ʈhim-paa dʑuu ɖo-ken bet. TE50 fast-COMP.STATE run[PST] go-NMLZ;CONJ AUX
‘At first the barking deer has a tendency to run faster than the dog.’ Story is a descriptive one telling how Lhomis hunt. When a dog chases a barking deer the latter first
runs faster but later it gets tired and the dog catches up. 16.60 pha jari jak-la d
ʑii ɖo-ken. TE32 cow some yak-DAT become.afraid[PST] go-NMLZ;CONJ AUX
‘Some cows tend to be afraid of yaks.’ This story is about yaks. Speaker writes factual information throughout the text though he has also
some experience with yaks. To use intentive modal in this example highlights the statement compared to mere factual statement d
ʑii-ken bet. 16
.61 ŋ-e ɕumpu ɕi ɖo-kuk. 1SG-GEN cat die[PST] go-PROG;VIS
‘My cat is going to die.’ Speaker knows that his cat is very sick and expresses his definite opinion that it is going to die. His
statement is based on his visual observation -kuk.
16.2.5 Modal verb ‘want todesire to’
The modal verb nø expresses referent’s desire to do something. I call it ‘desire to, want to’ modal. It is also often called desiderative modal. It has the following syntactic characteristics:
• The modal matrix verb is nø which is a T1 type verb which typically means ‘to think, to have an opinion’. Typically the matrix verb is a nonpast state. If a past eventive finite suffix,
e.g.-t ɕuŋ is attached, it refers to a moment of getting a desire to act see example 16.63.
• This modal verb may occur in questions and in non-finite clauses. • The complement clause is marked with subjunctive marker -t
ɕe which nominalizes it. • Speaker has the inner desire to act but the action may or may not materialize.
• The subjects of the complement clause and the matrix clause are co-referential. Case marking ERG of the subject is governed by the complement clause.
• The rest of the complement clause is the object of the main clause. Consider the following examples subjunctive markers and the modal verbs are underlined.
16.62 roo-ki khim t ɕik so-tɕe nø-kuk.
3SG-ERG house INDF build-SBJV think-PROG;VIS ‘He wants to build a house.’
16 .63 ŋ-e kittap tɕik no-tɕe nø-tɕuŋ.
1SG-ERG book INDF buy-SBJV think-PST.EXP ‘I wanted to buy a book.’ Or: ‘I got a desire to buy a book.’
This refers to a sudden desire to buy a book. 16.64 khit it jampu-la
ɖo-tɕe nø-kuk=ka? 2PL INCLN Kathmandu-DAT go-SBJV think-PROG;VIS=Q
‘Do you also want to go to Kathmandu?’ 16
.65 raŋ ɕi-tɕe nø-kuk=ka? 2SG die-SBJV think-PROG;VIS=Q
‘Do you want to die?’
This is asked in a context when the hearer is going to a dangerous place, e.g. abroad. This is actually a rhetorical question that signals a strong warning.
16 .66 raŋ-ki iki ɕii-tɕe nø-kuk=ka?
2SG-ERG writing know-SBJV think-PROG;VIS=Q ‘Do you want to know how to read and write?’
16.67 ha t ɕhit-tɕe nø-na ak nesso ge-ni
now do;VBZR-SBJV think-NFNT1 INCLN age grow.old-NFNT2 ala mit-tsha-ken bet. TE47
still NEG-be.able-NMLZ;CONJ AUX ‘Even if she wants to do it, she no longer is able to because she has grown so old.’
The subject of this one is a grandma who has grown old and would need help from her sons. Raising the transitivity of the modal attitude verb ‘desire to’
Examples 16.68 and 16.69 show how this modality can be made higher in transitivity scale. The verb used here is often used in Lhomi for such operations.
This operator and the complement clause have the following syntactic characteristics: • The main verb is t
ɕhit which is a T1 type verb. Typically it gets any nonpast or past finite suffixes.
• The complement clause is marked with an object nominalizer -pa NMLZ;Q. • The main clause becomes a T1 clause. Now it refers to something like ‘to show desire’. The
inner desire in ‘desire to’ modality is unseen by others but in this one the subject makes an attempt or acts in such a way that his desire becomes obvious.
• The subjects of the complement clause and the matrix clause are co-referential. Case marking ERG of the subject is governed by the complement clause.
• The rest of the complement clause is the object of the main T1 clause. 16
.68 ŋa lemma gatɕen khit-raŋ tɕaa-la juŋ-tɕe 1SG time many 2PL-self at-DAT come-SBJV
nø-pa t ɕhi-pen.
think-NMLZ;Q do;VBZR-1PST ‘I wanted to come to you many times’. Or: ‘Many times I showed my desire to come
over to you.’ 16.69 hi-ki tam hi-ko ma di ajekp-e u-ki ta di
this-GEN speech this-head CONTR1 DEF ajekpa-ERG that-GEN horse DEF elama d
ʑap-na ʈhok-tɕe nø-pa tɕhi-pa lie VBZR-NFNT1 take-SBJV think-NMLZ;Q do;VBZR-NMLZ;Q
hiŋ-køp-pa bet. TE68 AUX-PROG;EXP-NMLZ;Q AUX
‘As for this talking of Ayekpa, he actually had already decided wanted to take the horse by means of lying that way.’
This is from one of the so called Ayekpa stories. This sentence gives parenthetical information about Ayekpa’s intentions and desire before the current events of the context.
16.2.6 Modal verb ‘like to’.
