زﻣﺎﱏ ﻮردﱙ ﺳﯚراﱏ — Kurdish— A Reference Grammar with Selected Readings

W. M. Thackston ii CONTENTS

PHONOLOGY The Phonology of Sorani Kurdish...... 1 Stress ...... 3 The ...... 4

SUBSTANTIVES § 1. The Absolute State ...... 8 § 2. The Indefinite State ...... 8 § 3. The Definite State...... 9 § 4. ...... 10 § 5. Attributive : The Open Adjectival Izâfa...... 10 § 6. Possession: The Izâfa Construction...... 10 § 7. Attributive Adjectives with Demonstratives and Definites: The Close Izâfa Construction...... 11 § 8. Attributive Adjectives with Definite ...... 12 § 9. Synopsis of States...... 13 § 10. Personal ...... 15 § 10.1 Pronouns...... 15 § 11. Enclitic -îsh ...... 16 § 12. Cardinal Numbers ...... 17 § 12.1 Ordinal Numbers...... 18 § 12.2 Days of the Week ...... 18 § 12.3 of the Year and the Kurdish ...... 18 § 13. Comparative and Superlative Adjectives ...... 19 § 14. Prepositions, Postpositions, Circumpositions ...... 20 § 14.1. Preposed Pronominal Prepositional Complements ...... 22

iii THE § 15. Present Copulas...... 25 § 16. ‘To Have’ ...... 26 § 17. The Present Habitual/Progressive ...... 26 § 18. in -awa ...... 29 § 19. The Present Subjunctive...... 30 § 20. ‘To Want’ ...... 34 § 21. ‘To Be Able’...... 35 § 22. ‘To Remember’ ...... 36 § 23. Pronominal Objects of Verbs ...... 37 § 24. The Imperative ...... 38 § 25. The Simple Past (Intransitive)...... 40 § 26. The Past Habitual/Progressive (Intransitive)...... 41 § 27. The Simple Past (Transitive): The Ergative...... 42 § 27.1 The Ergative in South Sorani ...... 45 § 27.2 Pronouns as Logical Objects of Past Transitive Verbs ...... 46 § 27.3 Pronominal Prepositional Complements with Agent Affixes ...... 48 § 27.4 Displacement of a Possessive by a Preposed Prepositional Complement...... 51 § 28. The Perfect Active ...... 53 § 29. The Present Perfect Tense (Intransitive) ...... 53 § 29.1 The Present Perfect Tense (Transitive) ...... 54 § 30. The Past Perfect Tense (Intransitive) ...... 55 § 30.1 The Past Perfect Tense (Transitive) ...... 56 § 31. The Past Subjunctive...... 57 § 32. The Irrealis Mood...... 60 § 33. The Past Conditional ...... 61 § 34. The Passive Voice ...... 63 § 34.1 The Past Passive Participle...... 65 § 35. Postposed Verbal Complements...... 66 § 36. Factitive Verbs ...... 68

iv OTHER SYNTACTICAL FEATURES § 37. Expressions of Temporal Duration ...... 70 § 38. Subordinating Conjunctions...... 71 § 39. Relative Clauses ...... 72 § 40. Directional Nouns in -è ...... 75 § 41. Orthographic Peculiarities of Sorani Kurdish ...... 75 § 42. Contractions...... 77

Verb Tenses and Moods...... 78 Synopsis of Tenses and Moods ...... 85 Conditional Sentence Types...... 86 Conversion Table for the Sorani and ...... 88

READINGS...... 91 (١) ﮔﯚﭬﺎرى ﴎوﻩ، «ﭘﻪﻧﺪى ﭘﺸﻴﺎن» ...... 92 (٢) ﳏﻪﻣﻪد رﻩﻣﻪزاﱏ، «ﺧﻮﻦ و ﺳﻴﻜﻪﺗﯚرﻩ» ...... 101 (٣) ﳏﻪﻣﻪد ﺣﻮﺳﻦ ﭘﺎﺳﻴﺎر، «رﻮى ﺗﻪﻣﻪڵ»...... 102 (۴) ﺋﻪﻧﻮﻩر رﻩوﺷﻪن، «ﺑﻮﻟﺒﻮل و ﺋﻮارﻩى ﻣﺎﺗﻪم»...... 104 (۵) ﻪﻻل ﻣﻪﺸﺎ، «ﮔﺎﺷﻪ ﺑﻪرد» ...... 108 (۶) ﯾﻮﺳﻒ ﺑﻪﺮى، «ﳻ ﺋﻪدﻩﰉ: ﭘﻪﺧﺸﺎن» ...... 120 (٧) ﻓﻪرﻫﺎد ﺷﻛﻪﱃ، «ﺗﻪرم» ...... 122 (٨) ﶊﺪ ﻪﻣﻪ ﺻﺎﺢ ﺗﯚﻓﻖ، «ﭘﺎﺷﺎى ﻪوت ﻮڕﻩ»...... 129 (٩) ﶊﺪ ﻪﻣﻪ ﺻﺎﺢ ﺗﯚﻓﻖ، «ﺋﻪﲪﻪد ﭘﺎﺷﺎ»...... 142 (١٠) ﻫﻪژار، «ﻣﻦ و ﻣﻪم و زﯾﲎ ﺎﱏ»...... 149 (١١) ﻮردﺳﺎت...... 156 (١٢) ﻪت ...... 159 (۱۳) ﻧﲑﭬﺎن رزاﱏ ﺑﯚ The New Anatolian ...... 160

Kurdish–English Vocabulary ...... 163

v vi PREFACE

KURDISH BELONGS to the Western Iranian group of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. The two principal branches of modern literary Kurdish are (1) Kurmanji, the language of the vast majority of in Turkey, Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, the area designated by Kurdish nationalists as “North ,” with an estimated fifteen to seventeen million speakers, and (2) Sorani, the language of most Kurds in (four to six million speakers) and (five to six million speakers), the area desig- nated as “South Kurdistan.” Although the two are closely related, Kurmanji and Sorani are not mutually intelligible and differ at the basic structural level as well as in vocabulary and idiom. Since Kurdish is fairly closely related to and has been massively influenced by Persian, the dominant literary and cultural language of the area for the last millennium, Kurdish is best approached with a basic knowledge of Persian. While Kurmanji is still far from being a unified, normalized, or standard- ized language, Sorani has been the second official language of Iraq since the creation of that country after and has many decades of literary activity behind it. In Iran, Kurdish has never been accorded official status, but in there has been noteworthy publication in Kurdish, particularly after the . The area in which Sorani is spoken in Iran is more or less the region designated as Kurdistan. Outside of that area, south to and east as far as , the language is known as Gorani, or South Sorani, which is a Mischsprache that is basically Persian in structure but Kurdish in vocabulary. The readings, chosen to give samples of a broad range of prose writing ranging from fairy tales to the internet, are provided with running glosses beneath the texts, and the glosses in the readings are also contained in the Kurdish–English vocabulary at the end of the book. Words considered to be absolutely basic vocabulary are not glossed in the notes, since it is assumed that these words either are known already or will be actively acquired by looking them up in the vocabulary in the back. Generally words are not glossed more than once in the notes because any word encountered a second vii SORANI KURDISH time should be learned actively. Words are glossed after the first instance only if they are considered rare enough to warrant being ignored for acquisi- tion. Because Sorani Kurdish dictionaries are not easily obtainable, I have made the vocabulary as large as possible. It contains around 4,000 words, which represent a basic working vocabulary for the language. For dictionaries of Sorani, the following may be consulted: Hazhâr, Hanbâna borîna: Farhang-i –Fârsî, 2 vols. Tehran: Su- rûsh, 1368 [1989]. With definitions in both Kurdish and Persian, this is by far the most comprehensive dictionary of Kurdish, but Kurmanji words are also included without any differentiation. -for û; otherwise the is stan وو instead of وُ Hazhâr uses dard. McCarus, Ernest N. Kurdish–English Dictionary, Dialect of Sulaima- nia. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1967. Qazzaz, Shafiq. The Sharezoor Kurdish–English Dictionary. : Aras, 2000. Sulaymân, Mustafâ. Ferhengî zarawey zanistî. Sulaymani, 2001. Wahby, Taufiq. A Kurdish–English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966. An on-line Sorani dictionary is available at www.namonet.com.

viii The Phonology of Sorani Kurdish : î û i u e o a â

î is like the ‘ee’ in ‘beet’ and ‘tree,’ International Phonetic (IPA) [i], as in hîch [hitS] ‘nothing.’ i is like the ‘i’ in ‘bit,’ IPA [I], as in girtin [gIr»tIn] ‘to take’ e is like the ‘ai’ in ‘bait,’ IPA [e], without the y-offglide of English, as in hez [hez] ‘power’ a is like the ‘a’ in ‘bat,’ IPA [Q], as in tanaka [tQnQ»kQ] ‘tin can,’ ex- cept (1) in the sequence aw, where it is pronounced [´], (2) when it is followed in the same syllable by y, in which case it is pronounced [´], as in tanakakay [tQnQkQ»k´y] ‘his tin can,’ and (3) when it is fol- lowed by y but not in the same syllable, in which case it is pronounced [E], as in tanakayek [tQnQ»kEyek] ‘a tin can.’ û is like the ‘oo’ in ‘boot,’ IPA [u], as in gûr [guR] ‘calf’ u is like the ‘u’ in ‘put’ and ‘pull,’ IPA [U], as in gurg [gURg] ‘wolf’ o is like the ‘oa’ in ‘boat,’ IPA [o], without the w-offglide of English, as in goř [gor] ‘level’ â is like the ‘a’ in ‘father’ and ‘balm,’ IPA [A], as in gâ [gA] ‘cow’

Consonants: bilabial labiodental dental/alveolar palatal velar uvular glotto-pharyngeal p t k q b d g f s kh ḥ, h v z gh 1 SORANI KURDISH sh ch zh j nasal m n w y flap, trill r, ř laterals l ł b is like the ‘b’ of English, IPA [b] ch is like the ‘ch’ in ‘church,’ IPA [tS] d is like the ‘d’ of English, IPA [d] f is like the ‘f’ of English, IPA [f] g is the hard ‘g’ of English in ‘go’ and ‘get,’ IPA [g] it rarely occurs ;غ gh is a voiced velar fricative, IPA [ƒ], like the ﰬ .word-initially and is usually replaced by kh in borrowed words (e.g gham ‘grief’ > kham); word-finally it is often in free variation with kh. h is like the ‘h’ of English, IPA [h] ḥ where it exists (according to regional dialect: fairly generalized in Iraq, rare in Iran), it is a voiceless pharyngeal fricative, IPA [ħ], like the otherwise it is not distinguished from h ; ح Arabic j is like the ‘j’ in ‘judge,’ IPA [dZ] k is like the ‘k’ of English, IPA [k] kh is a voiceless velar fricative, IPA [x], like the ch in German Bach and خ the Arabic l is a liquid ‘l’ [l] as in Persian, like the ‘l’ in ‘lee’ ł is like the dull ‘l’ of English in ‘all’ [¥]; in some areas it is a lateral fricative, like the ll of Welsh [¬]; it does not occur word-initially (cf. gul ‘leper’ with guł ‘flower’ and chil ‘forty’ with chił ‘stalk’) m is like the ‘m’ of English, IPA [m] n is like the ‘n’ of English, IPA [n]

2 PHONOLOGY p is like the ‘p’ of English, IPA [p] [IPA [q ,ق q is a voiceless uvular stop, like the Arabic r is a flap as in Persian and Italian, IPA [R]; does not occur word-initially ř and rr are trills, IPA [r], like the rr of Spanish (cf. khor [xoR] ‘sun’ with khoř [xor] ‘blood’ and bar [bQR] ‘breast’ with bař [bQr] ‘rug’); all initial r’s are trilled (verbal stems beginning with r are trilled re- gardless of prefixes, as in řoysht ‘he went’ and dařoysht ‘he was go- ing’) s is like the ‘s’ of English in ‘see,’ IPA [s] sh is like the ‘sh’ in ‘ship,’ IPA [S] t is like the ‘t’ of English, IPA [t] v is like the ‘v’ of English, IPA [v], but it is of rare occurrence in Sorani w is like the English ‘w’ except before e, i, and î, when it is a close back unrounded , IPA [µ], like the ‘u’ in French cuire and huit. y is like the ‘y’ of English, IPA [j] z is like the ‘z’ of English, IPA [z] zh is like the French ‘j’ and the ‘g’ in ‘beige,’ IPA [Z]

Stress. All nouns and adjectives are stressed on the final syllable: tanaká [tQnQ»kQ] ‘tin can,’ gawrá [g´w»RQ] ‘big’. When enclitic endings are added, stress remains on the final syllable of the base word: tanakáyèk [tQnQ»kEyek] ‘a tin can,’ tanakáyèk i gawrá [tQnQ»kEyeki g´w»rQ] ‘a big tin can.’ The definite suffix is stressed: tanakayaká [tQnQkEyQ»kQ] ‘the tin can.’ The hierarchy of stress in verbs is as follows: (1) The negative prefixes na- and nâ-, as in náchû [»nQtSu] ‘he didn’t go’ and nâ´che [»nAtSe] ‘he doesn’t go.’ (2) Preverbs like war-, hał-, and dâ-, as in wárgeřâm [»wQRgerAm] ‘I returned,’ háłdagirim [»hQ¬dQgIRIm] ‘I pick up,’ and dâ´nîshtim [»dAniS- tIm] ‘I sat down.’

3 SORANI KURDISH

(3) The modal prefixes (d)a- and bi- as in dábînim [»dQbinIm] ‘I see’ and bíbînim [»bIbinIm] ‘let me see.’ (4) When there are no prefixes on finite verbal forms, the final syllable of the verb stem is stressed, as in hâ´tin [»hAtIn] ‘they came’ and kírdibet- mânawa [»kIRdIbetmAn´wQ] ‘that we have opened it.’ (5) The infinitive is stressed on the final syllable, as in hâtín [hA»tIn] ‘to come.’

The Writing System The Kurdo- consists of the following letters: g گ (z ض) d د alif ا l ل (t ط) (z ذ) b ب ł ڵ (z ظ) r ر p پ m م ‘ ع ř ڕ t ت n ن gh غ z ز (s ث) w و f ف zh ژ j ج h ه v ڤ s س ch چ y ى q ق sh ش ḥ ح hamza ﺋـ k ك (s ص) kh خ Letters in parentheses are not normally used. Some writers occasionally “import” these specifically Arabic letters for use in words borrowed from Arabic, even though the vowels are written in the Kurdish manner. Thus, may ,ـﺎﺳـﻪﺗـﻪن usually written ,(ـﺎ ّﺻـ ًﺔ khâsatan ‘especially’ (from the Arabic usually written ,(ﺧـــﻂ and khat ‘line’ (from the Arabic ;ـــﺎﺻـــﻪﺗـــﻪن be written There are very few doubled consonants in .ــــــﻪط may be written as ,ــــــﻪت ﺷـــﺎـــ Kurdish; the few that exist are written with a double consonant, as in is almost always retained in Arabic words (ع) shâłłâ ‘God willing.’ ‘Ayn arab ‘Arab’); in Iraq the ‘ayn is usually‘ ـﻪرﻩب ma‘nâ ‘meaning’ and ﻣـﻪﻋـﻨـﺎ) pronounced as it is in Arabic; in Iran it is either a glottal stop or a prolonga- 4 PHONOLOGY tion of a preceding vowel, as in Persian. The vowels are written as follows: am ﺋﻪم a is written (1) word-initially with hamza + final h, as in دﻩم bar and ﺑـــــﻪر elsewhere with a final (or alone) h, as in (2) dam -âwât, or, al ﺋــــﺎوات â is written (1) word-initially with hamza + alif, as in âwât آوات ternatively, with alif-madda, as in bâr ر elsewhere with an alif, as in (2) e is written (1) word-initially with hamza + y with a caret above, as in ewâra ﺋﻮارﻩ ber ﺑﺮ elsewhere with y with a caret above, as in (2) imřo اﻣو i is written (1) word initially as alif, as in ـﺮ elsewhere i is not indicated in the writing system, as in (2) girtin; it is the only vowel not indicated in ﮔــــﺮــــﻦ bir and the writing system (see below) îtir ﺋﻴﱰ î is written (1) word-initially with hamza + y, as in bîr ﺑﲑ elsewhere with y, as in (2) o is written (1) word-initially as hamza + vâv with a caret above, as in oda ﺋﯚدﻩ bor ﺑﯚر elsewhere with a wâw with a caret above, as in (2) -umed; alterna ﺋـﻮﻣــﺪ u is written (1) word-initially as hamza + vâv, as in اوﻣــــــــــــﺪ tively initial u can be written as alif + vâv, as in umed bur ﺑﻮر elsewhere with one wâw, as in (2) .bûr ﺑﻮور û is written with two wâws, as in -attached directly to words end (ی) The vowel i of the izâfa is written as y ing in letters that join to the left. Thus, kurdakân i kurdistân i ‘erâq (‘the When added to .ـﻮردﻩﰷﱏ ـﻮردﺳــﺘـﺎﱏ ــﺮاق :Kurds of ’) is written words ending in letters that do not join to the left, the y is written in the .ﺗﻪﻧﻪﮐﻪی ﮔﻪورﻩﮐﻪ alone form, as in tanaka i gawraká, written ﻓـﺮۆﻛـﻪ or ﻓـۆﻛـﻪ The trilled ř is indicated by a caret over or under the r, as in fiřoka ‘airplane.’ Since all initial r’s are trilled, they are rarely marked.

5 SORANI KURDISH The “dull l,” called lâm i qaław “fat l” in Kurdish, is indicated by a caret .qaław ﻗﻪﻪو over the l, as in The only illogicality in the system lies in the writing of the sequence ye, and ,ﻣــﻪﯾــﻪك as though it were ya, as in nâmayek, written ,ﯾــﻪ which is written .dâyè. For this and other orthographic peculiarities and variants, see §41 داﯾﻪ The letters with their various initial, medial, final, and alone shapes are as follows (those marked with an asterisk do not connect to the left and are followed by an initial or alone form): NAME ALONE FINAL MEDIAL INITIAL ا ـﺎ ـﺎ ا *alif آ (alif + madda (initial only ﺋـ ــ ء ء hamza ﺑـ ــ ـﺐ ب b ﭘـ ــ ـﭗ پ p ﺗـ ــ ـﺖ ت t ﺛـ ــ ـﺚ ث s ﺟـ ـﺠـ ـﺞ ج j ﭼـ ـﭽـ ـﭻ چ ch ﺣـ ـﺤـ ـﺢ ح ḥ ﺧـ ـﺨـ ـﺦ خ kh د ـﺪ ـﺪ د *d ذ ـﺬ ـﺬ ذ *z ر ـﺮ ـﺮ ر *r ڕ ـ ـ ڕ *ř ز ـﺰ ـﺰ ز *z ژ ـﮋ ـﮋ ژ *zh ﺳـ ـﺴـ ـﺲ س s ﺷـ ـﺸـ ـﺶ ش sh ﺻـ ـﺼـ ـﺺ ص s ﺿـ ـﻀـ ـﺾ ض z ﻃـ ـﻄـ ـﻂ ط t 6 PHONOLOGY ﻇـ ـﻈـ ـﻈـ ظ z ﻋـ ـﻌـ ـﻊ ع ‘ ﻏـ ـﻐـ ـﻎ غ gh ﻓـ ـﻔـ ـﻒ ف f ﭬـ ـﭭـ ـﭫ ڤ v ﻗـ ـﻘـ ـﻖ ق q ﻛـ ـﻜـ ـﻚ ك k ﮔـ ـﮕـ ـﮓ گ g ﻟـ ـﻠـ ـﻞ ل l ـ ــ ـ ڵ ł ﻣـ ـﻤـ ـﻢ م m ﻧـ ــ ـﻦ ن n و ـﻮ ـﻮ و *w ﻫـ ـﻬـ ـﻪ ه h ﯾـ ــ ـﻰ ى y

Vowels: ﺋﻪ ـﻪ ـﻪ ه a ﺋﺎ ـﺎ ـﺎ ا â ﺋـ ــ ـ ێ e ا _ _ _ i ﺋـ ــ ـﻰ ى î ﺋﯚ ـﯚ ـﯚ ۆ o ﺋﻮ ـﻮ ـﻮ و u ﺋﻮو ـﻮو ـﻮو وو û

7 THE GRAMMAR OF SORANI KURDISH

SUBSTANTIVES

§ 1. The Absolute State of the Noun. A Kurdish noun in the absolute state, i.e. without any ending of any kind, gives a generic sense of the noun. It is also the “lexical” form of the noun, i.e. the form in which a noun is given in a vocabulary list or dictionary. The absolute state is normally used for the wafr وﻩﻓـﺮ ﺳـــﻪ qâwa rash a ‘coffee is black’ and ﻗـﺎوﻩ رﻩﺷـﻪ generic sense, as in spî a ‘snow is white’.

§ 2. The Indefinite State. The sign of the indefinite singular (‘a, any, ﯾـــﻪك èk after consonants and- ـــﻚ .some’) is an unstressed enclitic -(y)èk (i.e -yèk after vowels) added to the end of the absolute singular noun. ’pyâwèk ‘a man ﭘﻴﺎوﻚ < ’pyâw ‘man ﭘﻴﺎو ’rozhèk ‘a day رۆژﻚ < ’rozh ‘day رۆژ ’dargâyèk ‘a door دﻩرﮔﺎﯾﻪك < ’dargâ ‘door دﻩرﮔﺎ ’nâmayèk ‘a letter ﻣﻪﯾﻪك < ’nâma ‘letter ﻣﻪ Among the modifiers that demand that a following noun be indefinite are ’,har ‘each ﻫــﻪر chi ‘what?,’ and چ ’,hamû ‘every ﻫــﻪﻣــﻮو ’,chand ‘a few ــﻪﻧــﺪ as in chand pyâwèk a few men ﻪﻧﺪ ﭘﻴﺎوﻚ hamû rozhèk every day ﻫﻪﻣﻮو رۆژﻚ ?chi lâpařayèk? what page چ ﻻﭘﻪڕﻩﯾﻪك har lâyèk each direction ﻫﻪر ﻻﯾﻪك The construction …i zor ‘many, a lot of’ also takes a preceding indefinite singular noun:

8 SUBSTANTIVES kurdèk i zor a lot of Kurds ﻮردﲃ زۆر pyâwèk i zor many men ﭘﻴﺎوﲃ زۆر The indefinite plural is formed by adding -ân to the absolute singular. If the absolute singular ends in -â, the indefinite plural ending is -yân. Nouns with absolute singulars ending in -a, like nâma, form the indefinite plural by dropping the final -a and adding -ân. pyâwân (some) men ﭘﻴﺎوان < pyâw ﭘﻴﺎو dargâyân (some) doors دﻩرﮔﺎن < dargâ دﻩرﮔﺎ nâmân (some) letters ﻣﺎن < nâma ﻣﻪ amarîkîân (some) Americans ﺋﻪﻣﻪرﻜﺎن < amarîkî ﺋﻪﻣﻪرﲃ

§ 3. The Definite State. Singular nouns are made definite (‘the’) by adding the suffix -(a)ká (i.e. -aká after consonants, u, e, and î, and -ká after the vowels a, â, and o). The combination îaká often results in a vowel contrac- tion to eká, sometimes so spelled in Kurdish. pyâwaká the man ﭘﻴﺎوﻩﻛﻪ < pyâw ﭘﻴﺎو amarîkîaká the American ﺋﻪﻣﻪرﻜﻪﻛﻪ < amarîkî ﺋﻪﻣﻪرﲃ ktâwîaká the student ﻛﺘﺎوﯾﻪﻛﻪ < ktâwî ﻛﺘﺎوى deaká the village دﻪﻛﻪ < de دێ dargâká the door دﻩرﮔﻛﻪ < dargâ دﻩرﮔﺎ nâmaká the letter ﻣﻪﻛﻪ < nâma ﻣﻪ The definite plural is made by adding (a)kân to the singular, i.e. by chang- ing the -(a)ká of the definite singular to -(a)kân. pyâwakân the men ﭘﻴﺎوﻩﰷن < pyâwaká ﭘﻴﺎوﻩﻛﻪ ktâwîakân the students ﻛﺘﺎوﯾﻪﰷن < ktâwîaká ﻛﺘﺎوﯾﻪﻛﻪ dargâkân the doors دﻩرﮔﰷن < dargâká دﻩرﮔﻛﻪ nâmakân the letters ﻣﻪﰷن < nâmaká ﻣﻪﻛﻪ

9 SORANI KURDISH § 4. Demonstratives. As attributive adjectives the demonstratives (‘this, am…(y)á, and ﺋــــــﻪم…(ﯾـــــــ)ـﻪ that’) envelop the nouns they modify. ‘This’ is -aw…(y)á. The forms of nouns enveloped by demonstra ﺋـــﻪو…(ﯾــــ)ـﻪ that’ is‘ tives are the absolute singular and the indefinite plural. am pyâwâná these men ﺋﻪم ﭘﻴﺎواﻧﻪ ,am pyâwá this man ﺋﻪم ﭘﻴﺎوﻩ < pyâw ﭘﻴﺎو am ktâwîâná these students ﺋﻪم ﻛﺘﺎوﻧﻪ ,am ktâwîá this student ﺋﻪم ﻛﺘﺎوﯾﻪ < ktâwî ﻛﺘﺎوى am dargâyâná these doors ﺋﻪم دﻩرﮔﺎﻧﻪ ,am dargâyá this door ﺋﻪم دﻩرﮔﺎﯾﻪ < dargâ دﻩرﮔﺎ aw nâmâná those letters ﺋﻪو ﻣﺎﻧﻪ ,aw nâmayá that letter ﺋﻪو ﻣﻪﯾﻪ < nâma ﻣﻪ ﺋــﻪوﻩ ’,amâná ‘these ﺋــﻪﻣــﺎﻧــﻪ ’,amá ‘this ﺋــﻪﻣــﻪ The pronouns are ’.awâná ‘those ﺋﻪواﻧﻪ awá ‘that,’ and

§ 5. Attributive Adjectives: The Open Adjectival Izâfa. The attributive following a noun that is (1) absolute singular, (2) indefinite singu- lar, or (3) indefinite plural is linked to the noun by the unstressed vowel i added directly to words ی called the izâfa vowel). The izâfa is written as) .after non-joining letters ی that end in joining letters or an alone hotel i bâsh good hotel1 ﻫﯚﺗﲆ ش ｜ hotelèk i bâsh a good hotel ﻫﯚﺗﻠﲃ ش ⎨ ｜ hotelân i bâsh (some) good hotels ﻫﯚﺗﻼﱏ ش ⎩ nâma i drezh long letter ﻣﻪى درﮋ ⎧ ｜ nâmayèk i drezh a long letter ﻣﻪﯾﻪﰽ درﮋ ⎨ ｜ nâmân i drezh (some) long letters ﻣﺎﱏ درﮋ ⎩

§ 6. Possession: The Izâfa Construction. The same izâfa vowel i links the two parts of a possessive construction and is equivalent to the English ‘of.’ ktâwîakân i qutâbkhâna- the students of a school ﻛﺘﺎوﯾﻪﰷﱏ ﻗﻮﲞﺎﻧﻪﯾﻪك yèk

1 This also has the generic sense, as in “good hotels are hard to find” or “a good hotel is hard to find.” It contrasts with the following indefinite hotelek i bâsh, as in “there is a good hotel on the corner.” 10 SUBSTANTIVES deaká i aw pyâwá that man’s village دﻪﻛﻪى ﺋﻪو ﭘﻴﺎوﻩ mâłakân i pyâwakân i the houses of the men of ﻣﺎﻪﰷﱏ ﭘﻴﺎوﻩﰷﱏ دﻪﻛﻪ deaká the village dargâká i châykhânaká the door of the teahouse دﻩرﮔﻛﻪى ﺎﳜﺎﻧﻪﻛﻪ darsakân i am ktâwá the lessons of this book دﻩرﺳﻪﰷﱏ ﺋﻪم ﻛﺘﺎوﻩ

§ 7. Attributive Adjectives with Demonstratives and Definites: The Close Izâfa Construction. When noun-adjective constructions are envel- oped by the demonstratives or modified by the definite suffix, the linking vowel changes to a. The indefinite is, of course, excluded from this cate- gory. hotel a bâsh}aká the good hotel} ﻫﯚﺗ ﺷﻪﻛﻪ ⎧ ⎨ am {hotel a bâsh}á this good hotel ﺋﻪم ﻫﯚﺗ ﺷﻪ ⎩ pyâw a amarîkî}aká the American man} ﭘﻴﺎوﻩ ﺋﻪﻣﻪرﻜﻪﻛﻪ ⎧ ⎨ aw {pyâw a amarîkî}á that American man ﺋﻪو ﭘﻴﺎوﻩ ﺋﻪﻣﻪرﻜﻪ ⎩ darsân a âsân}aká the easy lessons} دﻩرﺳﺎﻧﻪ ﺋﺎﺳﺎﻧﻪﻛﻪ ⎧ ⎨ am {darsân a âsân}á these easy lessons ﺋﻪم دﻩرﺳﺎﻧﻪ ﺋﺎﺳﺎﻧﻪ ⎩ darsân a sakht}aká the hard lessons} دﻩرﺳﺎﻧﻪ ﺳﻪﺧﻪﻛﻪ ⎧ ⎨ aw {darsân a sakht}á those hard lessons ﺋﻪو دﻩرﺳﺎﻧﻪ ﺳﻪﺧﻪ ⎩

If the noun in a close-izâfa construction ends in -a, the linking a is omitted, as in the following: qutâbkhâna ibtidâî}akân1 the elementary schools} ﻗﻮﲞﺎﻧﻪ اﺑﺘﺪاﺋﻴﻪﰷن châykhâna gawra}ká the big teahouse} ﺎﳜﺎﻧﻪ ﮔﻪورﻩﻛﻪ am {châykhâna gawra}yá this big teahouse ﺋﻪم ﺎﳜﺎﻧﻪ ﮔﻪورﻩﯾﻪ natawa yekgirtû}akân the United Nations} ﻧﻪﺗﻪوﻩ ﯾﻪﻛﮕﺮﺗﻮوﻩﰷن ibtidâekân. For the contraction îa > e, see اﺑــﺘــﺪاﺋــــﲀن ibtidâîakân may contract to 1 §42. 11 SORANI KURDISH The envelopment of the demonstrative is extendable indefinitely and in- cludes all matter immediately related to a demonstrative phrase. bo twânîn i am {dyârî in order to enable this ﺑـــﯚ ﺗـــﻮاﻧــــــﲎ ﺋـــﻪم درى ـــﺮدﱏ kirdin i jegâ i Mîr Gaw- clarification of Mir ﺟﮕﺎى ﻣﲑ ﮔﻪورﻩﯾﻪ ra}yá Gawra’s position

Close izâfa constructions may be mixed with open izâfa constructions, as in the following: châykhâna gawraká} i the big teahouse on the} ـﺎﳜـﺎﻧـﻪ ﮔـﻪورﻩﻛـﻪى ﺳـﻪر ﺷـﻪﻗـﺎﻣـﻪ sar {shaqâm a sarakî- major street in town ﺳﻪرﻩﻴﻪﻛﻪى ﺷﺎر aká} i shâr

§ 8. Attributive Adjectives with Definite Nouns. Attributive adjectives modifying definite nouns also are linked to the noun by the izâfa vowel i, but the placement of the definite suffix, both singular and plural, is variable. darsakân i sakht ⎫ ｜ دﻩرﺳﻪﰷﱏ ﺳﻪﺧﺖ ｜ darsân a sakhtaká ⎬the hard lessons1 ｜ دﻩرﺳﺎﻧﻪ ﺳﻪﺧﻪﻛﻪ ｜ ⎭ dars a sakhtakân دﻩرﺳﻪ ﺳﻪﺧﻪﰷن

Noun–adjective constructions in which the izâfa is embedded (the second and third examples above), where plural and definite suffixes fall at the end of the izâfa “string,” represent a very close connection, inseparable in the mind of the speaker, between noun and adjective.

