Inchoative verb
Encyclopedia
An inchoative verb, sometimes called an "inceptive" verb, shows a process of beginning or becoming. Productive
inchoative infix
es exist in several languages, including Latin and Ancient Greek
, and consequently some Romance languages. Not all verbs with inchoative infixes have retained their inceptive meaning. In Italian, for example, present indicative finisco 'I finish' contains the form of the infix, while present indicative finiamo 'we finish' does not, yet the only difference in meaning is that of person subject; the infix is now semantically inert.
stem, and is not present in the third and fourth principal parts
.
hēûr-on "I found")
Past iterative
verb forms in Homer
and Herodotus
use the same suffix.
to -nn- in weak form).
An alternative form is of this vaaleta, hiljetä, etc.
Not all inchoatives are marked like this, however, e.g.
The translative case
marks "becoming something" on the noun. Thus, if a target state is specific, it is placed in the translative case
(-ksi), e.g. lehti vaalenee keltaiseksi "the leaf whitens to yellow". The transformation from a state is marked with the elative case
(-sta). For example, lehti vaalenee tummanvihreästä keltaiseksi "the leaf whitens from dark green to yellow". In eastern Karelian dialects the exessive case (-nta) is found; it specifically refers to inchoative changes.
, inchoative verbs end in -na. Some examples and their non-inchoative counterparts:
This class of verbs is today not productive, and the umlaut relationship between some inchoative verbs and their non-inchoative counterparts indicates that they in fact are quite old.
Productivity (linguistics)
In linguistics, productivity is the degree to which native speakers use a particular grammatical process, especially in word formation. Since use to produce novel structures is the clearest proof of usage of a grammatical process, the evidence most often appealed to as establishing productivity is...
inchoative infix
Infix
An infix is an affix inserted inside a word stem . It contrasts with adfix, a rare term for an affix attached to the end of a stem, such as a prefix or suffix.-Indonesian:...
es exist in several languages, including Latin and Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
, and consequently some Romance languages. Not all verbs with inchoative infixes have retained their inceptive meaning. In Italian, for example, present indicative finisco 'I finish' contains the form of the infix, while present indicative finiamo 'we finish' does not, yet the only difference in meaning is that of person subject; the infix is now semantically inert.
Latin
The Latin language uses the infix -sc- to show inchoative force. The infix is normally seen in the present tensePresent tense
The present tense is a grammatical tense that locates a situation or event in present time. This linguistic definition refers to a concept that indicates a feature of the meaning of a verb...
stem, and is not present in the third and fourth principal parts
Principal parts
In language learning, the principal parts of a verb are those forms that a student must memorize in order to be able to conjugate the verb through all its forms.- English :...
.
- apiscor, apiscī, aptus sum reach
- crescō, crescere, crēvī, crētus come into being, grow up
- convalescō, convalescere, convaluī recover, grow strong
- discō, discere, didicī learn
- īrascor, īrascī, īrātus sum be in a rage
- lapidescō, lapidescere become stone
- nanciscor, nanciscī, nactus/nanctus sum get
- noscō, noscere, nōvī, nōtus get to know
- obdormiscō, obdormiscere, obdormīvī, obdormītus sum fall asleep
- poscō, poscere, poposcī demand
- proficiscor, proficiscī, profectus sum set out
- rubesco, rubescere, rubuī to grow red, redden
Ancient Greek
Greek also uses the inchoative suffix -sk-, although it does not always indicate inchoative meaning. -sk- is added to verb-stems ending in vowels, -isk- to consonant stems. "I please" or "appease" (first aorist "I appeased") "I say" (from , same meaning) "I find" (second aoristAorist
Aorist is a philological term originally from Indo-European studies, referring to verb forms of various languages that are not necessarily related or similar in meaning...
hēûr-on "I found")
Past iterative
Frequentative
In grammar, a frequentative form of a word is one which indicates repeated action. The frequentative form can be considered a separate, but not completely independent word, called a frequentative...
verb forms in Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
and Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
use the same suffix.
Finnish
Finnish inchoatives may be marked with -nt- (which undergoes consonant gradationConsonant gradation
Consonant gradation is a type of consonant mutation, in which consonants alternate between various "grades". It is found in some Uralic languages such as Finnish, Estonian, Northern Sámi, and the Samoyed language Nganasan. In addition, it has been reconstructed for Proto-Germanic, the parent...
to -nn- in weak form).
- vaalentua "to go whiter" < vaalea "white"
- hiljentyä "to go silent" < hiljainen "silent"
An alternative form is of this vaaleta, hiljetä, etc.
Not all inchoatives are marked like this, however, e.g.
- kuolla "to die"
The translative case
Translative case
The translative case is a grammatical case that indicates a change in state of a noun, with the general sense of "becoming X" or "change to X"....
marks "becoming something" on the noun. Thus, if a target state is specific, it is placed in the translative case
Translative case
The translative case is a grammatical case that indicates a change in state of a noun, with the general sense of "becoming X" or "change to X"....
(-ksi), e.g. lehti vaalenee keltaiseksi "the leaf whitens to yellow". The transformation from a state is marked with the elative case
Elative case
See Elative for disambiguation.Elative is a locative case with the basic meaning "out of"....
(-sta). For example, lehti vaalenee tummanvihreästä keltaiseksi "the leaf whitens from dark green to yellow". In eastern Karelian dialects the exessive case (-nta) is found; it specifically refers to inchoative changes.
Swedish
In SwedishSwedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, inchoative verbs end in -na. Some examples and their non-inchoative counterparts:
- att blekna, to go pale; att bleka, to bleach
- att tystna, to fall silent; att tysta, to silence
- att fastna, to get stuck; att fästa, to attach
- att hårdna, to be hardened; att härda, to harden
- att kallna, to become cold; att kyla, to cool
- att ruttna, to rot; att röta, to cause something to rot
This class of verbs is today not productive, and the umlaut relationship between some inchoative verbs and their non-inchoative counterparts indicates that they in fact are quite old.
See also
- Inchoative aspect
- Translative caseTranslative caseThe translative case is a grammatical case that indicates a change in state of a noun, with the general sense of "becoming X" or "change to X"....