Combined Dictionary-Concordance of the Yucatecan Mayan Language

76. Sometimes a consonant, usually -t- or -l-, or the causative marker -z- is inserted between the verb root and the verb ending. This happens with transitive and passive verbs but not with the intransitive verbs. To see what effect these consonants have on verb roots we shall look at the verb roots uk (to drink), han (to eat), hay (to stretch out), naac (to raise), cim (to die), and can (to learn). These effects will be discussed following the table.

The table here shows the verb roots and the general form for each of the conjugations. Notice that only for the verb root can are there three possibilities: the verb root without a consonant, with the consonants -t-, and with the causative marker -z-. There are very few verb roots which appear in more than one of these possibilities.

root transitive intransitive passive

uk ukic ukul ukaal

han hantic hanal hantaal

hay haylic hayal haylaal

naac naaczic naacal naaczaal

cim cimzic cimil cimzaal

can canic canal

cantic

canzic canzabal

The verb root uk (to drink) does not take a consonant. The meaning of the verb in each conjugation is straightforward:

ukic to drink something

ukul to drink

ukaal to be drunken

For the verb root han (to eat) the -t- seems to have no particular effect on the meaning of the verb. This seems to be true of all verbs using the consonant -t-. It seems to have no effect on the meaning of the verb, but rather seems to be applied for the balance of sound.

hantic to eat something

hanal to eat

hantaal to be eaten

For the verb root hay (to stretch out) the -l- seems to have no particular effect on the meaning of the verb. This seems to be true of all verbs using the consonant -l-. It seems to have no effect on the meaning of the verb, but rather seems to be applied for the balance of sound.

haylic to stretch out something

hayal to stretch out

haylaal to be stretched out

For the verb root naac (to raise) however the -z- does have an effect on the meaning of the verb. The -z- is called a causative marker, and one could translate naaczic as "to cause to raise".

naaczic to lift something

naacal to raise

naaczaal to be lifted

Another example of this change of meaning caused by the addition of the causative -z- can be seen in the verb root cim (to die).

cimzic to kill something

cimil to die

cimzaal to be killed

Again, one could translate cimzic as "to cause to die" just as naaczic could be translated "to cause to raise".

There are a few cases where a verb root is used both with and without the causative marker -z-. One of these verb roots is can (to learn). In the colonial times the word can, as a noun, meant "speech / conversation", and was a synonym for than (speech, language). Can is no longer in use today in this capacity. In colonial times verb root can (to speak) appeared with the consonant -t-.

canic to learn something

cantic to converse (colonial usage only)

canzic to teach something

canal to learn

canzabal to be taught

The word canic, which is unaffected by a consonant, is equivalent to "to learn", and canzic, with its causative marker -z- yields "to cause to learn". Of these three forms, only cantic has preserved the meaning of the noun can (speech). This could be an indication that there was a shift from the meaning "to speak" to "to learn" for the verb root can.

The consonant -t- is also used in the formation of composite verbs, in which two verbs roots are combined to from a new verb.

chha nuctic to understand and consider another person's

point of view, from chha (to take) and nuc

(to answer)

dza nuctic to make oneself understood, from dza (to

give) and nuc (to answer).

There is an indication in the colonial manuscripts and dictionaries that the earlier form of the causative marker was -ez-. However, even in these sources the use of the -e- in -ez- is limited mostly to the fourth form. Examples of this usage are:

talez to bring: from tal, to come

ocez to stick in, to admit, to accept: from oc,

to enter

lukez to take out: from luk, to go out, to leave

Ocez a uol tu than hunab ku.

"Believe (accept in you heart) the word of the one and only god."

TRANSITIVE VERBS

77. The transitive verb endings appended to the verb root to form the transitive verbs are:

-ic general form

-ah second form

-ma / -mah third form

-e, or no ending fourth form

Notice that for the fourth form there are two alternatives. Judging from what we have noticed in formal speech and also the way this form is generally written in the colonial texts the true form of the fourth form is -e. However even in the colonial texts there are examples of this suffix being contracted out, indicating that the custom of omitting the fourth form suffix has long been in effect. In the sample verbs that follow only one, hay (to stretch out), is shown in the fourth form with the suffix -e, whereas the other verbs are shown with no suffix. That is because in our judgement things have gotten to the state today with the fourth form that the standard way of using this form is without the suffix -e. The verb hay retains the suffix most probably because of the consonant -l- which forces the retention of the -e or the -l- would also be lost.

The fourth form suffix -e is not to be confused with the third person singular accusative case pronoun -e which can also appended onto the verb. Generally when the suffix -e is a pronoun it is clear that it is the pronoun because the verbal suffix comes in between it and the verb root. For example with the general form for the verb bet (to do, to make) the addition of the pronoun "-e" would produce betice or more commonly betce in which the -i- is contracted out. However when the -e is used with the fourth form it is not exactly clear what the -e is without looking at the context in which the verb appears. If the verb is followed by a direct object then the -e is the fourth form suffix, but if there is no apparent direct object, then -e is itself the object.

The third form: -mah is also written -ma in the colonial dictionaries and grammars written by the Spanish friars and in the colonial literature written by the Maya themselves, but more frequently written -mah in modern literature.

