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the nonverbal element çê and the light verb kim, ‘(I) do.’ In (72), which is from a line in
the corpus, the compound verb consists of şîn bibin, ‘may grow.’ 49 In this instance, we
know that şîn, which by itself can mean ‘green’ or ‘blue,’ is part of the verb and not an
object because it does not have an oblique suffix. Additionally, the complex verb itself is
intransitive, having a valence of one.
(70) ez dê ders-a xwe xilas k-im
1D will class-EZ.F REFL finish do.PRS-1SG
‘I finished my lesson.’
(71) Wahîda mast-î çê-d-k-it
Waheeda yogurt-OBL.M make-IPFV-do.PRS-3SG
‘Waheeda is making yogurt.’
(72) şîn_bi-b-in nêrgiz (BS1:11)
grow_IRR-be.PRS-3PL narcissus
‘May narcissuses grow…
Other complex predicates have nonverbal elements that consist of two or more
words. For example, a common lexical listing of the idiomatic verb ‘hear’ is guh lê bûn,
where guh is ‘ear,’ lê is a prepositional phrase consisting of li, ‘at’ and wî/wê, ‘he/she,’
and the light verb bûn, ‘be.’ This is the verb used in example (73). Notice that in place of
the contraction lê in the lexical listing, the prepositional phrase, li te, has the 2SG personal
pronoun. A contraction is only available for 3SG pronouns. In (74) the word ser, ‘visit,’
must be followed by an ezafe conjunctive particle and a personal pronoun or proper
name. These elements separate it from the verb da, ‘give.’ Sera wê, ‘visit of her,’ then,
functions as the object of the sentence. This example illustrates why a more proper
lexical listing of sera dan would be to call it a predicate, not just a verb. Lastly,
concerning xerîb bî, ‘be missing,’ in example (75), while it is true that xerîb, ‘missing,’ is
always next to the verb bûn, ‘be,’ it is simply an adjective, the attribute in the attributive
clause. The expression ‘to miss someone’ also demands a prepositional phrase using the
preposition ji, ‘of,’ such as ji min, ‘of me,’ in (75). In some predicates, such as the one in
(73), a prepositional phrase must follow a word in the nonverbal element. However, in
49 The meaning for ‘may’ comes from use of the bi- prefix on bibin, not the word şîn.