1 These three examples all have the same meaning in English, but they connote دﻩرﺳـﻪﰷﱏ ﺳـﻪﺧـﺖ .different aspects of noun-adjective linkage to the speaker of Kurdish darsakân i sakht are the lessons (about which we already know), which happen to be darsân a sakhtaká دﻩرﺳـﺎﻧـﻪ ﺳـﻪﺧــﻪﮐـﻪ .hard, not necessarily in contrast to anything else دﻩرﳻ ﭼــﻮارﻩم و دهرﳻ ــﻪوﺗــﻪم دﻩرﺳــﺎﻧــﻪ points out the specific lessons that are hard, as in dars i chwâram u dars i hawtam darsân a sakhtaká i am ktâwán ﺳـﻪﺧــﻪﮐـﻪى ﺋـﻪم ﻛـﺘـﺎوﻩن dars دﻩرﺳـﻪ ﺳـﻪﺧــﻪﰷن ”.lesson four and lesson seven are the hard lessons in this book“ dars a âsânakân دﻩرﺳــﻪ ﺋــﺎﺳــﺎﻧــﻪﰷن ,a sakhtakân is “the hard lessons” as opposed to, say “the easy lessons,” where the adjectives “hard” and “easy” are inextricably linked to “lessons,” i.e. we are considering “hard-lessons” vs. “easy-lessons.” 12 SUBSTANTIVES guł i sûr ‘red flower, rose.’ If the speaker is ﮔــﻮــﻰ ﺳــﻮور A good example is thinking of a flower that simply happens to be red, say a red carnation, the ,gułaká i sûr ﮔـﻮـﻪﻛـﻪى ﺳـﻮور gułèk i sûr, the definite is ﮔـﻮــﲃ ﺳـﻮور indefinite is gułân i sûr, and the definite plural is ﮔــــــــﻮﱏ ﺳــــــــﻮور the indefinite plural is gułakân i sûr. If by guł i sûr the speaker means the ‘rose,’ in ﮔـــﻮـــﻪﰷﱏ ﺳـــﻮور guł a ﮔـــﻮـــﻪ ﺳـــﻮورـــﻚ which case sûr is inseparable from guł, the indefinite is ﮔــﻮــﻪ is guł a sûraká, the indefinite plural is ﮔــﻮــﻪ ﺳــﻮورﻩﻛــﻪ sûrèk, the definite .guł a sûrakân ﮔـــﻮـــﻪ ﺳـــﻮورﻩﰷن guł a sûrân, and the definite plural is ﺳـــﻮوران Similar close constructions are the following: mezhûnûs a ‘arabakân the Arab historians ﻣﮋووﻧﻮوﺳﻪ ﻪرﻩﺑﻪﰷن Here we are considering only Arab historians, not historians who happen to .mezhûnûsakân i ‘arab ﻣﮋووﻧﻮوﺳﻪﰷﱏ ﻪرﻩب be Arabs, who would be qutâbî a kurdakân the Kurdish students ﻗﻮﺑﻴﻪ ﻮردﻩﰷن Similarly here only students who are Kurdish are under consideration. The students who happen to be Kurdish, but not as an exclusive category, would .qutâbîakân i kurd ﻗﻮﺑﻴﻪﰷﱏ ﻮرد be

§ 9. Synopsis of Noun States. SINGULAR PLURAL ⎧ ktâw ‘book’ — ﻛﺘﺎو ⎨ absolute — ’nâma ‘letter ﻣﻪ ⎩ ⎧ ktâwèk ktâwân ﻛﺘﺎوان ﻛﺘﺎوﻚ ⎨ indefinite nâmân ﻣﺎن nâmayèk ﻣﻪﯾﻪك ⎩ ⎧ ktâwaká ktâwakân ﻛﺘﺎوﻩﰷن ﻛﺘﺎوﻩﻛﻪ ⎨ definite nâmakân ﻣﻪﰷن nâmaká ﻣﻪﻛﻪ ⎩ demon- ⎧ am ktâwá am ktâwâná ﺋﻪم ﻛﺘﺎواﻧﻪ ﺋﻪم ﻛﺘﺎوﻩ ⎨ am nâmâná ﺋﻪم ﻣﺎﻧﻪ am nâmayá ﺋﻪم ﻣﻪﯾﻪ ⎩ strative

LOOSE-IZÂFA NOUN-ADJECTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS

⎧ ktâw i gawra — ﻛﺘﺎوى ﮔﻪورﻩ ⎨ absolute — nâma i drezh ﻣﻪی درﮋ ⎩

13 SORANI KURDISH

indefi- ⎧ ktâwèk i gawra ktâwân i gawra ﻛﺘﺎواﱏ ﮔﻪورﻩ ﻛﺘﺎوﲃ ﮔﻪورﻩ ⎨ nâmân i drezh ﻣﺎﱏ درﮋ nâmayèk i drezh ﻣﻪﯾﻪﰽ درﮋ ⎩ nite ⎧ ktâwaká i gawra ktâwakân i gawra ﻛﺘﺎوﻩﰷﱏ ﮔﻪورﻩ ﻛﺘﺎوﻩﻛﻪى ﮔﻪورﻩ⎨ definite nâmakân i drezh ﻣﻪﰷﱏ درﮋ nâmaká i drezh ﻣﻪﮐﻪی درﮋ ⎩ am ktâwân a ﺋﻪم ﻛﺘﺎواﻧﻪ -am ktâw a gaw ﺋﻪم ﻛﺘﺎوﻩ ⎧ demon- ｜ gawrayá ﮔﻪورﻩﯾﻪ rayá ﮔﻪورﻩﯾﻪ ⎨ strative ｜ am nâmân a drezhá ﺋﻪم ﻣﺎﻧﻪ درﮋﻩ am nâma drezhá ﺋﻪم ﻣﻪ درﮋﻩ ⎩

CLOSE-IZÂFA NOUN-ADJECTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS

— ktâw a gawra ﻛﺘﺎوﻩ ﮔﻪورﻩ ⎧ absolute ⎨ — nâma drezh ﻣﻪ درﮋ ⎩ ktâw a gawrân ﻛﺘﺎوﻩ ﮔﻪوران ktâw a gawrayèk ﻛﺘﺎوﻩ ﮔﻪورﻩﯾﻪك ⎧ -indefi ⎨ nâma drezhân ﻣﻪ درﮋان nâma drezhèk ﻣﻪ درﮋﻚ ⎩ nite ktâw a gawrakân .1 ﻛﺘﺎوﻩ ﮔﻪورﻩﰷن ⎧ ktâw a gawraká ﻛﺘﺎوﻩ ﮔﻪورﻩﻛﻪ ｜ ktâwân a gawraká .2 ﻛﺘﺎواﻧﻪ ﮔﻪورﻩﻛﻪ ｜ definite ⎨ ｜ 1. nâma drezhakân ﻣﻪ درﮋﻩﰷن ｜ nâma drezhaká ﻣﻪ درﮋﻩﻛﻪ ⎩ nâmân a drezhaká .2 ﻣﺎﻧﻪ درﮋﻩﻛﻪ am ktâw a gawrâná ﺋﻪم ﮐﺘﺎوﻩ -am ktâw a gaw ﺋﻪم ﻛﺘﺎوﻩ ⎧ demon- ｜ ﮔﻪوراﻧﻪ rayá ﮔﻪورﻩﯾﻪ ⎨ strative ｜ am nâma drezhâná ﺋﻪم ﻣﻪ درﮋاﻧﻪ am nâma drezhá ﺋﻪم ﻣﻪ درﮋﻩ ⎩

§ 10. Personal Pronouns. The independent personal pronouns are as fol- lows: ema we ﺋﻤﻪ min I ﻣﻦ (.ewa you (pl ﺋﻮﻩ (.to you (sing ﺗﯚ awân they ﺋﻪوان aw he, she, it ﺋﻪو The independent personal pronouns are used as (1) subjects of equational sentences:

14 SUBSTANTIVES .Min kurdim. I’m a Kurd ﻣﻦ ﻮردم.

(2) emphatic subjects of verbs and topics of topic-comment sentences: .Aw hât; ewa náhâtin. He came; you didn’t ﺋﻪو ﻫﺎت، ﺋﻮﻩ ﻧﻪﻫﺎﻦ. Min awim balâwa giring For me, that’s not ﻣﻦ ﺋﻪوم ﺑﻪﻻوﻩ ﮔﺮﮓ ﻧﻴﻪ. niya. important. and (3) emphatic possessors in an izâfa string: ktâwaká i min my book ﻛﺘﺎوﻩﻛﻪى ﻣﻦ nîshtimânaká i ema our homeland ﻧﺸﻧﻪﻛﻪى ﺋﻤﻪ For pronominal objects of verbs, see §23.

§ 10.1. Possessive Pronouns. The normal possessive pronouns are un- stressed enclitics added to the noun. They take the following forms: AFTER CONSONANTS AFTER VOWELS mân-´ ﻣﺎن m-´ م mân-´ ﻣﺎن im-´ م tân-´ ن t-´ ت tân-´ ن it-´ ت yân-´ ن y-´ ی yân-´ ن î-´ ی Examples of possessive pronouns with kuř ‘son’ and pâra ‘money’: pârámân ﭘﺎرﻩﻣﺎن pârám ﭘﺎرﻩم kúřmân ﻮڕﻣﺎن kúřim ﻮڕم pârátân ﭘﺎرﻩن pârát ﭘﺎرﻩت kúřtân ﻮڕن kúřit ﻮڕت pâráyân ﭘﺎرﻩن pâráy ﭘﺎرﻩی kúřyân ﻮڕن kúřî ﻮڕی ,kúřim ـــــﻮڕم) The enclitic possessive pronouns may be added to the absolute pârakám), or the indefinite ﭘـﺎرﻩﮐـﻪم ,kuřakám ـﻮڕﻩﮐـﻪم) pârám), the definite ﭘـﺎرﻩم pâráyekim) forms of the noun. When added to the ﭘـــﺎرﻩﯾـــﻪﰼ ,kúřekim ـــﻮڕـــﲂ) absolute, the noun has a figurative meaning; for actual, concrete meanings pâra) you can hold in ﭘـــــــــﺎرﻩ) the definite form is used. For instance, money pâram is ﭘـﺎرﻩم pârakám ‘my money,’ while ﭘـﺎرﻩﻛـﻪم your hand you would call figurative, more like ‘my wealth.’ Someone who writes for a living can be qałamî ‘his pen,’ but what he ﻗـــﻪـــﻪﱉ said to earn his livelihood by means of qałamakay ‘his pen.’ Compare and ﻗــﻪــﻪﻣــﻪﻛــﻪى actually holds in his hand is contrast the following: 15 SORANI KURDISH

FIGURATIVE ACTUAL ,pârakát your (real) money ﭘﺎرﻩﻛﻪت pârat your money, your ﭘﺎرﻩت wealth your cash kuřakám my (real) son ﻮڕﻩﻛﻪم ”kuřim my son, “sonny ﻮڕم nânakámân our bread ﻧﻪﻛﻪﻣﺎن nânmân our livelihood ﳕﺎن mâłakátân your house ﻣﺎﻪﻛﻪن mâłtân your home ﻣﺎﺘﺎن

Exceptions to the general rule. Prominent exceptions to the general forma- birâ ـﺮا ’,dâyik ‘mother داﯾـﻚ ’,bâwk ‘father وك) tion are the family members nâw ‘name.’ When modified و khwayshk ‘sister’) and ﺧـﻮﻩـﺸـﻚ brother’ and‘ by pronominal , these nouns are the reverse of the formation khwayshkakám are used to ﺧـﻮﻩـﺸـﻜـﻪﻛـﻪم Birâkám and ـﺮﻛـﻪم .described above address or refer to anyone other than one’s real brothers and sisters, who are (Nâwî means ‘his (real وى .khwayshkim ﺧــــﻮﻩــــﺸــــﲂ birâm and ــــﺮام called nâwakáy, which means ‘his name’ in the sense وﻩﻛــﻪى name,’ as opposed to of a label or sobriquet given to someone, not his actual name. When possessives are added to the indefinite form of the noun, they mean ktâwekit ‘a ﮐـﺘـﺎوـﮑـﺖ ’,kuřekim ‘a son of mine ـﻮڕـﲂ .a … of mine,’ &c., e.g‘ .qalamekî ‘a pen of his,’ &c ﻗﻪﻣﮑﯽ book of yours,’ and

§ 11. Enclitic -îsh. The enclitic particle -îsh (‘too, also, even’ and often equivalent to a simple raised voice inflection in English) is added to nouns, noun–adjective phrases and pronouns. It cannot follow a finite verb form. When added to words ending in vowels, -îsh loses its own vowel in favor of the preceding vowel, becoming ’sh. When added to words that have an en- pronoun attached, -îsh intervenes between the noun and pronoun. mínîsh I/me too ﻣﺶ < min I/me ﻣﻦ ema’sh we/us too ﺋﻤﻪش < ema we/us ﺋﻤﻪ bâwkîshî his father too وﻛﴙ < bâwkî his father وﰽ pâraká’shyân their money ﭘﺎرﻩﻛﻪﺷﻴﺎن < pârakáyân their money ﭘﺎرﻩﻛﻪن too

16 SUBSTANTIVES rafîqakânîshim even my رﻩﻓﻘﻪﰷﻧﺸﻢ < rafîqakânim my friends رﻩﻓﻘﻪﰷﱎ friends

§ 12. Cardinal Numbers. The cardinal numbers are as follows: bîst 20 ٢٠ ﺑﺴﺖ yek 1 ١ ﯾﻪك bîst u yek 21 ٢١ ﺑﺴﺖ و ﯾﻪك dû 2 ٢ دوو bîst u dû 22 ٢٢ ﺑﺴﺖ و دوو se 3 ٣ ﺳ .bîst u se, &c 23 ٢٣ ﺑﺴﺖ و ﺳ chwâr 4 ٤ ﭼﻮار sî 30 ٣٠ ﳻ penj 5 ٥ ﭘﺞ sî u yek 31 ٣١ ﳻ و ﯾﻪك shash 6 ٦ ﺷﻪش sî u dû 32 ٣٢ ﳻ و دوو ḥawt 7 ٧ ﻪوت .sî u se, &c 33 ٣٣ ﳻ و ﺳ hasht 8 ٨ ﻫﻪﺷﺖ chil 40 ٤٠ ﻞ no 9 ٩ ﻧﯚ panjâ 50 ٥٠ ﭘﻪﳒﺎ da 10 ١٠ دﻩ shast 60 ٦٠ ﺷﻪﺳﺖ yânza 11 ١١ ﺰﻩ ḥaftâ 70 ٧٠ ﻪﻓﺎ dwânza 12 ١٢ دواﺰﻩ hashtâ 80 ٨٠ ﻫﻪﺷﺘﺎ syânza 13 ١٣ ﺳﻴﺎﺰﻩ nawad 90 ٩٠ ﻧﻪوﻩد chwârda 14 ١٤ ﭼﻮاردﻩ sad 100 ١٠٠ ﺳﻪد pânza 15 ١٥ ﭘﺎﺰدﻩ hazâr 1000 ١٠٠٠ ﻫﻪزار shânza 16 ١٦ ﺷﺎﺰﻩ dûhazâr 2000 ۲۰۰۰ دوو ﻫﻪزار ḥavda 17 ١٧ ﻪﭬﺪﻩ sehazâr 3000 ۳۰۰۰ ﺳ ﻫﻪزار hazhda 18 ١٨ ﻫﻪژدﻩ chwârhazâr, &c 4000 ٤٠٠٠ ﭼﻮار ﻫﻪزار nozda 19 ١٩ ﻧﯚزدﻩ

All words having to do with time and instance follow the cardinal number immediately in the absolute state: dû rozh two days دوو رۆژ shash mâng six months ﺷﻪش ﻣﺎﮓ sad sâł a hundred years ﺳﻪد ﺳﺎڵ With other words the cardinal number is followed by a classifier, which is followed by the singular noun in the absolute state, as in Persian. The most common classifiers, and those which can be used, practically speaking, for sar ﺳــﻪر nafar for people, and ﻧــﻪﻓــﻪر ,dâna for things داﻧــﻪ almost anything are 17 SORANI KURDISH for animate beings other than people. chwâr dâna ktâw four books ﭼﻮار داﻧﻪ ﻛﺘﺎو penj nafar five people ﭘﺞ ﻧﻪﻓﻪر da sar mař ten sheep دﻩ ﺳﻪر ﻣﻪڕ

§ 12.1 Ordinal numbers. The ordinal numbers are formed from the cardi- nal numbers plus the suffix -(h)am, as follows: ḥawtam ﻪوﺗﻪم yekam 7th ﯾﻪﻛﻪم 1st hashtam ﻫﻪﺷﺘﻪم dûham 8th دووﻫﻪم 2nd noham ﻧﯚﻫﻪم seham 9th ﺳﻬﻪم 3rd daham دﻩﻫﻪم chwâram 10th ﭼﻮارﻩم 4th yânzaham ﺰﻩﻫﻪم penjam 11th ﭘﻪم 5th .dwânzaham, &c دواﺰﻩﻫﻪم shasham 12th ﺷﻪﺷﻪم 6th

§ 12.2 Days of the Week and Months of the Year. The days of the week, :shamma, are as follows ﺷﻪﳑﻪ made up mostly of cardinal numbers and chwârshamma Wednesday ﭼﻮارﺷﻪﳑﻪ shamma Saturday ﺷﻪﳑﻪ penjshamma Thursday ﭘﺠﺸﻪﳑﻪ yekshamma Sunday ﯾﻪﺸﻪﳑﻪ jum‘a Friday ﺟﻮﻣﻌﻪ dûshamma Monday دووﺷﻪﳑﻪ seshamma Tuesday ﺳﺸﻪﳑﻪ

§ 12.3 Months of the Year and the Kurdish Calendar. The traditional months of the year, which correspond to the signs of the zodiac, are as fol- lows: TÂWISTÂN SUMMER وﺳﺘﺎن BAHÂR SPRING ﺑﻪﻫﺎر –pushpař Cancer, June 22 ﭘﻮﺷﭙﻪڕ –khâkalêwa Aries, March 21 ﮐﻪﻟﻮﻩ April 20 July22 –galâwezh Leo, July 23 ﮔﻪﻻوﮋ gulân ﮔﻮﻻن bânamař or ﻧﻪﻣﻪڕ Taurus, April 21–May 21 August 22 kharmânân Virgo, August ﻪرﻣﺎن –jozardân Gemini, May 22 ﺟﯚزﻩردان June 21 23–September 22 18 SUBSTANTIVES ZISTÂN WINTER زﺳﺘﺎن XAZÂN AUTUMN ﻪزان -bafrânbâr Capricorn, Decem ﺑﻪﻓﺮاﻧﺒﺎر –razbar Libra, September 23 رﻩزﺑﻪر October 22 ber 22–January 20 rebandân Aquarius, January رـﺒﻪﻧﺪان -galâ ﮔﻪﻻرﺰان khazałwar or ﻪزﻩﻮﻩر rezân Scorpio, October 23– 21–February 19 –rashama Pisces, February 20 رﻩﺷﻪﻣﻪ November 21 sarmâwaz Sagittarius, March 20 ﺳﻪرﻣﺎوﻩز November 22–December 21

The names of the Western (Roman) months are as follows: tamûz July ﺗﻪﻣﻮوز kânûn i dûham January ﰷﻧﻮوﱏ دووﻫﻪم âb August ﺋﺎب shubât February ﺷﻮت aylûl September ﺋﻪﯾﻠﻮول âdâr March ﺋﺎدار tishrîn i yekam October ﴩﯾﲎ ﯾﻪﮐﻪم nîsân April ﻧﺴﺎن -tishrîn i dûham Novem ﴩﯾﲎ دووﻫﻪم âyâr May ﺋﺎر ber ﻪزﺮان ḥuzayrân or ﺣﻮزﻩﺮان kânûn i yekam December ﰷﻧﻮوﱏ ﯾﻪﮐﻪم ḥazîrân June

The recently instituted “Kurdish era” dates from 612 B.C., and the Kurdish nawroz, the vernal equinox, on or ﻧــــــــــﻪورۆز year, like the Iranian, begins on about March 21.

§ 13. Comparative and Superlative Adjectives. The comparative degree ﮔــﻪورﻩــﺮ < ’gawra ‘big ﮔــﻪورﻩ .tir, e.g- ــﺮ of the adjective is made by suffixing zyâ ز garmtir ‘warmer,’ and ﮔــﻪرﻣــﱰ < ’garm ‘warm ﮔــﻪرم ’,gawratir ‘bigger zyâtir ‘more.’ The preposition of comparison is la, as in the زــﺮ < ’much‘ following examples. -Amřo la dwene sârdtir a. Today is colder than yes ﺋﻪﻣۆ دو ﺳﺎردﺮﻩ. terday. .Ama l’ awa châktir a. This is better than that ﺋﻪﻣﻪ وﻩ ﻛﱰﻩ. -tirîn. Superlative ad- ـــﺮـــﻦ The superlative degree is formed by suffixing jectives so formed precede the nouns they modify, as in sârdtirîn rozh the coldest day ﺳﺎردﺮﻦ رۆژ 19 SORANI KURDISH châktirîn shitân the best things ﻛﱰﻦ ﺷﺘﺎن jwântirîn mindâł the most beautiful child ﺟﻮاﻧﱰﻦ ﻣﺪاڵ

§ 14. Prepositions, Postpositions, Circumpositions. Certain prepositions, ,da ‘to, in, into’ and la ‘by, to دﻩ ’,ba ‘in, at ﺑـﻪ in particular the prepositions in, at’ and ‘from,’ occur as circumpositions that envelop the complement, that is, the preposition itself marks the beginning of the prepositional phrase, and the end of the complement is marked by a postpositional ele- ment like -awa, -(d)â, or -râ. la dûrawa from afar دوورﻩوﻩ la khoawa by itself, by oneself ﺧﯚﻩوﻩ da arzîdâ on the ground دﻩ ﺋﻪرزﯾﺪا la khor’â by itself, by oneself ﺧﯚرا la nîwashawdâ in the middle of the night ﻧﻴﻮﻩﺷﻪودا l’ am wakhtádâ at this time م وﻩﺧﻪدا The d of dâ is often dropped, particularly but not necessarily after n, giving -’â, as in la Kurdistân’â in Kurdistan ﻮردﺳﺘﺎ la nâwcha i Sorân’â in the district of Soran وﻪى ﺳﯚرا la shwenawârakân i in the monuments of the ﺷـــﻮـــﻨـــﻪوارﻩﰷﱏ ﺣــــــﻪى nâḥiya i Khormâl’îsh’â Khormal region too ﺧﯚرﻣﺎﻟﺸﺎ (la pâsh’â after(wards ﭘﺎﺷﺎ lagał min’â with me ﮔﻪڵ ﻣﺎ The postpositional element does not usually, in and of itself, add anything substantial to the meaning of the prepositional phrase, and most preposi- tions occur without the postpositional element without any significant change in meaning—with the important exception of la…dâ ‘in, at’ and la…awa ‘from,’ where the postpositions define the meaning of la. When la lacks the postpositional element, the meaning must be ascertained from con-

20 SUBSTANTIVES text. Common prepositions and circumpositions: -labâbat …awa concern ﺑﻪت ...ـﻪوﻩ pe) to; with, by ﭘ) ba ﺑﻪ (instrumental) ing, about labâra i …awa concerning رﻩى ...ـﻪوﻩ babe …awa without ﺑﻪ …ـﻪوﻩ labât i instead of ﰏ ,badam …awa along with ﺑﻪدﻩم …ـﻪوﻩ labin beside ﻦ while, during labiret i instead of ﺮﱴ -balâ i …awa in the opin ﺑﻪﻻى …ـﻪوﻩ ladam …dâ behind دﻩم …دا ion of lagał …(dâ) with, together ﮔﻪڵ …(دا) bape i according to ﺑﻪﭘﻰ bar la before (temporal) with ﺑﻪر lalâyan …awa by (passive ﻻﯾﻪن …ـﻪوﻩ -baraw i …dâ in the direc ﺑﻪرﻩوى ...دا tion of agent) lanâw within و baraw in front of, toward ﺑﻪرﻩوﻩ ,lanew …dâ between ﻧﻮ …دا bardam before, in the face ﺑﻪردﻩم of among lapenâw i …dâ for the ﭘﺎوى …دا be without bejiga la …awa except for sake of ﺑﺠﮕﻪ ...ـﻪوﻩ laraw i with respect to رﻩوى bo for ﺑﯚ ;lare i …awa by means of رێ …ـﻪوﻩ da (te) on, in دﻩ () dagał with for دﻩﮔﻪڵ laregâ …dâ for the sake رﮕﺎ …دا dwâ i after دواى jiga la except for, aside of ﺟﮕﻪ ;lasar on, on top of ﺳﻪر from la (le) in, from according to (ﻟ) lazher …dâ under ژﺮ …دا la …(dâ) in, at …(دا) nâw between, among و la …awa from, than …ـﻪوﻩ newân between, among ﻧﻮان ,labar …(dâ) in front of ﺑﻪر …(دا) pâsh after ﭘﺎش before (pesh before (spacial ﭘﺶ labar …awa because of ﺑﻪر …ـﻪوﻩ wak like وﻩك ,labayn i …dâ between ﺑﻪﯾﲎ …دا among

