(Meadow Mari)
AdvCopDep
AdvCopDep: The copula does or does not occur with adverbial predicates depending on specific grammatical criteria.
| (1) | tudo | eŋer-əšte. |
|---|
| (s)he | river‑INE |
| ’(S)he is in the river.’ (T. E.) |
| (2) | tudo | eŋer-əšte | ul-eš. |
|---|
| (s)he | river‑INE | COP‑3SG |
| ’(S)he is in the river.’ (T. E.) |
| (3) | məj | eŋer-əšte | ul-am. |
|---|
| I | river‑INE | COP‑1SG |
| ’I am in the river.’ (A. S.) |
| (4) | tudo | eŋer-əšte | lij-eš. |
|---|
| (s)he | river‑INE | COP‑3SG |
| ’(S)he will be in the river’. (A. S.) |
| (5) | tudo | eŋer-əšte | lij-ne-že. |
|---|
| (s)he | river‑INE | COP‑DES‑3SG |
| ’(S)he would like to be in the river.’ (A. S.) |
| (6) | tudo | eŋer-əšte | ogəl. |
|---|
| (s)he | river‑INE | COP.NEG.3SG |
| ’(S)he is not in the river.’ (A. S.) |
In Meadow Mari the copula is optional in stative affirmative third person singular present tense sentences in indicative mood (1)─(2). Everywhere else the copula is obligatory including non-third person singular forms (3), non-present tenses (4), non-indicative mood (5) and negation (6).
Author: Bogáta Timár
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