Livonian
6.2. Gramatik / Grammar
This grammar section describes the imperative mood (page 1), the conditional mood (page 2), and modal constructions (page 3).
Imperative mood
The imperative is generally used for commands, appeals, requests, or prohibitions, which are directed from the speaker to one listener (2nd person singular) or several listeners (2nd person plural), though the speaker (1st person plural) can also be involved.
| Person | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sg 2nd prs (sa) | ø | Rõkānd vizāstiz ja lougõ! ’Speak firmly and slowly!’ |
| Pl 1st prs (mēg) | -gõm, -õgõm | Oppõgõm līvõ kīeldõ! ’Let’s learn Livonian!’ |
| Pl 2nd prs (tēg) | -gid, -igid | Pǭlaks, vȯ’dlõgid, kuņtš mēg tu’lmõ kuodāj! ’Please wait until we come home!’ |
Note!
- The 2nd person singular generally has no ending, e.g., ai’l ’run’, vȯtš ’look, search’, nīž ’tell’. Verbs like mõtlõ ’to think’and na’grõ ’to laugh’ have consonant stems in the singular, e.g., mõttõl ’think’ and alā mõttõl ’don’t think’ (cf. mõtlõgid ’think (pl)’ and na’grõgid ’laugh (pl)’). Monosyllabic verbs with vowel-final stems end in a vowel, e.g., vī ’take’, but also verbs with an ā-/a-stem, e.g., ānda ’give’.
- In the 1st person plural, the expected indicative form is used without a pronoun, e.g., Lǟm gilgõm! ’Let’s go swimming!’
- In the 2nd person plural, the ending -gīd is used in two cases: sä/gīd ’here’ ja li/gīd ’go’.
- In the affirmative, the total object of the imperative is in the genitive, e.g., Tūo sīe rǭntõ tǟnõ! ’Bring the book here!’ (cf. rǭntõz ’book’).
Negative
| Person | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sg 2nd prs (sa) | alā + ø | Alā rõkānd ne’i vā’giž ja kierdõ! ’Don’t speak so quietly and quickly!’ |
| Pl 1st prs (mēg) | a’lgõm + -gõm, -õgõm | A’lgõm oppõgõm set engliš kīeldõ! ’Let’s not learn only English!’ |
| Pl 2nd prs (tēg) | a’lgid + -gid, -igid | A’lgid tīegid ne’ije’n märrõ! ’Don’t make so much noise!’ |
Note!
- In the 2nd person singular, ā-/a-stem forms are different from the corresponding affirmative forms (cf. istā ’sit’ : alā istõ ’don’t sit’), e.g., Alā istõ lōda pǟlõ, istā ra’j pǟlõ! ’Don’t sit on the table, sit on the chair!’
- Like in the affirmative, the expected indicative form is used for the 1st person plural also in the negative, e.g., A’lgõm i’mlõm! ’Let’s not be surprised!’
- 2nd person plural: a’lgid oppõ/gid ’don’t learn’, a’lgid ānda/gid ’don’t give’
- In the negative, the object is in the partitive, e.g., Alā tūo siedā rǭntõzt tǟnõ! ’Don’t bring the book here!’