§ 14.1. Preposed Pronominal Prepositional Complements. When pro-

21 SORANI KURDISH nouns are complements of prepositions, they occur as enclitics unless they are to be particularly stressed. Pronominal compliments may be either pre- posed, i.e. added to the word preceding the preposition, or postposed, i.e. added to the preposition itself. When the following prepositions have enclit- ic complements, either pre- or postposed, they change their forms as fol- lows: pe ﭘ ba becomes ﺑﻪ da becomes te دﻩ le ﻟ la becomes (è (see §35 below- ێ à becomes- ـﻪ All prepositions may take an independent pronoun as complement, as in ﻟـ la min ‘from me.’ If the pronoun is enclitic, the preposition changes to ﻣـﻦ ’,lem ‘from me ﻟــــــﻢ le. When the enclitic pronoun is postposed the phrase is and such phrases with postposed complements generally occur as tag phrases, i.e. falling after the verb, or at the end of a clause or sentence. When the prepositional phrase falls before the verb, or before the end of a ,im le- ـﻢ ﻟـــــــ clause or sentence, the enclitic pronoun is usually preposed as and the enclitic pronoun must be attached to some available preverbal mat- ter. For instance, in the sentence pirsyârèk la rafîqakay he asks a question of his ﺮﺳﻴﺎرﻚ رﻩﻓﻘﻪﻛﻪى دﻩﰷ dákâ friend if rafîqakay is changed to a pronoun and the prepositional phrase is a tag, the sentence becomes pirsyârèk dákâ ley he asks a question of him ﺮﺳﻴﺎرﻚ دﻩﰷ ﻟﻰ Normally, however, the prepositional phrase would have a preposed com- plement as pirsyârèkî le dákâ he asks a question of him ﺮﺳﻴﺎرﲃ ﻟ دﻩﰷ In the sentence pirsyârèk la min dákâ he asks a question of me ﺮﺳﻴﺎرﻚ ﻣﻦ دﻩﰷ min ‘me’ is stressed, but it could be expressed with an enclitic pronoun (and

22 SUBSTANTIVES therefore not particularly stressed) as pirsyârèkim le dákâ he asks a question of me ﺮﺳﻴﺎرﲂ ﻟ دﻩﰷ

It is important to realize that, for Kurdish speakers, the preposed enclitic pronoun is inextricably linked to the word to which it is attached—i.e., in the example above pirsyârèkim must be pronounced as one word. If there is any pause, the place for it is between the pronoun and the preposition. Other examples are: .l’ awân gwe dágirim > I’m listening to them وان ﮔـﻮێ دﻩﮔـﺮم > ﮔـﻮـﻴـﺎن ﻟـ .gweyân le dágirim دﻩﮔﺮم .dargâ bikanawa bo min > Open the door for me دﻩرﮔـﺎ ـﻜـﻪﻧـﻪوﻩ ﺑـﯚ ﻣـﻦ > دﻩرﮔـﺎم ﺑـﯚ .dargâm bo bikanawa ﻜﻪﻧﻪوﻩ pûłaka l’ aw war dagire > He takes the money from ﭘـــﻮوـــﻪﻛـــﻪ و وﻩر دﻩﮔـــﺮێ > .pûłakay le war dagire. him ﭘﻮوﻪﻛﻪى ﻟ وﻩر دﻩﮔﺮێ .qsa bikam bo to > qsat bo Let me tell you a story ﻗـﺴـﻪ ـﻜـﻪم ﺑـﯚ ﺗـﯚ > ﻗـﺴـﻪت ﺑـﯚ .bikam ﻜﻪم .ama bíłem ba to > amat pe Let me say this to you ﺋـﻪﻣـﻪ ﺑـــﻢ ﺑـﻪ ﺗـﯚ > ﺋـﻪﻣـﻪت ﭘـ .bíłem ﺑﻢ. râwchîyèk henday namâ- A hunter almost came راوﭼـﻰﯾـﻪك ﻫــﻨـﺪﻩى ﻧـﻪﻣـﺎوﻩ ـﮕـﺎﺗـﻪ wa bigâtà rewî > râwchî- upon the fox > A hunter رـﻮى > راوﭼـﻰﯾـﻪك ﻫــﻨـﺪﻩى .yèk henday namâwa biy- almost came upon it ﻧﻪﻣﺎوﻩ ﺑﻴﮕﺎ. gâtè. bałkû shitèk bidâtà min > Maybe he’ll give me ﺑــﻪــﻜــﻮو ﺷــــــﻚ ﺑــﺪاﺗــﻪ ﻣــﻦ > .bałkû shitèkim bidâtè. something ﺑﻪﻜﻮو ﺷﲂ ﺑﺪا .qsa dakâ dagał to > qsat He speaks with you ﻗـﺴـﻪ دﻩﰷ دﻩﮔـﻪڵ ﺗـﯚ > ﻗـﺴـﻪت .dagał dakâ دﻩﮔﻪڵ دﻩﰷ aw balâ i minawa giring- He is more important to ﺋـﻪو ﺑـﻪ ﻻى ﻣــﻪوﻩ ﮔـﺮـﮕـﱰﻩ > ﺋـﻪوم .tir a > awim balâwa me ﺑﻪﻻوﻩ ﮔﺮﮕﱰﻩ giringtir a.

Similar is the construction involved in the idiom khaw- le kawtin—literal- -kha ـﻪوى ﻟـ ﻛـﻪوت ly “for sleep to fall on (someone)”—‘to fall asleep,’ as in 23 SORANI KURDISH -khawim le nákawt ‘I didn’t/could ـﻪوم ﻟـ ﻧـﻪﻛـﻪوت ’,wî le kawt ‘he fell asleep n’t fall asleep.’ In this construction the person upon whom sleep falls is expressed by a pronominal enclitic on khaw-; if a 3rd-person “subject” is expressed, the resumptive construction is used, as in ,.kichakân khawyân le kawt the girls fell asleep (lit ﻛﻪﰷن ﻪون ﻟ ﻛﻪوت “the girls—sleep fell upon them”)

In all the previous examples, the preposed complement has preceded the preposition immediately, and generally this is the position it takes. How- ever, a preposed complement separated from the preposition by other matter also occurs. Dabe khewatèkim la dara- They will have to pitch a دﻩ ﺧــﻮﻩﺗــﲂ دﻩرﻩوﻩى ﺷـﺎر wa i shâr bo hałbidan. tent for me outside the ﺑﯚ ﻫﻪﺒﺪﻩن. city.

For the special cases in which preposed postpositional complements dis- place enclitic possessive pronouns, see §27.4.

24 THE VERB

§ 15. Present Copulas. The present-tense copulas (‘am, is, are’) consist of the following enclitics: POSTCONSONANTAL POSTVOCALIC yn- ﻦ m- م în- ﻦ im- م n- ن (y(t- ى، ﯾﺖ in- ن (î(t- ى، ﯾﺖ n- ن ya- ﯾﻪ in- ن a- ه :’l’era ‘here ﻟﺮﻩ kurd ‘Kurdish’ and ﻮرد Examples are with ⎧ kúrdim ‘I am Kurdish’ kúrdîn ‘we are Kurdish’ ﻮردﻦ ﻮردم ｜ ⎫ kúrdî ﻮردى ｜ ’kúrdin ‘you are Kurdish ﻮردن ’you are Kurdish‘ ⎬ ⎨ ⎭ kúrdît ﺮدﯾﺖ ｜ ｜ ’kúrdin ‘they are Kurdish ﻮردن ’kúrda ‘s/he is Kurdish ﻮردﻩ ⎩ ⎧ l’erám ‘I am here’ l’eráyn ‘we are here’ ﻟﺮﻩﻦ ﻟﺮﻩم ｜ ⎫ l’eráy ﻟﺮﻩی ｜ ’l’erán ‘you are here ﻟﺮﻩن ’you are here‘ ⎬ ⎨ ⎭ l’eráyt ﻟﺮﻩﯾﺖ ｜ ｜ ’l’erán ‘they are here ﻟﺮﻩن ’l’eráya ‘s/he is here ﻟﺮﻩﯾﻪ ⎩

When the 3rd-person possessive enclitic (-î/-y) is followed by the 3rd- person (-a), a special form, -yatî, is used. .ktâw-a. It’s a book ﻛﺘﺎوﻩ. .ktâwî > ktâwyatî. his book > It’s his book ﻛﺘﺎوى > ﻛﺘﺎوﯾﻪﰏ.

The negative copula is formed on the base níy-: níyîn we are not ﻧﻴﲔ níyim I am not ﻧﲓ níyin you are not ﻧﲔ níyî(t) you are not ﻧﲕ، ﻧﻴﺖ níyin they are not ﻧﲔ níya he/she/it is not ﻧﻴﻪ

25 SORANI KURDISH § 16. ‘To Have.’ There is no verb in Kurdish equivalent to the English verb ‘to have.’ Kurdish expresses possession through the following formula: noun possessed (indefinite or absolute) + possessive pronoun + háya/níya (present) or hábû/hanábû (past) or some form of the verb bûn ‘to be’ .Pirsyârèkim háya. I have a question ﺮﺳﻴﺎرﲂ ﻫﻪﯾﻪ. .Pirsyârèkim hábû. I had a question ﺮﺳﻴﺎرﲂ ﻫﻪﺑﻮو. .Pârat háya. You have money ﭘﺎرﻩت ﻫﻪﯾﻪ. Ktâwèk i bâshî níya. He doesn’t have a good ﻛﺘﺎوﲃ ﳽ ﻧﻴﻪ. book. .Qałamânmân hábû. We had some pens ﻗﻪﻪﻣﺎﳕﺎن ﻫﻪﺑﻮو. Chand kuřtân háya? How many sons do you ﻪﻧﺪ ﻮڕن ﻫﻪﯾﻪ؟ have? Zor pârayân hanábû. They didn’t have much زۆر ﭘﺎرﻩن ﻫﻪﻧﻪﺑﻮو. money. .Tâqa kuřekî dabe. He has an only son ﻗﻪ ﻮڕﲃ دﻩ.

§ 17. The Present Habitual/Progressive. The present habitual tense corre- sponds to the English simple present used for habitual action (‘I go’), pro- gressive action (‘I’m going’), and the future (‘I’ll go, I’m going to go’1). It is formed from the present stem of the verb with a prefixed modal marker, which receives the stress, and the following suffixed personal endings. CONSONANT STEMS VOWEL STEMS -im -în -m -yn -î(t) -in -y(t) -n -e(t) -in -â(t)/-(t) -n The inherent (t) shown for the 2nd- and 3rd-persons singular is characteris- tic of literary Kurdish and seldom appears in the more informal spoken lan-

1 Unlike Kurmanji, Sorani Kurdish has no future tense. The future may be ex- pressed periphrastically (“I want to go,” e.g.), but normally the future sense is gained from context. 26 THE VERB guage. It is recovered, however, when any enclitic or suffix is added to the verb form (see §18 below). á-; in most other dialects the ﺋـــﻪ The modal prefix in Sulaymani Kurdish is dá-. Since otherwise verbs are conjugated identically in دﻩ modal prefix is all varieties of Sorani Kurdish, the modal marker will be shown in this book as dá-, and examples will be given with á- or dá- as they occur in the texts from which they have been taken. Examples of the conjugation of verbs with present stems ending in a consonant are as follows (examples are -ch- ‘go’ and -nûs- ‘write’): ’nûsîn ‘to write ﻧﻮوﺳﲔ ’chûn ‘to go ﭼﻮون dánûsîn دﻩﻧﻮوﺳﲔ dánûsim دﻩﻧﻮوﰟ dáchîn دﻩﲔ dáchim دﻩ 1 dánûsît دﻩﻧﻮوﺳﺖ⎧ dáchît دﻩﭼﺖ⎧ 2 ⎨ dáchin ⎨ dánûsin دﻩﻧﻮوﺳﻦ دﻩﭼﻦ 1 dánûsî دﻩﻧﻮوﳻ ⎩ dáchî دﻩﭼﯽ ⎩ dánûset دﻩﻧﻮوﺳﺖ⎧ dáchet دﻩﭼﺖ⎧ dánûsin دﻩﻧﻮوﺳﻦ ⎨ dáchin دﻩﭼﻦ ⎨ 3 dánûse دﻩﻧﻮوﺳ ⎩ dáche دﻩﭼ ⎩

In the negative, the modal marker á- is replaced by stressed nâ´- (< na + a-). nânûsîn ﻧﻮوﺳﲔ nânûsim ﻧﻮوﰟ nâchîn ﲔ nâchim nânûsin ﻧﻮوﺳﻦ (nânûsî(t ﻧﻮوﺳﺖ nâchin ﭼﻦ (nâchî(t ﭼﺖ nânûsin ﻧﻮوﺳﻦ (nânûse(t ﻧﻮوﺳﺖ nâchin ﭼﻦ (nâche(t ﭼﺖ The negative of the modal marker dá- is náda-: nádanûsîn ﻧﻪدﻩﻧﻮوﺳﲔ nádanûsim ﻧﻪدﻩﻧﻮوﰟ nádachîn ﻧﻪدﻩﲔ nádachim ﻧﻪدﻩ nádanûsin ﻧﻪدﻩﻧﻮوﺳﻦ (nádanûsî(t ﻧﻪدﻩﻧﻮوﺳﺖ nádachin ﻧﻪدﻩﭼﻦ (nádachî(t ﻧﻪدﻩﭼﺖ nádanûsin ﻧﻪدﻩﻧﻮوﺳﻦ (nádanûse(t ﻧﻪدﻩﻧﻮوﺳﺖ nádachin ﻧﻪدﻩﭼﻦ (nádache(t ﻧﻪدﻩﭼﺖ

The negative of the Sulaymani habitual is occasionally used as an emphatic

1Henceforth the second- and third-person singular forms will normally be given as dáche(t), with only the literary form in but دﻩﭼــﺖ dáchî(t) and دﻩﭼــﺖ with both forms in transcription. 27 SORANI KURDISH ﻧــــــــﻮوﰟ negative in dialects that normally have the negative in náda-, as in -ná ﻧـــﻪدﻩﻧـــﻮوﰟ nânûsim ‘I don’t ever write’ (which would then contrast with qaydè nâkâ ‘it doesn’t matter at ﻗـــــﻪﯾـــــﺪێ ﰷ danûsim ‘I’m not writing’) and all.’ For verbs with stems ending in a vowel, the personal endings combine kirdin ‘to do,’ present ــﺮدن ,with stems in -a, -o, and -e as follows (examples gařân ﮔــﻪڕان ;-ro رۆ royshtin ‘to go away,’ present stem رۆــﺸــﱳ ;-ka ﻛــﻪ stem gaře-). The only forms that show changes in the ﮔـﻪڕێ to turn,’ present stem‘ stem vowel are the 3rd-person singular of the -a- and -o- stems, which change to -â(t) and -wâ(t) respectively. A-STEMS dákayn دﻩﻛﻪﻦ dákam دﻩﻛﻪم dákan دﻩﻛﻪن (dákay(t دﻩﻛﻪﯾﺖ dákan دﻩﻛﻪن (dákâ(t دﻩﰷ(ت) ﺧــــــﺴــــــﱳ Common verbs conjugated in the present tense like kirdin/ka- are da- ‘to دﻩ /dân دان ’,ba- ‘to carry ﺑـــﻪ /birdin ـــﺮدن ’,kha- ‘to throw ـــﻪ /khistin ’.ga- ‘to reach ﮔﻪ /gayshtin ﮔﻪﺸﱳ give,’ and O-STEMS dároyn دﻩرۆﻦ dárom دﻩرۆم dáron دﻩرۆن dároyt دﻩرۆﯾﺖ dáron دﻩرۆن (dárwâ(t دﻩروا(ت) ﺷــــﻮردن shitin (or ﺷــــﱳ kho- ‘to eat’ and ﺧــــﯚ/khwârdin ﺧــــﻮاردن Like ro- are ’.sho- ‘to wash ﺷﯚ/(shurdin Verbs with present stems in -e, of which there are many, keep the theme vowel unchanged throughout the conjugation, and in the 3rd-person singu- lar nothing is added other than the inherent -t. E-STEMS dágařeyn دﻩﮔﻪڕﲔ dágařem دﻩﮔﻪڕﻢ dágařen دﻩﮔﻪڕﻦ (dágařey(t دﻩﮔﻪڕﻰ، دﻩﮔﻪڕﺖ dágařen دﻩﮔﻪڕﻦ (dágaře(t دﻩﮔﻪڕێ، دﻩﮔﻪڕﺖ Like gaře- are all verbs with infinitives ending in -ân. 28 THE VERB hâtin ‘to come’ (present ﻫـــــﺎـــــﻦ One verb with a peculiar present tense is -ye). In Sulaymani Kurdish the present stem, ye-, is regularly conju- ﯾـــﻪ stem gated but without the modal marker a-. In most other dialects, particularly Iranian varieties, the present stem combines with the modal marker da- to become de-. The two variants are conjugated in the present as follows: SULAYMANI NON-SULAYMANI deyn دﲔ dem دﻢ yeyn ﯾﻪﻦ yem ﯾﻪم den دﻦ (dey(t دﻰ، دﺖ yen ﯾﻪن (yey(t ﯾﻪى، ﯾﻪﯾﺖ den دﻦ (de(t دێ(دﺖ) yen ﯾﻪن (ye(t ﯾﻪ(ت) The negative is regularly conjugated on the stem nâye-: nâyeyn ﯾﻪﻦ nâyem ﯾﻪم nâyen ﯾﻪن (nâyey(t ﯾﻪی، ﯾﻪﯾﺖ nâyen ﯾﻪن (nâye(t ﯾﻪ، ﯾﻪت

§ 18. Verbs in -awa. Many Kurdish verbs end with the suffix -awa, which -mân ‘to re ﻣــــــﺎن has the following basic meanings: (1) ‘again, back, re-,’ as witin ‘to وــﻦ/gotin ﮔــﯚــﻦ ’,mânawa ‘to be left behind ﻣــﺎﻧــﻪوﻩ < ’main, be left gařân ‘to ﮔـﻪڕان ’,witinawa ‘to say again, repeat وﺗـﻨـﻪوﻩ/gotinawa ﮔـﯚﺗـﻨـﻪوﻩ < ’say kirdinawa ‘to ــﺮدﻧــﻪوﻩ gařânawa ‘to return,’ (2) ‘open,’ as in ﮔــﻪڕاﻧــﻪوﻩ < ’turn sûr-kirdin ﺳـﻮور ـﺮدن open,’ and (3) to give a nuance of meaning to a verb, as sûr-kirdinawa ‘to sauté.’ This said, it should ﺳــــﻮور ــــﺮدﻧــــﻪوﻩ < ’to make red‘ also be noted that -awa often adds nothing of any real lexical significance to the verb but gives a perfective aspect instead. All such verbs are regularly conjugated. With verbs ending in -awa, the -awa suffix is added after the personal ending, as in dargâ dakamawa I(’ll) open the door دﻩرﮔﺎ دﻩﻛﻪﻣﻪوﻩ dágařenawa you/they(’ll) return دﻩﮔﻪڕﻨﻪوﻩ Second- and third-person forms always recover the t inherent in the per- sonal endings before -awa, as in dágařetawa he’ll return دﻩﮔﻪڕﺘﻪوﻩ

29 SORANI KURDISH dakaytawa you open دﻩﻛﻪﯾﺘﻪوﻩ

:kirdinawa are as follows ﺮدﻧﻪوﻩ gařânawa and ﮔﻪڕاﻧﻪوﻩ Full inflections of dágařeynawa دﻩﮔﻪڕﻪوﻩ dágařemawa دﻩﮔﻪڕﻤﻪوﻩ dágařenawa دﻩﮔﻪڕﻨﻪوﻩ dágařeytawa دﻩﮔﻪڕﻪوﻩ dágařenawa دﻩﮔﻪڕﻨﻪوﻩ dágařetawa دﻩﮔﻪڕﺘﻪوﻩ dákaynawa دﻩﻛﻪﯾﻨﻪوﻩ dákamawa دﻩﻛﻪﻣﻪوﻩ dákanawa دﻩﻛﻪﻧﻪوﻩ dákaytawa دﻩﻛﻪﯾﺘﻪوﻩ dákanawa دﻩﻛﻪﻧﻪوﻩ dákâtawa دﻩﰷﺗﻪوﻩ

§ 19. The Present Subjunctive. Like the present habitual, the present sub- junctive is formed from the present stem of the verb and the personal suf- fixes. The modal marker for the subjunctive is bí-. kirdinawa ﺮدﻧﻪوﻩ chûn ﭼﻮون bíkaynawa ﻜﻪﯾﻨﻪوﻩ bíkamawa ﻜﻪﻣﻪوﻩ bíchîn ﲔ bíchim ﻢ bíkanawa ﻜﻪﻧﻪوﻩ bíkaytawa ﻜﻪﯾﺘﻪوﻩ bíchin ﻦ (bíchî(t ﻰ، ﻴﺖ bíkanawa ﻜﻪﻧﻪوﻩ bíkâtawa ﲀﺗﻪوﻩ bíchin ﻦ (bíche(t ، ﺖ

In compound verbs, the bí- prefix is optional, and when it is omitted the lack of a modal prefix identifies the verb as subjunctive. The modal prefix is regularly omitted with close compound verbs with prefixes like war- and hał-. bâng (bí)kayn ﮓ ﻜﻪﻦ bâng (bí)kam ﮓ ﻜﻪم bâng (bí)kan ﮓ ﻜﻪن (bâng (bí)kay(t ﮓ ﻜﻪﯾﺖ bâng (bí)kan ﮓ ﻜﻪن (bâng (bí)kâ(t ﮓ ﲀ(ت) wargirîn وﻩرﮔﺮﻦ wargirim وﻩرﮔﺮم wargirin وﻩرﮔﺮن (wargirî(t وﻩرﮔﺮى، وﻩرﮔﺮﯾﺖ wargirin وﻩرﮔﺮن (wargire(t وﻩرﮔﺮێ، وﻩرﮔﺮﺖ When the preceding word ends in a vowel and the verb stem begins with a 30 THE VERB single consonant, the vowel of the modal prefix may be elided, giving, e.g., (wâ b’zânim I think (lit., if I know thus وا ﺰاﱎ am wushayá b’nûsîn let’s write this word ﺋﻪم ووﺷﻪﯾﻪ ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﲔ This feature is not represented in the Kurdo-Arabic writing system. The negative prefix for the subjunctive is ná-, which replaces bí- where it occurs. nákayn ﻧﻪﻛﻪﻦ nákam ﻧﻪﻛﻪم náchîn ﻧﻪﲔ náchim ﻧﻪ nákan ﻧﻪﻛﻪن (nákay(t ﻧﻪﻛﻪى، ﻧﻪﻛﻪﯾﺖ náchin ﻧﻪﭼﻦ (náchî(t ﻧﻪﭼﻰ، ﻧﻪﭼﺖ nákan ﻧﻪﻛﻪن (nákâ(t ﻧﻪﰷ(ت) náchin ﻧﻪﭼﻦ (náche(t ﻧﻪﭼ، ﻧﻪﭼﺖ The present subjunctive of the verb bûn ‘to be’ is based on the stem b-. It occurs both with and without the bí- prefix with the following conjugations:

WITHOUT PREFIX WITH PREFIX bíbîn ﺑﺒﲔ bíbim ﺑﱬ bîn ﺑﲔ bim ﰈ bíbin ﺑﱭ (bíbî(t ﺑﱮ، ﺑﺒﺖ bin ﻦ (bî(t ﰉ، ﺑﺖ bíbin ﺑﱭ (bíbe(t ﺑ، ﺑﺒﺖ bin ﻦ (be(t ، ﺑﺖ

When the verb means ‘to be’ the bí- prefix is omitted, but when it means ‘to ’nîzîk-bûn ‘to get near ﻧــﲒــﻦ ﺑــﻮون become’ or is part of a like -âshkirâ-bûn ‘to be revealed’ in the following examples, the bí ﺋـﺎﺷـﮑـﺮا ﺑـﻮون or prefix is present. -Mirov nâbe nâhumed be. One should not be despon ﻣﺮۆڤ ﻫﻮﻣﺪ . dent. Náyândawerâ nîzîk i They didn’t dare get near ﻧــﻪﻧــﺪﻩوــﺮا ﻧــﲒــﲃ ﻣــﺎــﻪﰷﻧــﻴــﺎن .mâłakânyân bibinawa. their houses ﺑﻪوﻩ. Dátirse rozhèk bet am She fears there will come دﻩـﺮﺳـ رۆژـﻚ ﺑــﺖ ﺋـﻪم ﳖــﲎﯾـﻪ nihenîá âshkirâ bibe. a day this secret will be ﺋﺎﺷﻜﺮا ﺑ. revealed.

The present subjunctive of hâtin ‘to come’ is regularly conjugated on the stem be- (for *bíye-). Note that the 3rd-person singular subjunctive of hâtin is identical to the 3rd-person singular subjunctive of bûn, i.e. both are be(t).

31 SORANI KURDISH hâtin ﻫﺎﻦ beyn ﺑﲔ bem ﺑﻢ ben ﺑﻦ (bey(t ﺑﻰ، ﺑﺖ ben ﺑﻦ (be(t ، ﺑﺖ The verbs henân ‘to bring’ and heshtin ‘to let’ have subjunctives formed both on the regular stems bíhen- and bíheł- and on the contracted stems ben- and beł-: REGULAR SUBJUNCTIVE CONTRACTED SUBJUNCTIVE henân ﻫﻨﺎن benîn ﺑﲔ benim ﺑﲌ bíhenîn ﲠﻨﲔ bíhenim ﲠﲌ benin ﺑﲍ (benî(t ﺑﺖ bíhenin ﲠﲍ (bíhenî(t ﲠﻨﺖ benin ﺑﲍ (bene(t ﺑﺖ bíhenin ﲠﲍ (bíhene(t ﺑﺖ heshtin ﻫﺸﱳ bełîn ﺑﲔ bełim ﺑﻢ bíhełîn ﲠﲔ bíhełim ﲠﻢ bełin ﺑﻦ (bełî(t ﺑﻴﺖ bíhełin ﲠﻦ (bíhełî(t ﲠﻴﺖ bełin ﺑﻦ (bełe(t ﺑﺖ bíhełin ﲠﻦ (bíhełe(t ﲠﺖ The present subjunctive is used in the following instances: (1) independently—i.e. not dependent upon a preceding construction—as a deliberative (English ‘should’). In literary style, the interrogative particle .âyâ often introduces the construction ﺋﺎ Âyâ pâshawpâsh bígaře- Should he retrace his ﺋﺎ ﭘﺎﺷﻪوﭘﺎش ﮕﻪڕﺘﻪوﻩ؟ tawa? steps? ?Sbaynî bem? Should I come tomorrow ﺳﺒﻪﯾﲎ ﺑﻢ؟ ?Dargâ bíkaynawa? Should we open the door دﻩرﮔﺎ ﻜﻪﯾﻨﻪوﻩ؟ (2) in the 1st persons as a cohortative (‘let me, let’s’) and in the 3rd per- sons as a hortatory (‘let him…, may he …’). The 1st-person is often pre- .(’wára (‘c’mon وﻩرﻩ ceded by bâ or .Bâ bíroyn. C’mon, let’s go ﺮۆﻦ. Wára, fełèkî le bikayn. C’mon, let’s play a trick وﻩرﻩ، ﻓﲃ ﻟ ﻜﻪﻦ. on him. .Nábetà dî. May it not happen ﻧﻪﺑﻪ دى. 32 THE VERB .Dâ-binîshinawa. Let them sit back down داﺑﻨﺸﻨﻪوﻩ.

(3) as complement to all verbs and constructions of wanting (see §20), ability (see §21), necessity, etc. .Amawe bíchimà mâłe. I want to go home ﺋﻪﻣﻪوى ﻤﻪ ﻣﺎ. .Datwânim bítbînim. I can see you دﻩﺗﻮاﱎ ﺑﺘﲌ. Pewîst a ka sar i l’ aw It is necessary for her to ﭘــﻮـﺴــﺘـﻪ ﻛـﻪ ﺳـﻪرى و ﻣـﺮۆﭬـﻪ -mirov a kiłołá bídât ka pay a visit to that mis ﻛﯚﻪ ﺑﺪات ﻛﻪ ﺎوﻩڕواﱏ ﺋﻪﰷ. châwařwânî akâ. erable man who is wait- ing. Pewîst níya ka bíłem… It is not necessary that I ﭘﻮﺴﺖ ﻧﻴﻪ ﻛﻪ ﺑﻢ … say… bar l’ awaî ‘before’ and ﺑـــــــﻪروﻩى after a number of conjunctions like (4) ba be awaî ‘without’1 ﺑﻪ ﺋﻪوﻩى …bar l’ awaî biche… before he goes/went ﺑﻪروﻩى … …bar l’ awaî ewa dâ- before you sit/sat down ﺑﻪروﻩى ﺋﻮﻩ داﺑﻨﺸﻦ … binîshin… .Ba be awaî qsa bikâ, Without speaking, he left ﺑﻪ ﺋﻪوﻩى ﻗﺴﻪ ﲀ، رۆﺸﺖ. roysht. ba be awaî bitbîne… without his/her seeing ﺑﻪ ﺋﻪوﻩى ﺑﺘ … you…

(5) in the protasis of a possible conditional: ,Ama agar betà dî, atwânîn If this should come about ﺋـﻪﻣـﻪ ﺋـﻪﮔـﻪر ﺑـــﻪ دى، ﺋـﻪﺗـﻮاﻧـﲔ …bíłeyn… we can say that ﺑﲔ … .Agar bitawe, datwânî. If you want to, you can ﺋﻪﮔﻪر ﺑﺘﻪوێ، دﻩﺗﻮاﱏ.

