Paumarí Derivational Affixes

saka-hi-na 'ada i'oa
strike-intranser-intransitive dem tambaqui
'The tambaqui was harpooned.'
c) koko-a bi-gathi-hi ida jomahi
uncle-subj he-catch-narra dem dog
'Uncle caught the dog.'
gatha-na 'ada jomahi
catch-intransitive dem dog
'The dog was caught.'
d) mamai-a bi-kabasikha-ha ada bano
mother-subj she-smoke-narra dem piranha
'Mother smoked the piranha.'
kabasikha-ha ada bano
smoke-narra dem piranha
'The piranha was smoked.'
A syllable ending with the vowel /i/ becomes /a/ before this suffix.
2.4. Intransitiviser a-
This affix appears on only one verb 'dani 'to break'.
bi-'dani-hi ida ava
he-break-narra dem wood
'He broke the wood.'
When a- 'intranser' is applied the actor participant of the transitive clause is deleted. The
clause becomes either an intransitive active clause with the subject as patient or a resultative
clause, depending on the context. Both forms are identical.
a-'dani-ki 'ida ava
intranser-break-margin dem wood
'The wood broke.' or 'The wood was broken.'
2.5. Intransitiviser ka-
The prefix acts simultaneously as a verbaliser and may be applied to most noun stems.
This is the most common way to indicate possession. The application of this prefix makes a noun
into a descriptive clause. The beneficiary role is expressed by the subject. The item possessed is
expressed by the verb root. The prefix ka- has a variant form ko-. 11
'o-ka-abi'i-ki-ho
I-intranser-father-margin-I
'I have a father.'
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