The fourth form in colonial usage: -Vb is a transitive verb form suffix given in the colonial dictionaries and texts which was used with verb roots which do not take an intervening consonant or particle. However, for those verbs which had and have the consonants -t- and -z- or the particles -ez-, -bez-, -cint-, -cunt-, etc., their fourth forms used the suffix -Ce (ie. -te, -ze, -beze, -cinte, -cunte, etc.) as they still do presently, or alternatively, in the case of the particles, used no suffix (ie. -ez, -bez, -cun, -cint, -cunt, etc.). The first and second examples below are parallel in grammatical construction and show the use of -Vb and -te. The third and fourth examples are also parallel examples of the use of the fourth forms, but example the third example is unusual in that it uses both -Vb and -te in the verbal suffix. In the fifth, sixth, and seventh examples both fourth form transitive suffixes can be seen being used as transitive infinitives in parallel sentences. The last example is an example of the fourth form transitive with the suffix -cunt.

Bin u tuzub homol tza, hoc muc tza.

Bin u mucchekte u halach uinicil cah.

Ca emi u chekebte u pach Itzam Cab Ain.

Ca tali u chekeb u pach Chac Xib Chac te Chi Chheen.

Uatal in caah in chucub hunac ah chibal.

Uatal in caah in colpayte u kan.

Uatal in caah in paab bla u kax can, ix hun pedz kin can.

Ocol tun bacin in caah in zizcunt a uol.

Thus for example in the colonial literature the verb root mek (to embrace) would be given as follows:

mekic, mekah, mekmah, mekeb

It is not clear when the suffix -Vb became obsolete, but in our experience it is no longer used today.

MODEL TRANSITIVE VERBS

78. Given below are the four forms of model verbs:

Mek is the verb root for "embrace". The transitive forms are:

mekic, mekah, mekmah, mek

Naac is the verb root for indicating upward motion. In the transitive conjugation naac appears with the causative marker particle -z- placed between it and the verbal endings. The meaning of the verb is "lift".

naaczic, naaczah, naaczmah, naacz

Han is the verb root for "eat". In the transitive conjugation han appears with the particle -t- placed between it and the verbal endings.

hantic, hantah, hantmah, hant

Hay is the verb root for "stretched out". In the transitive conjugation hay appears with the particle -l- placed between it and the verbal endings.

haylic, haylah, haylmah, hayle

79. Transitive conjugation time sequence. Note that the transitive verb must express an object. The model verb used here is bet (to make) (betic, betah, betmah, bet), and u col (his garden) is used as the object for the purpose of example.

Tu betah u col uch caachi. "He made his garden long ago."

Past perfect modified by uch

caachi (long ago).

Cu betic u col uch caachi.

"He used to make his garden long ago." Past habitual modified by uch caachi.

U betmah u col uch caachi.

"He made and used his garden long ago." Past action - continuing purpose modified by uch caachi. This tense is explained in its unmodified state.

Uch u bet u col.

"He made his garden long ago and is using it still." Very past action - continuing purpose. Similar to the past action - continuing purpose tense except that the action took place further in the past.

Tu betah u col caachi. Past perfect modified by

caachi (a while ago).

Cu betic u col caachi. Past habitual modified by

caachi (a while ago).

U betmah u col caachi. Past action - continuing

purpose modified by caachi.

Tu betah u col. "He made his garden." Past

perfect.

U betmah u col.

"He made his garden and is using it." Past action continuing purpose. The sense of this tense is that the actual action is completed, but the purpose for which the action was performed continues. In this case, the garden was made and continues to be used.

Dzoc (a specified time) "He made his garden a

u bet u col. specified time ago." Specified

past perfect. Example: Dzoc

humppel haab u bet u col. (He

made his garden one year ago.)

Dzoc u betic u col. "He just made his garden."

Immediate past perfect. Dzoc

has the sense of "just", but

doubles as the verb root for

"to finish".

Cu betic u col. "He makes his garden."

Habitual action. This tense is

often modified by some

expression which states when

the action takes place.

Example: Zanzamal cu betic u

col. (Daily he makes his

garden.)

Zuc u betic u col.

"He is accustomed to making his garden." Accustomed habitual tense.

Tan u betic u col.

"He is making his garden." Immediate present.

Bet in col! "Make my garden!" Imperative.

The plural is Beteex in col! Bete! Often when this tense is usedBeteex!as a response then the pronominal suffix -e takes the place of the direct object in the singular, but is not present in the plural.

Nu caah u bet u col.

"He is just going to make his garden." Immediate future. The sense of this tense is that the action is going to begin at this moment.

Tac u betic u col. "He wants to make his garden."

Desired future. The desired

action should happen fairly

immediately.

Yan u betic u col. "He has to make his garden."

Obligated future. This tense

implies that the action will

necessarily be done in the

near future.

Kabet u betic u col. "He needs to make his garden."

Necessitated future.

He u betic u col... "He will make his garden (if)"

Conditional future. This tense

is usually followed by a

clause which gives the

conditions under which the

action will occur.

Ca u bet u col.

"... that he should make his garden." Suggested future (called Subjunctive). The sense of this tense is that the action expressed should be carried out.

