Jamoyo bas - Wrapping things up
This would be an excellent moment for a most awkward confession. Basicly, I lied about a dozen given translations. In all cases I fibbed about the English counterpart being a preposition. Take for example a sentence from lesson 7:
Yunus: - Li gevu ge tunti wa. Yunus: - You run faster than I do.
li gevu ge tunti wa you run fast surpass i you run faster than me |
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The word tunti, originally translated as "than", actually has a much better translation as the verb "to surpass":
zeto tunti akuyun result surpass expectation the result surpassed our expectations
ijejeng na adensi tunti asaka yo stupidity of incident surpass description all the stupidity of the incident surpassed all description |
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A similar case is the word "until" (or so the translation was until now) as used in the snippets below from earlier texts in this course:
wa lara lai maro kwa deche ata wa bochu tai i stay there month one until i hatch then I stayed there for one month until the time I hatched
naim nyom doya yo deche dingu rabbit rub furniture all until sparkle the rabbit rubbed all furniture until it sparkled |
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Deche actually is a verb, meaning "to meet":
om deche la kizado opt meet at restaurant let's meet in a restaurant
deche janjashi meet habitual they met in the usual way
nong kwiku deche bua not before meet brother I never met your brother before
nunai deche alum na Yula travel meet edge of world they traveled to the edge of the world |
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The word le "to have" is another preposition-like word in Kah which is actually a verb. The meaning can be expanded somewhat to "with" or "having, holding" or in a more verbal sense "to have, hold" when you look at the construction used in the conversation in the previous paragraph:
Ben: -Simbu le tiro vai lai.
Ben: -The six year old boy over there.
This sentence can also be translated as "the boy having six years". Also compare the following examples:
varu le chempe gevu chu soldier hold gun run from the soldier holding the gun ran off
bau sofi le pepe bo kiki dog swim hold stick in mouth the dog swam holding the stick in his mouth
reza en nuvu le seo na chai hard that walk hold cup of tea it is hard to walk holding a cup of tea |
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More examples of proper use of the word le are:
tatang reju uyu le duntu - never trust someone with fangs nenju sunda le pengo - I like the bike with the flag yudo le doti yam nenyun - the house with the red roof is pretty tumbenyo le mosa - a cheese sandwich, sandwich with cheese |
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The antonym of le is leleng and behaves the same way. It can be translated either as "without" or "to be without", "to not have":
wa leleng apa - I don't have any money
bau leleng dun - a dog without teeth
In fact, many words translated until now as prepositions work like this in Kah:
bo - (to be) inside ti - (to be) above tila - (to be) on top of vu - (to be) below, under chu - (to come) from, to leave tos - (to be) regarding, to concern, regard, for, with, intended for, per |
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And examples of their use are:
buyu bo podo - the man is inside the store shina ti finso - the clouds are above the water kwenga tila titi - the spider is on top of my head yinga jovan yulo vu zonya - the monster is hiding underneath my bed shuki wau chu podo na Mohamed - this candy is from Mohamed's shop kaiko wau tos nyonoka - this book is about politics |
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Kah does not have many words resembling English prepositions altogether. Most locative expressions contain the verb la "to be at":
la Sumaro na sumpol sasta... - in February 2009... la kwando - at school la Irakan - in Iraq la penyo - in the woods |
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Another very important one is tos "about, to concern" but also "for, with". It is used in a whole variety of situations which are covered my multiple prepositions in English:
kaiko wau tos haijono - this book is about biology wa kova yu tos aya - I emailed him considering the matter awau nong tos li - this doesn't concern you nong jo aya tos awau - I dont know anything about this ju mim wi tos aye - I feel real bad about it haya jam tos meo? - what are you doing with the cat? ben la nyiru tos fia - the kids were bickering over a toy adepo tos li - a delivery for you nong keju wehim tos aye - I won't hear of it |
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Let's look at one of the example sentences above again:
ben la nyiru tos fia
child be at bicker concern toy
the kids were bickering over a toy
There are two verbs here, nyiru and tos, placed directly after one another, without conjunction. Kah allows a subject to take multiple verbs! This is known as a "serial verb construction" (SVC), in which multiple verbs are strung together.
