL)

• to like something; find something interesting; to find something funny: (VT) eramasu (SG), eramaspa (PL)

• to think about something throughly; to ponder over something: (VT) eyaykosiramsuye (SG), eyaykosiramsuypa (PL)

• (1) to turn towards something; to look toward something; to face something (2) to be married to; to be a couple with: (VT) hekote (SG), hekotpa (PL)

• to wash something: (VT) huraye (SG), huraypa (PL)

• to flatten something: (VT) kapa (SG), kappa (PL)

• to break something; to fracture something; to snap something off: (VT) kaye (SG), kaypa (PL)

• to bend something; to twist something: (VT) komo (SG), kompa (PL)

• to serve something (food) to someone; to offer something (food) to someone: (VD) kopuni (SG), kopunpa (PL)

• to break something into pieces; to pulverize something: (VT) korototo (SG), korototpa (PL)

• to bring/take something to the other side the river with boat: (VT) kusu (SG), kuspa (PL)

• to open something: (VT) maka (SG), makpa (PL)

• to plug something off; to twist something off; to scratch something off; to cut something off: (VT) mesu (SG), mespa (PL)

• to pull something along the ground; to drag something: (VT) nini (SG), ninpa (PL)

• to twist something; to wrench something: (VT) noye (SG), noypa (PL)

• to sweep something; to brush something clean: (VT) nuwe (SG), nupa (PL)

• to spit something out from mouth (of a living thing or a figurative mouth, such as that of a bottle); to spew something out from mouth; to flush something out from mouth: (VT) ohetu (SG), ohetpa (PL)

• to finish something; to conclude something; to complete something: (VT) okere (SG), okerpa (PL)

• to chase someone out; to drive someone out; to expel someone: (VT) okewe (SG), okewpa (PL)

• to push something; to thrust something: (VT) oputuye (SG), oputuypa (PL)

• to throw something (into a relatively close and predetermined place); to toss something; to throw something away; to dump something; to get rid of something: (VT) osura (SG), osurpa (PL)

• to dig something: (VT) ouri (SG), ourpa (PL)

• to cut something into long and narrow strips: (VT) petu (SG), petpa (PL)

• to break something; to tear something; to rip something: (VT) pere (SG), perpa (PL)

• (1) to wipe something; to sweep something (2) to shave something (with a plane); to plane something: (VT) piru (SG), pirpa (PL)

• to lift something up; to raise something; to elevate something: (VT) puni (SG), punpa (PL)

• to hold something down; to press something down; to pin something down: (VT) rari (SG), rarpa (PL)

• to send someone (towards some direction); to dispach someone; to make someone go; to make someone move: (VT) raye (SG), raypa (PL)

• to bring up someone/something; to raise someone/something; to rear someone/something; to keep <ᴀɴ ᴀɴɪᴍᴀʟ>; to nurture someone/something; to foster someone/something: (VT) resu (SG), respa (PL)

• to bend something (into an arch, curve); to bow something; to curve something: (VT) rewe (SG), rewpa (PL)

• to pluck something; to pick something: (VT) rise (SG), rispa (PL)

• to swallow something; to gulp something down: (VT) ruki (SG), rukpa (PL)

• to fasten something; to tie something; to restrain something: (VT) sirkote (SG), sirkotpa (PL)

• to skin (a fish, an animal): (VT) soso (SG), sospa (PL)

• to stew something; to boil something: (VT) suwe (SG), supa (PL)

• to swing something; to rock something; shake something: (VT) suye (SG), suypa (PL)

• to exchange something; to switch to something: (VT) tasa (SG), taspa (PL)

• (1) to lengthen something; to extend something; to stretch something (2) to lay out something; to spread out something (3) to extend one's hands; to stretch one's hands: (VT) turi (SG), turpa (PL)

• to cut something: (VT) tuye (SG), tuypa (PL) 

• to fasten something securely; tie something neatly: (VT) ukoyupu (SG), ukoyuppa (PL)