Example: Dzoc inualic ti ca u bet u col.

(I just told him that he should make his garden.)

Bin u bet u col. "He will make his garden."

Cun u bet u col. Definite future. The second

Cun u betic u col. and third alternatives are

used only after adverbial

particles. Notice that for the

second and third alternatives

either the general form or the

fourth form of the verb may

be used. The fourth form is

preferred.

The pronominal changes for these tenses are regular and are to be found in Sections 32 and 37.

80. The imperative is, as in English, defective, being used only in the second person singular and plural. However, from examples in the colonial literature it seems that the transitive imperative is in fact derived from the transitive suggested future tense, and that the introductory words Ca a ... (That you) have been dropped in the modern imperative.

Ca a talez ten in uah. / Talez ten in uah.

"Bring me my tortillas." Colonial usage. There are examples of the imperative with and without Ca a ...

Taz ten in uah. "Bring me my tortillas." Modern usage.

Taze! "Bring it!" Used when the object to be

brought is already known.

81. Negation: the negation of the foregoing tenses is generally accomplished by preceding the tense by ma (not).

Ma tan u betic u col. "He is not making his garden."

Exceptions are the following:

Ma tu betic u col. Negated habitual tense. The time

indicator consonant is changed

from c- to t-. Note that the

negation of the contraction of

the immediate present is the

same.

Ma tun u bet u col. Negated definite future. Tun is

the contraction of tu bin which

can also be used.

For the negation of the habitual action and immediate present tenses however some verbs are irregular. For the habitual action tense instead of changing the time indicator from c- to t- the time indicator is eliminated. For the immediate present the auxiliary verb tense indicator tan is replaced by ma. The quality of the negation is imperative.

Ma a cimzcen. "Don't kill me."

Ma a dzaic dzac ti. "Don't give him medicine."

82. Interrogatives: interrogative phrases using the foregoing conjugation generally use the tenses as they are.

Tuux tu betah u col? "Where did he make his garden?"

Exception:

Tuux cun u bet u col? "Where is he going to make his

Tuux cun u betic garden?" Interrogative definite

u col? future. The bin is replaced by

cun which is a contraction of cu

bin, which can also be used.

A Note about the Listing of Transitive Verbs

in Colonial Dictionaries and Grammars

In the colonial dictionaries and grammars transitive verbs are normally listed using the following format:

alin.tah,te to give birth

an.tah,te to help

bak.ah,ab to tie up

chha nuc.tah,te to take into consideration

mançah .l. maneçah to pass something along

mek.ah,eb to embrace

However, it is clear from examples of usage given in these colonial works that the four transitive forms of these verbs are as follows:

alintic, alintah, alintmah, alinte

antic, antah, antmah, ante

bakic, bakah, bakmah, bakab

chha nuctic, chha nuctah, chha nuctmah, chha nucte

manzic, manzah / manezah, manzmah, manez

mekic, mekah, mekmah, mekeb

For some undetermined reason transitive verbs are listed in the colonial works using the second form, and depending on the verb type, the fourth form, whereas the intransitive and passive verbs are listed using the general form. In fact, the grammars of Coronel (1620) and San Buenaventura (1684) ignore the general form of the transitive verb in their exposition on verbs, but oddly enough give plenty of examples of usage of the general form when working with other parts of speech. The grammar of Beltran (1746) rectifies this deficiency, but in his list of verbs he still gives the transitive verbs with their second and fourth forms, while listing the intransitive verbs with their general, second, and fourth forms.

To add to the confusion, from time to time a transitive verb will be listed in the colonial dictionaries and grammars using the third form -ma / -mah, such as almah / halmah (to say). However, the four forms of this verb still follow the general format:

alic, alah, almah, alab / ale

INTRANSITIVE VERBS

83. The normal modern regular intransitive verb suffixes appended to the verb root to form the intransitive verbs are:

-Vl general form

-i, -hi second form

-aan third form

-Vc fourth form

However, the intransitive verbs are often irregular as will be seen in the examples.

For the general form when the verb is regular the vowel in the verb suffix -Vl agrees with the vowel of the verb root. Two of the more common irregularities are those verb roots which appear in the general form as the verb root itself and those verb roots which tack on the verb suffix of -tal. The general form is conjugated with Set A pronouns, as will be seen in Section 84.

For the second form, those verb roots which do not take on a verb suffix in the general form usually use -nahi as their second form and those verb root which take the verb suffix -tal in the general form usually use -lahi as their second form. The second form, as was noted in Section 75, is conjugated with Set B pronouns, and is listed in the third person singular, -i.

For the third form today -aan is generally standard, although in some cases for those verbs which use -nahi the suffix -nahaan is an alternative, and for those verbs which use -lahi the suffix -lahaan is an alternative. The third form, as was noted in Section 75, is conjugated with Set B pronouns, and is listed in the third person singular. However the third person singular pronoun, -i, since at least early colonial times has been contracted out. The third form is also used as an adjectival past participle as noted in Section 56. Examples: labaan che = rotten tree, lubaan tunich = fallen stone, etc.

