Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: Passive voice

From:Dana Nutter <sasxsek@...>
Date:Sunday, May 21, 2006, 12:23
li [Alain Lemaire] mi tulis la

> English has a distinct way of using the passive voice. > Normally, it is used > to stress the patient of the action:
Some examples in Sasxsek, which has similar usage:
> He hits the ball - the ball was hit (by him).
lo bit top \ top bituf (u lo). he hit ball \ ball hit-{passive/patient} ({acc.} him).
> But it can also be used with objects that go with a preposition: > > He walks over the bridge - the bridge is walked over.
lo podxven su wap \ wap supodxvenuf. he foot-go via bridge \ bridge via-foot-go-{passive/patient}
> He looked at me - I was being looked at.
lo mi tuvid mo \ mo mi tuviduf. he before at-see me \ I before at-see-{passive/patient} "mo mi tuviduf" can also mean "I was a thing which is/was looked at".
> Are there other languages which have this use of the passive > voice? How do > they form them - and what are the restrictions?
In Sasxsek, "-uf" is the passive/patient suffix. It can also take the adjectival form "-ufi" to become a passive participle whereas "-umi" ("-um" = actor) would be the active form and "-i" (adj.) would be an unspecified version. [note: "-um" and "-umi" are likely to be changed soon to "-e" and "-eri"] ------------------------------ dejnx nxtxr / Dana Nutter LI SASXSEK LATIS. http://www.nutter.net/sasxsek