• to exchange something; to swap something; to replace something; to substitute something: (VT) utasare (SG), utaspare (PL)

• to convey everything about something; to communicate all the details about something; to report exhaustively about something: (VT) uuste (SG), uuspare (PL)

• (1) to collect something; to gather something; to assemble something; to pick up and gather something (2) to tidy something up; to put something in order: (VT) uwomare (SG), uwomarpare (PL)

• to smash something; to crush something; to break something into pieces: (VT) yaku (SG), yakpa (PL)

• to tear something; to rip something: (VT) yasa (SG), yaspa (PL)

• to tie something; to fasten something; to fasten tightly something; to tighten something: (VT) yupu (SG), yuppa (PL)

Notice the irregularities: the plural of suwe 'to boil something' is supa, not suwpa*, and the plural of nuwe 'to sweep' is nupa, not nuwpa*. This is probably because suwpa* and nuwpa* are difficult to pronounce, so the /w/ has been dropped of (compare with rewe/rewpa 'to bend something').

I believe the verb pairs utasare/utaspare and uwomare/uwomarpare require a bit explanation. The -re at the end of the verbs is a suffix that makes verbs causative ('make someone to do something'), or to put it more simply, turn intransitive verbs into transitive verbs. So, in theory, the intransitive versions of these verb pairs would be utasa*/utaspa* and uwoma/uwomarpa*, but uwoma 'to be all together; everyone gathers together; to assemble in large numbers' is actually the only one of these that is used (or has been documented) as independent word.

Examples 3

11. ekuskonna nitay tum wano yuk topa ru ka un hoyuppa.

    • Suddenly a herd of deer run on the road from the forest.

12. acapo cep kapuhu sospa wa cep tuypa wa supa.

    • Uncle skinned the fish, cut them in pieces and boiled them.

13. unarpe emo anpa wa soyne hine toy ourpa wa toy or emo opitta omare.

    • Auntie carried potatoes out and then she dug the soil and put all the potatoes in the soil.

14. toy ka ta ni hetukpa.

    • Trees grow on the ground.

15. nisatta ku-akihi, ku-mataki sitcasnure hine ihuraypa.

    • Tomorrow my younger brothers and sisters clean and then wash clothes.

You might wonder why I used the singular form soyne 'to go out' in the example sentence 13. That's because it refers to the aunt, who is only one person, not the potatoes she is holding. So, literally the part means 'auntie went out carrying many potatoes.'

Vocabulary 3

• ekuskonna (ADV) — suddenly
• nitay (N) — forest
• tum (N-REL) —  (1) inside (something that is packed with something) (2) among; amongst; out of
• wano (CASEPRT) — from
• yuk (N) — deer
• topa (N) — group; flock; herd
• ru (N) — road; path; way
• ka (N-REL) — (on) top of (touching)
• un (CASEPRT) — to (a place); towards (a place)
• hoyuppa (VI PL) — to run; to leap
• kapuhu (N-AFF) — skin; bark; peel
• sospa (VT PL) — to skin (a fish, an animal)
• wa (CONJ) — and; and then; and as a result; and that's why
• tuypa (VT PL) — to cut something into pieces
• supa (VT PL) — to stew something; to boil something
• emo (N) — potato
• anpa (VT PL) — to hold something; to have something in one's hands/arms; hold in one's arms
• soyne (VT SG) — to go out; to exit
• hine (CONJ) — and then
• toy (N) — earth; soil; dirt
• ourpa (VT PL) — to dig something
• or (N-REL) — at the place of; on; at; in; inside
• opitta (ADV) — all; everything
• omare (VD) — to put something in something (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ)
• ta (CASEPRT) — (1) at; in; (2) (with verbs of movement) to
• ni (N) — tree
• hetukpa (VI PL) — to come out; to be born; to sprout; to grow (of plants)
• sitcasnure (VI) — to clean; to tidy up
• hine (CONJ) — and then
• ihuraypa (VI PL) — to wash clothes

