From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 7248
Date: 2001-04-28
Stem *gWHén-/*gWHn- ‘strike, kill’1sg. *gWHén-mi, 1pl. *gWHn-més2sg. *gWHén-si, 2pl. *gWHn-té3sg. *gWHen-ti, 3pl. *gWHn-éntiA stem may consist of a root with a vocalic appendix (*-e-/*-o-) called the thematic vowel (hence the term ‘thematic’ conjugation):Stem *bHér-e- ‘carry’ (note the constant stress pattern and root vocalism)1sg. *bHér-o-h2, 1pl. *bHér-o-mes2sg. *bHér-e-si, 2pl. *bHér-e-te3sg. *bHér-e-ti, 3pl. *bHér-o-ntiHowever, more complex verbs also exist. Reduplication and suffixation may be employed to form derived verb stems.Reduplication with the vowel *i forms (thematic as well as athematic) ‘intensive’ (usually transitive) verbs or durative counterparts of aorist stems:*bHi-bHer- ‘carry’*di-doh3- ‘give’*dHi-dHeh1- ‘put, place’*si-sd-e- ‘sit down’*sti-sth2-e- or *sti-stah2- ‘put up, cause to stand’*g^i-g^n(h1)-e- ‘give birth to, bring forth’A different kind of transitive ‘intensive’ (a conveniently vague term) involves the suffix *-áh2-/*-h2- added to the weak form of a root to produce athematic verbs:*mn-áh2- ‘be mindful of’*h1j-áh2- ‘go, stride’*duk-áh2- ‘lead’The suffix *-je-/*-jo- forms thematic durative verbs:*spek^-je- ‘view, regard’*kap-je- ‘take, seize’*mrs-je- ‘not heed, ignore’ (from *mors- ‘forget’)A similar suffix is used to derive durative verbs from nouns:*h3okW-je- ‘to eye’*h1nomn-je- ‘to name’*wog^He-je- ‘carry in a vehicle (*wog^Ho-)’When added to verb roots with the *o-vocalism, *-e-je-/*-e-jo- forms causatives (a very important formation, historically, as it remained productive in several branches):*mon-eje- ‘remind’ (= ‘make remember’)*sod-eje- ‘set’ (= ‘make sit’)*logH-eje- ‘lay’ (= ‘make lie down’)*wos-eje- ‘dress, clothe sb’ (from *wes- ‘be dressed, wear’)*bHoudH-eje- ‘wake sb up’ (from *bHeudH- ‘stay awake’)The nasal suffix *-néu-/*-nu-, usually with the weak vocalism of the root, produces (often transitive and vaguely causative) athematic verbs that refer to the beginning or termination of an action (the learned word for that is ‘inchoative’), or suggest that something is done once (rather than repeated). A rarer variant of this pattern involves *-nu- formations with stress alternating between the full-vowelled root and the inflection. A closely related formation involves verbs in *-náh2-/*-nh2-.*h1r-néu- ‘set in motion’ (from *h1or- ‘rise, move’)*wes-néu- ‘get dressed’*prék^-nh2-/*prk^-nh2- ‘ask’Similar functions can be attributed to the so-called nasal infix *-né-/*-n-, which is normally inserted after a liquid or semivowel (R = w, j, r, l) in *CeRC- roots, producing the characteristic alternation *CR-né-C-/*CRnC-, preserved in Indo-Iranian.*linékW-/*linkW- ‘abandon, release’ (from *leikW-)*junég-/*jung- ‘connect’ (from *jeug-)*kWrinah2-/*kWrinh2- ‘buy’ (from *kWreih2-)*k^lneu-/*k^lnu- ‘hear’ (from *k^leu-)The suffix *-sk^e-/*-sk^o-, usually added to nil-grade bases, forms iterative (or inchoative) stems. Its common variant is *-isk^e-. I think *-sk^e- can also produce denonimal duratives like *medHu-sk^e- ‘get drunk’.*gWm-sk^é- ‘walk about’*prk^-sk^é- ‘ask repeatedly, implore’Also with reduplication:*gWi-gWm-sk^e- ‘keep walking about’*g^i-g^nh3-sk^e- ‘know, resolve’The suffix *-ah2- added to adjectives produces ‘factitives’: *X-ah2- means ‘make X’:*new-ah2- ‘make new, renew’*h2rg^w-ah2- ‘make silver-white’The suffix *-eh1- and the combinations *-eh1-s- (?) and *-eh1-sk^e- yield itransitive verbs denoting change of state (‘become X’)*h1roudH-eh1-(sk^e-) ‘turn red’*sen-eh1-(sk^e-) ‘get old’Piotr