VERBAL MORPHOLOGY 4.0 Introduction and Overview of Verbal

CHAPTER FOUR

VERBAL MORPHOLOGY

4.0 Introduction and Overview of Verbal Inflection

The majority of verbs in ANA can be analysed as having a triliteral root. There is also a sizeable group of verbs with quadriliteral roots and a limited number of verbs with pentaliteral roots. Verbs from a triliteral root may be conjugated in one of three stems. Stem I evolved primarily from the OA pәʿal stem, Stem II evolved primarily from the OA paʿʿel stem, and Stem III evolved out of the OA ʾapʿel stem.1 A comparison of the principal parts of each of the three stems for strong2 verbal roots is set out below. In what follows, the letters V, W, X, Y and Z are used to represent any strong consonants: The following are the principal parts of the ANA verb:

Stem I Stem II Stem III Imperative XYoZ mXăYәZ maXYәZ Present Base XaYәZ- mXaYәZ- maXYәZ- Past Base XYәZ- mXoYәZ- muXYәZ- Stative Participle XYiZa mXuYZa múXYәZa / m\ŭXәYZa Infinitive XYaZa mXaYoZe maXYoZe The imperative and infinitive of the ancestor stems of Stem II and Stem III (i.e. OA paʿʿel and ʾap̱ʾel respectively) did not regularly exhibit a prefixed m-, although the ancestor forms of the present base, the past base and the stative participle (i.e. the OA participles) did. In ANA, this prefix has spread by analogy throughout all the parts of both Stem II and Stem III verbs, without exception. Verbs from quadriliteral roots are divided into two classes. The principal parts of both are given below:

1 The other common stems of OA have not developed into stems in ANA in a uniform manner. There are, however, some remnants of them, particularly in quadriliteral and especially pentaliteral verbal forms, in which an erstwhile morphological affix may have been reanalysed as a component part of the root, and often they may be incorporated into ANA Stems I, II and III. 2 I.e. regular, without any weak letters which would cause it to deviate from the regular patterns, in the manner described in this chapter. 88 chapter four

Class I Class II Imperative mWaXYәZ máWXәYәZ Present Base mWaXYәZ- máWXәYәZ- Past Base mWuXYәZ- mәWXoYәZ- Stative Participle mWúXYәZa múWXәYәZa Infinitive mWaXYoZe maWXәYoZe The principal parts of verbs from pentaliteral roots are: Imperative mVắWәXYәZ Present Base mVắWәXYәZ- Past Base mVoWәXYә́Z- Stative Participle mV\ŭWәXYәZe Infinitive mVăWәXYoZe

4.0.1 The Imperative

4.0.1.1 Stem I Verbs The pattern XYoZ is a retention of an OA form of the pәʿal imperative. On occasion a suffix -әn is found with the singular imperative: XYoZәn. There does not appear to be a semantic distinction between XYoZәn and XYoZ.

4.0.1.2 Stem II, Stem III, Quadriliteral and Pentaliteral Verbs The inflections of the imperative for all these kinds of verbs are identi- cal to the patterns of the present base, except that in the imperative the first vowel is stressed and short, without exception. An ahistorical prefix m- has spread to the imperative forms, presumably by analogy with the other parts of the verb, such as the present and past base.

4.0.2 The Present Base The present base is a reflex of the OA active participle. The person, gender and number of the grammatical subject are conveyed by the addition of what I refer to as a-set suffixes to the present base. For verbs with a final strong radical, this series of a-set suffixes has the following forms: Sing. 1.m. -әn (-ena) 1.f. -an (-ana) 2.m. -әt 2.f. -at 3.m. -ø 3.f. -a