For the fourth form the vowel in -Vc agrees with the vowel in the general form. Those intransitive verbs which use -nahi in the second form use -nac in the fourth form and those intransitive verbs which use -lahi in the second form use -lac in the fourth form. The fourth form, as was noted in Section 75, is conjugated with Set B pronouns, and is listed in the third person singular. However the third person singular pronoun, -i, since mid-colonial times is frequently contracted out and is rarely if ever used today.

Mek is the verb root for "embrace". The intransitive forms are:

mek, meknahi, mekaan, meknac

Naac is the verb root for indicating upward motion. As noted in the transitive conjugation naac appears with the causative marker particle -z- placed between it and the verbal suffixes. The meaning of the verb in the transitive conjugation is "to lift". In the intransitive conjugation however the meaning of naacal is "to climb, to raise up".

naacal, naaci, naacaan, naacac

Han is the verb root for "eat". In the transitive conjugation han appears with the particle -t- placed between it and the verbal suffixes. Here however it appears without that consonant.

hanal, hani, hanaan, hanac

Lub is the verb root for "to fall". This verb, like han (to eat), is regular, but the vowel is u.

lubul, lubi, lubaan, lubuc

Cux is the verb root for "to live". This verb uses -tal for its general form.

cuxtal, cuxlahi, cuxaan, cuxlac

It is our opinion, although this is not based on actual fact in terms of concrete examples, that the intransitive conjugation was once also just as regular as the transitive and archaic passive conjugations still are. We feel that due to the propensity of the Mayan language to use contractions the intransitive conjugation has been long subjected to these contractions to such a degree that the true form of this conjugation is no longer known, nor was it known even in the period of first contact with European culture. At least if it was known this knowledge was not passed on to the writers of the various dictionaries and grammars. However, knowledge of the true form of the intransitive conjugation lingers on subconsciously as can be seen in how a Spanish verb is transformed into a Mayan intransitive verb. For example, the Spanish verb juntar (to gather) is transformed into the Mayan intransitive verb "to gather" as follows:

juntar, juntarnahi, juntarnahaan, juntarnac

As will be seen in Section 184 this set of suffixes (-, -nahi, -nahaan, -nac) is the standard one used for transforming Spanish verbs into Mayan intransitive verbs.

When we combine the use of this suffix set to transform Spanish verbs into intransitive Mayan verbs with the information presented in Sections 100 - 104 in which various sets of intransitive verb suffixes transform various parts of speech into intransitive verbs we come to the conclusion that there was in fact once an uniform underlying structure to the intransitive conjugation. The form of that structure was:

-Cahal, -Cahi, -Cahaani, -Cahaci

in which the "C" is a consonant of the following values: n, ch, l, p, t, k, dz (listed more or less in the order of importance). Thus the following were the full uncontracted sets of intransitive verb suffixes:

-nahal, -nahi, -nahaani, -nahaci

-chahal, -chahi, -chahaani, -chahaci

-lahal, -lahi, -lahaani, -lahaci

-pahal, -pahi, -pahaani, -pahaci

-tahal, -tahi, -tahaani, -tahaci

-kahal, -kahi, -kahaani, -kahaci

-dzahal, -dzahi, -dzahaani, -dzahaci

One could say that there is in fact an intransitive verb marker, namely "-Cah-", just as there is, as shown in Section 91, a passive verb marker, namely "-ab-", which is inserted between the verb root and a standard set of verb suffixes. These standard verb suffixes which operate for the intransitive and passive conjunctions are:

-al, -i, -aani, -aci

Remember that the general form is conjugated with Set A pronouns while the second, third and fourth forms are conjugated with Set B pronouns. Thus the third person singular Set B pronoun -i is shown with these three forms.

Now, if one compares verbs using the standardized complete intransitive verb suffixes with the examples of modern intransitive verbs given above one can see that in every case the modern verb suffixes can be construed to be contracted subsets of the complete suffix sets. For example:

mek, meknahi, mekaan, meknac

meknahal, meknahi, meknahaani, meknahaci

In the general form of mek the suffix is lost completely. In the second form there is no change. In the third form the intransitive verb marker -nah- is lost as well as, in the third person singular only, the personal pronoun -i. In the fourth form the -ah- of the marker is lost as well as, in the third person singular only, the personal pronoun -i.

naacal, naaci, naacaan, naacac

naacnahal, naacnahi, naacnahaani, naacnahaci

In this case in all forms the intransitive verb marker -nah- has been lost as well as for the third and fourth forms, in the third person singular only, the personal pronoun -i.

cuxtal, cuxlahi, cuxaan, cuxlac

cuxlahal, cuxlahi, cuxlahaani, cuxlahaci

In the general form for the verb root cux the suffix has for some reason taken on the contracted form of the suffix -tahal. We have no explanation for this transformation. In the second form there is no change. In the third form the intransitive verb marker -lah- is lost as well as, in the third person singular only, the personal pronoun -i. In the fourth form the -ah- of the marker is lost as well as, in the third person singular only, the personal pronoun -i.

Notice that in the third and fourth forms in all cases the third person singular pronoun has been lost. As will be shown in the paradigms in Sections 86 and 87, this is the only pronoun to be lost. For the third form the third person singular pronoun has been lost ever since colonial times, and we have not found any examples of its usage. On the other hand, there are examples of the fourth form both with and without the third person singular pronoun all through the colonial literature and it seems to us that the use of this pronoun can still be heard today.

