Melle neg chobgal machi imako.

264 Kuna Speech Types Example We nugu kulle. 114 ‗That is good when eaten.‘ 2 Passive suffix - le-lle used with -ge The combination suffix -lege-llege denotes quality. Examples

1. We nugu kullege.

‗That is good eating.‘

2. We mol nugu taklege.

‗That blouse is good looking.‘ Exercise 13 . Passive -le frame drill The teacher says the sentence and the student repeats it using the passive form -le. Example Teacher: Mas tunai. Student: Mas tulenai. 1. Mas tunai. ‗I‘m cooking food.‘ 2. Teob chog. ‗That‘s what he says.‘ 3. We kartagin nabir nerma. ‗You can write on that paper.‘ 4. Pato ukcha. ‗He‘s already sold it.‘ 5. Esgin chikcha. ‗He cut it with a machete.‘

19.4.9 Habitual behavior aspect

People have habitual patterns of behavior, doing certain actions frequently or with some degree of regularity. This habitual behavior is expressed by the addition of the suffix -da-ta ‗behave habitually‘ to the verb stem. Examples 1. An ua kunta. ‗I oftenregularly eat fish.‘ 2. An igeta. ‗I oftenregularly forget.‘ This construction differs from the habitual aspect see 10.4.9 in that it implies that an action is done with regularity, whereas the habitual aspect without -da-ta refers to an act which is done and implies that there are other similar acts which are not done. Example Antin ua kun, tenal an apa chan kunchul. ‗I do eat fish but I don‘t eat boa meat.‘ 19.4.10 Past progressive suffix -ap ‘hashave been ____ing’ Ex. 14 An action may be viewed as past progressive, i.e., as having been in progress but now terminated, as illustrated by the English sentence, ―I have been swimming said after one has left the water‖. In the past progressive, the focus is on the activity and contrasts with a construction in which the focus is on the motion goingcoming as illustrated by the sentence, An obti. ‗I have been to bathe.‘ see 18.4.2. The past progressive is marked by the suffix -ap attached to the shortened verb stem. Examples

1. An obap.

‗I have been bathing.‘

2. Ome mas chuap.

‗The woman has been fetching plantains.‘

3. An tulemalzhe ekisap.

‗I have been asking people.‘ An irregular occurrence of the past progressive suffix -ap is nagap ‗on foot‘ see 14.4.8.2 note. 114 The verb kunkunne ‗to eat‘ is irregular. Its short form ends in a fortis consonant which is written as a single consonant by convention. With the addition of the passive suffix -le-lle the fortis suffix is used and the nn drops off to become kulle. Similarly, with the addition of the completive aspect -cha, kunkunne ‗to eat‘ becomes kucha.