Some verbs describe experiences… like she walks, she sneezes… These are called intransitive verbs. Other verbs describe actions done to someone or something, like she grabs a bottle, she bothers someone. These verbs that require a direct object are transitive verbs.
Most Timucua verbs tend to be intransitive. And in previous lessons we have discussed how they work and are structured. But what about transitive verbs? In English, transitive and intransitive verbs are formed in similar ways, in Timucua they are not.
Timucua uses a special set of suffixes to show agreement on these transitive verbs.
1st person singular
–n, –na
2nd person singular
–naye
3rd person singular
not marked
1st person plural
–nica
2nd person plural
–naqe
3rd person plural
–mo, –ma
Take the verb iso (hold). We have learned how to negate the verb, how to change its tense, nominalize, and add objects to it… but how would you say you hold the bottle? Since iso is a transitive verb, it requires a slightly different way of identifying who is doing the action.
chiyoloma ysotanayela
chiyolo-ma yso-ta-naye-la
Bottle-def hold-tns-2sg:erg-dec
You hold the bottle.
chiyoloma ysotanicala
chiyolo-ma yso-ta-nica-la
Bottle-def hold-tns-1plural:erg-dec
We hold the bottle.
chiyoloma ysotamala
chiyolo-ma yso-ta-ma-la
Bottle-def hold-tns-3plural:erg-dec
They hold the bottle.
Mix and Match
The subject agreement of transitive verbs often appears alongside different prefix agreements that mark the object. These prefixes and suffixes are the same ones used for the subjects of intransitive verbs.
Let us consider the verb hubuaso (love):
Hubuasotanicala
Hubuaso-ta-nica–la
Love-tns-1:pl:erg-dec
We love him/she/it.
-nica marks the first-person plural subject (“we”); the third-person singular object is not marked.
Hubuasobotela
Hubuaso-bo-te-la
love-pl:abs-tns-dec
He/She/It loves them.
The third-person singular subject is not marked; –bo marks the third-person plural object (“them”).
Chihubasobotanicala
chi–hubaso–bo–ta–nica–la
2:abs-Love-pl:abs-tns-1:pl:erg-dec
We love y’all.
–nica marks the first-person plural subject (“we”); chi– plus –bo marks the second-person plural object (“y’all”).
Here is another example:
nimachetúquisobotanayela
ni-machetuqui-so-bo-ta-naye-la
1sg-be:bothered-caus-pl-tens-2sg:erg-dec
You bother us.
–naye marks the second-person singular subject (“you”); ni– plus –bo marks the first-person plural object (“us”).