In summary, we feel that the intransitive conjugation is in fact based upon a regular conjugation, but that it has given way to contracted forms over the centuries to such an extent that today the conjugation gives the appearance of being irregular. If this assumption is correct, then the range of contractions for each of the four forms is as follows:

-Cahal: -tal / -hal / -Vl / -

-Cahi: -hi / -i

-Cahaani: -Cahaan / -aan

-Cahaci: -Cahci / -Caci / -aci / -ci

-Cahac / -Cac / -Vc

While the above discussion is not of much help to the reader in helping him know what the modern form of any particular modern intransitive verb will be, it should be pointed out that when in doubt, a person speaking modern Mayan who is unsure of what the modern-day form of an intransitive verb is can get away with using the standardized form. While the result may sound peculiar to the Mayan listener, at least it will be grammatically correct and unmistakable in its intent. Furthermore, the above discussion may be of some significance for those dealing with hieroglyphs. That is, there is an indication that the verb suffix -nahal may exist if a reading offered by Dieter Dütting is correct. (T1.756.568:23 - 683:102 = u.dzi.u:l - na:hal) Whether this is a correct reading or not, the knowledge of these standardized suffixes may be of help when working on the problem of decipherment.

84. Intransitive conjugation time sequence. The model verb used here is hok (to go out) (hokol, hoki, hokaan, hokoc). Most of the tenses have been explained in the previously in the transitive conjugation. The new tenses are explained as they appear.

Hoki uch caachi. "He can out long ago." Past

perfect modified by uch caachi

(long ago).

Cu hokol uch caachi.

"He used to come out long ago." Past habitual modified by uch caachi.

Hokaan uch caachi.

"He came out and stayed out long ago." Past action - continuing purpose modified by uch caachi.

Uch hokoc

"He came out long ago and is still out." Very past action - continuing purpose.

Hoki caachi. Past perfect modified by

caachi (a while ago).

Cu hokol caachi. Past habitual modified by

caachi (a while ago).

Hokaan caachi. Past action - continuing

purpose modified by caachi.

Hoki. "He came out." Past perfect.

Hokaan. "He came out and has stayed out." Past action - continuing purpose.

Dzoc (a specified time) "He came out a specified time

hokoc. ago." Specified past perfect.

Dzoc u hokol. "He just came out." Immediate

past perfect.

Cu hokol. "He comes out." Habitual

action.

Zuc u hokol. "He is accustomed to coming out." Accustomed habitual tense.

Tan u hokol."He is coming out." Immediate present.

Hoken! "Come out!" Imperative. The plural is Hokeneex!

Nu caah hokol. "He is just beginning to come out." Immediate future.

Tac u hokol. "He wants to come out." Desired future.

Yan u hokol. "He has to come out." Obligated future.

Kabet u hokol. "He needs to come out." Necessitated future.

He u hokol... "He will come out (if)..." Conditional future.

Ca hokoc. "... that he should come out" Suggested future.

Bin hokoc. "He will come out." Definite

Cun hokol. future. The second alternative

is used only after adverbial

particles.

Hokom. "He shall come out." Prophetic

future. This tense is quite

common in colonial literature

but is no longer in use. It

seems not to be conjugatable,

there being only examples of

this tense in the third person.

For those verbs whose second

form is -lahi this tense is

-lahom and for those with

-nahi this tense is -nahom.

As was noted in the introductory remarks to this chapter on verbs, Section 75, and then again in Section 83, the second, third, and fourth forms of the intransitive verbs are conjugated in each tense using Set B pronouns. Examples of these conjugations are given here.

85. The conjugation of the second form:

For the verb root hok (to come out):

singular plural

1st hoken hokoon

2nd hokech hokeex

3rd hoki hokoob

For the verb root han (to eat):

singular plural

1st hanen hanoon

2nd hanech haneex

3rd hani hanoob

For the verb root mek (to embrace):

singular plural

1st meknahen meknahoon

2nd meknahech meknaheex

3rd meknahi meknahoob

For the verb root cux (to live):

singular plural

1st cuxlahen cuxlahoon

2nd cuxlahech cuxlaheex

3rd cuxlahi cuxlahoob

86. The conjugation of the third form:

For the verb root hok (to come out):

singular plural

1st hokaanen hokaanoon

2nd hokaanech hokaaneex

3rd hokaan hokaanoob

For the verb root han (to eat):

singular plural

1st hanaanen hanaanoon

2nd hanaanech hanaaneex

3rd hanaan hanaanoob

For the verb root mek (to embrace):

singular plural

1st mekaanen mekaanoon

2nd mekaanech mekaaneex

3rd mekaan mekaanoob

For the verb root cux (to live):

singular plural

1st cuxaanen cuxaanoon

2nd cuxaanech cuxaaneex

3rd cuxaan cuxaanoob

87. The conjugation of the fourth form:

For the verb root hok (to come out):

regular

singular plural

1st hokocen hokocoon

2nd hokocech hokoceex

3rd hokoc hokocoob

contracted

singular plural

1st hoken hokoon

2nd hokech hokeex

3rd hokoc hokoob

For the verb root han (to eat):

regular

singular plural

1st hanacen hanacoon

2nd hanacech hanaceex

3rd hanac hanacoob

contracted

singular plural

1st hancen hancoon

2nd hancech hanceex

3rd hanac hancoob

For the verb root mek (to embrace):

singular plural

1st meknacen meknacoon

2nd meknacech meknaceex

3rd meknac meknacoob

For the verb root cux (to live):

singular plural

1st cuxlacen cuxlacoon

2nd cuxlacech cuxlaceex

3rd cuxlac cuxlacoob

Notice that for the contractions of fourth form verbs whose roots end in -c or -k that with the exception of the third person singular these contractions result in the same words as their corresponding persons from the conjugation of the second form.