1 Bar l’ awaî is always followed by the present subjunctive; the proper tense for English translation is gained from context. In English ‘without’ is followed by a , but in Kurdish it is followed by a subjunctive clause, which is necessarily personal. 33 SORANI KURDISH Agar bet u hez i atom bo If it should be that the ﺋـﻪﮔـﻪر ﺑــﺖ و ﻫــﺰى ﺋـﻪﺗـﯚم ﺑـﯚ shař u kushtâr u la nâw power of the atom be ﺷـﻪڕ و ـﻮﺷــﺘـﺎر و و ـﺮدن ﺑـﻪ ,birdin ba kâr bíhenre… used for war, slaughter ﰷر ﲠﲊێ … and destruction…

§ 20. ‘To Want.’ The Kurdish verb corresponding to the English verb ‘want’ is wîstin (present stem we-). The construction that serves as the pres- ent tense of this verb is compounded of the prefix (d)á- (negative ná-) + possessive pronoun enclitic + -awe. The full inflection of the present tense is as follows: AFFIRMATIVE PRESENT dámânawe دﻩﻣﺎﻧﻪوێ dámawe دﻩﻣﻪوێ dátânawe دﻩﻧﻪوێ dátawe دﻩﺗﻪوێ dáyânawe دﻩﻧﻪوێ dáyawe دﻩﯾﻪوێ NEGATIVE PRESENT námânawe ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﻪوێ námawe ﻧﻪﻣﻪوێ nátânawe ﻧﻪﻧﻪوێ nátawe ﻧﻪﺗﻪوێ náyânawe ﻧﻪﻧﻪوێ náyawe ﻧﻪﯾﻪوێ PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE bímânawe ﲟﺎﻧﻪوێ bímawe ﲟﻪوێ bítânawe ﺑﺘﺎﻧﻪوێ bítawe ﺑﺘﻪوێ bíyânawe ﺑﻴﺎﻧﻪوێ bíyawe ﺑﻴﻪوێ When the complement, or logical object, of wîstin (i.e. what one wants) pre- cedes the verb, the “subject” pronominal enclitics are usually attached to the complement, and the verb is the invariable 3rd-person singular (d)awe (neg- ative nâwe). The full present “conjugation” of this construction is:

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE mân nâwe- ﻣﺎن وێ im nâwe- م وێ mân dáwe- ﻣﺎن دﻩوێ im dáwe- م دﻩوێ tân nâwe- ن وێ it nâwe- ت وێ tân dáwe- ن دﻩوێ it dáwe- ت دﻩوێ yân nâwe- ن وێ î nâwe- ى وێ yân dáwe- ن دﻩوێ î dáwe- ى دﻩوێ 34 THE VERB as in the following examples: .Awám awe. I want that ﺋﻪوﻩم ﺋﻪوێ Am shitânáy nâwe. He doesn’t want these ﺋﻪم ﺷﺘﺎﻧﻪى وێ things. All verbal complements of ‘want’ are in the subjunctive, as in the following paradigm of ‘want to go’: dámânawe bíchîn دﻩﻣﺎﻧﻪوێ ﲔ dámawe bíchim دﻩﻣﻪوێ ﻢ dátânawe bíchin دﻩﻧﻪوێ ﻦ (dátawe bíchî(t دﻩﺗﻪوێ ﻴﺖ dáyânawe bíchin دﻩﻧﻪوێ ﻦ (dáyawe bíche(t دﻩﯾﻪوێ ﺖ Other examples are as follows: .Atawe nâmayèk binûsî. You want to write a letter ﺋﻪﺗﻪوێ ﻣﻪﯾﻪك ﺑﻨﻮوﳻ. .Ayawe ktâwèk bikře. He wants to buy a book ﺋﻪﯾﻪوێ ﻛﺘﺎوﻚ ﻜێ. .Damânawe nâmayèk binû- We want to write a letter دﻩﻣﺎﻧﻪوێ ﻣﻪﯾﻪك ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﲔ. sîn. Atânawe pirsyârèk bikan? Do you (pl) want to ask a ﺋﻪﻧﻪوێ ﺮﺳﻴﺎرﻚ ﻜﻪن؟ question? .Náyânawe dars bikhwe- They do not want to study ﻧﻪﻧﻪوێ دﻩرس ﲞﻮﲍ. nin.

Wîstin is conjugated as a in the past (see §27 below).

ﺗــــﻮان twânîn (pres. stem ﺗــــﻮاﻧــــﲔ To Be Able.’ The verb ‘to be able’ is‘ .21 § twân-). Twânîn is regularly conjugated in the present, and it is necessarily followed by a subjunctive complement. Below is given the full present con- jugation, affirmative and negative, of ‘can/can’t say’: dátwânîn bíłeyn دﻩﺗﻮاﻧﲔ ﺑﲔ dátwânim bíłem دﻩﺗﻮاﱎ ﺑﻢ dátwânin bíłen دﻩﺗﻮاﻦ ﺑﻦ (dátwânî(t) bíłey(t دﻩﺗﻮاﻧﺖ ﺑﺖ dátwânin bíłen دﻩﺗﻮاﻦ ﺑﻦ (dátwâne(t) bíłe(t دﻩﺗﻮاﻧﺖ ﺑﺖ nâtwânîn bíłeyn ﺗﻮاﻧﲔ ﺑﲔ nâtwânim bíłem ﺗﻮاﱎ ﺑﻢ nâtwânin bíłen ﺗﻮاﻦ ﺑﻦ (nâtwânî(t) bíłey(t ﺗﻮاﻧﺖ ﺑﺖ 35 SORANI KURDISH nâtwânin bíłen ﺗﻮاﻦ ﺑﻦ (nâtwâne(t) bíłe(t ﺗﻮاﻧﺖ ﺑﺖ ﺑـﺘـﻮاﻧــﺖ ,(bítwânî(t ﺑـﺘـﻮاﻧــﺖ ,bítwânim ﺑـﺘـﻮاﱎ :The subjunctive is regularly formed ,(nátwânî(t ﻧــﻪﺗــﻮاﻧــــﺖ ,nátwânim ﻧــﻪﺗــﻮاﱎ :bítwâne(t), &c., negative subjunctive &c. Twânîn is conjugated as a transitive verb in the past (see §27 below). la bîr ﺑـﲑ ﺑـﻮون To Remember.’ The idiom used for ‘to remember’ is‘ .22 § bûn, literally “to be in the mind.” The construction of the idiom, like the present of wîstin, depends upon whether or not there is preposed matter. NOTHING PREPOSED WITH PREPOSED MATTER mân la bîr a- ـﲈن ﺑﲑﻩ im la bîr a- ـﻢ ﺑﲑﻩ la bîrmân a ﺑﲑﻣﺎﻧﻪ la bîrim a ﺑﲑﻣﻪ tân la bîr a- ـﺘﺎن ﺑﲑﻩ it la bîr a- ـﺖ ﺑﲑﻩ la bîrtân a ﺑﲑﻧﻪ la bîrit a ﺑﲑﺗﻪ yân la bîr a- ـﻴﺎن ﺑﲑﻩ î la bîr a- ـﻰ ﺑﲑﻩ la bîryân a ﺑﲑﻧﻪ la bîrî a ﺑﲑﯾﻪ

Simple ‘I remember,’ ‘you remember,’ &c. (without mentioning what one la ﺑـﲑم ﻧـﻴـﻪ la bîrit a, &c. (negative ﺑـ ﺗﲑـﻪ ,la bîrim a ﺑـﲑﻣـﻪ remembers) are la bîrit níya). However, if anything is preposed to the ﺑــﲑت ﻧــﻴــﻪ ,bîrim níya construction, that is, what one remembers, the enclitic pronouns are de- tached from bîr and attached to the preposed matter, as in the following: .Aw rozhânám la bîr a. I remember those days ﺋﻪو رۆژاﻧﻪم ﺑﲑﻩ.

Hence, the prepositional phrase is actually -m la bîr, where the complement to la bîr, -(i)m, has been preposed, or placed before the preposition. Other examples are the following: Nâwimî la bîr níya. He doesn’t remember my وﱉ ﺑﲑ ﻧﻴﻪ. name. Wałâm i pirsyârakát la bîr You didn’t remember the وﻩﱉ ﺮﺳﻴﺎرﻩﻛﻪت ﺑﲑ .nábû. answer to the question ﻧﻪﺑﻮو. Other constructions involving bîr are -î ba bîrâ hâtin and -î bîr kawtinawa ‘to remember,’ all of which usually take preposed pronominal enclitics. Wât ba bîrâ hât ka… Thus you remembered وات ﺑﻪ ﺑﲑا ﻫﺎت ﻛﻪ … that… 36 THE VERB .Shitèkim hât ba bîrâ. I remembered something ﺷﲂ ﻫﺎت ﺑﻪ ﺑﲑا. Dâykyân kawtawa bîr. They remembered their داﻜﺎن ﻛﻪوﺗﻪوﻩ ﺑﲑ. mother. -wakû shitèkyân bîr kawti- as though they remem وﻩﻮو ﺷﻜﺎن ﺑﲑ ﻛﻪوﺗﺒﻪوﻩ. betawa bered something and la bîr chûn ‘to forget.’ .Nâw i aw pyâwám la bîr I forgot that man’s name وى ﺋﻪو ﭘﻴﺎوﻩم ﺑﲑ ﭼﻮو. chû. -Shitèkit la bîr chû? Did you forget some ﺷﻜﺖ ﺑﲑ ﭼﻮو؟ thing?

§ 23. Pronominal Objects of Verbs. Direct-object pronouns of verbs in the present tense and the present subjunctive mood are normally enclitics at- tached to some part of the verbal conglomerate (i.e. the verb, any preverbal prefixes, compounding agent). Identical to the possessive enclitic pronouns, the direct-object pronouns are as follows: AFTER CONSONANTS AFTER VOWELS mân-´ ﻣﺎن m-´ م mân-´ ـﲈن im-´ ـﻢ tân-´ ن t-´ ت tân-´ ـﺘﺎن it-´ ـﺖ yân-´ ن y-´ ى yân-´ ـﻴﺎن î-´ ـﻰ The enclitic pronouns are attached in the following order: 1. If the verb is compound, the pronoun object is added to the preverb:1 .bângim dákan. They are calling me ﮕﻢ دﻩﻛﻪن. .warî dágirîn. We’ll take it up وﻩرى دﻩﮔﺮﻦ. .Aḥmad hałyân dágire. Ahmad will pick them up ﺋﻪﲪﻪد ﻫﻪﻴﺎن دﻩﮔﺮێ. .ferî ábim. I’ll learn it ﻓﺮى ﺋﻪﰈ.

1A preverb may be (1) a noun like bâng ‘call’ as in bâng kirdin ‘to call,’ (2) an adjective like âshkirâ ‘obvious’ as in âshkirâ kirdin ‘to clarify,’ or (3) a directional element like war ‘up’ as in war-girtin ‘to take up.’ 37 SORANI KURDISH 2. If the verb is not compound, the pronoun object is added to the model prefix (á-, dá-, bí-) or the negative prefix (nâ-, ná): .dáyânbîne. He’ll see them دﻩﻧﺒ. .dátbînim. I’ll see you دﻩﺗﺒﲌ. .nâynâsim/náydanâsim. I don’t know him ﯾﻨﺎﰟ، ﻧﻪﯾﺪﻩﰟ. .nâykřim. I’m not going to buy it ﻜم. .amawe bíykřim. I want to buy it ﺋﻪﻣﻪوێ ﺑﻴﻜم. Haz akam bíynerimawa bo I’d like to send it to a ﻫﻪز ﺋﻪﻛﻪم ﺑﻴﺮﻣﻪوﻩ ﺑﯚ رﻩﻓﻘﲂ. rafîqèkim. friend of mine. Rû bikaynà wiłâtèk kas Let’s go to a country روو ﻜﻪﯾﻨﻪ وﺗﻚ ﻛﻪس .namânnâse. where nobody knows us ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﻨﺎﺳ.

§ 24. The Imperative. The singular imperative of verb stems ending in vowels is formed from bí- + the present stem. The plural imperative is ex- actly like the 2nd-person plural subjunctive. As in the subjunctive of close compound verbs, the bí- prefix is usually omitted; in open compounds it is generally found but may be omitted.

INFINITIVE PRES. STEM SINGULAR IMPERATIVE PLURAL IMPERATIVE bíkan ﻜﻪن bíka ﻜﻪ -kirdin ka bíron ۆن bíro ۆ -royshtin ro -tawâw ﺗﻪواو (ﺑـ)ﻛﻪن -tawâw ﺗﻪواو (ﺑـ)ﻛﻪ -tawâw- tawâw-ka kirdin (bi)ka (bi)kan

If the present stem ends in a consonant, the singular imperative is formed from bí- + present stem + -a. The plural imperative is identical to the 2nd- person plural subjunctive. bíbin ﺑﱭ bíba ﺑﺒﻪ -bûn b bíchin ﻦ bícha1 ﻪ -chûn ch bícho and ــــﯚ .In addition to bícha, chûn has several alternative imperatives, viz 1 .bíchora ﯚرﻩ 38 THE VERB bígirin ﮕﺮن bígira ﮕﺮﻩ -girtin gir bínûsin ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﻦ bínûsa ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﻪ -nûsîn nûs gwe-(bi)girin ﮔﻮێ (ﺑـ)ﮔﺮن gwe-(bi)gira ﮔﻮێ (ﺑـ)ﮔﺮﻩ -gwe-girtin gwe-gir dâ-(bi)nîshin دا(ﺑـ)ﻧﺸﻦ dâ-(bi)nîsha دا(ﺑـ)ﻧﺸﻪ dâ-nîshtin dâ-nîsh wis-bin وس ﻦ wis-ba وس ﺑﻪ -wis-bûn wis-b

Note the irregular singular imperatives of birdin, dân, khistin, and the total- ly irregular imperative of hâtin: bíban ﺑﺒﻪن bíbara ﺑﺒﻪرﻩ -birdin ba bídan ﺑﺪﻩن bídara ﺑﺪﻩرﻩ -dân da bíkhan ﲞﻪن bíkhara ﲞﻪرﻩ -khistin kha wárin وﻩرن wára وﻩرﻩ -hâtin ye The bí- prefix of the imperative takes pronominal direct objects exactly like the subjunctive prefix: Ba châw i khot bímbîna See (me) with your own ﺑﻪ ﺎوى ﺧﯚت ﲟﺒﻪ ﭼﯚن chon pyâwèkim! eyes what kind of man I ﭘﻴﺎوﲂ! am! Bíyhena lagał khot! Bring him/her/it with ﳱﻨﻪ ﮔﻪڵ ﺧﯚت! you!

.da دﻩ Imperatives are often preceded by the “attention-getting” particle The negative imperative prefix is má-, which replaces bí- where it occurs. !Mágrî! Don’t cry ﻣﻪﮔﺮى! !Máyhena! Don’t bring it ﻣﻪﳞﻨﻪ! !Dâ-mánîsha! Don’t sit down داﻣﻪﻧﺸﻪ!

§ 25. The Simple Past (Intransitive). The simple past (preterite) of in- transitive verbs is formed by adding unstressed personal suffixes to the past stem of the verb. The past stem is derived by deleting the -(i)n ending of the infinitive, e.g., hâtin > hât-, bûn > bû-.

39 SORANI KURDISH

AFTER CONSONANTS AFTER VOWELS -im -în -m -yn -î(t) -in -y(t) -n — -in — -n ﺑـــﻮون ’,hâtin ‘to come ﻫـــﺎـــﻦ Examples of the simple past inflection are from ’.mân ‘to remain ﻣﺎن gayîn ‘to arrive’ (int.), and ﮔﻪﯾﲔ ’,bûn ‘to be bûyn ﺑﻮوﻦ bûm ﺑﻮوم hâtîn ﻫﺎﺗﲔ hâtim ﻫﺎﰎ bûn ﺑﻮون (bûy(t ووﯾﺖ hâtin ﻫﺎﻦ (hâtî(t ﻫﺎﺗﺖ bûn ﺑﻮون bû ﺑﻮو hâtin ﻫﺎﻦ hât ﻫﺎت mâyn ﻣﺎﻦ mâm ﻣﺎم gayîyn ﮔﻪﯾﻴﲔ gayîm ﮔﻪﱘ mân ﻣﺎن (mây(t ﻣﺎﯾﺖ gayîn ﮔﻪﯾﲔ (gayîy(t ﮔﻪﯾﻴﺖ mân ﻣﺎن mâ ﻣﺎ gayîn ﮔﻪﯾﲔ gayî ﮔﻪﱙ The negative is formed by prefixing ná-: nábûyn ﻧﻪﺑﻮوﻦ nábûm ﻧﻪﺑﻮوم náhâtîn ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﲔ náhâtim ﻧﻪﻫﺎﰎ nábûn ﻧﻪﺑﻮون (nábûy(t ﻧﻪﺑﻮوﯾﺖ náhâtin ﻧﻪﻫﺎﻦ (náhâtî(t ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﺖ nábûn ﻧﻪﺑﻮون nábû ﻧﻪﺑﻮو náhâtin ﻧﻪﻫﺎﻦ náhât ﻧﻪﻫﺎت námâyn ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻦ námâm ﻧﻪﻣﺎم nágayîyn ﻧﻪﮔﻪﯾﻴﲔ nágayîm ﻧﻪﮔﻪﯾﲓ námân ﻧﻪﻣﺎن (námây(t ﻧﻪﻣﺎﯾﺖ nágayîn ﻧﻪﮔﻪﯾﲔ (nágayîy(t ﻧﻪﮔﻪﯾﻴﺖ námân ﻧﻪﻣﺎن námâ ﻧﻪﻣﺎ nágayîn ﻧﻪﮔﻪﯾﲔ nágayî ﻧﻪﮔﻪﱙ The t of the 2nd-person singular form is recovered if the verb has any suf- fixed ending like -awa or the directional suffix -à. For example, the verbs hâtinawa ‘to come back’ and chûnà mâl ‘to go home’ are conjugated as fol- lows: chûynà mâł ﭼﻮوﯾﻨﻪ ﻣﺎڵ chûmà mâł ﭼﻮوﻣﻪ ﻣﺎڵ hâtînawa ﻫﺎﺗﻪوﻩ hâtimawa ﻫﺎﲤﻪوﻩ chûnà mâł ﭼﻮوﻧﻪ ﻣﺎڵ chûytà mâł ﭼﻮوﯾﺘﻪ ﻣﺎڵ hâtinawa ﻫﺎﺗﻨﻪوﻩ hâtîtawa ﻫﺎﺗﻪوﻩ chûnà mâł ﭼﻮوﻧﻪ ﻣﺎڵ chûà mâł ﭼﻮوﻩ ﻣﺎڵ hâtinawa ﻫﺎﺗﻨﻪوﻩ hâtawa ﻫﺎﺗﻪوﻩ

§ 26. The Past Habitual/Progressive (Intransitive). The past habitual (‘I used to go’) and progressive (‘I was going’) is formed by adding the habitu- 40 THE VERB al/progressive prefix (d)á- to the simple past. dágayîyn دﻩﮔﻪﯾﻴﲔ dágayîm دﻩﮔﻪﯾﲓ dáhâtîn دﻩﻫﺎﺗﲔ dáhâtim دﻩﻫﺎﰎ dágayîn دﻩﮔﻪﯾﲔ (dágayîy(t دﻩﮔﻪﯾﻴﺖ dáhâtin دﻩﻫﺎﻦ (dáhâtî(t دﻩﻫﺎﺗﺖ dágayîn دﻩﮔﻪﯾﲔ dágayî دﻩﮔﻪﱙ dáhâtin دﻩﻫﺎﻦ dáhât دﻩﻫﺎت For past habituals in á-, the negative is formed by prefixing ná- to the affir- mative, but, unlike the present, the negative prefix does not combine with the modal prefix: náagayîyn ﻧﻪﺋﻪﮔﻪﯾﻴﲔ náagayîm ﻧﻪﺋﻪﮔﻪﯾﲓ náahâtîn ﻧﻪﺋﻪﻫﺎﺗﲔ náahâtim ﻧﻪﺋﻪﻫﺎﰎ náagayîn ﻧﻪﺋﻪﮔﻪﯾﲔ (náagayîy(t ﻧﻪﺋﻪﮔﻪﯾﻴﺖ náahâtin ﻧﻪﺋﻪﻫﺎﻦ (náahâtî(t ﻧﻪﺋﻪﻫﺎﺗﺖ náagayîn ﻧﻪﺋﻪﮔﻪﯾﲔ náagayî ﻧﻪﺋﻪﮔﻪﱙ náahâtin ﻧﻪﺋﻪﻫﺎﻦ náahât ﻧﻪﺋﻪﻫﺎت For past habituals in dá-, the negative is regularly formed by prefixing ná- to the affirmative: nádahâtîn ﻧﻪدﻩﻫﺎﺗﲔ nádahâtim ﻧﻪدﻩﻫﺎﰎ nádahâtin ﻧﻪدﻩﻫﺎﻦ (nádahâtî(t ﻧﻪدﻩﻫﺎﺗﺖ nádahâtin ﻧﻪدﻩﻫﺎﻦ nádahât ﻧﻪدﻩﻫﺎت nádagayîyn ﻧﻪدﻩﮔﻪﯾﻴﲔ nádagayîm ﻧﻪدﻩﮔﻪﯾﲓ nádagayîn ﻧﻪدﻩﮔﻪﯾﲔ (nádagayîy(t ﻧﻪدﻩﮔﻪﯾﻴﺖ nádagayîn ﻧﻪدﻩﮔﻪﯾﲔ nádagayî ﻧﻪدﻩﮔﻪﱙ As in the present tense, in the Suleymani dialect the marker is á-, and it is used as both past habitual and past progressive; in other dialects the marker is dá-.

§ 27. The Simple Past (Transitive): The Ergative. The simple of transitive verbs is formed from the past stem of the verb and an agent af- fix—the ergative construction.1 The agent affixes are identical to the enclitic

1 In ergative-type constructions what we think of as the subject is the “agent” (or “logical subject”) and what we think of as the direct object is the “patient” (for Sora- ni we will also call it “logical object”). In ergative languages that also have case, the agent is in an oblique case (and/or otherwise marked) and the patient is in the nomi- native (or subjective) case with the verb agreeing in number (and gender if applica- 41 SORANI KURDISH possessive pronouns: mân- ﻣﺎن i)m)- م tân- ن i)t)- ت yân- ن î/-y- ى The agent affix usually precedes the verb and is attached to some preverbal matter (more about which shortly) to give the following “conjugation” of khwârdin ‘to eat.’ mân khwârd- ﻣﺎن ﺧﻮارد im khwârd- م ﺧﻮارد tân khwârd- ن ﺧﻮارد it khwârd- ت ﺧﻮارد yân khwârd- ن ﺧﻮارد î khwârd- ى ﺧﻮارد If only the verb is expressed, or only the verb and its logical subject, the agent affixes are added to the end of the past stem, as khwârdmân ﺧﻮاردﻣﺎن khwârdim ﺧﻮاردم khwârdtân ﺧﻮاردن khwârdit ﺧﻮاردت khwârdyân ﺧﻮاردن khwârdî ﺧﻮاردى If anything other than the verb is expressed, then the agent is affixed to the first available preverbal matter—“available preverbal matter” includes the following categories in hierarchical order: (1) the negative prefix, as in .(námkhwârd I didn’t eat (it ﻧﻪﳐﻮارد .(nátdît you didn’t see (him/her/it ﻧﻪﺗﺪﯾﺖ ble) with the patient. In Kurmanji Kurdish, for example, where a distinction between independent subject and oblique pronouns has been retained, the for ‘he’ is ew, and the oblique ‘him’ is wî; the subject ‘I’ is ez, and the oblique ‘me’ is min. ‘He saw me’ in Kurmanji is wî ez dîtim (where dîtim agrees with the patient ez), and ‘I saw him’ is min ew dît. Sorani, having lost independent oblique pronouns, resorts to pronominal enclitics to express the agent. An oversimplification is to think of the ergative as a passive (e.g., ‘the dog bit the man’ expressed as ‘by the dog the man was bit’), but it is important to realize that speakers of ergative-type languages by no means think of the construction as passive (particularly since Sorani Kurdish has a passive, see §34 below). 42 THE VERB .(náynûsî he didn’t write (it ﻧﻪﯾﻨﻮوﳻ

Full inflection of the negative past tense of khwârdin is as follows: námânkhwârd ﻧﻪﻣﺎﳔﻮارد námkhwârd ﻧﻪﳐﻮارد nátânkhwârd ﻧﻪﳔﻮارد nátkhwârd ﻧﻪﲣﻮارد náyânkhwârd ﻧﻪﳔﻮارد náykhwârd ﻧﻪﳜﻮارد (2) the progressive prefix, as in .(dámnûsî I was writing (it دﻩﻣﻮوﳻ .(daybast he was tying (it دﻩﯾﺒﻪﺳﺖ Full inflection of the progressive past tense of khwârdin is as follows: dámânkhwârd دﻩﻣﺎﳔﻮارد dámkhwârd دﻩﳐﻮارد dátânkhwârd دﻩﳔﻮارد dátkhwârd دﻩﲣﻮارد dáyânkhwârd دﻩﳔﻮارد dáykhwârd دﻩﳜﻮارد (3) a compounding preverb as in .(hałimgirt. I took (it ﻫﻪﻤﮕﺮت .darîhenâ he took (it) off/out دﻩرﳞﻨﺎ Full inflections of the past tenses of hał-girtin ‘to pick up’ and nâma-nûsîn ‘to write letters’ are as follows: hałmângirt ﻫﻪﲈﮕﺮت hałimgirt ﻫﻪﻤﮕﺮت hałtângirt ﻫﻪﺘﺎﮕﺮت hałitgirt ﻫﻪﺘﮕﺮت hałyângirt ﻫﻪﻴﺎﮕﺮت hałîgirt ﻫﻪﻴﮕﺮت nâmamân nûsî ﻣﻪﻣﺎن ﻧﻮوﳻ nâmam nûsî ﻣﻪم ﻧﻮوﳻ nâmatân nûsî ﻣﻪن ﻧﻮوﳻ nâmat nûsî ﻣﻪت ﻧﻮوﳻ nâmayân nûsî ﻣﻪن ﻧﻮوﳻ nâmay nûsî ﻣﻪى ﻧﻮوﳻ (4) the logical object (patient) of the verb, as in .nâmakám nûsî. I wrote the letter ﻣﻪﻛﻪم ﻧﻮوﳻ. .aw kâráy nákird. He didn’t do that ﺋﻪو ﰷرﻩى ﻧﻪﺮد.

43 SORANI KURDISH When the logical object is modified by the enclitic -îsh/-ysh ‘too, also,’ the enclitic comes between the logical object and the agent affix: birâkân i zhinakáyshî He invited his wife’s ﺮﰷﱏ ژﻧﻪﻛﻪﴙ ﮓ ﺮد. bâng kird. brothers also.

(5) a prepositional phrase other than temporal or manner,1 as in .Bo rafîqèkyân nûsî. They wrote it to a friend ﺑﯚ رﻩﻓﻘﻜﺎن ﻧﻮوﳻ. Ba pewîstim zânî bíyân- I considered it necessary ﺑﻪ ﭘﻮﺴﱲ زاﱏ ﺑﻴﺎﻧﻨﻮوﲰﻪوﻩ و nûsimawa u châpyân to write them down and ﺎﭘﻴﺎن ﻜﻪم. bikam. get them printed.

Generally speaking, the only things to which the agent affix cannot be joined are (1) the expressed logical subject to which the agent affix refers (pyâwaká witî ‘the man said’), (2) temporal and phrases like ‘to- day’ and ‘at that time,’ and (3) prepositional phrases of manner (generally ba ﺑــﻪ ﭘــﻪ ’,ba tûřaîawa ‘in anger ﺑــﻪ ﺗــﻮوڕﻩﺋــﻴــﻪوﻩ with the preposition ba) like ’.ba hała ‘in error ﺑﻪ ﻫﻪﻪ pala ‘in haste,’ and An overtly expressed logical subject in no way obviates the necessity for a third-person agent affix, but the agent affix cannot be attached to the logi- cal subject. -Kâbrâ i pîr diramakânî The old gent took the dir ﰷﺮاى ﭘﲑ درﻩﻣﻪﰷﱏ وﻩرﮔﺮت. wargirt. hems. .Kuřakân ba minyân wit. The boys said to me ﻮڕﻩﰷن ﺑﻪ ﻣﻴﺎن وت. .Min ba kuřakânim wit. I said to the boys ﻣﻦ ﺑﻪ ﻮڕﻩﰷﱎ وت. Each and every transitive verb in the past tense must have its own agent affix, i.e. one agent affix cannot serve more than one verb. For exam- rûy kird u gutî (‘he faced him and said’), the رووى ـﺮد و ﮔـﻮﰏ ple, in the phrase first agent affix, -y, serves only the verb rû-kird; the second verb, gut, must also have an agent affix, and since there is no preposed matter, the affix is on the end of the verb.

