Re: The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.

Jörg Rhiemeier wrote:

>Hallo!
Howdy.

>On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 02:21:08 -0400,
>Mike Ellis <spam_me_senseless@...> wrote:
>> The -GER is a form I've been calling the adverbial gerund (that's probably
>> incorrect). It links two verbs much like the Japanese -te form -- which is
>> where I ripped it off from.
>
>I think the "official" term for such a form is "converb".
>At least that's what I understand the term to refer to.
>However, the Japanese converb AFAIK always precedes the finite verb.
Thanks!
You're right, it's a "converb". And when I google for converb I find an
alternate term "adverbial participle" which I coulda and shoulda been using
all along. Too obvious to have occurred to me...

>ObConlang: In Old Albic, the instrumental case of the verbal noun
>is often used in converb-like constructions.
This also works in Rhean (I stupidly forgot to include the name of the
conlang with the trans. of "...small stones..."), but I avoid it 'cause the
instrumental usually takes a preposition, and the object of the converb
would then come between the preposition _nap_ and the verbal noun in
-(a/e)kom. It works, but if the verb's object has a relative clause in it
the preposition can get too far from its object. Another one of those
"technically right but awkward" things.

How does this work out in Old Albic? Preposition/no preposition; object
before/after the converb, etc?

M

(P.S. 'scuse lateness of reply)