Magin_Edward-thesis

88
this instance in (75), the prepositional phrase must precede the word xerîb. Note as well
that the valence for the English verb ‘miss’ is two, while the valence in Northern Kurdish
is one. The same difference in valence is evident in example (73).
(73) min guh li te ne bî-Ø
1O ear at 2O NEG COP.PST-3SG
‘I didn’t hear you.’
(74) min ser-a wê da-Ø (Şirîn and Buşra 2006:54)
1O visit-EZ.F 3OF give.PST-3SG
‘I visited (and stayed) with her.’
(75) tu ji min xerîb bî-Ø
2D of 1O missing COP.PST-2SG
‘You missed me.’
Complex predicates could easily be the subject of a separate treatise. Suffice it to say that
the reader should simply be aware of their prevalence in the language.
4.4.3.7 Aspect, mood and negation
Aspect, mood and negation are herein discussed together because a verb typically
only takes one of the affixes associated with these grammatical categories.
4.4.3.7.1 Imperfective aspect
The imperfective aspect affix di is the most common of the aspect affixes. In most
cases it is a prefix; however, for some compound verbs, di (or d) is inserted between the
two parts of the verb. This is best understood via some examples.
In (76) di is simply a prefix on the verb çim, ‘I go,’ whereas in (77), only d is
inserted between the two parts of the compound verb, çêkit, ‘she makes.’ Speakers of the
Bahdini subdialect tend to metathesize the sound sequence di to id. in order to achieve
preferred syllable structures. In this instance, the desired syllable structure is CVC. The
sounds reverse because there is an opportunity to delete the weak vowel. The small i
finds itself adjacent to a strong vowel―the ê in çê― and the i is not uttered. The d that
remains becomes the coda for the new syllable çêd. However, in areas where the Latin