For example, each of the following three verbs can be used separately in combination with the same subject:
wa nunai
I travel
I traveled
wa de
I come
I came
wa ka
I talk
I talked
But they can also be strung together by merely placing them next to one another to form one sentence:
The example above uses the three verbs in a string: nunai, de and ka, all having the same subject! The translation of the sentence is:
wa nunai de ka li
I travel come talk to you
I traveled to come to talk to you
Such verb strings in the following sentences are underlined:
yunyo nuvu lutum podo they walk pass by store they walked past the stores nong keju ka tos not want talk about I don't want to talk about it
simbu bon che titi boy fall hit head the boy fell hitting his head
om nuchi paza remos opt go out buy icecream let's go out for some icecream
om baska jeto rejo yo opt decide consider fact all let's decide considering all facts
wanyo nubo fanai tunu Sibiran nunai Chosonan we enter train cross Siberia travel North Korea we travelled across Siberia to North Korea by train |
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This probably is the trickiest aspect about Kah for most people. Therefore, this entire lesson will be devoted to serial verb constructions. Every paragraph will be concluded with a short exercise in order to get acquainted with the matter first before moving on to the next level.
10.1 Purpose
Let's start off easy with a couple of examples from colloquial English doing the same thing:
come see me
let's go shopping
Kah would put two verbs in the sentence in the exact same way:
de weyun wa come see me come see me
om nuchu pazanu opt go shop let's go shopping |
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Sentences like these express purpose. One could add a conjugator "in order to" or "to" eno:
de eno weyun wa come purp see me come to see me
om nuchu eno pazanu opt go purp shop let's go shopping |
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More examples of the use of two verbs with or without eno in order to express purpose are:
gevu lo (eno) hai run emph (purp) live run for your life!
kava yu (eno) haka tos call he (purp) ask concern I called him to ask about it
bau tomia (eno) muvan ule dog die (eno) save owner the dog died saving its owner
umomi pau yu miki (eno) momi doctor give 3sg medicine (purp) cure the doctor gave him medicine to cure him
kwaibo ponya (eno) zapau aboko click button (purp) submit subscription click the button to submit your subscription
soi zapau kovaka (eno) wanyo tengi kava please submit give email-address (purp) we can call please submit your email so we can get in touch |
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Examples using this construction can be found in the letter below:
owenju - respected, dear... (used in formal letters) munjo - to inform tara - to wait, wait for nenila - airport kova - to email Peching - Beijing jeto - to consider, think about as an option wanki - supper kava - to call, make a phonecall to Ital - Italian kubora - to reserve, make reservations nunya - table wenjule - respectfully, sincerely yours (used in formal letters) |
Now please make the following exercise:
1) Combine the pictures like the example below to make a sentence expressing purpose:
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| jala kaizaya place trap to place a trap | (eno) (purp) (to) | yun tanu watch movie to watch a movie | 
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| chevu roya kick ball to kick a ball | (eno) (purp) (to) | fon to punish to punish it | 
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| seseche ben spank child to spank a child | (eno) (purp) (to) | hiza kil catch mouse to catch a mouse | 
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| jari yunum turn on tv to turn on the tv | (eno) (purp) (to) | lara sham stay warm to keep warm | 
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| jango mengo gai dress sweater thick to put on a thick sweater | (eno) (purp) (to) | jafio score to score |
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10.2 Tunti tio
The verb translated as "than" tunti is used in comparative constructions:
mul wan tunti ume cow be big surpass sheep cows are bigger than sheep
nin wan tunti tira yo sun be big surpass planet all the sun is bigger than all planets
chempe tenza tunti shuki (eno) munchu uyu la gevu gun useful purpass candy (to) chase off peron be at run guns are more useful than candy to send people running
wa le apa wi tunti li i have money much surpass you I have more money than you |
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And superlatives are formed by using the verb tio "to be above all":