88. The imperative is, as in English, defective, but is pluralized by the addition of the suffix -eex.

hok (to come out) Hoken! Hokeneex!

han (to eat) Hanen! Haneneex!

The intransitive conjugation is the only conjugation which has a true imperative. As mentioned in the transitive conjugation, what is now taken to be the transitive imperative appears to be derived from the transitive suggested future tense.

89. Negation: the negation of the foregoing tenses is generally accomplished by preceding the tense by ma (not).

Ma hoki. "He did not come out."

Exceptions are the following:

Ma tu hokol. Negated habitual tense. The time

indicator consonant is changed

from c- to t-. Note that the

negation of the contraction of

the immediate present is the

same.

Ma tun hokol. Negated definite future. Tun is

the contraction of tu bin which

can also be used, and the

general form takes the place of

the fourth form. See infinitives

in Sections 107-110.

90. Interrogatives: interrogative phrases using the foregoing conjugation generally use the tenses as they are.

Baax hora hokaanech? "When did you come out?"

Exception:

Tuux cun hokol? "Where is he going to come out?"

Interrogative definite future.

The bin is replaced by cun which

is a contraction of cu bin,

which can also be used.

PASSIVE VERBS

91. The normal passive verb suffixes appended to the verb root to form the passive verbs are:

-aal, -ab, -abal general form

-abi second form

-aan, -abaan third form

-aac, -abac fourth form

However, the passive verbs are somewhat irregular as will be seen in the examples.

As can be seen, the passive verb suffixes are similar to the intransitive verb suffixes, but the passive conjugation is distinguished from the intransitive conjugation by two features. The first feature is that the consonants -t-, -l-, -z-, or the causative marker -bez-, agreeing with that used in the transitive conjugation, is tacked onto the verb root before the addition of the passive verb suffixes. The second feature is that the passive marker -ab- is, for the standard or uncontracted suffixes, placed between the verb root or verb root plus consonant and the standard set of verb suffixes which operate for the intransitive and passive conjugations, as shown in Section 83. Again, these standard verb suffixes are:

-al, -i, -aani, -aci

Remember that the general form is conjugated with Set A pronouns while the second, third and fourth forms are conjugated with Set B pronouns, thus the ideal existence of the third person singular pronoun -i for these three forms. Thus the ideal suffixes for the passive conjugation are:

-abal, -abi, -abaani, -abaci

However in present-day intransitive and passive conjugations, as already noted in Section 83, for the third and fourth forms, and in the passive conjugation occasionally the second form, the third person singular pronoun is contracted out. Furthermore the b of the passive marker -ab- is often dropped except in the second form, resulting in a glottal-stopped -aa-, or alternatively for the general form the verbal suffix -al is dropped. Thus, using the verb root han (to eat) which, as noted in Section 77 takes the consonant -t-, the passive conjugation of this verb is as follows:

standard suffixes contracted suffixes

hantabal hantaal / hantab

hantabi hantabi

hantabaan hantaan

hantabac hantaac

Concerning the frequency of use of the standard versus the contracted passive suffixes it seems that certain verbs tend more towards the use of the standard suffixes in most instances while others tend toward the use of contracted suffixes. For example, of the verbs listed below the verb root mek tends to use the contracted form mostly, the verb root han tends towards the use of the contracted suffixes moderately, the verb roots naac and lik are equally inclined to use both the contracted and standard suffixes, and the verb root hay tends towards using the standard suffixes strongly.

Mek is the verb root for "embrace". The passive forms are:

mekaal / mekab, mekabi, mekaan, mekaac

Naac is the verb root for indicating upward motion. As noted in the transitive conjugation naac appears with the causative marker particle -z- placed between it and the verbal suffixes. The meaning of the verb in the transitive conjugation is "to lift". In the passive conjugation the meaning of naaczaal / naaczabal is "to be lifted".

naaczaal / naaczab, naaczabi, naaczaan, naaczaac

naaczabal, naaczabi, naaczabaan, naaczabac

Han is the verb root for "eat". In the transitive and passive conjugations han appears with the particle -t- placed between it and the verbal suffixes.

hantaal / hantab, hantabi, hantaan, hantaac

hantabal, hantabi, hantabaan, hantabac

Hay is the verb root for "stretch out". In the transitive and passive conjugations hay appears with the particle -l- placed between it and the verbal suffixes.

haylabal, haylabi, haylabaan, haylabac

haylaal / haylab, haylabi, haylaan, haylaac

Lik is the verb root for "to get up". With the causative -z- the transitive becomes "to pick up" and the passive becomes "to be picked up", which by extension means "to be put away". This verb is included here because the third form shows a common irregularity.

likzaal / likzab, likzabi, likzahaan, likzaac

likzabal, likzabi, likzahaan, likzabac

A couple of irregularities in this conjugation will be noted as we go through the passive conjugation time sequence. There are instances where the particles -bil and -bilac can be used with the verb root plus consonant if any to form alternative ways of stating a couple of the tenses. The use of the particle -bil along with -aan were looked at in Section 56. Examples: labaan che = rotten tree, lubaan tunich = fallen stone, tzahbil he = fried egg, pibil nal = roasted corn, etc.

