Preverbs
A preverb is an element found at the left edge of a verb in Mi'gmaq that modifies the meaning of the root and any other preverbs to the right of it. Some of the meanings that are expressed in Mi'gmaq using preverbs are expressed in other languages such as English as adverbs (e.g. jaqal- "quickly, energetically"), prepositions (e.g. toqjuw- "up"), modal verbs (e.g. getu- "want (to)"), prefixes (e.g. minu- "re-"), other verbs (e.g. poqju- "begin (to)"), and other expressions (e.g. etl- "in the process of, be __ing"), although not all elements that belong to one of these categories in English are expressed as preverbs in Mi'gmaq, such as igtug "at, near (location)," which is found after nouns, not before verbs. Delisle and Metallic (1976) suggest that there are several hundred preverbs: some examples are below.
poqju-wissugwa-t-m-ap begin-cook-inan-1sg-past
'I started cooking it '
newti-wissugwa-t-m-ap one-cook-inan-1sg-past
'I cooked it alone '
getu- poqju- mamuni- espi- inn-ui- sit want- start- high,very- level- people-lang -3sg
's/he wants to start to speak the people's language (Mi'gmaq) at a very high level'
(sample context: said of an enthusiastic student of Mi'gmaq)
What Can Preverbs Attach To?
Preverbs are found only when attached to another verb. There are two kinds of verbs in this context: independent verbs, which can occur without a preverb, and dependent verbs, which must have some preverb attached to them.
Independent Verbs
Independent verbs, such as wissugwa- "cook", can be found by themselves or with a preverb.
wissugwa-t-m-ap cook-inan-1sg-pa
'I cooked it'
etl-wissugwa-t-m-ap process cook-inan-1sg-pa
'I was cooking it'
me'si-wissugwa-t-m-ap difficulty-cook-inan-1sg-pa
'I had difficulty cooking it'
ala-wissugwa-t-m-ap around-cook-inan-1sg-pa
'I cooked it in any direction'
Dependent Verbs
Dependent verbs, like -lugwe- "work, do", -enmi- "laugh", and - "cry" can only be found with a preverb (they don't sound right without one). For example:
*lugwe-t work-3an
's/he works'
e-lugwe-t ?-work-3an
's/he works'
etl-lugwe-t process-work-3an
's/he is working'
Unattached Preverbs?
esteti/nata.
amujpa wissugwa-t-m-ap have.to cook-inan-1sg-past
'I had to cook it'
mu amujpa wissugwa-t-m-u-ap not have.to cook-inan-1sg-neg-past
'I didn't have to cook it'
amujpa mu wissugwa-t-m-u-ap have.to not cook-inan-1sg-neg-past
'I had to not cook it'
Several Preverbs at Once
Slots
Tentative slots
Position | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Verb |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Category | aspect1 | mode | aspect2 | duration? | manner | quantity | direction, state | VERB |
Sample preverb | etl- | mesi- | poqji- | minu- | gimi- | newti- | al-, wel- | asit |
Gloss | process | difficulty | start | again, re- | secretively | alone | around, good | go.3sg |
What this template describes
We can use the template as a guide for combining preverbs if we know what their positions are. For example, let's say we have the three preverbs etl- "in the process of" (position 7), poqju- "start" (position 5), and newti- "alone" (position 2), plus the verb wissugwatman "I cook them." We know that the verb is going to be the furthest to the right (position 0). We then add preverbs to it in order from the lowest position to the highest, so that the highest number preverb is leftmost one, and the lowest number is the rightmost, just before the verb. This correct ordering is shown in the example below, with the preverb positions indicated for clarity.
etl-poqju-newti-wissugwatman process(7)-start(5)-alone(2)-cook.1sg.3pl
'I am in the process of beginning to cook them by myself'
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Several Orders
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Big (but incomplete!) List of Preverbs
Big List of All Preverbs
The following is a list of all the preverbs found to date.