1 Prepositional phrases with pronominal complements present a special problem. See §27.3 below. 44 THE VERB When a phrase consists only of an expressed logical subject (agent), prep- ositional matter to which the agent affix cannot be attached, and verb, then the agent affix is attached to the verb: …kichaká ba tûřaîawa the girl said angrily ﻛﻪﻛﻪ ﺑﻪ ﺗﻮوڕﻩﺋﻴﻪوﻩ وﰏ … witî…

§ 27.1. The Ergative in South Sorani. In North Sorani the past tense of all transitive verbs is made on the ergative model with agent affixes as de- scribed above. In South Sorani, however, a split has occurred. Generally, the ergative construction has been displaced by the non-ergative construc- tion on the model of intransitive past verbs (and doubtlessly under the influ- ence of Persian). However, the older ergative construction has remained for certain figurative expressions. Although the ergative is theoretically avail- able for any past transitive verb, its use may produce a statement on the fig- urative plane that sounds “funny” or odd—i.e. a figurative use that really mâł sûtin ﻣــﺎڵ ﺳــﻮوــﻦ has no conventional application. For instance, the verb ‘to burn someone’s house’ may have an actual, literal application, as in mâłaká i Dârâ sûtim I burned Dara’s house ﻣﺎﻪﻛﻪى دارا ﺳﻮوﰎ down or it may have a figurative application, as in ”mâłaká i Dârâm sût “I burned Dara’s house ﻣﺎﻪﻛﻪى دارام ﺳﻮوت but here, since it is ergative, it is figurative and really means “I ruined him,” -nân-khwârdin ‘to eat bread’ may be ei ن ﺧــــــﻮاردن I did him in.” The verb“ ther actually ‘to eat (some) bread’ or figuratively ‘to break bread, have a meal, enjoy someone’s hospitality.’ On the actual level the past tense is nân khwârdim, as in .nân khwârdim I ate bread ن ﺧﻮاردم while on the figurative level the past tense is nânim khwârd, as in Latak ewa nânim khwârd. I broke bread with you (I ﺗﻪك ﺋﻮﻩ ﱎ ﺧﻮارد enjoyed your hospitality).

North Sorani, with no such differentiation, expresses these two examples as 45 SORANI KURDISH mâłaká i Dârâm sûtâ and nânim khwârd in all situations (nân khwârdim is meaningless in North Sorani).

§ 27.2. Pronouns as Logical Objects of Past Transitive Verbs. With past transitive verbs, when the agent affix precedes the verb, enclitic pronominal logical objects are attached to the past stem of the verb, but the enclitics used are the subject endings for the intransitive past,1 as in the following paradigm of the verb âgâ-kirdin ‘to inform’ with the 3rd-person singular agent affix -y. âgây kirdîn he informed us ﺋﮔﺎى ﺮدﻦ âgây kirdim he informed me ﺋﮔﺎى ﺮدم âgây kirdin he informed you ﺋﮔﺎى ﺮدن âgây kirdî(t) he informed you ﺋﮔﺎى ﺮدﯾﺖ âgây kirdin he informed them ﺋﮔﺎى ﺮدن âgây kird he informed him/her ﺋﮔﺎى ﺮد A 3rd-person singular logical object is not overtly expressed with a pronom- inal suffix since it is implicit in the zero ending of the verb (as in the second example below). námdîtî(t) I didn’t see you ﻧﻪﻣﺪﯾﱴ، ﻧﻪﻣﺪﯾﺘﺖ námdît I didn’t see him/her/it ﻧﻪﻣﺪﯾﺖ hałitgirtin you picked them up ﻫﻪﺘﮕﺮﻦ (námândîtin we didn’t see you (pl ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﺪﯾﱳ dátânkeshân you (pl) were pulling them دﻩﻜﺸﺎن With a 3rd-person plural inanimate logical object, the verb optionally agrees ﰷــﺮاى ﭘــﲑ درﻩﻣــﻪﰷﱏ وﻩرﮔــﺮت ,in number with the logical object. In the example kâbrâ i pîr diramakânî wargirt ‘the old gent took the dirhems,’ the verb -wargirtin to agree with the plural logical object. Simi وﻩرﮔــﺮــﻦ could also be larly, in the sentence .Pyâwèk ktâwakânî křî(n). A man bought the books ﭘﻴﺎوﻚ ﻛﺘﺎوﻩﰷﱏ ﻛى (ﻛﻦ) the verb křî may agree with the plural logical object as křîn. With 1st- and

1 Another way of analyzing this pattern is to think of the past transitive verb dît as meaning “saw him/her/it.” Similarly, dîtim means “saw me,” dîtî(t) means “saw you.” The logical subjects of these verbs must be expressed by agent affixes. 46 THE VERB 2nd-person logical objects and with animate 3rd persons, the verb perforce agrees with the object in both number and person. When the agent affix does not precede the verb (i.e. if only the verb, or verb + logical subject, and no other element is present), the logical subject agent affix is suffixed to the verb first, and the logical object follows the agent affix except for the 3rd-person singular agent. When the logical subject is 3rd-person singular, the order is reversed: the logical object cedes the logical subject. In the table below are all available forms using dîtin ‘to see’ as an example; the logical objects are given in boldface. Again, a 3rd- person singular logical- is not expressed; it is built into the verb. me you him/her us you them دﯾـﻤﻦ دﯾـﻤﻦ — دﯾﱲ دﯾـﻤﻴﺖ — I saw dîtimî(t) dîtim dîtimin dîtimin دﯾﺘﱳ — دﯾﺘﲔ دﯾﺖ — دﯾﱲ you saw dîtitim dîtit dîtitîn dîtitin دﯾﲎ دﯾﲎ دﯾﺘﲎ دﯾﱴ دﯾﺘﱴ دﯾـﻤﯽ s/he saw dîtimî dîtîtî dîtî dîtînî dîtinî dîtinî دﯾﻦ دﯾﻦ — دﯾن دﯾﻧﺖ — we saw dîtmânî(t) dîtmân dîtmânin dîtmânin دﯾﺎﻦ — دﯾﺎﻧﲔ دﯾﺎن — دﯾﺎﱎ you saw dîttânim dîttân dîttânîn dîttânin دﯾﺎﻦ دﯾﺎﻦ دﯾﺎﻧﲔ دﯾﺎن دﯾﺎﻧﺖ دﯾﺎﱎ they saw dîtyânim dîtyânî(t) dîtyân dîtyânîn dîtyânin dîtyânin

me you him/her us you them ﻧﻪﻣﺪﯾﱳ ﻧﻪﻣﺪﯾﱳ — ﻧﻪﻣﺪﯾﺖ ﻧﻪﻣﺪﯾﺘﺖ — I didn’t see námdîtî(t) námdît námdîtin námdîtin ﻧﻪﺗﺪﯾﱳ — ﻧﻪﺗﺪﯾﺘﲔ ﻧﻪﺗﺪﯾﺖ — ﻧﻪﺗﺪﯾﱲ you didn’t see nátdîtim nátdît nátdîtîn nátdîtin ﻧﻪﯾﺪﯾﱳ ﻧﻪﯾﺪﯾﱳ ﻧﻪﯾﺪﯾﺘﲔ ﻧﻪﯾﺪﯾﺖ ﻧﻪﯾﺪﯾﺘﺖ ﻧﻪﯾﺪﯾﱲ s/he didn’t see náydîtim náydîtî(t) náydît náydîtîn náydîtin náydîtin

47 SORANI KURDISH ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﺪﯾﱳ ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﺪﯾﱳ — ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﺪﯾﺖ ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﺪﯾﺘﺖ — we didn’t see námândîtî(t) námândît námândîtin námândîtin ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﱳ — ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﺘﲔ ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﺖ — ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﱲ you didn’t see nátândîtim nátândît nátândîtîn nátândîtin ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﱳ ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﱳ ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﺘﲔ ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﺖ ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﺘﺖ ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﱲ they didn’t see náyândîtim náyândîtî(t) náyândît náyândîtîn náyândîtin náyândîtin In South Sorani the situation is altogether different. Since, with the few ex- ceptions noted above, the ergative construction has been lost, transitive verbs are regularly conjugated exactly like intransitives, and pronominal ob- jects are added directly to the end of the verb form—all on the Persian model. The normal forms for South Sorani are as follows (note that the nor- mal South Sorani third-person plural ending is -an instead of -in): me you him/her us you them دﯾـﻤﻴﺎن دﳣﺘﺎن — دﯾـﻤﯽ دﯾـﻤﺖ — I saw dîtimit dîtimî dîtimtân dîtimyân دﯾﺘﻴﺎن — دﯾﺘن دﯾﺘﱴ — دﯾﺘﱲ you saw dîtîtim dîtîtî dîtîtmân dîtîtyân دﯾﺎن دﯾﺎن دﯾن دﯾﱴ دﯾﺖ دﯾﱲ s/he saw dîtim dîtit dîtî dîtmân dîttân dîtyân دﯾﺘﻴﺎن دﯾﺘﺘﺎن — دﯾﺘﲎ دﯾﺘﺖ — we saw dîtînit dîtînî dîtîntân dîtînyân دﯾﺘﺎن — دﯾن دﯾﲎ — دﯾﲌ you saw dîtinim dîtinî dîtinmân dîtinyân دﯾﺘﻪﻧﻴﺎن دﯾﺘﻪﻧﺘﺎن دﯾﺘﻪﳕﺎن دﯾﺘﻪﱏ دﯾﺘﻪﻧﺖ دﯾﺘﻪﱎ they saw dîtanim dîtanit dîtanî dîtanmân dîtantân dîtanyân

§ 27.3. Pronominal Prepositional Complements with Agent Affixes. In past transitive verbs the space normally available for a preposed pronominal complement is taken by the agent affix. In this case, the preposition and its complement are split—the preposition precedes the verb, and the comple- ment of the preposition is “bumped” to the end of the verb, but the pronouns 48 THE VERB used are the endings used for intransitive past verbs (-im/-m, -î(t)/-y(t), —, -în/-yn, -in/-n, -in/-n). Note especially that when the prepositional comple- ment is 3rd-person singular, nothing is added to the verb stem. Since the past verb has built-in logical objects, these logical objects are used in such constructions as prepositional complements. The example .Pirsyârèkmân le dakâ. He asks a question of us ﺮﺳﻴﺎرﻜﲈن ﻟ دﻩﰷ.

(present tense), can be viewed diagrammatically as follows:

Pirsyârek -mân le dákâ TENSE

PRESENT prepositional phrase with preposed complement But in the past tense—‘he asked a question of us’—the agent affix takes the place that would be occupied by the preposed complement to the prepo- sition, so the complement of the preposition is removed to the end of the verb stem, .Pirsyârèkî le kirdîn.1 He asked a question of us ﺮﺳﻴﺎرﲃ ﻟ ﺮدﻦ.

Pirsyârek -î le kird -în PAST TENSE Agent Prepositional affix phrase

In another example,

1 Or, the incomplete sequence pirsyârek-le-kird- can be thought of as meaning “asked-a-question-of” and the personal ending -în supplies the “object” “us.” Such an approach is probably closer to how native speakers “feel” all such constructions involving a preposition + verb. In the next example, bo-nârd- is certainly felt to mean “sent-to” and -in supplies the “object” “them.” Even in the present-tense example bo-dánerim is felt to mean “I-am-sending-to” and the preposed -yân sup- plies the object “them.” Native speakers do not seem to feel that -yân bo really “go together” as a coherent unit in any way separable from the verb; they think of bo- dánerim as the coherent unit and feel that the proper place to pause is between -yân and bo, not between bo and dánerim. To a certain extent, in the minds of native speakers bo-nârdin is not felt to differ substantially from hał-girtin or any other compound verb. 49 SORANI KURDISH aw ktâwânáyân bo I’m sending those books to ﺋﻪو ﻛﺘﺎواﻧﻪن ﺑﯚ دﻩﻧﺮم. dánerim. them. the preposition bo has its complement -yân preposed:

aw ktâwâná -yân bo dánerim

prepositional phrase with preposed complement

In the past, however, the agent affix -(i)m takes the place of the complement of the preposition. The complement is deferred to the end of the verb stem and is changed from -yân to -in, giving .aw ktâwânám bo nârdin. I sent those books to them ﺋﻪو ﻛﺘﺎواﻧﻪم ﺑﯚ ردن.

aw ktâwâná -m bo nârd -in

agent prepositional affix phrase

When the first available element to which an agent affix can be attached is a preposition, the complement of the preposition is “bumped,” as in the fol- lowing: dâykyân boy sûr kirdin- their mother fried it for داﻜﺎن ﺑﯚى ﺳﻮور ﺮدﻧﻪوﻩ و awa u boy dâ-nân. them and set it down ﺑﯚى دان. before them.

agent affix

dâykyân bo -y sûr kird -in -awa

prepositional phrase

Here the -y on boy in both parts of the sentence is the agent affix referring to dâykyân and the -in in kirdinawa and dâ-nân furnishes the complement of the preposition bo. Another example is as follows:

50 THE VERB pârakáy le girtim u pey he took the money from ﭘﺎرﻩﻛﻪى ﻟ ﮔﺮﰎ و ﭘﻰ وﰎ … witim… me and said to me…

prepositional prepositional phrase phrase

Pâraká -y le girt -im u pe -y wit -im

agent agent affix affix Here the -y on pâraká and on pe is the agent affix (‘he’), and the -im suffix in the verbs girt and wit are complements to the prepositions le and pe respectively. Other examples are as follows: dargâyân kirdawa bo min They opened the door for دﻩرﮔﺎن ﺮدﻩوﻩ ﺑﯚ ﻣﻦ (ﺑﯚم) > .bom) > dargâyân bo kir- me) دﻩرﮔﺎن ﺑﯚ ﺮدﻣﻪوﻩ dimawa pûłakay wargirt l’ ema He took the money from ﭘﻮوﻪﻛﻪى وﻩرﮔﺮت ﻟﻤﻪ (ﻟﲈن)> .lemân) > pûłakay le us) ﭘﻮوﻪﻛﻪى ﻟ وﻩر ﺗﮔﺮﲔ wargirtîn .amámân wit ba to (pet) > We said this to you ﺋﻪﻣﻪﻣﺎن وت ﺑﻪ ﺗﯚ (ﭘﺖ) > (amámân pe witî(t ﺋﻪﻣﻪﻣﺎن ﭘ وﺗﺖ .witim pet > pem witî(t) I said to you وﰎ ﭘﺖ > ﭘﻢ وﺗﺖ .qsam kird bo ewa I told you a story ﻗﺴﻪم ﺮد ﺑﯚ ﺋﻮﻩ (ﺑﯚن) > botân) > qsam bo kirdin) ﻗﺴﻪم ﺑﯚ ﺮدن .gwem girt l’ aw (ley) > I listened to him ﮔﻮﻢ ﮔﺮت و (ﻟﻰ) > ﮔﻮﻢ ﻟ gwem le girt ﮔﺮت .witî ba awân (peyân) > He said to them وﰏ ﺑﻪ ﺋﻪوان (ﭘﺎن) > ﭘﻰ وﻦ pey witin

Since the ergative construction is not in normal use in South Sorani, the placement of these pronouns is quite the reverse of North Sorani. Therefore, while in North Sorani pey witim means ‘he said to me,’ in South Sorani it means ‘I said to him.’ Bot kirdim means ‘you did it for me’ in North Sorani but ‘I did it for you’ in South Sorani, and bomân kirdin means ‘we did it for 51 SORANI KURDISH you/them’ in North Sorani but ‘you/they did it for us’ in South Sorani.

§ 27.4. Displacement of a Possessive Pronoun by a Preposed Preposi- tional Complement. Similar to the displacement of a prepositional comple- ment by the agent affix is the displacement of a possessive pronoun by a preposed prepositional complement. In a construction such as the following: châwim ba rafîqakânim My eye fell upon my ﺎوم ﺑﻪ رﻩﻓﻘﻪﰷﱎ ﻛﻪوت. kawt. friends. if the noun rafîqakânim is replaced by a pronoun, turning the phrase into -yân pe, the preposed prepositional complement “bumps” the possessive -im from its position on châw to the end of the verb, as: châwyân pe kawtim my eye fell upon them ﺎون ﭘ ﻛﻪوﰎ

prepositional phrase châw -yân pe kawt -im

modifies

The endings on the verb in such situations are the verbal personal endings, not the possessives. The first-person shows no difference, of course, but the other persons are distinguished, as in the following: châwyân ba min kawt > their eye fell upon me ﺎون ﺑﻪ ﻣﻦ ﻛﻪوت > ﺎوم ﭘ châwim pe kawtin ﻛﻪوﻦ châw -im pe kawt -in

modifies

In a combination of the principles given in this and the preceding para- graphs, when a possessive pronoun would be followed by an agent affix, the possessive pronoun may also be “bumped” to the end of a past transitive verb (turning into the intransitive past subject pronouns in the process), as in .kuř a korpaká’y dîtim. He saw my infant son ﻮڕﻩ ﻛﯚرﭘﻪﻛﻪى دﯾﱲ. 52 THE VERB .kuř a korpaká’mân dîtî(t). We saw your infant son ﻮڕﻩ ﻛﯚرﭘﻪﻛﻪﻣﺎن دﯾﺘﺖ. .kuř a korpakân’yân dîtîn. They saw our infant sons ﻮڕﻩ ﻛﯚرﭘﻪﰷﻧﻴﺎن دﯾﺘﲔ. -kuř a korpa ـﻮڕﻩ ﻛـﯚرﭘـﻪﻛـﻪﱉ دﯾـﺖ The first example could also be expressed as kám’î dît, but the combination of possessive pronoun + agent affix is gen- erally avoided. Hence the “bumped” possessive.

§ 28. The Perfect Active Participle. The perfect active participle is formed by adding -û to the past stem of the verb. With past stems that end in vowels the participle takes the form -w. CONSONANT STEMS VOWEL STEMS PARTICIPLE INFINITIVE PARTICIPLE mâw ﻣﺎو < mân ﻣﺎن hâtû ﻫﺎﺗﻮو < hâtin ﻫﺎﻦ rûdâw رووداو < rû-dân روودان tegayshtû ﺗﮕﻪﺸﺘﻮو < te-gayshtin ﺗﮕﻪﺸﱳ křîw ﻛﯾﻮ < křîn ﻛﻦ kirdûawa ﺮدووﻩوﻩ < kirdinawa ﺮدوﻩوﻩ In meaning the perfect active participle corresponds roughly to the English tegayshtû ﺗــــﮕــﻪــﺸــــﺘــﻮو ’,hâtû ‘having come ﻫــﺎﺗــﻮو :present perfect participle kirdûawa ‘having opened,’ &c. Transitivity ـــــــــﺮدووﻩوﻩ ’,having understood‘ křîw means ‘having ﻛـــﯾـــﻮ .and intransitivity are retained in the participle, i.e bought’ in the active sense, not ‘bought’ in the passive sense. (For the per- fect passive participle, see §34.1 below.) The perfect active participle is principally used to form the present perfect ﭘـــﺎﺷـــﻜـــﻪوﺗـــﻮو) tense (see §29 below), but it can also be used both adjectivally ,dânîshtû ‘having sat down داﻧــــﺸــــﺘــﻮو ’,pâshkawtû ‘fallen behind, backward nustû ‘having gone to sleep, asleep’) and nominally ﻧــــﻮﺳــــــــﺘــــﻮو seated,’ and .(’rû-dân ‘to happen, take place روودان > ’rûdâw ‘event رووداو)

§ 29. The Present Perfect Tense (Intransitive). The present perfect tense of intransitive verbs is formed from the perfect active participle plus the -mân ‘to remain’ (perfect active partici ﻣـــﺎن present copulas. Examples from (hâtû ﻫــﺎﺗــﻮو hâtin ‘to come’ (perfect active participle ﻫــﺎــﻦ mâw) and ﻣــﺎو ple are:

53 SORANI KURDISH hâtûyn ﻫﺎﺗﻮوﻦ hâtûm ﻫﺎﺗﻮوم mâwîn ﻣﺎوﻦ mâwim ﻣﺎوم hâtûn ﻫﺎﺗﻮون (hâtûy(t ﻫﺎﺗﻮوﯾﺖ mâwin ﻣﺎون (mâwî(t ﻣﺎوﯾﺖ hâtûn ﻫﺎﺗﻮون hâtûa ﻫﺎﺗﻮوﻩ mâwin ﻣﺎون mâwa ﻣﺎوﻩ The negative is formed by prefixing ná- náhâtûyn ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﻮوﻦ náhâtûm ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﻮوم námâwîn ﻧﻪﻣﺎوﻦ námâwim ﻧﻪﻣﺎوم &c.

Verbs ending in -awa are conjugated as follows. Note especially the infixed -t- in the 3rd-person singular. hâtûynawa ﻫﺎﺗﻮوﯾﻨﻪوﻩ hâtûmawa ﻫﺎﺗﻮوﻣﻪوﻩ mâwînawa ﻣﺎوﯾﻨﻪوﻩ mâwimawa ﻣﺎوﻣﻪوﻩ hâtûnawa ﻫﺎﺗﻮوﻧﻪوﻩ hâtûytawa ﻫﺎﺗﻮوﯾﺘﻪوﻩ mâwinawa ﻣﺎوﻧﻪوﻩ mâwîtawa ﻣﺎوﯾﺘﻪوﻩ hâtûnawa ﻫﺎﺗﻮوﻧﻪوﻩ hâtûatawa ﻫﺎﺗﻮوﻩﺗﻪوﻩ mâwinawa ﻣﺎوﻧﻪوﻩ mâwatawa ﻣﺎوﻩﺗﻪوﻩ

For general purposes, the present perfect tense of Kurdish is equivalent to the English present perfect (‘I have come’). It is in all respects the exact mâwa ﻣـﺎوﻩ and آﻣـﺪﻩام = hâtûm ﻫـﺎﺗـﻮوم) equivalent of the Persian past narrative -and this means that in Kurdish the present perfect is used in sit ,(ﻣـﺎﻧـﺪﻩاﺳـﺖ = uations where an action or change of state in the past is felt to be of par- ticular relevance to a present situation.

§ 29.1. The Present Perfect Tense (Transitive). The present perfect tense of transitive verbs is made from the agent affixes plus the past participle plus the 3rd-pers. pres. copula (-a), as in khwardin ‘to eat’ and křîn ‘to buy.’ mân khwârdûa- ﻣﺎن ﺧﻮاردووﻩ im khwârdûa- م ﺧﻮاردووﻩ tân khwârdûa- ن ﺧﻮاردووﻩ it khwârdûa- ت ﺧﻮاردووﻩ yân khwârdûa- ن ﺧﻮاردووﻩ î khwârdûa- ى ﺧﻮاردووﻩ mân křîwa- ﻣﺎن ﻛﯾﻮﻩ im křîwa- م ﻛﯾﻮﻩ tân křîwa- ن ﻛﯾﻮﻩ it křîwa- ت ﻛﯾﻮﻩ yân křîwa- ن ﻛﯾﻮﻩ î křîwa- ى ﻛﯾﻮﻩ ـﺮدﻧـﻪوﻩ Verbs in -awa have a -t- inserted between the copula a and -awa, as in 54 THE VERB ’.dozînawa ‘to discover دۆزﯾﻨﻪوﻩ kirdinawa ‘to open’ and mân kirdûatawa- ﻣﺎن ﺮدووﻩﺗﻪوﻩ im kirdûatawa- م ﺮدووﻩﺗﻪوﻩ tân kirdûatawa- ن ﺮدووﻩﺗﻪوﻩ it kirdûatawa- ت ﺮدووﻩﺗﻪوﻩ yân kirdûatawa- ن ﺮدووﻩﺗﻪوﻩ î kirdûatawa- ى ﺮدووﻩﺗﻪوﻩ mân dozîwatawa- ﻣﺎن دۆزﯾﻮﻩﺗﻪوﻩ im dozîwatawa- م دۆزﯾﻮﻩﺗﻪوﻩ tân dozîwatawa- ن دۆزﯾﻮﻩﺗﻪوﻩ it dozîwatawa- ت دۆزﯾﻮﻩﺗﻪوﻩ yân dozîwatawa- ن دۆزﯾﻮﻩﺗﻪوﻩ î dozîwatawa- ى دۆزﯾﻮﻩﺗﻪوﻩ

When nothing else is available to which the agent affixes may be joined, they fall on the participle and are followed by the 3rd-person singular copu- -khwâr ﺧـﻮاردن la -a (except the 3rd singular, which has the form -yatî1), as in :křîn ﻛﻦ din and khwârdûmâna ﺧﻮاردووﻣﺎﻧﻪ khwârdûma ﺧﻮاردووﻣﻪ khwârdûtâna ﺧﻮاردووﻧﻪ khwârdûta ﺧﻮاردووﺗﻪ khwârdûyâna ﺧﻮاردووﻧﻪ khwârdûyatî ﺧﻮاردووﯾﻪﰏ křîwmâna ﻛﯾﻮﻣﺎﻧﻪ křîwima ﻛﯾﻮﻣﻪ křîwtâna ﻛﯾﻮﻧﻪ křîwita ﻛﯾﻮﺗﻪ křîwyâna ﻛﯾﻮﻧﻪ křîwyatî ﻛﯾﻮﯾﻪﰏ When any other element is available, the agent affixes are joined thereto, as in the negative: námânkhwârdûa ﻧﻪﻣﺎﳔﻮاردووﻩ námkhwârdûa ﻧﻪﳐﻮاردووﻩ nátânkhwârdûa ﻧﻪﳔﻮاردووﻩ nátkhwârdûa ﻧﻪﲣﻮاردووﻩ náyânkhwârdûa ﻧﻪﳔﻮاردووﻩ náykhwârdûa ﻧﻪﳜﻮاردووﻩ námânkřîwa ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻜﯾﻮﻩ námkřîwa ﻧﻪﻣﻜﯾﻮﻩ nátânkřîwa ﻧﻪﻜﯾﻮﻩ nátkřîwa ﻧﻪﻜﯾﻮﻩ náyânkřîwa ﻧﻪﻜﯾﻮﻩ náykřîwa ﻧﻪﻜﯾﻮﻩ

1 The same -yatî that results consistently from the 3rd-person singular enclitic -î/-y plus the 3rd-person singular copula. The spelling of this suffix is inconsistent. See §15 above. 55 SORANI KURDISH § 30. The Past Perfect Tense (Intransitive). For intransitive verbs with past stems ending in a consonant (like hatin > hat-), the past perfect tense, which is functionally equivalent to the English past perfect (‘I had come, you had gone’), is formed from the past stem + i + the past tense of bûn ‘to be.’ Verbs with past stems ending in a vowel (like bûn > bû) form the past perfect tense from the simple stem + the past tense of bûn. hâtibûyn ﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮوﻦ hâtibûm ﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮوم hâtibûn ﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮون (hâtibûy(t ﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮوﯾﺖ hâtibûn ﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮون hâtibû ﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮو chûbûyn ﭼﻮوﺑﻮوﻦ chûbûm ﭼﻮوﺑﻮوم chûbûn ﭼﻮوﺑﻮون (chûbûy(t ﭼﻮوﺑﻮوﯾﺖ chûbûn ﭼﻮوﺑﻮون chûbû ﭼﻮوﺑﻮو

The negative is formed by prefixing ná- to the verb: náhâtibûyn ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮوﻦ náhâtibûm ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮوم náhâtibûn ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮون (náhâtibûy(t ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮوﯾﺖ náhâtibûn ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮون náhâtibû ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﺒﻮو The past perfect of bûn ‘to be’ can be slightly irregular. In addition to the ,bibû ﺑـﺒـﻮو bûbû, there is also a conjugation based on the form ﺑـﻮوﺑـﻮو expected as follows: bibûyn ﺑﺒﻮوﻦ bibûm ﺑﺒﻮوم bibûn ﺑﺒﻮون (bibûy(t ﺑﺒﻮوى، ﺑﺒﻮوﯾﺖ bibûn ﺑﺒﻮون bibû ﺑﺒﻮو The past perfect tense is commonly used in the expression heshtâ + nega- tive past perfect + ka (‘no sooner had…than,’ ‘scarcely had…when’). Heshtâ nánustibû ka No sooner had he gone to ﻫــﺸــﺘـﺎ ﻧـﻪﻧـﻮﺳـــﻮو ﻛـﻪ دﻩـﮕــﲃ ﺑـﻪ dangèk’î ba gwe gaysht. sleep than a sound ﮔﻮێ ﮔﻪﺸﺖ. reached his ear.