Generic plural pa

The verbs we learned above, have a special assigned plural forms and the plural form must be, as a rule of thumb, used when the subject of intransitive verbs or object of the transitive verbs is plural. How about the verbs that are not listed above? For example, apkas 'to walk', ekimne 'to go to the mountains' or nukar 'to look at something'? Well, you can just use them as they are, regardless of the number of the subject, or object, or times of performing the action. But, there is the suffix pa that can be attached to other verbs to emphasize that indeed many people did this or many things were the target of the action.

What is confusing, pa can be also attached after the plural forms above that don't end with -pa already. For example, paye 'to go' is already a plural form but you can attach pa to it to create paye pa. This is, however, quite rare, so you don't have to worry about it now.

Another interesting point about pa is that it seems to be on its way to grammaticalization and turning into a suffix. What I mean by this is that it doesn't quite behave like other verb suffixes in Ainu. Here I go again ahead of time and talk about something we haven't learned yet, so you can skip this part if you want to. Usually, a verb suffix is a established part of the verb and nothing else can go between the verb and the suffix. However, in the case of pa, you can often see the 1st person plural inclusive and exclusive person markers for intransitive verbs, that is -an and -as,  to go between the verb and the suffix pa. So, for example, you could expect the form apkaspa-as 'we (excluding the hearer(s)) walk' but instead you can often see the form apkas-as pa 'we (excluding the hearer(s)) walk'. So, it is a bit unclear whether pa can be called a suffix yet or not. Other Ainu researchers seem to call it a suffix but still often write is as a separate word. I have adopted the same tactic here and I don't mark it as a suffix with a dash in front of it either (that is, I don't write -pa).

Examples 4

16. poronno oyamosir peka k-omanan kor usa okay pe ku-nukar pa.

    • I saw many different things while traveling many foreign countries.

17. okkaypo ponmenoko mina pa.

    • The young men and young women laugh.

18. kimunkamuy nupuri or, nitay or peka apkas pa.

    • The bears walk all over the mountain and forest.

Vocabulary 4

• oyamosir (N) — foreign country
• peka (CASEPRT) — here and there in; all around
• omanan (VI SG) — to travel; to walk around; to go here and there
• kor (CONJ) — while; when
• usa okay pe (N) — many things; numerous things; different things
• nukar pa (VT PL) — to see something; to watch something
• okkaypo (N) — young man
• ponmenoko (N) — young woman
• mina pa (VI PL) — to laugh
• kimunkamuy (N) — bear
• nupuri (N) — mountain
• nitay (N) — forest
• apkas pa (VI PL) — to walk

Lexical negated verbs

We have learned already starting in the lesson 1 that we can negate the sentences with somo 'not' or ka somo ne/ki 'not (even)'. However, there are some verbs in Ainu that have inherently a negative meaning. These come in pairs verbs that have the same meaning minus the negation (that is, they are the negative verbs' positive counterparts). If a verb belongs to these kinds of positive/negative verb pairs, the standard negation with somo is not usually possible. That is, if the lexical negated verb exists, is must be used (well, there seems to be some exceptions, but we will not consider them here). This doesn't really have anything to do with verbs' plural forms, but I had to introduce these somewhere, so why not here then.

For example, the verb eraman 'to know something; to understand something' has a negative counterpart erampewtek 'not to know something; not to understand something'. So, if you want to say 'I don't understand (this)', you need to use the negative verb and say k-erampewtek. It's not generally acceptable to say somo k-eraman*.

On the other hand, there are some verbs that have an antonym, for example oskoni 'to catch something; to make it on time to something' and orawki 'to miss something; not be on time to something'. The latter is not a lexically negated verb and actually you can use both of these verbs with somo 'not': somo oskoni 'not to catch something' and somo orawki 'not to fail to catch something'. I introduce some of this kind of verb pairs here for vocabulary building.