Preverb | Preverb gloss | Category | Position | Example | Example gloss |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
pem- | by | direction | 1 | pem-iet | "s/he goes by" |
enm- | away, home | direction | 1 | enm-iet | "s/he goes away/home" |
wej((i)qua)- | towards | direction | 1 | wejuw-et | "s/he goes towards..." |
el- | to (away) | direction | 1 | el-iet | "s/he goes to..." |
al- | around, any direction | direction | 1 | al-a'si-t | "s/he wanders around" |
apaj-/apij- | back (return) | direction | 1 | apij-a'si-t | "s/he comes back" |
gigtoqw- | around, encircle | direction | 1 | gigtoqw-a'si-t | "s/he goes around..." |
toqjuw- | up (e.g. stairs) | direction | 1 | toqjuw-a'si-t | "s/he goes up (e.g. stairs)" |
(e)jig'l- | to a different spot | direction | 1 | ejig'l-a'si-t | "s/he moves to a different spot" |
menj- | up (from reclining position) | direction | 1 | menj-a'si-t | "s/he gets up (e.g. out of bed)" |
asaqom- | across (to Campbellton) | direction | 1 | asaqom-a'si-t | "s/he is going across, to Campbellton" |
ugtejg- | back of (house, classroom) | direction | 1 | ugtejg-a'si-t | "I am going to the back" |
matam- | to end (e.g. of driveway) | direction | 1 | matam-a'si | "I go to the end (of the road/driveway)" |
pesg- | into (road) | direction | 1 | pesg-a'si | "I pull into the driveway" |
utan- | to town | direction | 1 | utan-a'si | "I go to town" |
wanu- | to the cove | direction | 1 | wann-a'si | "I go towards the cove" |
jaqal- | quickly, energetically | manner | 3 | jaqal-e'g | "s/he is fast" |
awan- | awkward, unskilled | manner? state? | 1 | awan-e'g | "s/he is awkward" |
etl- | in the process of | aspect1 | 7 | etl-wissugwatm-apn | "I was in the process of cooking them (inan)" |
wel- | good/fine | state | 1 | wel-e'g | "s/he is good/fine" |
poqju- | begin, start (to) | aspect2 | 5 | poqju-wissugwatm-apn | "I began to cook them (inan)" |
getu- | want | mode | 6 | getu-wissugwatm-apn | "I wanted to cook them (inan)" |
minu- | again (re-) | quantity? | 4 | minu-wissugwatm-apn | "I re-cooked them (inan)" |
siew- | continue | quantity? | 4 | siew-wissugwatm-apn | "I continued cooking them (inan)" |
amujpa- | have to | mode | 6 | amujpa-wissugwatm-apn | "I had to cook them (inan)" |
etugjel- | might, maybe | mode | 6 | etugjel-wissugwatm-apn | "I might have cooked them (inan)" |
gaqi- | finish | aspect2 | 5 | gaqi-wissugwatm-apn | "I finished cooking them (inan)" |
gisi- | can, be able to | mode | 6 | gisi-wissugwatm-apn | "I was able to cook them (inan)" |
nata- | skilled (at), knowledgeable | mode | 6 | nata-wissugwatm-apn | "I was skilled at cooking them (inan)" |
amal- | in a disorganized/awkward fashion | state? | (1?) | amal-g-at | "s/he dances (walks awkwardly)" |
mal- | lazy | state? | (1?) | mal-eig | "s/he is lazy" |
tel- | condition/state | state? | (1?) | tel-iaq, tel-eig | "it happened, it is true," "s/he has a condition, is in a mood, is pregnant" |
gesigew- | loudly, quickly and loudly | manner | 3 | gesigew-wissugwatm-apn | "I cooked them (inan) loudly" |
mili- | (?) many, a lot | mode | 6 | mili-t-asi-t | "s/he has a lot of thoughts, is stressed" |
nuji- | skilled at | mode | 6 | nuji-wissugwatm-apn | "I was skilled at cooking them (inan)" |
lnu- | (of the) people (i.e. Mi'gmaq) | state? | 1 | lnu-amal-g-at" | "s/he danced a traditional dance" |
inn-ui- (alternate form of lnu-) | Native/peoples' (language) | incorporated noun? state? | 1 | innui-si-t | "s/he speaks the language of the people (Mi'gmaq)" |
aqat- | half | quantity | 2 | aqati'si | "I speak half Mi'gmaq half English" |
gaqisg- | frequently | manner | (3) | gaqisg-wissugwatm-apn | "I cooked them (inan) frequently" |
teg- | intentionally? | manner? | (3?) | teg-tes-g-at | "s/he kicks (something anim)" |
me- | more (?), non-volitional? | state? quantity | (1? 2?) | me-tes-g-m | "I am hitting (something)" |
metu- | difficult | mode? | 3 | metuw-eig | "it is difficult to come by, find" |
wenju- | French (person), foolish | state? | (1?) | wenjuw-et | "s/he acts foolishly" |
wenju-wi | French (language) | state? | 1 | wenju-wi-si-t | "s/he speaks French" |
alman-uwi | German (language) | state? | 1 | alman-uwi-si-t" | "s/he speaks German" |
gimi- | secretively, surreptitiously | manner | 3 | ||
newti- | one, one one's own, alone | quantity | 2 | newti-al-a'si-t | "s/he wanders around alone" |
toqi- | the two of them | quantity | 2 | toqi-al-a'si-jig | they two wander around together |
mesi- | difficult, difficulty | mode | 5 | ||
melgi- | hard (physical) | state? | (1?) | ||
i- | used to | time? aspect? state? | 7 | i-wissugwatm-apn pisgit-l | "I used to cook cookies" |
Things that look like preverbs but aren't
Preverb | Preverb gloss | Category | Position | Example | Example gloss |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
gi's- | by then, already | time | 8 | gi's-wissugwatm-apn | "I already cooked them" |
sangew- | slowly, calmly, deliberately, carefully | time | 8 | sangew-e'g | "s/he is slow, calm" |
esteti- | always | time | 8 | esteti-wissugwatm-apn | "I always cooked them (inan)" |
app- | again (high scope) | time | 8 | app-wissugwatm-apn | "I cooked them (inan) again" |
assma- | be about to | time | 8 | assma-wissugwatm-apn | "I was about to cook them (inan)" |