92. Passive conjugation time sequence. The model verb used here is han (to eat) (hantaal, hantabi, hantaan, hantaac). The tenses have been explained in the previously in the transitive and intransitive conjugations.

Hantabi in col uch caachi.

"My garden was eaten long ago." Past perfect modified by uch caachi (long ago).

Cu hantaal in col uch caachi. "My garden used to be eaten

Cu hantab in col uch caachi. long ago." Past habitual

modified by uch caachi.

Hantaan in col uch caachi.

"My garden was eaten and stayed eaten long ago." Past action - continuing purpose modified by uch caachi.

Uch hantaac in col.

"My garden was eaten long ago and is still eaten." Very past action - continuing purpose.

Hantabi in col caachi. Past perfect modified by

caachi (a while ago).

Cu hantaal in col caachi. Past habitual modified by

Cu hantab in col caachi. caachi (a while ago).

Hantaan in col caachi. Past action - continuing

purpose modified by caachi.

Hantabi in col. "My garden was eaten." Past

perfect.

Hantbilac in col. "My garden was eaten." Past

perfect using an alternative

form as noted in Section 56.

Hantaan in col.

"My garden was eaten and has stayed eaten." Past action - continuing purpose.

Dzoc (a specified time) "My garden was eaten a

hantaac in col. specified time ago." Specified

past perfect.

Dzoc u hantaal in col. "My garden was just eaten."

Dzoc u hantab in col. Immediate past perfect.

Cu hantaal in col. "My garden is being eaten."

Cu hantab in col. Habitual action.

Zuc u hantaal in col.

"My garden is accustomed to being eaten." Accustomed habitual tense.

Tan u hantaal in col. "My garden is being eaten."

Tan u hantab in col. Immediate present.

Hantaal u caah in col. "My garden is only good for

Hantab u caah in col. being eaten." Limiting

habitual.

Nu caah hantaal in col. "My garden is beginning to be

Nu caah hantbil in col. eaten." Immediate future.

Tac u hantaal in col. "My garden wants to be eaten."

Desired future.

Yan u hantaal in col. "My garden has to be eaten."

Obligated future.

Kabet u hantaal in col. "My garden has to be eaten."

Necessitated future.

He u hantaal in col... "My garden will be eaten (if)"

Conditional future.

Ca hantaac in col."... that my garden should be eaten." Suggested future.

Bin hantaac in col. "My garden will be eaten."

Definite future.

As was noted in the introductory remarks to this chapter on verbs, Section 75, the second, third, and fourth forms of the passive verbs are conjugated in each tense using pronoun Set B. Examples of these conjugations are given here.

93. The conjugation of the second form:

For the verb root han (to eat):

singular plural

1st hantaben hantaboon

2nd hantabech hantabeex

3rd hantabi hantaboob

94. The conjugation of the third form:

For the verb root han (to eat):

singular plural

1st hantaanen hantaanoon

2nd hantaanech hantaaneex

3rd hantaan hantaanoob

95. The conjugation of the fourth form:

For the verb root han (to eat):

singular plural

1st hantaacen hantaacoon

2nd hantaacech hantaaceex

3rd hantaac hantaacoob

96. Negation: the negation of the foregoing tenses is generally accomplished by preceding the tense by ma (not).

Ma hantabi in col. "My garden was not eaten."

Exceptions are the following:

Ma tu hantaal in col. Negated habitual tense. The time

indicator consonant is changed

from c- to t-. Note that the

negation of the contraction of

the immediate present is the

same.

Ma tun hantaal in col. Negated definite future. Tun is

the contraction of tu bin which

can also be used, and the

general form takes the place of

the fourth form. See infinitives

in Sections 107-110.

97. Interrogatives: interrogative phrases using the foregoing conjugation generally use the tenses as they are.

Dzoc u hantaal a col? "Has your garden just been eaten?"

Exception:

Bix cun hantaal in col? "How is my garden going to be eaten?" Interrogative definite future. The bin is replaced by cun which is a contraction of cu bin, which can also be used.

VERBS FROM OTHER PARTS OF SPEECH

98. In the chapter on nouns it was noted that some nouns double as verbs or verb roots (Sections 23 and 24). For example, as noted in Section 23, in some instances the general form of the intransitive conjugation of a verb is also a noun:

hanal (to eat) hanal (food)

huchh (to grind) huchh (ground corn)

meyah (to work) meyah (work)

pochhil (to insult) pochhil (insult)

ximbal (to walk) ximbal (walk)

In these instances the verb can be distinguished from the noun only by syntax:

Yan in meyah. "I have to work."

