16.92 khit-la hi-ko ɕøt-tɕe jøp=pak? TE56
2PL-DAT this-head speak-SBJV EXIST=Q ‘Do you know this?’ Or: ‘Do you have this information?’
With the verb ɕøt ‘to speak, to tell someone something’ this whole construction has been
grammaticalized and simply means ‘to know, to have information’. The other Lhomi verb ɕii which often
is translated into English as ‘to know’ refers to “know how” abilitive or to a learning process see sections 16.2.3 and 14.1.
16 .93 ŋa-la tɕhampa khø-tɕe mit.
1SG-DAT flu contract-SBJV NEG.EXIST.EXP ‘I should not get the flu.’
16.94 t ɕheppa dʑak-tɕe-ma duk.
rain VBZR-SBJV-F2 EXIST.VIS ‘It ought to rain.’
Speaker states this when he sees how dry the soil is. The whole complement clause is the predicate NP of the main verb duk.
16.95 hi-ki tam hi-ko hat ɕa-raŋ-ki ʈheŋ-ki
this-GEN speech this-head 1PL.INCL-self-GEN memory-INS sø-t
ɕe-ma duk. survive-SBJV-F2 EXIST.VIS
‘We ought to keep this speech in mind.’ Or: ‘We ought to remember this speech.’ 16.96 u-ko hat
ɕa-raŋ-ki ɕii-tɕe-ma duk. that-head 1PL.INCL-self-ERG know-SBJV-F2 EXIST.VIS
‘We ought to know that.’ Speaker states this to his companions because they have just met others who seem to know
something they do not. All previous examples in this section refer to a state of affairs. The next example illustrates an event:
16.97 roo saar-la ɖo-tɕe tɕhuŋ-soŋ.
3SG city-DAT go-SBJV happen-PST.VIS ‘He had to go to the city.’
The person has gone to city and someone reports it. This is not perfect-subjunctive but rather past obligative. The verb of the main clause is t
ɕhuŋ-soŋ and the rest of the clause is its inanimate object.
16.3.5 Subjunctive marked complement with an equative copula as main verb
This deontic construction has the following characteristics: • The complement clause is nominalized with -t
ɕe, the subjunctive marker. • The verb of the main clause is equative copula
bet which may be negated but has no other finite markings.
• The main clause is I type. The case marking of a human subject is governed by the complement- clause verb. As to non-human subject it is the whole complement clause which is the predicate
nominal of the main clause. • The English meaning is: ‘I think he should’, ‘in my opinion he ought to’
When the main clause is negated its English meaning is: ‘I think he need not’, ‘I think he has no need to’.
16.98 roo- ki raŋ-la guk-tɕe bet.
3SG-ERG 2SG-DAT wait.for-SBJV COP ‘I think he ought to wait for you’. Or: ‘In my opinion he ought to wait for you.’
Speaker gives his opinion with a degree of uncertainty. The friend has gone ahead and the hearer is going to follow.
16 .99 aku passaŋ saar-la ɖo-tɕe bet.
uncle passang city-DAT go-SBJV COP ‘In my opinion uncle Passang should go to the city.’
16 .100 aku passaŋ saar-la ɖo-tɕe mem-pet.
uncle passang city-DAT go-SBJV NEG-COP ‘I think uncle Passang does not have to go to the city.’
16 .101 hariŋ tɕheppa dʑak-tɕe bet.
today rain VBZR-SBJV COP ‘In my opinion it ought to rain today.’
It is the copula that communicates the idea that this is the opinion of the speaker. 16.102 ani phu
ʈʈik-ki ŋa ŋuu ɕii-tɕe bet. aunt phu
ʈʈik-ERG 1SG face know-SBJV COP ‘I think aunt Phu
ʈʈik ought to know me personally.’
16.3.6 Subjunctive marked complement with the main verb ‘become’
This is often called perfect-subjunctive. • The complement-clause is nominalized with the string of two suffixes -t
ɕe-ma. The verb root is past.
• The verb of the main clause is t ɕhuŋ-tuk which is marked with perfect of results marker PRF.VIS
see more about that in 14.1.3. Syntactically this verb behaves like a copula, e.g. it may have predicate nominals and predicate adjectives. Lexically it means ‘to happen, to become’.
• The main clause is I type. The case markings of a human subject is governed by the complement- clause verb.
• The subject is either animate or inanimate and the rest of the complement clause is the predicate nominal of the main verb t
ɕhuŋ-. • The English meaning is ‘he should have’, ‘he ought to have’. It expresses frustration about
something the speaker or someone else should have done but failed to do. Or frustration about something speaker or someone else has done but actually he should not have done.
• When the complement clause is negated, its meaning in English is: ‘he should not have’, ‘he ought not to have’.
Consider the following examples. 16
.103 ŋ-e u-la tam ʈhii-tɕe-ma 1SG-ERG that-DAT question ask[PST]-SBJV-F2
t ɕhuŋ-tuk ka.
happen-PRF.VIS CEP ‘Actually I should have asked him.’
Speaker had the intention to ask the person something but he forgot and regrets now afterwards.
16.104 hi-nala juŋ-tɕe-ma tɕhuŋ-tuk ka.
this-ALL come[PST]-SBJV-F2 happen-PRF.VIS CEP ‘Actually I should have come here on that path.’
Speaker realizes that he had taken a wrong path. When he sees the right path he regrets that he had been mistaken. Subject is left implicit.
16.105 u-ko saar-la mat-phin-t ɕe-ma tɕhuŋ-tuk.
that-head city-DAT NEG-go.come[PST]-SBJV-F2 happen-PRF.VIS ‘He should not have gone to the city.’
Speaker sees that the person comes back and is drunk. This verb implies going and coming. 16.106 u-ko hat
ɕa-raŋ mat-sir-tɕe-ma tɕhuŋ-tuk. that-head 1PL.INCL-self NEG-say[PST]-SBJV-F2 happen-PRF.VIS
‘We should not have said that.’ Speaker feels remorse because the third party person had become angry.
16.4 Aspectual verbs
