(Udmurt)
CopNoInflVInfl & CopInfl=Vinfl
CopNoInflVInfl: The copula, when explicit, is not inflected, unlike lexical verbs.
CopInfl=Vinfl: The copula, when explicit, is inflected just like lexical verbs.
| (1 a.) | mon / ton / so | blogger. |
|---|
| I / you / (s)he | blogger |
| ’I am / You are/ (S)he is a blogger.’ (Y. S.) |
| (1 b.) | mi / ti / soos | blogger-jos. |
|---|
| we / you_PL / they | blogger‑PL |
| ’We / You / They are bloggers.’ (Y. S.) |
| (2 a.) | mon / ton / so | blogger | övöl. |
|---|
| I / you / (s)he | blogger | COP.NEG |
| ’I am / You are/ (S)he is not a blogger.’ (Y. S.) |
| (2 b.) | mi / ti / soos | blogger-jos | övöl. |
|---|
| we / you / they | blogger‑PL | COP.NEG |
| ’We / you_PL / they are not bloggers.’ (Y. S.) |
| (3 a.) | mon / ton / so | blogger | val. |
|---|
| I / you / (s)he | blogger | COP.PST |
| ’I am / You are/ (S)he was a blogger.’ (Y. S.) |
| (3 b.) | mi / ti / soos | blogger-jos | val. |
|---|
| we / you / they | blogger‑PL | COP.PST |
| ’We / you_PL / they were bloggers.’ (Y. S.) |
| (4) | vera | vu-o-z. |
|---|
| Vera | arrive‑FUT‑3SG |
| ’Vera will arrive.’ (Y. S.) |
| (5) | doklad | lu-o-z | ǯuć | kyl-yn. |
|---|
| lecture | COP‑FUT‑3SG | Russian | language‑INE |
| ’The lecture will be in Russian.’ (Mynam malpanjosy 25.09.2014) |
| (6) | uzyr | luy-sal-dy | ke, | kytćy | kary-sal-dy | ukśo-des? |
|---|
| rich | COP‑COND‑2PL | if | where | do‑COND‑2PL | money‑2PL.ACC |
| ’If you were rich, where would you put your money?’ (Udmurt corpus) |
| (7) | so | ik | ďivizi-len | komanďir-ez | lu-e. |
|---|
| (s)he | PCL | hadosztály‑GEN | parancsnok‑3SG | COP‑3SG |
| ’(S)he is the commander of the division.’ (Edygarova 2010: 244) |
In Udmurt present tense affirmative sentences in indicative mood, the copula does not appear in any person and number. (1) (Csúcs 1990: 62, Winkler 2001: 65). Nominal sentences with a different polarity (2), tense (3), (5) or mood (6), however, always contain a copula (ibid). Furthermore, in certain cases not yet described in sufficient detail in the literature, the copula can also appear in nominal sentences in affirmative present tense and indicative mood (7).
Udmurt has two copulas: vylyny (2)–(3) and luyny (5)–(7).
The copula vylyny appears in the first or witnessed past tense (3), the second (non-witnessed or evidential) past tense, and negative present tense sentences in indicative mood (2) (cf. Bartens 2000: 265–267, 292–293). Unlike its lexical equivalent (4), copular vylyny does not agree in person and number (evidential past forms, which agree in number constitute a partial exception (vylem, and NEG vylymte in singular, and vyliľľam, and NEG vyliľľamte in the plural).
The copula luyny, used in the future tense (5), imperative and conditional mood (6), and, occasionally, in present tense nominal sentences (7) is inflected the same way as lexical verbs (4).
Author: Erika Asztalos
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