Utz tin uich in meyah. "I like my work."

Some verb roots are also nouns in themselves as noted in the chapter on nouns in Section 24.

cah (to inhabit) cah (town)

cotz (to cut) cotz (piece)

miz (to sweep) miz, mizib (broom)

xul (to end) xul (end)

Examples:

Xen a cotzic ten hunxet nok. "Go cut me a piece of cloth."

Dza ten hun cotz. "Give me one piece."

Other parts of speech, especially adjectives and adverbs, can become verb roots by the addition of various verbal suffixes.

caanal (to grow) caanal (high)

kaz (to be bad) kaz (bad, badly)

malob (to be good) malob (good, well)

utz (to be good) utz (good)

yaab (to increase, multiply) yaab (a lot)

zeb (to hurry) zeb (quickly)

Example:

Dzu yaabtal le chhichhobo. "Those birds just multiplied."

In some instances the verbal suffixes already looked at in the preceding discussion about the three conjugations can be appended directly to the verb root. Frequently however special transforming suffixes must be used.

SPECIALIZED VERBAL SUFFIXES WHICH TRANSFORM

OTHER PARTS OF SPEECH INTO VERBS

99. There are three sets of companion suffixes which transform other parts of speech into verbs. In each case the linking particle between the verb root and the verbal suffixes for the transitive / passive suffixes is different from the linking particle for the intransitive suffixes. The reason why we call these sets "companion" is because verb roots which use the suffixes of the transitive / passive set frequently use the corresponding suffixes of the intransitive set. However, there are verb roots which will use suffixes from different companion sets as well, so this is not a firm rule.

100. The following is the most common of the companion sets of verb suffixes.

Transitive and Passive Suffixes: The following sets of suffixes transform other parts of speech and some irregular intransitive verbs into transitive and passive verbs:

transitive passive

-cuntic -cuntaal

-cunzic -cunzaal

-cintic -cintaal

-cinzic -cinzaal

Examples:

Kaz (bad, ugly)

kazcuntic, kazcuntah, kazcuntmah, kazcunt

"to make something bad, ugly, or broken"

kazcuntaal, kazcuntabi, kazcuntabaan, kazcuntabac

"to be made bad, ugly, or broken"

Alcab (to run)

alcabcunzic, alcabcunzah, alcabcunzmah, alcabcunze

"to make something run (away), to chase away"

alcabcunzaal, alcabcunzabi, alcabcunzaan, alcabcunzaac

"to be chased away"

Utz (good)

utzcintic, utzcintah, utzcintmah, utzcinte

"to make something good, to repair"

utzcintaal, utzcintabi, utzcintabaan, utzcintabac

"to be repaired"

Chhuy (to lift)

chhuycinzic, chhuycinzah, chhuycinzmah, chhuycinze

"to hang something up"

chhuycinzaal, chhuycinzabi, chhuycinzaan, chhuycinzabac

"to be hung up"

Also possible with chhuy are:

chhuycintic, chhuycintah, chhuycintmah, chhuycinte

"to hang something up" (same as chhuycinzic)

chhuycunzaal, chhuycunzabi, chhuycunzaan, chhuycunzabac

"to be hung up"

Notice that here, unlike with normal transitive and passive verbs, it does not matter in terms of meaning whether there is a -t- or -z- in the suffix (eg. -cintic / -cinzic). We cannot explain why there is need for the four different particles (-cint-, -cunt-, -cinz-, -cunz-), but in many instances one and only one of these particles can be used with certain words. For example, with the word kaz it would be impossible to use anything but -cunt- and with utz it would be impossible to use anything but -cint-. As is pointed out in the grammar written by Coronel in 1620, those verb roots which have the vowels a, e, and i in them take -cun- while those with o and u take -cin-, and generally this rule holds today. On the other hand as can be seen directly above, with the verb root chhuy various particles may be used.

In the colonial literature and dictionaries there are many examples of the particles -cin- and -cun- without the consonants -t- and -z-. (i.e. -cinic, -cunic, -cinabal, -cunabal) Today however it seems that the consonants must always be present.

Intransitive Suffixes: The following is the companion set of intransitive verb suffixes to the transitive / passive suffixes given above. Tal is the verb for "come", and the suffix -tal gives the sense of "becoming" to the verb to which it is attached. This suffix -tal may not be the same as the -tal already noted in Section 83 under intransitive verbs. That can be seen by the other three forms of the suffix. Furthermore, the suffix is not always -tal; the suffixes -hal and -chahal also belong to this suffix complex.

-tal, -hal, -chahal general form

-chahi second form

-chahaan, -aan third form

-chahac fourth form

Kaz (bad, ugly)

kaztal, kazchahi, kazchahaan / kazaan, kazchahac

"to become bad, to become broken"

Malob (good)

malobtal, malobchahi, malobchahaan, malobchahac

"to become good, to get well, to improve"

Uinic (person, man)

uinichal, uinicchahi, uinicchahaan, uinicchahac

"to become a person, to become a man"

Muc (to bury)

mucchahal, mucchahi, mucchahaan / mucaan, mucchahac

"to become buried"

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