Let's look at the lexical negation first. Many of the positive counterparts listed here are already familiar to us. 

A list of lexical negated verbs in Ainu

• (VT) amkir (to know someone/something; to recognize someone/something; to have a memory of someone/something) ←→ (VT) eramiskari (not know someone/something; not recognize someone/something; not to have a memory of someone/something)

• (VI) an (SG)/oka (PL) (to exist; to be (somewhere)) ←→ (VI) isam (not to exist; not to be somewhere; to be gone)

• (VI) askay (to be skillful; to be proficient) ←→ (VI) aykap (to be unskillful; to be poor (at doing something))

• (VT) eraman (SG)/eramuoka (PL) (to know something; to understand something; to have knowledge about something; to realize something; to remember something; to learn something) ←→ (VT) erampewtek (not know something; not understand something; not have knowledge about something)

• (VT) easkay (to be skillful at; to do something skillfully; to be good at something; to know how to do something; to have the ability to do something; to be able to do something; can do something) ←→ (VT) eaykap (to be unskillful at doing something; to be poor at doing something; to be bad at something; don't know how to do something; doesn't have the ability to do something do something; not able to do something; can't do something)

• (VT) easkay (can do something; to be possible for someone to do something; to be able to do something) ←→ (VT) koyaykus (can't do something (due to the circumstances); is not possible for someone to do something; not able to do something)

• (VT) kor (to have something; to own something; to possess something) ←→ (VT) sak (not have something; to lack something; to be missing something)

The difference between amkir/eramiskari and eraman/erampewtek is that the former is about having an experience of something and knowing the thing through that experience and the latter is about having knowledge about something and thus knowing and understanding it. Like any other this type of Ainu verbs, these too have an inchoative meaning, that is, something is becoming something. So, for example, if you are becoming eraman it means that you are becoming to know something or about to understand something, in other words, your are learning something.

The pair an/oka 'to exist' and isam 'not to exist' is a bit peculiar. Most of the other pairs of the list are transitive verbs (or have transitive counterpart, like askay/aykap), but an/oka and isam are intransitive. The "transitive version" of an/oka is oma/o 'something is somewhere (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ); something is located somewhere (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ)', in which the object is the place of location. The negative isam doesn't have a pair like this. You might have noticed that we have learnt many intransitive verbs starting with /i/, for example the verbs ihuraye 'to wash clothes' and itasa 'to alternate; to take turns' just in this lesson. And, we also learned the transitive verbs huraye 'to wash something' and tasa 'to exchange something; to switch to something'. The i- at the head of the intransitive verbs is an antipassive prefix—a prefix that takes the place of the object and fills it with a generic meaning of 'thing' or 'place' making a transitive verb intransitive. So, the verb isam also looks as if it has this antipassive prefix attached to it and it might well be so that there used to a transitive verb sam* with the meaning of 'something is not somewhere (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ); something is not located somewhere (ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ)'. Anyway, that word doesn't exist in Ainu (hehee, see what I did there?) anymore, so this is just speculation.

Another important thing to know about this pair is that an/oka also means 'to live (somewhere)'. In contrast, isam has only the meaning 'something is completely gone, disappeared, it doesn't exist anywhere'. So, when you want to say 'he doesn't live here anymore, he moved to Sapporo', can you use isam? Nope, you should say somo an instead. Somo an also means that something shouldn't exist because it's unthinkable, impossible, too ridiculous or absurd to exist, etc. So, if you see the form somo an, it's not a mistake but just has different meaning and use to that of isam.

Examples 5

19. k-aykap korka kaparamip ku-kar kusune.

    • I'm not good at (it) but I'm going to make a kaparamip.

20. esir ku-kor pukuru teta an korka tane isam.

    • My bag was here just a moment ago, but now it's gone.

21. ku-kor pukuro sak no ku-hosipi.

    • I went back home without my bag.

22. tanpe oar k-erampewtek.

