(Meadow Mari)
Pfm
Pfm: The perfect is expressed through a simple (non-periphrastic) verb form.
| (1) | bogi, | salam, | video-m | mu-ən-am! |
|---|
| Bogi | hello | video‑ACC | find‑PST2‑1SG |
| ’Bogi, hello, I’ve found the video!’ (T. E.) |
| (2) | məj | jal-əšte | šoč-ən-am. |
|---|
| I | village‑INE | be_born‑PST2‑1SG |
| ‘I was born in the countryside.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 220) |
| (3) | počelamut-əm | iktažkunam | voz-en-at | mo? |
|---|
| poem‑ACC | sometime | write‑PST2‑2SG | Q |
| ‘Have you ever written poems?’ (Riese et al. 2022: 221) |
| (4) | kenguru-m | iləš-əšte | ńigunam | už-ən | o-dal | mo? |
|---|
| kangaroo‑ACC | life‑INE | never | see‑PST2.CNG | NEG.AUX‑2PL | Q |
| ‘Have you never seen a kangaroo in your life?’ (Riese et al. 2022: 220) |
| (5) | mal-aš | voz-ən-am | vele | ə-le, | alakö | omsa-š | tüškalt-əš. |
|---|
| sleep‑INF | lie‑PST2‑1SG | just | be‑PST1.3SG | someone | door‑LAT | knock‑PST1.3SG |
| ’I had just gone to sleep when someone knocked on the door.’ (Riese et al. 2022: 229) |
| (6) | urok | godəm | tunemše-vlak | dene | part | koklašte |
|---|
| class | during | student‑PL | with | bench | between |
| šinč-əlt-ən-na, | süretl-en-na | da | ser-kal-en-na. |
| sit‑REFL‑PST2‑1PL | draw‑PST2‑1PL | and | write‑FREQ‑PST2‑1PL |
| ’During classes we were sitting on the benches with the students, drawing, and writing.’ (Arkhangelskiy 2019) |
Meadow Mari uses the so-called second past tense to express resultative (a past event leading up to a present result) (1)–((2), or experiential (the speaker has already experienced the event under discussion at least once) (3)–(4) meanings (cf. Riese et al. 2022: 220–221). The tense is not restricted to express solely this category (5)–(6).
Author: Bogáta Timár
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