§ 30.1. The Past Perfect Tense (Transitive). The past perfect tense of 56 THE VERB transitive verbs is formed, like that of intransitive verbs, from the past stem + -i- + the past tense of bûn—with the addition of the agent affixes some- where. Past stems that end in vowels add bû directly without the -i-. Exam- ples: dîtin and dân: mân dâbû- ﻣﺎن داﺑﻮو im dâbû- م داﺑﻮو mân dîtibû- ﻣﺎن دﯾﻮو im dîtibû- م دﯾﻮو tân dâbû- ن داﺑﻮو it dâbû- ت داﺑﻮو tân dîtibû- ن دﯾﻮو it dîtibû- ت دﯾﻮو yân dâbû- ن داﺑﻮو î dâbû- ى داﺑﻮو yân dîtibû- ن دﯾﻮو î dîtibû- ى دﯾﻮو As with all past transitives, if there is nothing else to which the agent affixes can be attached, they go onto the end of the verb form, as in dâbûmân داﺑﻮوﻣﺎن dâbûm داﺑﻮوم dîtibûmân دﯾﻮوﻣﺎن dîtibûm دﯾﻮوم dâbûtân داﺑﻮون dâbût داﺑﻮوت dîtibûtân دﯾﻮون dîtibût دﯾﻮوت dâbûyân داﺑﻮون dâbûy داﺑﻮوى dîtibûyân دﯾﻮون dîtibûy دﯾﻮوى

And if there is any available preverbal matter, the agent affixes are attached thereto, as in negative and compound verbs. Examples: dîtin and dar-hênân. námândîtibû ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﺪﯾﻮو námdîtibû ﻧﻪﻣﺪﯾﻮو nátândîtibû ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﻮو nátdîtibû ﻧﻪﺗﺪﯾﻮو náyândîtibû ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﻮو náydîtibû ﻧﻪﯾﺪﯾﻮو darmânhenâbû دﻩرﻣﺎﳖﻨﺎﺑﻮو darimhenâbû دﻩرﻨﺎﺑﻮو dartânhenâbû دﻩرﳖﻨﺎﺑﻮو darithenâbû دﻩرﲥﻨﺎﺑﻮو daryânhenâbû دﻩرﳖﻨﺎﺑﻮو darîhenâbû دﻩرﳞﻨﺎﺑﻮو

§ 31. The Past Subjunctive. The intransitive past subjunctive is formed like the past perfect, but instead of the past tense of bûn, the present sub- junctive of bûn is added. Examples: hâtin and chûn: chûbîn ﭼﻮوﺑﲔ chûbim ﭼﻮوﰈ hâtibîn ﻫﺎﺗﺒﲔ hâtibim ﻫﺎﺗﱬ chûbin ﭼﻮوﻦ (chûbî(t ﭼﻮوﺑﺖ hâtibin ﻫﺎﺗﱭ (hâtibî(t ﻫﺎﺗﺒﺖ chûbin ﭼﻮوﻦ (chûbe(t ﭼﻮوﺑﺖ hâtibin ﻫﺎﺗﱭ (hâtibe(t ﻫﺎﺗﺒﺖ The negative is formed by prefixing ná- to the verb: 57 SORANI KURDISH náchûbîn ﻧﻪﭼﻮوﺑﲔ náchûbim ﻧﻪﭼﻮوﰈ náhâtibîn ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﺒﲔ náhâtibim ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﱬ náchûbin ﻧﻪﭼﻮوﻦ (náchûbî(t ﻧﻪﭼﻮوﺑﺖ náhâtibin ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﱭ (náhâtibî(t ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﺒﺖ náchûbin ﻧﻪﭼﻮوﻦ (náchûbe(t ﻧﻪﭼﻮوﺑﺖ náhâtibin ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﱭ (náhâtibe(t ﻧﻪﻫﺎﺗﺒﺖ Transitive verbs are similarly formed (here, as usual, a 3rd-person singular patient is assumed). Examples: dîtin and dân: (mân dîtibe(t- ـﲈن دﯾ (im dîtibe(t- ـﻢ دﯾ (tân dîtibe(t- ـﺘﺎن دﯾ (it dîtibe(t- ـﺖ دﯾ (yân dîtibe(t- ـﻴﺎن دﯾ (î dîtibe(t- ـﻰ دﯾ (mân dâbe(t- ـﲈن دا (im dâbe(t- ـﻢ دا (tân dâbe(t- ـﺘﺎن دا (it dâbe(t- ـﺖ دا (yân dâbe(t- ـﻴﺎن دا (î dâbe(t- ـﻰ دا If there is no preverbal matter available, the agent affixes are attached to the verb, as follows in the examples dîtin and kirdinawa: dîtibetmân دﯾﺘن dîtibetim دﯾﺘﱲ dîtibettân دﯾﺘﺘﺘﺎن dîtibetit دﯾﺘﺘﺖ dîtibetyân دﯾﺘﺘﻴﺎن dîtibetî دﯾﺘﱴ kirdibetmânawa ﺮدﺑﻧﻪوﻩ kirdibetimawa ﺮدﺑـﻤﻪوﻩ kirdibettânawa ﺮدﺑﺎﻧﻪوﻩ kirdibetitawa ﺮدﺑﻪوﻩ kirdibetyânawa ﺮدﺑﺎﻧﻪوﻩ kirdibetîawa ﺮدﺑﻪوﻩ And if there is any available preverbal matter, the agent affixes are attached thereto, as in dîtin and dar-henân: (námândîtibe(t ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﺪﯾﺘﺖ (námdîtibe(t ﻧﻪﻣﺪﯾﺘﺖ (nátândîtibe(t ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﺘﺖ (nátdîtibe(t ﻧﻪﺗﺪﯾﺘﺖ (náyândîtibe(t ﻧﻪﻧﺪﯾﺘﺖ (náydîtibe(t ﺗﻪﯾﺪﯾﺘﺖ (darmânhenâbe(t دﻩرﻣﺎﳖﻨﺎﺑﺖ (darimhenâbe(t دﻩرﻨﺎﺑﺖ (dartânhenâbe(t دﻩرﳖﻨﺎﺑﺖ (darithenâbe(t دﻩرﲥﻨﺎﺑﺖ (daryânhenâbe(t دﻩرﳖﻨﺎﺑﺖ (darîhenâbe(t دﻩرﳞﻨﺎﺑﺖ 58 THE VERB The past subjunctive is used (1) after all constructions that take subjunctive complements when the complement is in the past, as, for example dábe ‘must,’ as in دﻩﰉ a) after) .Pyâwakân dábe royshti- The men must have gone ﭘﻴﺎوﻩﰷن دﻩ رۆﺸﺘﱭ. bin. Dábe aw shitânát dîtibe You must have seen those دﻩ ﺋﻪو ﺷﺘﺎﻧﻪت دﯾ (دﯾﺘﱭ). (dîtibin). things.

(b) for a past tense complement to a predicate adjective. Such comple- ka ‘that,’ but it ﻛـﻪ mentary clauses are often introduced by the is optional. (Rang a ka bârân bârîbe(t). It’s possible that it (has رﻩﮕﻪ ﻛﻪ ران رﯾ (رﯾﺒﺖ). rained.1 Lâzim niya (ka) dîtibetim. It’s not necessary for me ﻻزم ﻧﻴﻪ (ﻛﻪ) دﯾﺘﱲ. to have seen it.

(2) in past clauses after superlatives (note that a relative-clause antecedent modified by a superlative is in the indefinite state, …èk). yekamîn kasèk a ka hawłî He is the first person who ﯾﻪﻛﻪﻣﲔ ﻛﻪﺳﻜﻪ ﻛﻪ ﻫﻪوﻰ دا … dâbe… has attempted… In this type of clause the subject of the must be the same as the noun modified by the superlative. In an example such as yekamîn kasèk a ka dîtûma he’s the first person I’ve ﯾﻪﻛﻪﻣﲔ ﻛﻪﺳﻜﻪ ﻛﻪ دﯾﺘﻮوﻣﻪ seen the relative clause is not subjunctive because the subjects of the main clause (‘he’) and of the relative clause (‘I’) are different. (3) in past relative clauses after negatives (‘there isn’t anyone who has …’) or expressions with an essentially negative sense (‘there are few who have…’)

rang a ka bârân رﻩــﮕــﻪ ﻛــﻪ ران ﺑــﺒــﺎرــﺖ :1Compare this with the present subjunctive bibâre(t) ‘it’s possible that it will rain.’ 59 SORANI KURDISH Kas niya (ka) am ktâwáy There isn’t anyone who ﻛـــﻪس ﻧـــﻴـــﻪ ﻛـــﻪ ﺋـــﻪم ﻛـــﺘـــﺎوﻩى .nákhwendibe. hasn’t read this book ﻧﻪﺧﻮﻨﺪ. Kam kas haya ḥikâyat a Rare is the person who has ﻛـﻪم ﻛـﻪس ﻫـﻪﯾـﻪ ﺣـﲀﯾـﻪﺗـﻪ ﻛـﯚن و kon u lamezhînakân i not heard old Kurdish ﻣــﮋﯾـﻨـﻪﰷﱏ ـﻮردى داﯾـﻪﭘـﲑﻩ و kurdî la dâyapîra u bâb u stories of long ago from ب و داﯾـــﻚ و ﻛـــﻪس و ﰷرى -dâyk u kasukâr i khoy his grandmother, grand ﺧﯚى ﻧﻪﺑﺴ. nábîstibe. father, mother, and rela- tives. -wak(û) ‘as though’ in the past for hypothetical situa وﻩك (وﻩــــــﻮو) after (4) tions (note that wak(û) followed by the indicative means ‘just as’ for situ- ations that have actually occurred) -Wakû shitèkyân bîr kawti- As though they remem وﻩﻮو ﺷﻜﺎن ﺑﲑ ﻛﻪوﺗﺒﻪوﻩ… betawa… bered something…1

(5) in the past protasis of a possible conditional Agar gyân i khom bakht If I have sacrificed my life ﺋـﻪﮔـﻪر ﮔـﻴـﺎﱏ ﺧـﯚم ﺑـﻪﺧـﺖ ـﺮد kirdibe la penâw i for the sake of my son, I ﭘـــﺎوى ـﻮڕﻣـﺎ، ﻣـﻦ ﻫـﻴـﭽـﻰ ﻛـﻪم kuřim’â, min hîch i ka’m do not want anything وێ. nâwe. else.

§ 32. The Irrealis Mood. The irrealis mood, which expresses an unfulfilled or unfulfillable contrafactual statement, usually dependent upon an unreal- ized conditional, is identical to the past habitual tense (a- or da- + past tense). (a) The irrealis is used in the apodosis of contrafactual conditionals (see §33 below) and expressions that are contrafactual apodoses with ellipsis, as in -Namatwânî hîch i tir I couldn’t have done any ﻧﻪﻣﻪﺗﻮاﱏ ﻫﻴﭽﻰ ﺮ ﻜﻪم. bikam. thing else (even if I had wanted to). wakû aw shitáyân bîr kawt وﻩـﻮو ﺋـﻪو ﺷــﺘـﻪن ﺑـﲑ ﻛـﻪوت This may be contrasted with 1 “just as they remembered that thing.” 60 THE VERB Har kasè wây dazânî. Anybody would have ﻫﻪر ﻛﻪﺳ واى دﻩزاﱏ. known. khozga ‘would that’ for unfulfilled ﺧــــــﯚزﮔــــــﻪ b) The irrealis is used after) wishes in the past: Khozga jârèk i tirîsh Would that you had come ﺧﯚزﮔﻪ ﺎرﲃ ﺮﺶ ﺋﻪﻫﺎﺗﺖ! ahâtît! some other time! Khozga zistân nádahât! Would that winter had not ﺧﯚزﮔﻪ زﺳﺘﺎن ﻧﻪدﻩﻫﺎت! come!

§ 33. The Past Conditional. There are two forms of the past conditional mood (‘if I had gone,’ ‘had I gone’). The first past conditional mood is formed of the subjunctive prefix bí- (negative ná-) + the simple past conju- gation + -âya. INTRANSITIVE bíhâtînâya ﲠﺎﺗﺎﯾﻪ bíhâtimâya ﲠﺎﲤﺎﯾﻪ bíhâtinâya ﲠﺎﺗﻨﺎﯾﻪ bíhâtîtâya ﲠﺎﺗﺎﯾﻪ bíhâtinâya ﲠﺎﺗﻨﺎﯾﻪ bíhâtâya ﲠﺎﯾﻪ TRANSITIVE mân bínûsîâya- ﻣﺎن ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ im bínûsîâya1- م ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ tân bínûsîâya- ن ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ it bínûsîâya- ت ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ yân bínûsîâya- ن ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ î bínûsîâya- ى ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ The second past conditional is similarly formed, but the bí- prefix is op- tional, and instead of the personal endings + -áya, the verb is formed like the past subjunctive but based on bâ-, a variant of the subjunctive of bûn. INTRANSITIVE bí)hâtibâyn) ﻫﺎﺗﺒﺎﻦ، ﲠﺎﺗﺒﺎﻦ bí)hâtibâm) ﻫﺎﺗﺒﺎم، ﲠﺎﺗﺒﺎم bí)hâtibân) ﻫﺎﺗﺒﺎن، ﲠﺎﺗﺒﺎن (bí)hâtibây(t) ﻫﺎﺗﺒﺎﯾﺖ، ﲠﺎﺗﺒﺎﯾﺖ

1 Or, if there is nothing preceding to which the agent affix can be attached, the .bíynûsîâya, &c ﺑﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ ,bítnûsîâya ﺑﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ ,bímnûsîâya ﲟﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ forms are 61 SORANI KURDISH bí)hâtibân) ﻫﺎﺗﺒﺎن، ﲠﺎﺗﺒﺎن (bí)hâtibâ(ya) ﻫﺎﺗﺒﺎ(ﯾﻪ)، ﲠﺎﺗﺒﺎ(ﯾﻪ)

TRANSITIVE (mân (bí)nûsibâ(ya- ﻣﺎن ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﺒﺎ(ﯾﻪ) (im (bí)nûsîbâ(ya- م ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﺎ(ﯾﻪ) (tân (bí)nûsibâ(ya- ن ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﺒﺎ(ﯾﻪ) (it (bí)nûsibâ(ya- ت ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﺒﺎ(ﯾﻪ) (yân (bí)nûsîbâ(ya- ن ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﺒﺎ(ﯾﻪ) (î (bí)nûsîbâ(ya- ى ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﺎ(ﯾﻪ) The past conditional mood is used in the following instances: (a) In contrafactual conditional sentences, the protasis (the ‘if’ clause) contains a verb in the past conditional mood, and in the apodosis (the result clause) the verb is in the irrealis. Note, as in the last three examples below, that agar may be elipsed from the protasis. -Agar dwene bíhâtîtâya, If you had come yester ﺋـﻪﮔـﻪر دوـ ﲠـﺎﺗـــﺎﯾـﻪ، ﺋـﺎزادت Âzâdit dádît. day, you would’ve seen دﻩدﯾﺖ. Azad. Agar nâmakat bínârdâya, If you had sent the letter, it ﺋﻪﮔﻪر ﻣﻪﻛﻪت ﺑﻨﺎرداﯾﻪ، ﺋﻪﮔﻪﱙ. ágayî. would’ve arrived. Agar bitnûsîâya, la bîrit If you had written it, you ﺋــﻪﮔــﻪر ﺑــــــﻮوﺳــــﻴــﺎﯾــﻪ، ﺑــﲑت nádachû. wouldn’t have forgotten ﻧﻪدﻩﭼﻮو. it. Min agar bimzânîbâya If I had known that it ﻣـﻦ ﺋـﻪﮔـﻪر ﲟـﺰاﻧـــﺎﯾـﻪ ﺋـﻪوﻫـﺎﻣـﺎن ,awhâmân basar de, am would happen thus to us ﺑــﻪﺳــﻪر دێ، ﺋــﻪم رــﮕــﺎﯾــﻪم regâyá’m nadagirtà bar u I wouldn’t have taken ﻧــــﻪدﻩﮔــــ ﺗﺮــــﻪ ﺑــــﻪر و ﺧــــﯚم و khom u bâwkîshimim tûsh this road and I wouldn’t وﻛــﺸـﻤـﻢ ﺗـﻮوﳽ ﺋـﻪم ﻫـﻪﻣـﻮو i am hamû badbakhtî u have caused myself and mâłwerânîá nadakird. my father to encounter all ﺑــﻪدﺑــﻪﺧــﱴ و ﻣــﺎــﻮــﺮاﱏﯾــﻪ . .this misfortune ﻧﻪدﻩﺮد Mâł ba mâł bígařâytâya, Had you gone around ﻣـﺎڵ ﺑـﻪ ﻣـﺎڵ ـﮕـﻪڕاﯾـﺘـﺎﯾـﻪ، ﺑــﺠـﮕـﻪ bejiga la âfrat u minâł house by house, you ﺋـﺎﻓـﺮﻩت و ﻣــﺎڵ ﻫـﻴـﭻ ﻛـﻪﺳـــﲃ -hîch kasèk i tirit nádadî. wouldn’t have seen any ﺮت ﻧﻪدﻩدى. one other than women and children.

62 THE VERB Nanâsyâwèk biydîbân, ba Were someone who didn’t ﻧـﻪﺳــﻴـﺎوـﻚ ﺑـﻴـﺪﯾـﺒـﺎن، ﺑـﻪ ﻫـﻪر har dûkyânî dagut choła- know to see them, he دووﻴﺎﱏ دﻩﮔﻮت ﭼﯚﻪﻛﻪ. ka. would call them both swallows. Biywitâya biro l’ aw bar- Had he said, “Go throw ﺑـﻴـﻮﯾـﻪ ـۆ و ﺑـﻪرزاﰃﯾـﻪ ﺧـﯚت zâîá khot bikha khwâra- yourself off that high ﲞـﻪ ﺧـﻮارﻩوﻩ، ﺧـﯚم دﻩﺧـﺴــﺘـﻪ wa, khom dakhistà khwâ- place,” I would have ﺧﻮارﻩوﻩ. rawa. thrown myself off. shâłłâ ﺷـﺎـ b) The past conditional mood is used for past complements to) -biryâ (‘would that,’ functionally equivalent to khozga + ir ـﺮ I wish’) and‘) realis [see §32, above]) for unfulfilled wishes. Shâłłâ swâr i karèkîshyân I wish they had mounted ﺷـﺎـ ﺳـﻮارى ﻛـﻪرـﻜــﺸــﻴـﺎن bíkirdîtâya u kołân ba you on an ass and ـﻜـﺮدﯾـﺘـﺎﯾـﻪ و ﻛـﯚن ﺑـﻪ ﻛـﯚﱏ kołân i shâr biyângeřây- paraded you through ﺷﺎر ﺑﻴﺎﮕاﯾﺘﺎﯾﻪ. tâya.1 every street in town. Biryâ aw kâráy nakirdi- Would that he hadn’t done ﺮ ﺋﻪو ﰷرﻩى ﻧﻪﺮدﯾﻪ. bâya. that.

§ 34. The Passive Voice. The past passive stem is constructed from the present stem of a transitive verb + -râ. The present passive stem is the pres- bînrân ‘to ﺑـﻴـﲊان ent stem + -re-. For example, from the stem bîn ‘see’ comes ;’dábînre(t) ‘it is/can be seen دﻩﺑـﻴـﲊـﺖ bînrâ ‘it was seen,’ and ﺑـﻴـﲊا ’,be seen nerrá ‘it was ﻧــﺮرا ’,nerrân2 ‘to be sent ﻧــﺮران from the stem ner ‘send’ comes dánerre(t) ‘it is sent.’ The past and present passives are دﻩﻧــــﺮرــﺖ sent,’ and regularly conjugated: PAST PASSIVE nerrâyn ﻧﺮراﻦ nerrâm ﻧﺮرام bînrâyn ﺑﻴﲊاﻦ bînrâm ﺑﻴﲊام nerrân ﻧﺮران (nerrây(t ﻧﺮراﯾﺖ bînrân ﺑﻴﲊان (bînrây(t ﺑﻴﲊاﯾﺖ

1 Bíyângerâytâya = bí (subjunctive prefix) + yân (agent affix) + gerâ (verb stem) + yt (2nd-person singular patient suffix) + âya (conditional suffix). 2 .ﻧان Since rr = ř, the verb nerrân is often written alternatively as 63 SORANI KURDISH nerrân ﻧﺮران nerrâ ﻧﺮرا bînrân ﺑﻴﲊان bînrâ ﺑﻴﲊا

PRESENT PASSIVE dánerreyn دﻩﻧﺮرﲔ dánerrem دﻩﻧﺮرﻢ dábînreyn دﻩﺑﻴﲊﲔ dábînrem دﻩﺑﻴﲊﻢ dánerren دﻩﻧﺮرﻦ dánerreyt دﻩﻧﺮرﺖ dábînren دﻩﺑﻴﲊﻦ (dábînrey(t دﻩﺑﻴﲊﺖ dánerren دﻩﻧﺮرﻦ (dánerre(t دﻩﻧﺮرﺖ dábînren دﻩﺑﻴﲊﻦ (dábînre(t دﻩﺑﻴﲊێ The past perfect passive conjugation is regularly formed as a vowel stem (‘I had been seen, I had been sent’ &c.): bînrâbûyn ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮوﻦ bînrâbûm ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮوم bînrâbûn ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮون (bînrâbûy(t ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮوﯾﺖ bînrâbûn ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮون bînrâbû ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮو nerrâbûyn ﻧﺮراﺑﻮوﻦ nerrâbûm ﻧﺮراﺑﻮوم nerrâbûn ﻧﺮراﺑﻮون (nerrâbûy(t ﻧﺮراﺑﻮوﯾﺖ nerrâbûn ﻧﺮراﺑﻮون nerrâbû ﻧﺮراﺑﻮو Irregular passives. Although the passive is regularly and predictably formed from the vast majority of verbs, the following common verbs have irregu- larly formed passives:

ACTIVE PASSIVE bîstrân bîstre-, as well as the regularly formed ﺑﺴﱰان < bîstin ﺑﺴﱳ -bîsrân bîsre ﺑﴪان -d(i)rân d(i)re دران < dân دان bîndrân bîndre-, as well as the regularly formed ﺑﺪران < dîtin دﯾﱳ -bînrân bînre ﺑﻴﲊان -gîrân gîre ﮔﲑان < girtin ﮔﺮﻦ -gutrân gutre ﮔﻮﺮان < gotin ﮔﯚﻦ -khirân khire ﺧﺮان < khistin ﺧﺴﱳ -khurân khure ﺧﻮران < khwârdin ﺧﻮاردن -k(i)rân k(i)re ﺮان < kirdin ﺮدن

64 THE VERB nerdrân nerdre-, and the ﻧﺮدران ,-nârdrân nârdre ردران < nârdin ردن -nerrân nerre ﻧﺮران regularly formed -n(i)rân n(i)re ﺮا < nân ن -witrân witre وﺮان < witin وﻦ Other moods and tenses of the passive are regularly formed. All passive verbs are intransitive by definition and therefore never form their past tenses on the ergative model. Examples of passive constructions are as follows: Pewîst a am ḥikâyatâná It is necessary that these ﭘــــﻮــﺴــــﺘــﻪ ﺋــﻪم ﺣــﲀﯾــﻪﻧــﻪ ,binûsrenawa u la châp stories be written down ﺑـﻨـﻮوﴎـﻨـﻪوﻩ و ـﺎپ درـﻦ .dren u biłâw bikrenawa. printed, and published و ﺑو ﻜﺮﻨﻪوﻩ. Tanakayèk la bar dukâna- A can had been set down ﺗــﻪﻧــﻪﻛــﻪﯾــﻪك ﺑــﻪر دوﰷﻧــﻪﻛــﻪ .ká dâ-nrâbû. in front of the shop داﺮاﺑﻮو.

§ 34.1. The Past Passive Participle. The past passive participle is regularly ﺑـــــﻴـــــﲊاو ,formed from the past passive stem in -râ + -w, giving, for example -nûs ﻧـﻮوﴎاو nerrâw ‘having been sent,’ and ﻧــﺮراو ’,bînrâw ‘having been seen râw ‘having been written.’ The negative participle is regularly made by pre- nánerrâw ‘not ﻧــﻪﻧــــﺮراو ’,nábînrâw ‘not having been seen ﻧــﻪﺑــﻴــﲊاو) -fixing ná having been sent’). From the past passive participle is made the present perfect passive conju- gation (‘I have been seen, I have been invited,’ &c.): bînrâwîn ﺑﻴﲊاوﻦ bînrâwim ﺑﻴﲊاوم bînrâwin ﺑﻴﲊاون (bînrâwî(t ﺑﻴﲊاوﯾﺖ bînrâwin ﺑﻴﲊاون bînrâwa ﺑﻴﲊاوﻩ bâng krâwîn ﮓ ﺮاوﻦ bâng krâwim ﮓ ﺮاوم bâng krâwin ﮓ ﺮاون (bâng krâwî(t ﮓ ﺮاوﯾﺖ bâng krâwin ﮓ ﺮاون bâng krâwa ﮓ ﺮاوﻩ Examples of passive constructions: ’witû-kirân ‘to be ironed وﺗﻮو ﺮان < ’witû-kirdin ‘to iron وﺗﻮو ﺮدن

65 SORANI KURDISH ’rez le-gîrân ‘to be respected رﺰ ﻟﮕﲑان < ’rez le-girtin ‘to respect رﺰ ﻟﮕﺮﻦ nûsrânawa ‘to be written ﻧﻮوﴎاﻧﻪوﻩ < ’nûsînawa ‘to write down ﻧﻮوﺳﻪوﻩ down’

barg a pâk u tamîz a witû- his nice, clean, ironed ﺑﻪرﮔﻪ ﭘﺎك و ﺗﻪﻣﲒﻩ وﺗﻮوﺮاوﻩﻛﻪى kirâwakáy clothes pyâwèk i barz i rezlegîrâw an eminent, respected ﭘﻴﺎوﲃ ﺑﻪرزى رﺰﻟﮕﲑاو man Zorba i zor i am ḥikâya- The vast majority of these زۆرﺑــﻪى زۆرى ﺋــﻪم ﺣــﲀﯾــﻪﻧــﻪ tâná nanûsrâwinawa. stories have not been ﻧﻪﻧﻮوﴎاوﻧﻪوﻩ. written down.

§ 35. Postposed Verbal Complements. With verbs of motion many verbal complements are postposed, i.e. they come after the verb and are linked it by the unstressed vowel à. For example, chûn is ‘to go,’ but chûnà mâłè is ‘to go home.’ The linking vowel occurs in all persons in all tenses. In the present tense the t inherent in the 2nd and 3rd persons singular is recovered before the à. An example of the present tense is that of chûnà mâłè: dáchînà mâłè دﻩﭼﻨﻪ ﻣﺎ dáchimà mâłè دﻩﻪ ﻣﺎ dáchinà mâłè دﻩﭼﻪ ﻣﺎ dáchîtà mâłè دﻩﭼﺘﻪ ﻣﺎ dáchinà mâłè دﻩﭼﻪ ﻣﺎ dáchetà mâłè دﻩﭼﺘﻪ ﻣﺎ In the past tenses, the linking à also comes between the verb and its comple- ment. The t inherent in the 2nd person singular is always recovered. An ex- ample of the paradigm for verbs with consonant-final stems is hâtinà darè, ‘to come out.’ hâtînà darè ﻫﺎﺗﻪ دﻩرێ hâtimà darè ﻫﺎﲤﻪ دﻩرێ hâtinà darè ﻫﺎﺗﻨﻪ دﻩرێ hâtîtà darè ﻫﺎﺗﻪ دﻩرێ hâtinà darè ﻫﺎﺗﻨﻪ دﻩرێ hâtà darè ﻫﺎﺗﻪ دﻩرێ In 3rd-person singular past verbs ending in -û and -î, a t may be infixed (de- pending upon dialect) between the verb and the linking à, as in chûnà shâ- rawa ‘to go to town’ and gayînà mâlawa ‘to reach home.’