    • I don't understand this at all.

23. cise e-hok kusu icen e-sak hawe ne.

    • I heard that you don't have the money to buy a house.

Vocabulary 5

• aykap (VI) — to be unskillful; to be poor (at doing something)
• korka (CONJ) — but
• kaparamip (N) — kaparampi (a type of Ainu robe. (Usually) a while cloth is stretched over the robe, holes are cut in the cloth to create pattern and their edges are sewn and the remaining cloth strips are decorated with embroidery.)
• kusune (AUX) — be going to ~; to intend to ~; to plan to ~
• esir (ADV) — a moment ago
• pukuru (N) — bag
• isam (VI NEG) — not to exist; not to be somewhere; to be gone
• sak (VT NEG) — not have something; to lack something; to be missing something
• no (CONJ) — (1) (after a negated clause) without doing; not doing and; by not doing (2) (after a positive clause) by doing; so that; as (being something); while (being something)
• oar (ADV) — (not) at all; (not) in the slightest
• erampewtek (VT NEG) — not know something; not understand something; not have knowledge about something
• cise (N) — house; building
• hok (VT) — to buy something
• kusu (CONJ) — (1) because; so; for that reason (2) in order to
• icen (N) — money
• hawe ne (EV) — I heard; you're saying ... right; I hear you saying that ...

Notice that also these lexical negative verbs prefer the conjunction no 'without (doing)' to conjunction wa 'and then' when two clauses are linked, like in the example sentence 21. So, since these verbs are negated by nature and even if there is no somo 'not' in the clause/sentence, the conjunction no is used. 

The particle hawe ne is another evidential used often in Ainu. Evidentiality in general shows what is the source of information of whatever people are saying and hawe ne in specific means that the information has been gained through hearsay. So, it translates into English as 'I heard that; did you say that; are you saying that', but in many cases you don't translate it at all. It is used for example when you hear something from a third party and then talk about it to someone else ('I heard that') or when you talk with someone and they tell you something and you confirm that you understood what they said by repeating the phrase and then adding hawe ne at the end ('you're saying ... right; I hear you saying that ...'). We learned already two of these evidentiality expressing particles—humi ne 'sounds like; feels like; I have a feeling that; it seems to me that' and siri ne 'looks like; it looks like; it seems like'—earlier in lesson 4 about possessing different things.

A list of lexical negated auxiliary verbs in Ainu

Many of the verbs listed above are also used auxiliary verbs and since their use is really straightforward and having the basic use of these under our belt is very useful, we look at some simple examples with auxiliaries here, too. You just simply attach the auxiliary verb as it is after the predicate (main verb with person marker attached). In the case of the negative auxiliaries, you can also put the particle ka 'also; even' between the main verb and the auxiliary verb to make the negation stronger. This will do for now and we'll take a deeper look at auxiliaries later. The ones used as auxiliaries on the list above are:

• (AUX) amkir (to have the experience of; have done something) ←→ (AUX) eramiskari (not have the experience of; haven't ever done something; have never done something)

• (AUX) easkay (know how to; have the ability to; be able to; can) ←→ (AUX) eaykap (don't know how to; doesn't have the ability to; not able to; can't)

• (AUX) easkay (can; be possible to; be able to) ←→ (AUX) koyaykus (can't (due to the circumstances); is not possible to; not able to)

Examples 6

24. pirkano aynu itak k-erampewtek korka ponno ku-ye easkay wa.

    • I don't know Ainu well, but I can speak it a little, you know!

25. Amerika ta k-arpa ka eramiskari korka Ahurika ta k-arpa amkir.

    • I have never been to America but I have been to Africa.

26. e-ma eaykap yakun atuy or ta e-sus ka koyaykus.

    • If you don't know how to swim, it's not possible for you to bathe at the ocean.

27. toan asur'as kur ku-kor hapo unukar amkir.

    • My mother has met that famous person.

