(Meadow Mari)
VSupplT & VSupplElse
VSupplT: Verb stem suppletion occurs across tenses.
VSupplElse: Verb stem suppletion occurs across other lines than tenses and aspects.
| (1) | məj | marij | ul-am, | kalas-em | kugešn-en. |
|---|
| I | Mari | be‑1SG | say‑1SG | be_proud‑CVB |
| ‘I say proudly that I am Mari.’ (D. S.) |
| (2) | spektakľ | oŋaj | əľ-e. |
|---|
| play | interesting | be.PST1‑3SG |
| ‘The play was interesting.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 297) |
| (3) | kum | ij | ončəč | | radiovüdyšö | lij-ə-m. |
|---|
| three | year | ago | | radio_moderator | be‑PST1‑1SG |
| ‘I became a radio moderator three years ago.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 297) |
| (4) | jər-lan | verč | park-əšte | koncert | kužu | ə-š | lij. |
|---|
| rain‑DAT | due_to | park‑INE | concert | long | NEG‑PST1.3SG | be.CNG |
| ‘Because of the rain, the concert in the park didn’t last long.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 297) |
| (5) | teŋgeče | me | keče | mučko | kozmod’emjansk-əšte | lij-en-na. |
|---|
| yesterday | we | day | till_the_end | Kozmodemyansk‑INE | be‑PST2‑1PL |
| ‘Yesterday we were in Kozmodemyansk all day long.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 298) |
| (6) | kušk-ən | šu-meke | təj | kö | lij-at? |
|---|
| grow‑CVB | arrive‑CVB.PRI | you | who | be‑2SG |
| ‘What will you be when you grow up?’ (Riese et al. 2022: 300) |
| (7) | taza, | kužu | üməran | lij-za! |
|---|
| healthy | long | life | be‑IMP.2PL |
| ‘Be healthy and have a long life!’ (Riese et al. 2022: 301) |
| (8) | kumdan | paləme | jəlməze | lij-ne-t | mo? |
|---|
| widely | known | linguist | be‑DES‑2SG | Q |
| ‘Do you want to be a widely known linguist?’ (Riese et al. 2022: 302) |
| (9) | tudo | ver-əšte | küsoto | ulmaš. |
|---|
| that | place | sacred_grove | be.PST2.3SG |
| ‘There used to be a sacred grove here.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 298) |
In Meadow Mari, the full paradigm of the copula (which is also used as an existential verb) is made up of the roots ulaš ‘be’ or lijaš ‘be, become’. In present tense (1), and the positive paradigm of the first past tense the ul- root is used, with a reduced vowel in the latter case (2), which differs from the past tense paradigm of the other verbs. The lij- root of the copula is used in the first past tense (both in positive and negative forms) (3)–(4), the second past tense (5), future tense (6), and the imperative (7) and desiderative (8) moods – both as a copular and an existential verb. The irregular form ulmaš is also used in third person singular in the second past tense (9).
Author: Bogáta Timár
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