66 THE VERB chûynà shârawa ﭼﻮوﯾﻨﻪ ﺷﺎرﻩوﻩ chûmà shârawa ﭼﻮوﻣﻪ ﺷﺎرﻩوﻩ chûnà shârawa ﭼﻮوﻧﻪ ﺷﺎرﻩوﻩ chûytà shârawa ﭼﻮوﯾﺘﻪ ﺷﺎرﻩوﻩ chûnà shârawa ﭼﻮوﻧﻪ ﺷﺎرﻩوﻩ chûtà shârawa1 ﭼﻮوﺗﻪ ﺷﺎرﻩوﻩ gayîynà mâława ﮔﻪﯾﻴﻪ ﻣﺎﻪوﻩ gayîmà mâława ﮔﻪﯾـﻤﻪ ﻣﺎﻪوﻩ gayînà mâława ﮔﻪﯾﻪ ﻣﺎﻪوﻩ gayîytà mâława ﮔﻪﯾﻴﻪ ﻣﺎﻪوﻩ gayînà mâława ﮔﻪﯾﻪ ﻣﺎﻪوﻩ gayîtà mâława ﮔﻪﯾﻪ ﻣﺎﻪوﻩ

In past verbs that end in -â, a y is infixed between the verb and the linking à, as in dânà yek ‘to throw together’: dâmânà yek داﻣﺎﻧﻪ ﯾﻪك dâmà yek داﻣﻪ ﯾﻪك dâtânà yek داﻧﻪ ﯾﻪك dâtà yek داﺗﻪ ﯾﻪك dâyânà yek داﻧﻪ ﯾﻪك dâyà yek داﯾﻪ ﯾﻪك mân dâyà yek- ﻣﺎن داﯾﻪ ﯾﻪك im dâyà yek- م داﯾﻪ ﯾﻪك tân dâyà yek- ن داﯾﻪ ﯾﻪك it dâyà yek- ت داﯾﻪ ﯾﻪك yân dâyà yek- ن داﯾﻪ ﯾﻪك î dâyà yek- ى داﯾﻪ ﯾﻪك

With verbs in -awa, the -awa suffix takes precedence over the directional -à, which is deleted. Compare the following: .Hâtimà hosh. I came to consciousness ﻫﺎﲤﻪ ﻫﯚش .Hâtimawa hosh. I regained consciousness ﻫﺎﲤﻪوﻩ ﻫﯚش When a postposed directional complement is turned into a preposed pro- nominal enclitic, the directional -à becomes -è. < Ayawe bigâtà shâr > He wants to get to town ﺋـﻪﯾـﻪوێ ـﮕـﺎﺗـﻪ ﺷـﺎر > ﺋـﻪﯾـﻪوێ .Ayawe biygâtè. He wants to get to it ﺑﻴﮕﺎ Hargîz nâgamà aw kew a I’ll never make it to those ﻫـــﻪرﮔـــﲒ ﮔـــﻪﻣـــﻪ ﺋـــﻪو ﻛــــــﻮﻩ < dûrâná > nâyângamè. far-away mountains دووراﻧﻪ > ﮕﻪﻣ I’ll never make it to them.

.Chûà shârawa also exists in some regions ﭼﻮوﻩ ﺷﺎرﻩوﻩ 1 67 SORANI KURDISH dân ba ‘to give to,’ in دان ﺑــــــــﻪ This also happens occasionally with the verb which case the preposition ba is deleted, its place taken by the directional -è. A full conjugation of this phenomenon is illustrated by the following: ’ama’t dadamè ‘I’ll give this to you ﺋﻪﻣﻪت دﻩدﻩﻣ ’ama’m dadaytè ‘you’ll give this to me ﺋﻪﻣﻪم دﻩدﻩﯾ ’ama’yân dadâtè ‘s/he’ll give this to them ﺋﻪﻣﻪن دﻩدا ’ama’y dadaynè ‘we’ll give this to him/her ﺋﻪﻣﻪی دﻩدﻩﯾ ’ama’mân dadanè ‘you’ll give this to us ﺋﻪﻣﻪﻣﺎن دﻩدﻩ ’(ama’tân dadanè ‘they’ll give this to you (pl ﺋﻪﻣﻪن دﻩدﻩن Examples: Shitèk ba suâlkarakân Let him give something to ﺷـــﻚ ﺑـﻪ ﺳـﺆاـﻜـﻪرﻩﰷن ﺑـﺪات > bídât > Shitèkyân bídâtè. the beggars > Let him ﺷﻜﺎن ﺑﺪا give them something. Shitèkim b’ aw pyâwá I gave something to that ﺷﲂ ﺑﻪو ﭘﻴﺎوﻩ دا > داﻣ dâ > dâmè man > I gave it to him. .Da dirâwim bidarè. Give me ten dirhems دﻩ دراوم ﺑﺪﻩرێ. Da hazâr lîrat dadamè. I’ll give you ten thousand دﻩ ﻫﻪزار ﻟﲑﻩت دﻩدﻩﻣ. liras.

§ 36. Factitive Verbs. The factitive infinitive is formed from the present stem of the intransitive (if the intransitive stem ends in -e, it is dropped) + -(y)ândin. The present stem of all such verbs is in -(y)en-. Examples are: rukhândin rukhen- ‘to روﺎﻧﺪن (-rukhân (pres. stem rukhe روﺎن ‘to be destroyed’ > destroy’ mirândin miren- ‘to make ﻣﺮاﻧﺪن (-mirdin (pres. stem mir ﻣﺮدن ‘to die’ > die, to kill’ gayândin gayen- ‘to make ﮔﻪﻧﺪن (-gayshtin (pres. stem ga ﮔﻪﺸﱳ ‘to reach’ > reach, to deliver’ te-gayândin te-gayen- ‘to ﮔﻪﻧﺪن -te-gayshtin (pres. stem te ﮔﻪﺸﱳ ga-) ‘to understand’ > make understand’ 68 THE VERB rewî kherâ râkeshâ u khoy The fox quickly stretched رﻮى ﺮا رﻛﺸﺎ و ﺧﯚى ﻣﺮاﻧﺪ. mirând. out and played ’possum (“made himself dead”). lâwakân khoyân gayândè. The youths got themselves ﻻوﻩﰷن ﺧﯚن ﮔﻪﻧﺪێ. to him. agar ḥazim l’ am hâtiná If I hadn’t wanted to come ﺋـﻪﮔـﻪر ـﻪزم م ﻫـﺎﺗـﻨـﻪ ﻧـﻪـﺮداﯾـﻪ، nakirdâya, damtwânî ba on this trip, I could have دﻩﻣــــﻮاﱏ ﺑــﻪ ﺟــﯚرــﻚ ﺗــــﻰ jorèk tey bigayenim. made him understand ﮕﻪﯾﲌ. somehow.

69 OTHER SYNTACTICAL FEATURES

§ 37. Expressions of Temporal Duration. For statives (‘X state has been going on for X amount of time’), the Kurdish temporal expression consists of: the temporal + -(y)a + present perfect tense verb: -Chand sâłèk a bâs i cho- For several years now dis ــﻪﻧــﺪ ﺳــﺎــــﻜــﻪ ﳻ ﭼــﯚﻧــــﱴ netî i yekgirtin i shewa- cussion of how to unite ﯾــﻪﻛــﮕــ ﺗﺮــﲎ ﺷــــــﻮﻩﰷﱏ زﻣــﺎﱏ -kân i zimân i kurdî hâtû- the dialects of the Kurd ﻮردى ﻫﺎﺗﻮوﻩﺗﻪ ﮔﯚڕێ. atà gořè. ish language has come to the fore. Chand sâ‘atek a l’ era I’ve been sitting here for ﻪﻧﺪ ﺳﺎﻪﺗﮑﻪ ﻟﺮﻩ ﻧﺸﺘﻮوﻣﻪ. nîshtûma. several hours.

For present statives with the verb ‘to be’ (‘he’s been here for X amount of time’) the formula is: temporal + -(y)a + present copula: Chwâr sâł a l’era ya. He’s been here for four ﭼﻮار ﺳﺎﻪ ﻟﺮﻩﯾﻪ. years. For on-going, progressive action continuing to the present (‘it’s been rain- ing for X amount of time’) the formula is: temporal + -(y)a + present pro- gressive verb. -Chand rozhèk a bârân It’s been raining for sever ﻪﻧﺪ رۆژﻜﻪ ران دﻩرێ. dabâre. al days. Zor la mezhû a dazânim… I’ve known for a very long زۆر ﻣﮋووﻩ دﻩزاﱎ … time…

For negatives (‘I haven’t done X for X amount of time’) the formula is: temporal + -(y)a + negative present perfect verb. Chwâr sâł a námândîtûna. We haven’t seen them for ﭼﻮار ﺳﺎﻪ ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﺪﯾﺘﻮوﻧﻪ. four years. Chand rozhèk a bârân It hasn’t rained for several ﻪﻧﺪ رۆژﻜﻪ ران ﻧﻪرﯾﻮﻩ. nábârîwa. days.

70 OTHER SYNTACTICAL FEATURES For the past (‘something had been going on for X amount of time’), the formula is: temporal + (da)bû + past progressive for affirmative or past per- fect for the negative (‘I hadn’t done X for X amount of time’): Chand rozhèk dabû bârân It had been raining for ــــﻪﻧــــﺪ رۆژــــﻚ دﻩﺑــــﻮو ران .dabârî. several days دﻩرى. Chand rozhèk bû bârân It hadn’t rained for several ـــــﻪﻧـــــﺪ رۆژـــــﻚ ﺑـــــﻮو ران .nábârîbû. days ﻧﻪرﯾﺒﻮو. -Nizîka i se–chwâr mâng I hadn’t seen him for near ـﺰـﻜـﻪى ﺳـ ﭼـﻮار ﻣـﺎـﮓ دﻩﺑـﻮو .dabû namdîtibû. ly three or four months ﻧﻪﻣﺪﯾﻮو. Zor la mezhû bû dam- I had known for a long زۆر ﻣﮋوو ﺑﻮو دﻩﻣﺰاﱏ … zânî… time that…

§ 38. Subordinating Conjunctions. Subordinating conjunctions generally consist of prepositions + awaî (ka), where the relative ka, as in relative clauses (see §39), is optional. دوای ﺋـﻪوﻩی ﮐـﻪ ,la) dwâîâ ka) دواﺋـﻴـﺎ ﮐـﻪ Conjunctions that mean ‘after,’ like la) pâsh awaî ka, are followed by an) ﭘــــﺎش ﺋــــﻪوﻩی ﮐــــﻪ dwâ i awaî ka, and indicative verb, present or past according to sense. ,la dwâî’â ka châk After you are well again دواﺋﻴﺎ ﻛﻪ ﺎك ﺋﻪﺑﻪوﻩ ﺋﻪﯾﺒﲎ. abîtawa, aybînî. you’ll see him. dwâ i awaî ka shâr After the city was thrown دواى ﺋﻪوﻩى ﻛﻪ ﺷﺎر ﺧﺮۆﺷﺎ khiroshâ, … into an uproar, …

ﭘــــﺶ ﺋــﻪوﻩى ﻛــﻪ ,bar l’ awaî ka ﺑــﻪر وﻩى ﻛــﻪ) ’Conjunctions that mean ‘before pesh awaî ka) are invariably followed by a present subjunctive verb. The correct tense for English translation is gained from context. bar l’ awaî lâfâwaká Before the torrent hurled ﺑـﻪر وﻩى ﻻﻓـﺎوﻩﻛـﻪ ﻫـﻮرژم ﺑــــﺘـﻪ hurizhm benetà sar zhû- down on our rooms, the ﺳــﻪر ژوورﻩﰷﳕــﺎن ﻣــــﺎــﻪﰷن rakânmân, minâłakân children were playing ﭘﻜﻪوﻩ رﯾﻴﺎن ﺋﻪﺮد. pekawa yârîyân akird. together.

Other conjunctions that demand a subjunctive verb include ba be awaî (ka) ‘without’ 71 SORANI KURDISH ba be awaî biybînim, dám- Without my seeing it, I ﺑﻪ ﺋﻪوﻩى ﺑﻴﲌ دﻩﻣﺰاﱏ ﻛﻪ… zânî ka… knew that… ’bo awaî (ka) ‘in order that ﺑﯚ ﺋﻪوﻩی (ﮐﻪ) and aw yekam rozh’î bo kho- He had set that first day ﺋـﻪو ﯾـﻪﻛـﻪم رۆژى ﺑـﯚ ﺧـﯚراﻫــﻨـﺎن، -râhenan, bo mashq dânâ- for getting ourselves ac ﺑـﯚ ﻣـﻪﺷـﻖ داﺑـﻮو، ﺑـﯚ ﺋـﻪوﻩى ﭘـ bû, bo awaî pe u pilmân customed, for practice, in و ﭘـــﻠـــﲈن راﺑــــــﺖ و ﻫـــﻪﻣـــﻮو râbet u la hamû rûyèk- order that our legs and رووﯾــﻜـﻪوﻩ ﺧـﯚﻣـﺎن ﺑـﯚ ﺋـﻪو رـﮕـﻪ awa khomân bo aw rega feet become accustomed . -dûr u drezhá âmâda bi- and that we make our دوور و درﮋﻩ ﺋﺎﻣﺎدﻩ ﻜﻪﻦ kayn. selves ready in every way for that long road. bo awaî pâkî u begunâhî i in order that he prove his ﺑـﯚ ﺋـﻪوﻩى ﭘـﰽ و ﮔـﻮﱓ ﺧـﯚى …khoy bisałmene… innocence ﺴﻪﻤ…

A short list of common subordinating conjunctions: +) b’ aw marjáî (ka) provided that, on condition that ﺑﻪو ﻣﻪرﻪى (ﻛﻪ) subj.) (.ba be awaî (ka) without (+ pres. subj ﺑﻪ ﰉ ﺋﻪوﻩى (ﻛﻪ) (.bar l’ awaî (ka) before (+ pres. subj ﺑﻪر وﻩى (ﻛﻪ) (.bo awaî (ka) in order that (+ pres. subj ﺑﻮ ﺋﻪوﻩى (ﻛﻪ) chunkû since ﭼﻮﻜﻮو dwâ i awaî (ka) after دواى ﺋﻪوﻩى (ﻛﻪ) jâ ka inasmuch as ﺎ ﻛﻪ ka when ﻛﻪ kâtè(k) when ﰷ، ﰷﺗﻚ pâsh amaî/awaî (ka) after ﭘﺎش ﺋﻪﻣﻪى|ﺋﻪوﻩی (ﻛﻪ) (.pesh awaî (ka) before (+ pres. subj ﭘﺶ ﺋﻪوﻩى (ﻛﻪ)

§ 39. Relative Clauses. Relative clauses in Kurdish are often, but not nec- essarily, introduced by the ka ‘who, which, that.’ Syntac- tically Kurdish relative clauses do not differ significantly from Persian rela- tive clauses, with the exception of the omission of the relative pronoun,

72 OTHER SYNTACTICAL FEATURES which does not happen in Persian. The antecedent of any relative pronoun, expressed or omitted, is usually but not necessarily marked by enclitic -î, -e, or -èk. Generally speaking, the relative pronoun ka may be omitted, particu- larly when it functions as the object of the verb in the relative clause. The relative pronoun is not often omitted when it functions as the subject (logical or real) of the verb in the relative clause—as in English (‘the man whom I met’ and ‘the man with whom I went’ may be equally well ex- pressed as ‘the man I met’ and ‘the man I went with,’ but ‘the man who came’ cannot become *‘the man came’). If the syntactical function of the relative pronoun within the relative clause is other than subject of the verb, the grammatical place is marked within the clause by a “referent pronoun” that refers back to the relative. The verb inside a relative clause modifying a true indefinite or nonspecific antecedent is in the subjunctive, as in Persian. Examples follow. sar i kuřakáî ka nustibû, She took the head of the ﺳـﻪرى ـﻮڕﻩﻛـﻪى ﻛـﻪ ﻧـﻮﺳـــﻮو la sar rânî bird. boy, who had fallen ﺳﻪر راﱏ ﺮد. asleep, from her lap.

In this example the relative pronoun ka functions as the subject of nustibû— and is therefore not omissible—and the antecedent is marked by -î. ,yekèk la lâwakân, ka bo One of the young men ﯾــــﻪﻛــــــــﻚ ﻻوﻩﰷن ﻛــــﻪ ﺑــــﯚ froshtin i barham chû- who had gone to town to ﻓـﺮۆﺷــﲎ ﺑـﻪرﻫـﻪم ﭼـﻮوﺑـﻮوﻩ ﺷـﺎر bûà shâr, gařâyawa u sell produce, returned ﮔﻪڕاﯾﻪوﻩ و ﻣﮋﮔﲎ ﭘ دان. mizgenî pe dân. and gave them the good news. Here the relative pronoun ka refers to the antecedent yekèk la lâwakân. The -èk ending on yekèk functions as the marker of the antecedent. lât wâ nabe har ‘arabè to Don’t think every Arab ﻻت وا ﻧـــﻪ ﻫـــﻪر ـــﻪرﻩ ﺗـــﯚ tûshî bît, am nâwâná gish you meet knows all these ﺗــﻮوﳽ ﺑــــﺖ ﺋــﻪم واﻧــﻪ ﮔــﺶ .dazâne. names دﻩزا.

73 SORANI KURDISH optional relative pronoun relative clause lât wâ nabe har arabe [ka] to tûsh- î bît am nâwâná gish dazâne

referent pronoun In this example the referent pronoun -î complementing tûshî refers to the antecedent, har arab, marked with the enclitic -e. The relative pronoun is omitted. The verb tûsh-bît is in the subjunctive because the antecedent is nonspecific and the clause is hypothetical (‘any and every Arab you may meet’1). to am kamânáî dayânzânî, Write down these few ﺗـــﯚ ﺋـــﻪم ﻛـــﻪﻣـــﺎﻧـــﻪى دﻩـــﺰاﱏ .biyânnûsawa. things you know ﺑﻴﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﻪوﻩ.

optional antecedent relative marker pronoun relative clause to am kamâná î [ka] da- yân -zânî biyânnûsawa

referent pronoun

In this example the referent pronoun -yân in dayânzânî refers to the antece- dent am kamâná, which is marked as antecedent by -î without the relative pronoun. The -yân- in biyânnûsawa is a resumptive object pronoun, which, strictly speaking, is optional since the object of binûsawa has already been stated (am kamâná). Such resumptive object pronouns are often used after a relative clause to make clear that the antecedent of the relative clause is actually the object of the main verb. l’ awânaî gilay le kirdûn, It is different from those واﻧــــﻪى ﮔــــى ﻟــــ ــــﺮدوون jyâwâz a. things he has complained ﺟﺎوازﻩ. of.

ﻫــﻪر ــﻪرﻩ ﻣــﻦ ﺗــﻮوﳽ Compare the hypothetical subjunctive clause with the actual 1 har ‘arabè min tûshî bûma “every Arab I’ve met,” where the antecedent is ﺑـــــــﻮوﻣـــــــﻪ definite and the verb of the relative clause describes something that has actually happened. 74 OTHER SYNTACTICAL FEATURES Here the referent pronoun -n, the “bumped” complement of the preposition le, refers to the antecedent awâna, which is so marked by -î without the rel- ative pronoun. zorî la khoy akird ka aw He was forcing himself to زۆرى ﺧـﯚى ﺋـﻪـﺮد ﻛـﻪ ﺋـﻪو دوو dû firmesk a gawrayáî hide those two large ﻓـﺮﻣــﺴـﻜـﻪ ﮔـﻪورﻩﯾـﻪى ﺋـﻪﻧـﻪوێ ayânawe bikawinà tears, which were about ﻜﻪوﻧﻪ ﺧﻮارێ ﺑﻴﺎﺸﺎرﺘﻪوﻩ. khwârè biyânshâretawa. to dribble down. In this example the antecedent of the relative clause, dû firmesk a gawrayá, is marked by î, and the relative pronoun is omitted. The -yân- in biyân- shâretawa is another example of a resumptive object pronoun. bîrim la har shitèk kirdi- Whatever I had thought ﺑـﲑم ﻫـﻪر ﺷـــﻚ ـﺮدﺑـــﻪوﻩ، ﺑـﲑم betawa, bîrim la mirdin about, I hadn’t thought ﻣﺮدن ﻧﻪﻣﻜﺮدﺑﻮوﻩوﻩ. namkirdibûawa. about dying. -har shitèk ‘whatever’ produces an indefinite rela ﻫـﻪر ﺷـــﻚ ,In this example tive clause; thus the verb bîrim kirdibetawa is subjunctive, and in this case, past subjunctive.

§ 40. Directional Nouns in è. Certain nouns become quasi-adverbial direc- -mâłè ‘home ﻣـﺎـ tionals with the addition of unstressed -è. Among these are darè ‘outward.’ These directionals دﻩرێ zhûrè ‘inward,’ and ژوورێ ’,ward tend to occur as postposed directionals after -à (see §35).

§ 41. Orthographic Peculiarities of Sorani Kurdish. For the most part, Sorani Kurdish is written in a “phonetic” version of the Arabic alphabet in which all but one of the vowels are given graphic representations. Only the vowel i is not represented internally in a word. The only real inconsistency in the writing system is the representation of as though it were ya, which is written ,ﯾــــــﻪ the sequence ye, which is written the same. Both the writing of ye and the lack of indication of i go back to early twentieth-century attempts to render Ottoman spelling more “phonet- ic” and actually have nothing to do with Kurdish, but since Kurdish spelling for ﯾـــــﻪ was devised during the late Ottoman period, it has been saddled with ye and nothing for i.

75 SORANI KURDISH Writers of Kurdish, as well as writers of other languages using the Arabic alphabet, are loathe to write several y’s in sequence. It is probably safe to say that a word like gayîyn ‘we arrived,’ which technically should be ,with three y’s in a row (one for the first y, a second for the î ,ﮔــﻪﯾــﻴــﲔ spelled and a third for the second y), will never be seen with all three y’s. At most it the same spelling as gayîn ‘you/they arrived.’ The same ,ﮔـﻪﯾـﲔ will appear as applies to the sequence -î i, i.e. a word ending in î followed by the i of the izâfa: rarely is this sequence spelled with two y’s; generally the -î ending of the word is spelled with y and the izâfa y is omitted, as in bo diłnarmî i awâna for placating them ﺑﯚ دﻨﻪرﱉ ﺋﻪواﻧﻪ ḥikâyat andâza u bâristâî i A story does not have a ﺣــﲀﯾــﻪت ﺋــﻪﻧــﺪازﻩ و رﺳــــﺘــﺎﱙ dyârîkrâwî niya. clearly defined size or درىﺮاوى ﻧﻴﻪ. length.

In the reading passages occasionally a zer vowel point has been inserted un- .to indicate the missing vowel of the izâfa ( ِى) der the y The same applies to the sequence îy, where a word ends in î and is fol- lowed by the 3rd-person singular pronominal enclitic (possessive or agent affix). Occasionally the sequence is spelled in full with the correct number of y’s, but normally only one y is written. This is particularly true when there would be three y’s, as in mâłâwâîy la khałk kird. He bade farewell to the ﻣﺎڵﺋﺎواﱙ ﻪﻚ ﺮد. people.

The sequence îa, as in tânjîaká ‘the hunting dog,’ is written as either as though the sequence were î-ya. The sequence îèk, given ,ﳒـﻰﯾـﻪﻛـﻪ or ﳒـﻴـﻪﻛـﻪ the orthographic peculiarity of the -ek suffix after vowels, may be written as îek or as îyek, as in tânjîèk ‘a hunting dog,’ which can be written either as .ﳒﻰﯾﻪك or more commonly as ﳒﻴﻚ There is also no unanimity among writers of Kurdish with regard to the writing of compound words. Some put all the elements together, and others or دڵﻧـــــــــــــﻪرﱉ leave each element separate. Thus, diłnarmî is spelled either This is rarely troubling to .درـﻜـﺮاو or درىـﺮاو and dyârîkrâw is either ,دـﻨـﻪرﱉ -sarinjřâkesh ‘attrac ﺳــﻪرﳒــ ﻛــــﺶ the reader, but the longer compounds like 76 OTHER SYNTACTICAL FEATURES tive’ become, the more difficult they become to recognize.

§ 42. Vowel Contractions. (1) The sequence -îa- is often contracted to -e-, .amarîkeká ﺋﻪﻣﻪرﻜﻜﻪ < amarîkîaká ﺋﻪﻣﻪرﻜﻪﻛﻪ as in ﺑــــﻮوﻩﺗــــﻪوﻩ The sequences -ûwa- and -ûa- can be contracted to -o-, as in (2) ﺑـﺒـﻮوﻩوﻩ dîtotawa, and دﯾـﺘـﯚﺗـﻪوﻩ < dîtûatawa دﯾـﺘـﻮوﻩﺗـﻪوﻩ ,botawa ﺑـﯚﺗـﻪوﻩ < bûwatawa .bibowa ﺑﺒﯚوﻩ < bibûawa

77 Verb Tenses and Moods Present Habitual/Progressive (kawtin ‘fall,’ nûsîn ‘write,’ & qsa-kirdin ‘speak’) SINGULAR PLURAL dákawîn دﻩﻛﻪوﻦ dákawim دﻩﻛﻪوم dákawin دﻩﻛﻪون (dákawî(t دﻩﻛﻪوﯾﺖ dákawin دﻩﻛﻪون (dákawe(t دﻩﻛﻪوﺖ nâkawîn ﻛﻪوﻦ nâkawim ﻛﻪوم nádakawîn ﻧﻪدﻩﻛﻪوﻦ nádakawim ﻧﻪدﻩﻛﻪوم dánûsîn دﻩﻧﻮوﺳﲔ dánûsim دﻩﻧﻮوﰟ dánûsin دﻩﻧﻮوﺳﻦ (dánûsî(t دﻩﻧﻮوﺳﺖ dánûsin دﻩﻧﻮوﺳﻦ (dánûse(t دﻩﻧﻮوﺳﺖ nânûsîn ﻧﻮوﺳﲔ nânûsim ﻧﻮوﰟ nádanûsîn ﻧﻪدﻩﻧﻮوﺳﲔ nádanûsim ﻧﻪدﻩﻧﻮوﰟ qsa dákayn ﻗﺴﻪ دﻩﻛﻪﻦ qsa dákam ﻗﺴﻪ دﻩﻛﻪم qsa dákan ﻗﺴﻪ دﻩﻛﻪن (qsa dákay(t ﻗﺴﻪ دﻩﻴﺖ qsa dákan ﻗﺴﻪ دﻩﻛﻪن (qsa dákâ(t ﻗﺴﻪ دﻩﰷت qsa nâkayn ﻗﺴﻪ ﻛﻪﻦ qsa nâkam ﻗﺴﻪ ﻛﻪم qsa nádakayn ﻗﺴﻪ ﻧﻪدﻩﻛﻪﻦ qsa nádakam ﻗﺴﻪ ﻧﻪدﻩﻛﻪم

Present Subjunctive (‘that I fall,’ &c.) bíkawîn ﻜﻪوﻦ bíkawim ﻜﻪوم bíkawin ﻜﻪون (bíkawî(t ﻜﻪوﯾﺖ bíkawin ﻜﻪون (bíkawe(t ﻜﻪوﺖ nákawîn ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﻦ nákawim ﻧﻪﻛﻪوم bínûsîn ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﲔ bínûsim ﺑﻨﻮوﰟ bínûsin ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﻦ (bínûsî(t ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﺖ bínûsin ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﻦ (bínûse(t ﺑﻨﻮوﺳﺖ nánûsîn ﻧﻪﻧﻮوﺳﲔ nánûsim ﻧﻪﻧﻮوﰟ

78 VERB TENSES AND MOODS qsa (bí)kayn ﻗﺴﻪ (ﺑـ)ﻛﻪﻦ qsa (bí)kam ﻗﺴﻪ (ﺑـ)ﻛﻪم qsa (bí)kan ﻗﺴﻪ (ﺑـ)ﻜﻪن (qsa (bí)kay(t ﻗﺴﻪ (ﺑـ)ﻛﻪﯾﺖ qsa (bí)kan ﻗﺴﻪ (ﺑـ)ﻛﻪن (qsa (bí)kâ(t ﻗﺴﻪ (ﺑـ)ﰷت qsa nákayn ﻗﺴﻪ ﻧﻪﻛﻪﻦ qsa nákam ﻗﺴﻪ ﻧﻪﻛﻪم