Vocabulary 6

• pirkano (ADV) — well; beautifully
• aynu itak (N) — Ainu language
• erampewtek (VT NEG) — not know something; not understand something; not have knowledge about something
• korka (CONJ) — but
• ponno (ADV) — a litte; a little bit
• ye (VT) — (1) to say something (2) to speak (a language)
• easkay (AUX) — know how to; have the ability to; be able to; can
• wa (CONJ) — and; and then; and as a result; and that's why
• Amerika (PN) — America
• arpa (VT SG) — to go
• eramiskari (AUX) — not have the experience of; haven't ever done something; have never done something
• Ahurika (PN) — Africa
• amkir (AUX) — to have the experience of; have done something
• ma (VI) — to swim
• eaykap (AUX) — don't know how to; doesn't have the ability to; not able to; can't
• yakun (CONJ) — if; if that's the case; in that case
• atuy (N) — sea; ocean
• sus (VI) — (1) to bathe; to take a bath (2) to swim (in the sea, ocean, river, etc.); to bathe in the sea; go for a dip in the sea; play by the water
• koyaykus (AUX) — can't (due to the circumstances); is not possible to; not able to
• asur as kur (N) — famous person
  • asur as (EXP) — to be famous; to be well-known; to have a reputation
  • kur (N-BOUND SG) — (1) person; man (2) (a person from a certain place) -an; -yte; -er [Plural: utar]
• unukar (VI) — to meet each other; to meet one another; to see each other

Some Ainu verbs with opposite/antonymic meanings

Here's a short list of some verbs that have a pair with opposite meaning. These differ from the pairs with lexical negation in that sense that all these can be used with the negative adverb somo 'not' to negate the meaning.

• (VT) eese (to approve something; to accept something; to give one's consent to something; to agree with something) ←→ (VT) kopan (to refuse something; to reject something;  to decline something; to deny something; to dismiss something; to dislike something)

• (VI) eykaun ((1) to be superior to others; to surpass others; to outrival others; to have an edge (2) to be more than something else) ←→ (VI) eypokun ((1) to be inferior to others; to fall behind others (2) to be less than something else)

• (VT) eysokor (to believe something is true; to trust that something is true) ←→ (VT) eunpipka (not to believe something is true; not to trust something is true; to doubt something; to be suspicious of something; to suspect something's truthfulness)

• (VI) ikasma (to be in excess; to be left over; to be too many) ←→ (VI) hayta ((1) to be insufficient; to be lacking; to be not enough (2) to lack wisdom; to be weak-headed; to be stupid; to be dim-witted)

• (VI) ison (to be able to catch a lot of game; to be blessed with a bountiful catch) ←→ (VI) omuken (not to be able to catch any game)

• (VI) nankor (to be trustworthy) ←→ (VI) nansak (not to be trustworthy)

• (VT) nunuke (to treat someone kindly; to take good care of someone; to show devotion to someone; to serve one's filial duties towards someone (one's parents)) ←→ (VT) okpare (to treat someone coldly; to mistreat someone; to abuse someone; to be undutiful towards someone (one's parents); to lack filial piety towards someone (one's parents))

• (VT) osikoni/oskoni ((1) to catch up something; to reach something on time; to be in time for something (2) to be able to get something (that is difficult to get); to catch something (that is difficult to catch)) ←→ (VT) orawki ((1) to be late for something; to miss something (2) to fail to catch something; to let something slip)

  • (VI) kisaosikoni (to catch the train; to be in time for the train) ←→ (VI) kisaorawki (to miss the train; not catch the train)

  • (VI) pasuosikoni (to catch the bus; to be in time for the bus) ←→ (VI) pasuorawki (to miss the bus; not catch the bus)

• (VT) pa (to find something; to discover something; to detect something) ←→ (VT) turaynu (not to find something; to lose sight of something; miss to see something)

• (VI) urenka (to be all together; everyone is present; not even one is missing) ←→ (VI) usak (everyone is not present; someone is missing)

• (VT) yayeykaunu (to be superior to someone; to be in a higher rank than someone; to be more skillful than someone; to gain victory over someone; to beat someone (by winning)) ←→ (VT) yayeypoknu (to be in a lower rank than someone; to be defeated by someone; to lose to someone)

As you can see, some of these verbs are useful and some are less so. I recommend again that you use your discretion when deciding which of these to study first.