Chomolumah wen tio Mt everest high above all Mount Everest is the highest
uma jo nen tio mother know good above all mother knows best
huyu nenje tio, win eom milkos? who smart above all, horse or doorknob who's smarter, a horse or a doorknob? |
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The following cartoon shows ample use of both verbs:
baska - to decide zauza - to irritate janjesko - to confuse mwevu - to stroll, wander haka - to ask sencho - to give birth to, to lay geta - instantly, imminent mindi - vermin, bugs jekil - rat unai - snake yunga - human shushoi - to pet, stroke cheze - right away, directly after nyeki - to smile numia - to hunt cheta - sudden, suddenly jebas - to conclude |
2) Answer the following questions regarding the cartoon above: a) Hayu unga nen tio? b) Haya kwo janja bencho? c) Reo hiwi kwenga tengi bencho tos tato? Please translate the following sentences to Kah: d) Mike is bigger than me. e) I am smarter than a horse. f) Horses are smarter than doorknobs. g) I have more candy than you. h) I have more horses than you. i) Horses are bigger than cats. j) My horse is the biggest. k) My horse is the blackest. Please translate the following sentences to English: l) Nini wi tunti jom. m) Kaiko wau wan tunti aye. n) Kwenga tengi bencho reo wi tio. o) Nong keju li wan tunti wa ha? p) Nenju meo wi tunti bau. q) Nenju win si tio. Look carefully at the pictures below and answer the following questions in Kah: 
r) Roya hana wan tio? s) Roya jim sin tio ha? t) Haya dau na roya saska? u) Ajim wan tunti ayam ha? Observe the picture below and answer the questions in Kah: 
v) Tira hana wan tio? w) Tira hana jesa en nenyun tio? x) Nin tira mau ha? y) Soi sendau tira jom yanyo sin tio. z) Ka tira hana le rongu. Answers |
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10.3 Fanai de Rioh
A word like de "to come/go" can be used like both a preposition and a verb in Kah. Compare:
de vado! go home go home!
bau vuvunyau de vado dog limp go home the dog limped towards our home
wanyo la de Rioh we be at go Rio we are going to Rio
wanyo nubo fanai de Rioh we enter train go rio we took the train to Rio |
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The word chu also expresses a motion from a certain point:
uma kwi chu chipola Mother already from market mother came from the market
chu Kah tom Ingilka from kah become english from Kah to English
kovako chu bua email from brother an email from my brother
kovako nong chu mea email not from sister the email was not from my sister |
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A very common type of verb strings consist of two verbs, one describing the action by which the means of transportation is entered or mounted, and a second one expressing the direction involved.A frequently used verb occurring such constructions is nubo "to enter". Take for example the sentence we encountered earlier in this paragraph:
wanyo nubo fanai de Rioh we enter train go rio we took the train to Rio
nubo anenu de Peching enter flight go beijing to take a flight to Beijing
nubo nia deza aki enter car bring food to get some food by car
nubo fanai de lai enter train go there they went there by train |
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And a comparable one is nuti "to mount":
nuti win gevu dola mount horse run city they took a horse (running) to the city
nuti sunda muno vado mount bike drive home to ride home by bike
nuti sunda tunu sindola mount bike cross village to ride across town on a bike |
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Likewise, combining a verb like muno "to drive, ride" with a verb expressing direction or location results in constructions as:
muno uyu de bandola drive person go town to drive someone to town
al nong tengi muno nia deche sindola imp not can drive car reach village the village cannot be reached by car |
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Now please make the following exercise:
3) Translate the following to Kah:
a) They rode their bikes to the library. b) They rode their horses to the library. c) They rode their horses to town. d) The library cannot be reached by horse. e) The boy ran across the street. f) The boy rode across the street on his bike. g) They took a plane to Acapulco. h) They took the train to Acapulco. i) We took a flight to the market.
Translate the following sentences into English
j) Uma muno ben de kaikodo. k) Ben nuti sunda muno kaikodo. l) Om nubo naini de kizado. m) Umukwan nubo nia nuchi sindola. n) Keju nuchu muno ha?. o) Bau tengi nuti sunda de vado ha?. p) Haya linyo janja muno de Akapulkoh? q) Keju nuti sunda muno ha? r) Win nong janja tengi nubo fanai de vado.