Simple Past (‘I fell,’ &c.) ’KAWTIN ‘TO FALL ﮐﻪوﻦ :FOR INTRANSITIVE káwtîn ﻛﻪوﺗﲔ káwtim ﻛﻪوﰎ káwtin ﻛﻪوﻦ (káwtî(t ﻛﻪوﺗﺖ káwtin ﻛﻪوﻦ káwt ﻛﻪوت nákawtîn ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﺗﲔ nákawtim ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﰎ nákawtin ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﻦ (nákawtî(t ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﺗﺖ nákawtin ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﻦ nákawt ﻧﻪﻛﻪوت ’NÛSÎN ‘TO WRITE ﻧﻮوﺳﲔ :FOR TRANSITIVE VERB FOLLOWED BY AGENT AFFIX nûsîmân ﻧﻮوﺳن nûsîm ﻧﻮوﺳﲓ nûsîtân ﻧﻮوﺳﺎن (nûsîy(t ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﺖ nûsîyân ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﺎن nûsîy ﻧﻮوﺳﲕ námânnûsî ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﻨﻮوﳻ námnûsî ﻧﻪﻣﻮوﳻ nátânnûsî ﻧﻪﻧﻨﻮوﳻ nátnûsî ﻧﻪﺗﻨﻮوﳻ náyânnûsî ﻧﻪﻧﻨﻮوﳻ náynûsî ﻧﻪﯾﻨﻮوﳻ ’QSA-KIRDIN ‘TO SPEAK ﻗﺴﻪ ﺮدن :FOR AGENT AFFIX PRECEDING A TRANSITIVE VERB qsámân kird ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﺮد qsám kird ﻗﺴﻪم ﺮد qsátân kird ﻗﺴﻪن ﺮد qsát kird ﻗﺴﻪت ﺮد qsáyân kird ﻗﺴﻪن ﺮد qsáy kird ﻗﺴﻪى ﺮد qsamân nákird ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﻧﻪﺮد qsam nákird ﻗﺴﻪم ﻧﻪﺮد qsatân nákird ﻗﺴﻪن ﻧﻪﺮد qsat nákird ﻗﺴﻪت ﻧﻪﺮد qsayân nákird ﻗﺴﻪن ﻧﻪﺮد qsay nákird ﻗﺴﻪى ﻧﻪﺮد

Past Habitual/Progressive (= Irrealis) (‘I used to fall,’ ‘I would have fallen,’ &c.) 79 SORANI KURDISH dákawtîn دﻩﻛﻪوﺗﲔ dákawtim دﻩﻛﻪوﰎ dákawtin دﻩﻛﻪوﻦ (dákawtî(t دﻩﻛﻪوﺗﺖ dákawtin دﻩﻛﻪوﻦ dákawt دﻩﻛﻪوت (.náakawtîn (Sul ﻧﻪﺋﻪﻛﻪوﺗﲔ (.náakawtim (Sul ﻧﻪﺋﻪﻛﻪوﰎ nádakawtîn ﻧﻪدﻩﻛﻪوﺗﲔ nádakawtim ﻧﻪدﻩﻛﻪوﰎ dámânnûsî دﻩﻣﺎﻧﻨﻮوﳻ dámnûsî دﻩﻣﻮوﳻ dátânnûsî دﻩﻧﻨﻮوﳻ dátnûsî دﻩﺗﻨﻮوﳻ dáyânnûsî دﻩﻧﻨﻮوﳻ dáynûsî دﻩﯾﻨﻮوﳻ (.námânanûsî (Sul ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﻪﻧﻮوﳻ (.námanûsî (Sul ﻧﻪﻣﻪﻧﻮوﳻ námândanûsî ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﺪﻩﻧﻮوﳻ námdanûsî ﻧﻪﻣﺪﻩﻧﻮوﳻ qsamân dákird ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن دﻩﺮد qsam dákird ﻗﺴﻪم دﻩﺮد qsatân dákird ﻗﺴﻪن دﻩﺮد qsat dákird ﻗﺴﻪت دﻩﺮد qsayân dákird ﻗﺴﻪن دﻩﺮد qsay dákird ﻗﺴﻪى دﻩﺮد qsamân náakird ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﻧﻪﺋﻪﺮد (.qsam náakird (Sul ﻗﺴﻪم ﻧﻪﺋﻪﺮد qsamân nádakird ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﻧﻪدﻩﺮد qsam nádakird ﻗﺴﻪم ﻧﻪدﻩﺮد

Present Perfect (‘I have fallen’, &c.) kawtûyn ﻛﻪوﺗﻮوﻦ kawtûm ﻛﻪوﺗﻮوم kawtûn ﻛﻪوﺗﻮون (kawtûy(t ﻛﻪوﺗﻮوﯾﺖ kawtûn ﻛﻪوﺗﻮون kawtûa ﻛﻪوﺗﻮوﻩ nákawtûyn ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﺗﻮوﻦ nákawtûm ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﺗﻮوم nûsîwmâna ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﻮﻣﺎﻧﻪ nûsîwima ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﻮﻣﻪ nûsîwtâna ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﻮﻧﻪ nûsîwita ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﻮﺗﻪ nûsîwyâna ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﻮﻧﻪ nûsîwyatî ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﻮﯾﻪﰏ námânnûsîwa ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﻴﻮﻩ námnûsîwa ﻧﻪﻣﻮوﺳﻴﻮﻩ qsamân kirdûa ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﺮدووﻩ qsam kirdûa ﻗﺴﻪم ﺮدووﻩ qsatân kirdûa ﻗﺴﻪن ﺮدووﻩ qsat kirdûa ﻗﺴﻪت ﺮدووﻩ qsayân kirdûa ﻗﺴﻪن ﺮدووﻩ qsay kirdûa ﻗﺴﻪى ﺮدووﻩ qsamân nákirdûa ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﻧﻪﺮدووﻩ qsam nákirdûa ﻗﺴﻪم ﻧﻪﺮدووﻩ

80 VERB TENSES AND MOODS Past Perfect (‘I had fallen,’ &c.) kawtibûyn ﻛﻪوﺗﺒﻮوﻦ kawtibûm ﻛﻪوﺗﺒﻮوم kawtibûn ﻛﻪوﺗﺒﻮون (kawtibûy(t ﻛﻪوﺗﺒﻮوﯾﺖ kawtibûn ﻛﻪوﺗﺒﻮون kawtibû ﻛﻪوﺗﺒﻮو nákawtibûyn ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﺗﺒﻮوﻦ nákawtibûm ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﺗﺒﻮوم nûsibûmân ﻧﻮوﺳﺒﻮوﻣﺎن nûsibûm ﻧﻮوﺳﺒﻮوم nûsibûtân ﻧﻮوﺳﺒﻮون nûsibût ﻧﻮوﺳﺒﻮوت nûsibûyân ﻧﻮوﺳﺒﻮون nûsîbûy ﻧﻮوﺳﻮوى námânnûsibû ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﺒﻮو námnûsibû ﻧﻪﻣﻮوﺳﺒﻮو qsamân kirdibû ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﺮدﺑﻮو qsam kirdibû ﻗﺴﻪم ﺮدﺑﻮو qsatân kirdibû ﻗﺴﻪان ﺮدﺑﻮو qsat kirdibû ﻗﺴﻪت ﺮدﺑﻮو qsayân kirdibû ﻗﺴﻪن ﺮدﺑﻮو qsay kirdibû ﻗﺴﻪى ﺮدﺑﻮو qsamân nákirdibû ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﻧﻪﺮدﺑﻮو qsam nákirdibû ﻗﺴﻪم ﻧﻪﺮدﺑﻮو

Past Subjunctive (‘that I have fallen,’ &c.) kawtibîn ﻛﻪوﺗﱭ kawtibim ﻛﻪوﺗﱬ kawtibin ﻛﻪﺗﱭ (kawtibî(t ﻛﻪوﺗﺒﺖ kawtibin ﻛﻪوﺗﱭ (kawtibe(t ﻛﻪوﺗﺒﺖ nákawtibîn ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﺗﺒﲔ nákawtibim ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﺗﱬ nûsîbetmân ﻧﻮوﺳﻴن nûsîbetim ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﱲ nûsîbettân ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﺘﺘﺎن nûsîbetit ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﺘﺖ nûsîbetyân ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﺘﻴﺎن nûsîbetî ﻧﻮوﺳﻴﱴ námânnûsîbet ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺖ námnûsîbet ﻧﻪﻣﻮوﺳﻴﺖ qsamân kirdibe ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﺮد qsam kirdibe ﻗﺴﻪم ﺮد qsatân kirdibe ﻗﺴﻪن ﺮد qsat kirdibe ﻗﺴﻪت ﺮد qsayân kirdibe ﻗﺴﻪن ﺮد qsay kirdibe ﻗﺴﻪى ﺮد qsamân nákirdibe ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﻧﻪﺮد qsam nákirdibe ﻗﺴﻪم ﻧﻪﺮد

Past Conditional I (‘had I fallen,’ &c.) bíkawtînâya ﻜﻪوﺗﺎﯾﻪ bíkawtimâya ﻜﻪوﲤﺎﯾﻪ

81 SORANI KURDISH bíkawtinâya ﻜﻪوﺗﻨﺎﯾﻪ bíkawtîtâya ﻜﻪوﺗﺎﯾﻪ bíkawtinâya ﻜﻪوﺗﻨﺎﯾﻪ bíkawtâya ﻜﻪوﯾﻪ nákawtînâya ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﺗﺎﯾﻪ nákawtimâya ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﲤﺎﯾﻪ bímânnûsîâya ﲟﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ bímnûsîâya ﲟﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ bítânnûsîâya ﺑﺘﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ bítnûsîâya ﺑﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ bíyânnûsîâya ﺑﻴﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ bíynûsîâya ﺑﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ námânnûsîâya ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ námnûsîâya ﻧﻪﻣﻮوﺳﻴﺎﯾﻪ qsamân bíkirdâya ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﻜﺮداﯾﻪ qsam bíkirdâya ﻗﺴﻪم ﻜﺮداﯾﻪ qsatân bíkirdâya ﻗﺴﻪن ﻜﺮداﯾﻪ qsat bíkirdâya ﻗﺴﻪت ﻜﺮداﯾﻪ qsayân bíkirdâya ﻗﺴﻪن ﻜﺮداﯾﻪ qsay bíkirdâya ﻗﺴﻪى ﻜﺮداﯾﻪ qsamân nákirdâya ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﻧﻪﺮداﯾﻪ qsam nákirdâya ﻗﺴﻪم ﻧﻪﺮداﯾﻪ

Past Conditional II (‘were I to have fallen,’ &c.) bíkawtibâyn ﻜﻪوﺗﺒﺎﻦ bíkawtibâm ﻜﻪوﺗﺒﺎم bíkawtibân ﻜﻪوﺗﺒﺎن bíkawtibây ﻜﻪوﺗﺒﺎى bíkawtibân ﻜﻪوﺗﺒﺎن bíkawtibâ ﻜﻪوﺗﺒﺎ nákawtibâyn ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﺗﺒﺎﻦ nákawtibâm ﻧﻪﻛﻪوﺗﺒﺎم bímânnûsîbâ ﲟﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﺎ bímnûsîbâ ﲟﻨﻮوﺳﺎ bítânnûsîbâ ﺑﺘﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﺎ bítnûsîbâ ﺑﻮوﺳﺎ bíyânnûsîbâ ﺑﻴﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﺎ bíynûsîbâ ﺑﻮوﺳﺎ námânnûsîbâ ﻧﻪﻣﺎﻧﻨﻮوﺳﺎ námnûsîbâ ﻧﻪﻣﻮوﺳﺎ qsamân bíkirdibâ ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﻜﺮد qsam bíkirdibâ ﻗﺴﻪم ﻜﺮد qsatân bíkirdibâ ﻗﺴﻪن ﻜﺮد qsat bíkirdibâ ﻗﺴﻪت ﻜﺮد qsayân bíkirdibâ ﻗﺴﻪن ﻜﺮد qsay bíkirdibâ ﻗﺴﻪى ﻜﺮد qsamân nákirdibâ ﻗﺴﻪﻣﺎن ﻧﻪﺮد qsam nákirdibâ ﻗﺴﻪم ﻧﻪﺮد

PASSIVE TENSES AND MOODS Present Passive (‘I am seen’) dabînreyn دﻩﺑﻴﲊﲔ dabînrem دﻩﺑﻴﲊﻢ dabînren دﻩﺑﻴﲊﻦ (dabînrey(t دﻩﺑﻴﲊﺖ

82 VERB TENSES AND MOODS dabînren دﻩﺑﻴﲊﻦ (dabînre(t دﻩﺑﻴﲊﺖ nâbînreyn ﺑﻴﲊﲔ nâbînrem ﺑﻴﲊﻢ nádabînreyn ﻧﻪدﻩﺑﻴﲊﲔ nádabînrem ﻧﻪدﻩﺑﻴﲊﻢ

Present Subjunctive Passive (‘that I be seen’) bíbînreyn ﺑﺒﲊﲔ bíbînrem ﺑﺒﲊﻢ bíbînren ﺑﺒﲊﻦ (bíbînrey(t ﺑﺒﲊﺖ bíbînren ﺑﺒﲊﻦ (bíbînre(t ﺑﺒﲊﺖ nábînreyn ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊﲔ nábînrem ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊﻢ

Past Passive (‘I was seen’) bînrâyn ﺑﻴﲊاﻦ bînrâm ﺑﻴﲊام bînrân ﺑﻴﲊان (bînrây(t ﺑﻴﲊاﯾﺖ bînrân ﺑﻴﲊان bînrâ ﺑﻴﲊا nábînrâyn ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊاﻦ nábînrâm ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊام

Present Perfect Passive (‘I have been seen’) bînrâwîn ﺑﻴﲊاوﻦ bînrâwim ﺑﻴﲊاوم bînrâwin ﺑﻴﲊاون (bînrâwî(t ﺑﻴﲊاوﯾﺖ bînrâwin ﺑﻴﲊاون bînrâwa ﺑﻴﲊاوﻩ nábînrâwîn ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊاوﻦ nábînrâwim ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊاوم

Past Perfect Passive (‘I had been seen’) bînrâbûyn ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮوﻦ bînrâbûm ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮوم bînrâbûn ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮون (bînrâbûy(t ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮوﯾﺖ bînrâbûn ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮون bînrâbû ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮو nábînrâbûyn ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮوﻦ nábînrâbûm ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊاﺑﻮوم

Past Subjunctive Passive (‘that I have been seen’) bînrâbîn ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﲔ bînrâbim ﺑﻴﲊاﰈ bînrâbin ﺑﻴﲊاﻦ (bînrâbî(t ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﺖ 83 SORANI KURDISH bînrâbin ﺑﻴﲊاﻦ (bînrâbe(t ﺑﻴﲊاﺑﺖ nábînrâbîn ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊاﺑﲔ nábînrâbim ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊاﰈ

Past Conditional Passive (‘had I been seen’) bibînrâynâya ﺑﺒﲊاﯾﻨﺎﯾﻪ bibînrâmâya ﺑﺒﲊاﻣﺎﯾﻪ bibînrânâya ﺑﺒﲊاﯾﻪ bibînrâytâya ﺑﺒﲊاﯾﺘﺎﯾﻪ bibînrânâya ﺑﺒﲊاﯾﻪ bibînrâtâya ﺑﺒﲊاﯾﻪ nábînrâynâya ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊاﯾﻨﺎﯾﻪ nábînrâmâya ﻧﻪﺑﻴﲊاﻣﺎﯾﻪ

84 Synopsis of Tenses and Moods

INTRANSITIVE TRANSITIVE PASSIVE ﮓ ﺮان ﮓ ﺮدن ﭼﻮون infinitive chûn bâng kirdin bâng krân to go to invite to be invited ﮓ ﺮام ﮕﻢ ﺮد ﭼﻮوم past chûm bângim kird bâng krâm I went I invited him/her1 I was invited ﮓ دﻩﺮام ﮕﻢ دﻩﺮد دﻩﭼﻮوم past habitual dachûm bângim dakird bâng dakrâm I used to go I used to invite him I used to be invited ﮓ ﺮاوم ﮕﻢ ﺮدووﻩ ﭼﻮوم .pres. perf chûwim bângim kirdûa bâng krâwim I have gone I have invited him I have been invited ﮓ ﺮاﺑﻮوم ﮕﻢ ﺮدﺑﻮو ﭼﻮوﺑﻮوم .past perf chûbûm bângim kirdibû bâng krâbûm I had gone I had invited him I had been invited ﮓ دﻩﺮﻢ ﮓ دﻩﮐﻪم دﻩ present (d)achim bâng (d)akam bâng (d)akrem I(‘ll) go I(‘ll) invite I am (will be) invited ﮓ ﮑﺮﻢ ﮓ ﮑﻪم ﻢ .pres. subj bichim bâng bikam bâng bikrem that I go that I invite that I be invited ﮓ ﺮاﰈ ﮕﻢ ﺮدﺑﺖ ﭼﻮوﰈ .past subj chûbim bângim kirdibe(t) bâng krâbim that I have that I have invited that I have been invited gone him

1 Because of the ergative nature of the past tenses, a 3rd-person singular object is built into the verb. 85 SORANI KURDISH ﮓ ﮑﺮاﻣﺎﯾﻪ ﮕﻢ ﮑﺮداﯾﻪ ﻮوﻣﺎﯾﻪ past cond. I bichûmâya bângim bikirdâya bâng bikrâmâya ﮓ (ﺑـ)ﺮام ﮕﻢ (ﺑـ)ﺮد (ﺑـ)ﭼﻮوم past cond. II (bi)chûbâm bângim (bi)kirdibâ bâng (bí)krâbâm had I gone had I invited him had I been invited ﮓ دﻩﺮام ﮕﻢ دﻩﺮد دﻩﭼﻮوم =) irrealis past (d)achûm bângim (d)akird bâng (d)akrâm habitual) I would have I would have invited I would have been invited gone him

Conditional Sentence Types present/future possible (present subjunctive or simple past indicative protasis, in- dicative apodosis) .Agar biche(t) (or chû), If he goes, he’ll see them ﺋﻪﮔﻪر ﺖ (ﭼﻮو)، دﻩﻧﺒﺖ. dayânbîne(t). ,Agar bíchîtà (or chûytà) If you go to Kurdistan ﺋﻪﮔﻪر ﻴﺘﻪ (ﭼﻮوﯾﺘﻪ) ﻮردﺳﺘﺎن، .Kurdistân, fer i kurdî you’ll learn Kurdish ﻓﺮى ﻮردى دﻩﰉ. dabî. past possible (past subjunctive protasis, indicative apodosis) Agar l’awe wafr bârîbe, If it has snowed there, they ﺋﻪﮔﻪر وێ وﻩﻓﺮ رﯾ، ﯾﻪن. nâyen. won’t be coming. Agar chûbe, nâzânim kay If he has gone, I don’t ﺋﻪﮔﻪر ﭼﻮو، زاﱎ ﻛﻪى ﭼﻮوﻩ .chûà darè. know when he went out دﻩرێ. -Agar chûbîtà Kurdistân, If you have gone to Kurd ﺋﻪﮔﻪر ﭼﻮوﺑﻪ ﻮردﺳﺘﺎن، دﻩ ﻓﺮى dabe fer i kurdî bibî. istan, you must have ﻮردى ﺑﱮ. learned Kurdish. Agar náchûbîtà Kurdistân, If you haven’t gone to ﺋﻪﮔﻪر ﻧﻪﭼﻮوﺑﻪ ﻮردﺳﺘﺎن، ﺗﻮاﱏ nâtwânî fer i kurdî bibî. Kurdistan, you can’t have ﻓﺮى ﻮردى ﺑﱮ. learned Kurdish. contrafactual (past conditional protasis, past habitual apodosis)

86 SYNOPSIS OF TENSES AND MOODS Agar bichûâya, daydîtin. If he had gone, he would ﺋﻪﮔﻪر ﻮواﯾﻪ دﻩﯾﺪﯾﱳ. have seen them./ If he were to go, he would see them. -Agar bíchûytâya Kurdis- If you had gone to Kurd ﺋﻪﮔﻪر ﻮوﯾﺘﺎﯾﻪ ﻮردﺳﺘﺎن، ﻓﺮى tân, fer i kurdî dabûy. istan, you would have ﻮردى دﻩﺑﻮوى. learned Kurdish. Agar náchûytâya Kurdis- If you hadn’t gone to ﺋﻪﮔﻪر ﻧﻪﭼﻮوﯾﺘﺎﯾﻪ ﻮردﺳﺘﺎن، ﻓﺮى tân, fer i kurdî nádabûy. Kurdistan, you wouldn’t ﻮردى ﻧﻪدﻩﺑﻮوى. have learned Kurdish.

87 Conversion Table for the Sorani and Kurmanji Alphabets

Recently there have been attempts, particularly on the internet and on the part of Kurds influenced by speakers of Kurmanji Kurdish, to write Sorani in the Latin-based Kurmanji alphabet. The conversion is as follows:

Sorani Sorani Arabic Kurmanji e ه a a ا â b ب b ç چ ch d د d ê ێ e f ف f g گ g x غ gh h ح، ه h i _ i î ی î c ج j k ک k x خ kh l ل l ll ڵ ł m م m n ن n o ۆ o p پ p q ق q r ر r rr ڕ ř s س s ş ش sh t ت t u و u û وو û v ڤ v 88 CONVERSION TABLE FROM SORANI TO KURMANJI w و w y ی y z ز z j ژ zh (not indicated) ع ‘

In writing Sorani in the Kurmanji alphabet, a one-to-one correspondence is observed. The i of the izâfa after consonants is written as î joined directly to the preceding word, but after vowels it is usually written as y, as in ray giştî زاراوﻩی زاــﺴــــﱴ râ i gishtî ‘public opinion’ and zarawey zanistî for رای ﮔــﺸــــﱴ for zârâwa i zânistî ‘scientific language.’ An example of such transcribed text is given below: Ber le Sedam Husên hîç berpirsêkî Êraqî newêrawe îmza le ser rêkkew- tinêk bikat ke otonomî bidate kurd, ewîş le 11-î adarî 1970 rêkkewtin- name benawbangekey adarî legell Mela Mistefa Barzanî mor kird, tefsîrî ciyaciya bo karekey (cêgirî berrêz) dekira. Hendê deyanut be rastî deyewê ew birîne qûlley cestey Êraq tîmar bikat, hendêkî dîkeş deyanut deyewê piştgîrî hêzî serbazîy bo xoy misoger bikat û bîxate jêr rikêfî xoyewe, diway ewey le biwarekanî emnî û rageyandin û hizbî da ew pallpiştiyey misoger kirdibû.1 In Arabic script the passage is as follows: ﺑـﻪر ﺳـﻪدام ﺣـﻮﺳــﻦ ﻫـﻴـﭻ ﺑـﻪرـﺮﺳـــﮑـﯽ ــﺮاﰵ ﻧـﻪوـﺮاوﻩ ﺋـــﻤـﺰا ﺳـﻪر رـﮑـﮑـﻪوﺗـــﮏ ـﲀت ﮐـﻪ ﺋـﯚﺗـﯚﻧـﯚﻣـﯽ ﺑـﺪاﺗـﻪ ـﻮرد، ﺋـﻪوـﺶ ١١ی ﺋـﺎداری ١٩٧٠ رـﮑـﮑـﻪوﺗـــﺎﻣـﻪ ﺑـﻪوـﮕـﻪﮐـﻪی ﺋـﺎداری ﮔـﻪڵ ﻣـﻪﻻ ﻣـﺴــﺘـﻪﻓـﺎ رزاﱏ ﻣـﯚر ـﺮد، ﺗـﻪﻓـﺴـﲑی ﺟــﺎﺟــﺎ ﺑـﯚ ﰷرﻩﮐـﻪی (ﺟــﮕـﺮی ﺑـﻪڕـﺰ) دﻩـﺮا. ﻫـﻪﻧـﺪێ دﻩﻧـﻮت ﺑـﻪ راﺳــﱴ دﻩﯾـﻪوێ ﺋـﻪو ـﺮﯾـﻨـﻪ ﻗـﻮوـﻪی ـﻪﺳــﺘـﻪی ــﺮاق ﺗـر ـﲀت، ﻫـﻪﻧـﺪـﮑـﯽ دـﮑـﻪش دﻩﻧـﻮت دﻩﯾـﻪوێ ـﺸــﺘـﮕـﲑی ﻫــﺰی ﺳـﻪرزﱙ ﺑـﯚ ﺧـﯚی ﻣـﺴـﯚﮔـﻪر ـﲀت و ﺑـﻴــﺎﺗـﻪ ژـﺮ رﮐــﻔـﯽ ﺧـﯚﯾـﻪوﻩ، دوای ﺋـﻪوﻩی ﺑﻮارﻩﰷﱏ ﺋﻪﻣﲎ و رﮔﻪﻧﺪن و ﺣﺰﰉدا ﺋﻪو ﭘﺎﺸﱴﯾﻪی ﻣﺴﯚﮔﻪر ﺮدﺑﻮو. An example of a slightly different form of transcription sometimes used on the internet is as follows: Ke dellín zimaní Kurdí, mebest ew zimaneye ke ésta Kurd qisey pédeken. Gelé zimanwan u rojh hellatnasí henderí (ferengí) degell zimaní Kurdí xerék búne, zurbey ew zanayaney ke be shéweyékí gishtí ya taybetí le zimaní Kurdí duwawin gutúyane ke em zimane le biney zimanekaní Hínd

1Taken from the internet at www.kerkuk-kurdistan.com/hevpeyvinek.asp?ser=1& cep=4&nnimre=281). 89 SORANI KURDISH u Urupayí u binemalley Hínd u Éraní u le xézane zimaní Éraní ye u degell zimaní Farsí xizmayetí nizíkí heye. Ja zimaní Kurdí ke ewe rewishtí con peyda buwe? Ashkiraye zimaní hemú willaté zimaní daníshtiwaní willa- teke debé, eger rodawekaní méjhúyí all u gorrékí neteweyíyan le willate- keda pék nehénabé ewa zimanekeysh her zimaní daníshtiwekaní koní willatekeye u pécewaney emesh pécewane debé. Ja bizanín babeteke bo zimaní Kurdí cone?1 In Arabic script, this text is as follows: ﮐـﻪ دﻩـﲔ زﻣـﺎﱏ ـﻮردی، ﻣـﻪﺑـﻪﺳـﺖ ﺋـﻪو زﻣـﺎﻧـﻪﯾـﻪ ﮐـﻪ ﺋــﺴــﺘـﺎ ـﻮرد ﻗـﺴـﻪی ﭘــﺪﻩﮐـﻪن. ﮔـﻪﻟـ زﻣـﺎﻧـﻮان و رۆژﻫـﻪ ﺗـﻨـﺎﳻ ﻫـﻪﻧـﺪﻩری (ﻓـﻪرﻩـﮕـﯽ) دﻩﮔـﻪڵ زﻣـﺎﱏ ـﻮردی ـﻪرـﮏ ﺑـﻮوﻧـﻪ، زورﺑـﻪی ﺋـﻪو زاﻧـﻪی ﮐـﻪ ﺑـﻪ ﺷـــﻮﻩ ﯾـﻪﰽ ﮔـﺸــﱴ ﯾـﺒـﻪﰏ زﻣـﺎﱏ ـﻮردی دواون ﮔـﻮﺗـﻮوﻧـﻪ ﮐـﻪ ﺋـﻪم زﻣـﺎﻧـﻪ ﺑـﻨـﻪی زﻣـﺎﻧـﻪﰷﱏ ﻫـﻨـﺪوﺋـﻮروﭘـﺎﱙ و ﺑـﻨـﻪﻣـﺎـﻪی ﻫـﻨـﺪوﺋــﺮاﱏ و ــﺰاﻧـﻪ زﻣـﺎﱏ ﺋــﺮاﱏﯾـﻪ و دﻩﮔـﻪڵ زﻣـﺎن ﻓـﺎرﳻ ﺧـﺰﻣـﺎﯾـﻪﰏ ـﺰـﮑـﯽ ﻫـﻪﯾـﻪ. ـﺎ زﻣـﺎﱏ ـﻮردی ﮐـﻪ ﺋـﻪوﻩ رﻩوﺷــﱴ ﭼـﯚن ﭘـﻪﯾـﺪا ﺑـﻮوﻩ؟ ﺋـﺎﺷـﮑـﺮاﯾـﻪ زﻣـﺎﱏ ﻫـﻪﻣـﻮو و زﻣـﺎﱏ داﻧــﺸــﺘـﻮاﱏ وﺗـﻪﮐـﻪ دﻩ، ﺋـﻪﮔـﻪر رۆداوﻩﰷﱏ ﻣــﮋووﱙ ﺋـﺎـﻮﮔـﯚڕـﮑـﯽ ﻧـﻪﺗـﻪوﻩﱙن وﺗـﻪﮐـﻪدا ﭘــﮏ ﻧـﻪﻫــﻨـﺎ ﺋـﻪوا زﻣـﺎﻧـﻪﮐـﻪـﺶ ﻫـﻪر زﻣـﺎﱏ داﻧــﺸــﺘـﻮﻩﰷﱏ ﮐـﯚﱏ وﺗـﻪﮐـﻪﯾـﻪ و ﭘـــﻪواﻧـﻪی ﺋـﻪﻣـﻪش ﭘـــﻪواﻧـﻪ دﻩ. ـﺎ ـﺰاﻧـﲔ ﺑـﻪﺗـﻪﮐـﻪ ﺑـﯚ زﻣﺎﱏ ﻮردی ﭼﯚﻧﻪ؟

1Taken from the website www.kurdishacademy.org/ku/history/history.html. 90