Examples 7

28. kim ta k-apkas a k-apkas a korka karus oar somo ku-pa. karus ku-turaynu.

    • I walked and walked in the mountains, but I didn't find any mushrooms. I did not find mushrooms.

29. seta tunasno hoyupu yakka cape osikoni eaykap. (adapted from the NAM Ainu Language Archive)

    • Even if the dog runs fas, it can't catch the cat.

30. e-eunpipka korka sonno an oruspe ne.

    • You doubt it but it's a true story.

Vocabulary 7

• kim (N-PLACE) — (towards) the mountain(s)
• apkas (VI) — to walk
• a... a... (EXP) — to <ᴠᴇʀʙ> and <ᴠᴇʀʙ> (expresses prolonged continuity of the action)
• korka (CONJ) — but
• karus (N) — mushroom
• oar (ADV) — (not) at all; (not) in the slightest
• pa (VT) — to find something; to discover something; to detect something
• turaynu (VT) — not to find something; to lose sight of something; miss to see something
• tunasno (ADV) — fast
• hoyupu (VI SG) — to run; to leap
• osikoni (VT) — to catch something (that is difficult to catch
• eaykap (AUX) — don't know how to; doesn't have the ability to; not able to; can't
• eunpipka (VT) — not to believe something is true; to doubt something; to be suspicious of something
• yakka (CONJ) — even if
• sonno an (VI) — to be true; to be real; to be right; to be correct
• oruspe (N) — talk; speech; chat; story

Summary

We have again arrived at the end of a very vocabulary heavy lesson. Here is a short summary of the contents of the lesson.

Plural verb forms

• The different types of verb plural forms are:

  • Lexical pluralization: Singular and plural are different words with no common root

    • arpa/paye 'to go', an/oka 'to be', ek/arki 'to come', etc.

  • Lexical pluralization: Same root but singular ends in -n, plural ends in -p

    • san/sap 'to go do the river', ahun/ahup 'to enter', ran/rap 'to come down', etc.

  • Lexical pluralization: same root but singular ends in a vowel, plural ends in dropped vowel + -pa

    • hosipi/hosippa 'to return', hoyupu/hoyuppa 'to run', huraye/huraypa 'to wash something', ouri/ourpa 'to dig something', etc.

  • Generic plural suffix pa

    • Can be used with verbs that do not have other plural form (the ones mentioned above) but it's use is not obligatory.

    • Can sometimes also be seen attached to verbs with lexical plural forms that do not already end with pa.

So, why some verbs have a separate singular and plural form? Well, it's difficult to say, but if you look what kind of meaning these verbs have, you can see that is related either to movement/being located somewhere (intransitive verbs) or changing/affecting the object somehow (transitive verbs). Maybe these types of actions were considered so salient that these special plural forms were deemed necessary.

Lexical negation

• If a lexical negative verb exists, generally negation can't be formed by somo + positive verb but the lexical negative verb must be used instead

  • eram(ua)/eramuoka 'to know' vs. erampewtek 'not to know', easkay 'to know how to do; can' vs. eaykap 'not know how to do; can't', etc.

• There are some verbs that have opposite or antonymic meanings, but these verbs can be used with somo

  • pa 'to find something' vs. turaynu 'to lose sight of something', osikoni 'to catch something' vs. orawki 'to miss something', etc.

In the next lesson we will learn how to use the plural forms of the verbs in polite requests, and in general about requesting, ordering, prohibiting, and giving permission.

Created on 2024/8/29, Latest update on 2024/11/17