(Meadow Mari)
VNec & SuffNec
VNec: Necessity is expressed through the use of an independent word that appears (indirectly or directly) after the verb.
SuffNec: Necessity is expressed through the use of suffixes attaching to the verb stem.
| (1) | mə-lan-na | möŋgə-štö | kod-man. |
|---|
| we‑DAT‑1PL | home‑INE | stay‑INF.NEC |
| ’We have to stay at home.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 258) |
| (2) | keŋež-əm | žap-em | o-k | lij, | jal-əšte | lij-šaš | ul-am. |
|---|
| summer‑ACC | time‑1SG | NEG‑3SG | will_be.CNG | village‑INE | be‑PTCP.FUT | be‑1SG |
| ’I won’t have time in the summer, I will be/should be in the village.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 264) |
| (3) | ergə-na | ves | ij-əm | armej-əške | kajə-šaš. |
|---|
| boy‑1PL | other | year‑ACC | army‑ILL | go‑PTCP.FUT |
| ’Our son has to go to the army next year.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 264) |
| (4) | erla | er | küńel-aš | kül-eš. |
|---|
| tomorrow | early | get_up‑INF | must‑3SG |
| ’(We) need to get up early tomorrow.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 282) |
| (5) | tošto | kompjuter | olmeš | u-m | nal-aš-na | pern-en. |
|---|
| old | computer | instead_of | new‑ACC | buy‑INF‑1PL | hit‑PST2.3SG |
| ’Instead of the old computer, we had to buy a new one.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 283) |
| (6) | tema | lij-aš | tiješ | kalək-ən | jəlmə-štə-že | mo | ul-o, |
|---|
| topic | will_be‑INF | must | folk‑GEN | language‑INE‑3SG | what | be‑3SG |
| mo-m | ojl-a | sade. |
| what‑ACC | say‑3SG | so |
| ’The topic has to be what is in the people’s language, what they say this way.’ (Arkhangelskiy 2019) |
| (7) | ənde | ik | šagat | vuč-aš! |
|---|
| here | one | hour | wait‑INF |
| ’Oh no, now we have to wait an hour!’ (elicited) |
In Meadow Mari necessity can be expressed using suffixes: the necessitive suffix -man combining with the infinitival form of the verb (1), or the future participle suffix -šaš, which combines with the copula ulaš ‘be’, with the exception of third person forms (in certain cases in third person as well) (2)─(3). Less frequently the infinitival form of the verb can also express necessity (7). The lexeme küleš ’must’, other independent words such as the verbs pernaš ’hit’, vereštaš ’catch’, vozaš ’lie down’, logalaš ’get’, tüknaš ’touch’, and the adverb tiješ in Eastern Mari also form necessitive constructions when they follow the infinitive (4)─(6) (Riese et al. 2018: 282─283).
Author: Bogáta Timár
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