Kaingang/Grammar
Contents
Parts of Speech
Conjunctions
Common Conjunctions | |
---|---|
Kaingang | English |
ge ra | as so, even so |
hã jé | for this end |
hã kato | instead of this |
hã kỹ | because of this |
hã ra | but, on the contrary of |
hã ri | similar to |
hã to | instead of |
hã tugrĩn | because of this, for that |
hã tỹ | because of this, for that |
jarĩnmỹ | although |
jãvo | but, on the contrary of |
jo | but |
kỹ | therefore, for this end |
mũ ra | as so, even so |
mỹr’ | meanwhile |
Interjections
Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Subject | ||
---|---|---|
Person | Singular | Plural |
1 | inh | ẽ |
2 | ã | ãjag |
3m | ti | ag |
3f | fi | fag |
Examples:
Kanhgag ti a Kaingang man
Kanhgag fi a Kaingang woman
Kanhgag ag Kaingang men, a Kaingang man and his friends
Kanhgag fag Kaingang women, a Kaingang family, a Kaingang man and his family
Ti mynh fag His parents (lit: His mothers)
Reflexive Pronouns
There are two reflexive pronouns that function as an object or possessive, but not as a subject or ergative.
Kaingang !! !! English | ||
jagnæ | object and possessive pronoun: reciprocal | one another |
---|---|---|
Kaingang | English | |
vænh | object pronoun: reflexive | of himself/of herself |
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstratives | ||
---|---|---|
Anaphoric (leftwards reference) | Exophoric close | Exophoric far |
ẽn | tag (this) | tã (that) (followed by circumstantial indicator) |
Interrogative Pronouns
Who | What | When |
---|---|---|
ū | ne | hẽ |
Ex. 1: Ū ne? who is it?
Ex. 2: Ne ne? what is it?
[Pronoun document, 378-379]
Relative Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns
-ũ: Indefinite marker
Nouns
Open class
Verbs
Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs need an object.
Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs can't have an object.
Semitransitive Verbs
Semitransitive verbs need a posposition.
Vocatives
Used to get someone's attention.
Markers
Aspect Markers
Perfective Aspect Markers
Imperfective Aspect Markers
Indicators of Circumstance
Modality Markers
Follows only verbs
Follows verbs, nouns, and other modality markers
Grammatical Mood Markers
Kaingang | Approximate Meaning |
---|---|
inhhã | ‘only, focus marker’ |
ge | ‘thus’ |
gé | ‘as well’ |
ha | ’emphatic now’ |
hã | ‘emphatic focus, assertive’ |
hẽ | ‘don't do!’ |
hẽ’ | ‘it can't be done!’ |
hur | ‘already’ |
huri | ‘already’ |
hỹn | ‘probably’ |
hỹn | ‘where?’ |
ker | ‘continued habitually, does not stop happening’ |
kur | ‘fast,quickly, hurriedly’ |
mỹr | ‘it's true, truthfully’ |
nẽji | ‘as I have heard, it is said’ |
sir | ‘thus, important information’ |
-' | ‘doubtedly, emphatic focus marker, assertive’ |
Subject Markers
Subject markers are used to define the topic or subject of a given sentence. They typically follow the subject in a sentence.
Kaingang | Approximate Meaning |
---|---|
jé | subject expects/anticipate the action, speaker desires the action |
mỹ | subject of a yes-no question |
ne | subject is origin of the action |
né | agent has feelings? (only in third-person) |
nỹ | subject is topic and contrasted with vỹ, subject shift/change |
pijé | subject does not do the action |
tóg | subject is agent |
tỹ | agent is ergative; topic marker |
vé | this subject does bad things |
vỹ | subject is topic |
[Dicionario PT-KG 159-160]