Hapi
hao hóh-óh sa-xí=kóa saatóh-táa kói-soa==ó xah hóhi-xí póói-xí=kóa==ó sáá=àiho tàa-xí=kóa
DEM.DIST man-ERG cut-REC.PAST=DECL some-CL:banana banana-PL==SEQ 3PL.O take-REC.PAST come-REC.PAST=DECL==SEQ eat=VDIM AUX-REC.PAST=DECL
‘That man cut some bananas, took them and came (here) and ate a little.’
Notes
- this example showcases the function of a sequential verb construction. In this type of multiverb construction, all participating verbs take the sequential clitic ==ó. This yields a meaning of subsequent events that are seen as separate units. If a series of events is seen as one singular event, it would probably be expressed using a serial verb construction.
- the verbal diminutive auxiliary àiho is an affixing auxiliary, which means that the lexical head is prefixed to it, while most of the inflection is taken up by the auxiliary verb tàa.
- this is a prime example of the discourse perseverance of the recent past marker -xí. Since all events in the narrative fall into the scope of the recent past, ie. all events have occurred between immediately and up to three days prior to speech time, the marker appears on every verb in the complex.
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