Read the following letter and answer the questions:  s) Hayu janko nuko? t) Tos hayu be janko nuko? u) Haya nubo de Tokioh? v) Nunai chu hala deche hala?w) Kwiku nunai Seol mau ha? x) Haya nen tio la Tokioh? Answers |
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10.4 Yun kwesho kwan Kah
Another very important verb occurring in these strings is za "to take" or "to use". Please note how it is used as the first verb in the construction below:
za koya janko nuko take pen write letter to write a letter with a pen
za tuya tu seki take knife cut meat to cut meat with a knife
za duzu jando wendo take brick build tower to build a tower with bricks
za api jaru api take fire fight fire fight fire with fire |
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The part that is translated in English with "with" is expressed by the verb za and it is placed in front of the actual action, which is the opposite of the English situation, where the phrase denoting the instrumental value is placed after the verb:
za koya janko nuko za tuya tu seki za duzu jando wendo | vs. | to write a letter with a pen to cut meat with a knife to build a tower with bricks |
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But za is not the only verb acting in such an instrumental manner
wa yun kwesho kwan Kah i look website learn kah I learned Kah from a website
nenti nong jango vuzepe ye gevu better not dress heels that run you better not run with those heels
yu ponti junya sai sese he lift weight cultivate mustle he is building mustle by lifting weights
al nong tengi yun kochi jesa kaiko imp not can look cover judge book you can't judge a book by it's cover
him Led Zeppelin sisi kwan Ingilka listen Led zeppelin just learn english he learned English by merely listening to Led Zeppelin |
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4) Please translate the following sentences to Kah: a) Please do not write with pencil. b) I can beat you up with one finger. c) You can't pay with Euros here. d) To build a tower with trees. e) To build a tower with eggs. f) They killed the horse with a gun. g) One can't eat soup with a fork. h) The soldier chased the dog holding the stick in his mouth with a gun. i) You better not run with a knife. j) Maybe we ought to stirfry it in oil.
Please translate the following sentences to English:
k) Varu za pepe cheche bau. l) Varu za chempe cheche bau. m) Varu za tuya tutu bau. n) Uba nubo nia mimia kwenga. o) Tinti za koya janko nuko yu. p) Hamun nong za pepe jando wendo? q) Al janja za tuya tu aya. r) Soi za Dolar papau. s) Al nong janja za tuya janko nuko. t) Yunga wi yun yunum kwan Ingilka.
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10.5 Li kwan bas Kah!
Combining verbs is also very useful in order to express a resultative state of something. In this matter, the second verb used tends to denote something with a finitive meaning. A very common verb in these constructions is bas "to end, finish".
jamoyo bas aya prepare end thing to wrap something up
jampi bas sindola burn finish village to burn a village to the ground
nong tengi bas pai li! not can finish thank you! I can't thank you enough! |
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Other verbs involved are:
al cheche mimia simbu they beat kill boy the boy was beaten to death
tinki tomia starve die to starve to death
bunche kai doki slam shut door to slam the door shut
gegeze uzo munchu vado chase fly expel home to chase a fly out of the house
mune sisimbe kihu throw scatter plate to throw a plate to pieces
fum mompi pisau blow extinguish candle to blow out a candle |
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Another finitive serial verb construction is the sentence describing the level to which you have mastered Kah at this point:
li kwan bas Kah! you study and Kah you're done studying Kah! |
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Therefore I promise this is the last exercise from this course:
5) Please translate the following sentences to Kah: a) I ate it all up. b) I'm done looking at it. c) Finish building the tower! d) Can one truly be done learning a language? e) Maybe you ought to finish the tower with bricks. f) The boys beat the bricks to pieces. g) The boys kicked the tower to pieces. h) You won't starve to death if you don't eat candy for a day. i) They threw the soldier off the tower to his death. j) How I'd like to shoot that parrot dead. k) His parents kicked him out when he was 16. l) He drove the car out of the train station. m) He kicked the cardoor shut.
Please translate the following sentences to English:
n) Al soza bas binso yo. o) Tonto al nong kiza, ke tinki tomia. p) Tengi janko bas nuko nintau ha? q) Papau bas ubu lo! r) Nong tus kiza bas ayo. s) Chen mimia yu! t) Simbu mune seo bai. u) Haya za cheche mimia yu? v) Al nong za kope cheche uyu. w) Champe sol tunti kope. x) Hata bau jandun mimia meo? y) Nong jo ata bau jandun miamia meo tai. z) Nong jo amun bau jandun mimia meo chumunye. Answers |
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Tau jere li tengi koyun auko na vu gejole :
Muhim lilo! Soi tombe kwalanyo na Kah noza ashika na vu: 1) Kwaibo nova wau. 2) Kwaibo ponya ya ka "Ask to join!" boko: 
3) Mai nende la kwalanyo na Kah! |
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Pai li ho en kwan Kah! 
Nova tenza:
