ensign Don Alejandro Baesa Tzuc Cħicħ 3sg-name
Ensign Don Alejandro Baesa, Tzuc Cħicħ is its name’ (MA733A-006A-007)
(141d) ca-ix t-uy-al-ah-ob y-ohel-ob v-kax-ob
‘then-and completive-3sg-say-perf-3pl 3sg-know-3pl 3sg-forest-3pl
‘and then they said that they knew the forest of
ah-couoh-ob t-u-tan gour
ag-Couoh-3pl prep-3sg-presence governor
the Couoh people in the presence of the governor’ (DZ651C-213A-C)
And, of course, they also remained if they were not co-referential:
(142a) k-il-ah-Ø v-kam-ic-Ø v-man kax ca-yum
1pl-see-perf-3sg 3sg-receive-impf-3sg 3sg-purchased forest 1pl-father
‘we saw him receiving the purchased forest of our father
ti señor Antonio de Solaya-la-e
rel Mr. Antonio de Solaya-prox-encl
who is this Mr. Antonio de Solaya’ (OX697-003A-C)
(142b) ti c-il-ah-Ø v-ɔa-Ø-Ø hun-il Joseph Tun
completive 1pl-see-perf-3sg 3sg-give-subj-3sg paper-nom Joseph Tun
‘we saw Joseph Tun, the scribe,
essno y Sebastian Mul
scribe with Sebastian Mul
and Sebastian Mul give him the document’ (OX738B-202A-C)
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
475
(142c) yum-e he lay au-ix-mehen-a
father-voc here det 2sg-fem-child-prox
‘father, this daughter of yours here,
a-ɔa-(a)h-Ø in-canan-t-e-Ø
2sg-give-perf-3sg 1sg-watch-trans-subj-3sg
whom you gave for me to care for’ (Gordon 1913:37)
The fourth possibility — a transitive main verb followed by an intransitive complement with non-core-
fential agent and subject — is not represented in my Colonial database.
In Modern Yucatec, unlike Colonial Yucatec, the co-referential subject of an intransitive complement is
deleted after an intransitive main verb:
(143a) táan u-b’in-Ø _ h-šíimb’al-Ø
durative 3sg-go-impf _ ?-walk-impf
‘he’s taking a walk [literally, he’s going walking]’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1965:4)
(143b) ten-eʔ t-in-čam=b’in-Ø _ h-màan-Ø
me-top durative-1sg-just=go-impf _ ?-buy-impf
‘me, I’m just going shopping’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1965:13)
(143c) sáamal-eʔ u-k’ìin-il im-b’in-Ø h-meyah-Ø
tomorrow-top 3sg-day-nom 1sg-go-impf ?-work-impf
‘tomorrow is the day I go to work’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:153)
The same is true of double-verb sequences with a transitive main verb and intransitive complement plus a
co-referential agent and a subject:
(144a) le máaš u-k’áat-Ø _ meyah-Ø k-u-meyah-Ø
det who 3sg-want-3sg _ work-impf incompletive-3sg-work-impf
‘he who wants to work works’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:181)
(144b) čén in-k’áat-Ø _ ȼikbal-Ø t-aw-éet-el
just 1sg-want-3sg _ chat-impf prep-2sg-with-nom
‘I just want to chat with you’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1965:238)
(144c) a-k’áat-Ø _ ʔuk’-ul
2sg-want-3sg _ drink-impf
‘would you like to drink?’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1965:242)
However, the clitic pronouns for both arguments are present if they are not co-referential:
(145a) t-u-čáʔ-ah-Ø im-b’in-Ø
completive-3sg-allow-perf-3sg 1sg-go-impf
‘he allowed me to go’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:58)
476
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
(145b) le k’íin k-u-tàal-Ø-eʔ máʔ a-čaʔ-ik-Ø
det day incompletive-3sg-come-impf-top not 2sg-allow-impf-3sg
‘when he comes, don’t let
uy-ok-ol
3sg-enter-impf
him in!’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:153)
(145c) tolahkyak-eʔ t-inw-il-ah-Ø táan u-b’in-Ø
tol-ah-hé-ak-top completive-1sg-see-perf-3sg durative 3sg-go-impf
‘on that occasion, I saw him going
t-u-kàah-al
prep-3sg-town-nom
to his town’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:272)
If the main verb is intransitive, and the complement is transitive, the clitic pronouns are present,
whether or not they are co-referential:
(146a) tàal-Ø-Ø u-č’ot-Ø-en š-ʔòop b’e=h(e)l-áʔ-aʔ
come-perf-3sg 3sg-wring-subj-1sg fem-Ophelia thus=today-prox-prox
‘Ophelia came to shake me down today’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:87)
(146b) u-ty-áʔal kòol-il in-tàal-Ø in-šíimb’a(l)-t-Ø-eč
3sg-prep-nom fell-nom 1sg-come-impf 1sg-walk-trans-subj-2sg
‘in felling season, I will come to visit you’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:132)
(146c) háʔaȼ-kab’ in-máan-Ø in-t’an-Ø-eč
be divided-land 1sg-pass-impf 1sg-speak-subj-2sg
‘in the morning, I will pass by to speak to you’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:92)
(146d) b’in-Ø-en sac-ʔiʔ in-man-Ø-Ø ʔum-p’éel č’òoy
go-perf-1sg white-hawk 1sg-buy-subj-3sg one-nc bucket
‘I went to Valladolid to buy one bucket’ (elicitation notes 1979)
(146e) huk’nal u-b’in-Ø a-mol-ik-Ø
even 3sg-go-impf 2sg-gather-impf-3sg
‘go gathering them up evenly [so nothing remains]!’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:115)
And if the main verb and its complement are both transitive, their agents are marked with clitic pro-
nouns, whether or not they are co-referential:
(147a) in-k’áat-Ø inw-il-Ø-eč
1sg-want-3sg 1sg-see-subj-2sg
‘I want to see you’ (V. Bricker 1981b:96)
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
477
(147b) máʔ in-k’áat-Ø in-man-Ø-Ø le b’áʔal-óʔob’-oʔ
not 1sg-want-3sg 1sg-buy-subj-3sg det thing-3pl-dist
‘I don’t want to buy those things’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1965:238)
(147c) héʔ im-b’i(n)-s-(i)k-eč aw-il-Ø-Ø in-tàanah-oʔ
assurative 1sg-go-caus-impf-2sg 2sg-see-subj-3sg 1sg-house-dist
‘I’ll take you to see that house of mine’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1965:203)
Although transitive complements are normally inflected with a subjunctive suffix, either -eh or -Ø, as
in (146a–d) and (147a–c), there are occasional exceptions, such as the use of the imperfective suffix, -ik,
in (146e) (see also [142a] above). Other examples of this usage of -ik instead of -eh or -Ø with transitive
complements appear below:
(148a) le héʔenkeč-eʔ mináʔan túun y-éet-el-oʔ
det those-top not=exist then 3sg-with-nom-dist
‘as for those who did not affiliate with them,
pwes k-u-tàal-Ø u-mol-ik-Ø
well incompletive-3sg-come-impf 3sg-gather-impf-3sg
well, they came gathering them’ (V. Bricker 1979c:30, line 11)
(148b) kóoȼ-man-kóoȼ u-b’in-Ø u-ȼ’á-ik-Ø ten
piece-by-piece 3sg-go-impf 3sg-give-impf-3sg to-me
‘John is giving me
le sùum h-wàan-oʔ
det rope masc-John-dist
that rope piece by piece’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:130)
The following pairs of elicited examples, which contrast the use of -eh/-Ø and -ik with transitive com-
plements in identical contexts, suggest that -ik has a gerundial meaning, indicating that the actions speci-
fied by the main verb and its complement occur simultaneously, whereas -eh/-Ø has a purposive meaning,
implying that the action specified by the complement follows that of the main verb (V. Bricker 1981b:97–98):
(149a) k-u-tàal-Ø u-mol-ik-Ø
incompletive-3sg-come-impf 3sg-gather-impf-3sg
‘he come
s gathering it’
(149b) k-u-tàal-Ø u-mol-eh-Ø
incompletive-3sg-come-impf 3sg-gather-subj-3sg
‘he comes to gather it’
(150a) t-u-tàal-Ø u-kaš-t-ik-Ø
durative-3sg-come-impf 3sg-look for-trans-impf-3sg
‘he is coming looking for him’
478
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
(150b) t-u-tàal-Ø u-kaš-t-eh-Ø
durative-3sg-come-impf 3sg-look for-trans-subj-3sg
‘he is coming to look for him’
(151a) t-u-tàal-Ø u-ȼikb’al-t-ik-Ø h-wàan
durative-3sg-come-impf 3sg-chat-trans-impf-3sg masc-John
‘he is coming chatting with John’
(151b) t-u-tàal-Ø u-ȼikb’al-t -Ø-Ø h-wàan
durative-3sg-come-impf 3sg-chat-trans-subj-3sg masc-John
‘he is coming to chat with John’
The gerundial meaning of -ik is translated as ‘-ing’ in English in the first of each pair (gathering, looking for,
chatting); the purposive meaning is conveyed by infinitives (to gather, to look for, to chat) in the English
translation of the second example in each pair.
5.3. COORDINATE AND SUBORDINATE CLAUSES. The particle, ca (phonetic [káʔah]), had two syntactic func-
tions in Colonial Yucatec: (1) it served as a coordinating conjunction for linking clauses based on perfective
verb stems, and (2) it introduced subordinate clauses. In its coordinate function, ca could be glossed as
“and’ or ‘then’ and occasionally ‘when,’ whereas in its subordinate function, it could be glossed as ‘that.’
The Calepino de Motul contains the following examples of coordinate clauses introduced by ca:
(152a) bin-i-Ø ti y-otoch ca u-cim-ç-ah-Ø
go-perf-3sg prep 3sg-home and 3sg-die-caus-perf-3sg
‘he went to his home, and he killed
v-cħup-(u)l-il
3sg-woman-nom-abstr
his wife’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 58v)
(152b) in-bo(l)-t-ah-Ø in-ppax ca hul-i-Ø Pedro
1sg-payment-trans-perf-3sg 1sg-debt and arrive-perf-3sg Pedro
‘I paid my debt when Peter arrived’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 58v)
(152c) v-hoy-ah-Ø v-xex ca cim-i-Ø
3sg-lose weight-perf-3sg 3sg-fat and die-perf-3sg
‘he lost his fat, and he died’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 190r)
(152d) hok-i-Ø ti vinic-il in-mehen
leave-perf-3sg prep person-abstr 1sg-son
‘my son left his previous situation
ca oc-i-Ø ti batab-il
and enter-perf-3sg prep leader-abstr
when he entered leadership’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 190v)
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
479
(152e) hun=çut tii cul-ic-Ø y-icnal v-yum ca man-i-Ø
one=nc completive reside-perf-3sg 3sg-with 3sg-father and pass-perf-3sg
‘he resided briefly with his father, then he passed on’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 89r)
(152f) (in)v-il-ah-Ø balam ti be
1sg-see-perf-3sg jaguar prep road
‘I saw a jaguar on the road,
ca çaat-i-Ø (in)v-ik t-u-men u-kinam
and be lost-perf-3sg 1sg-breath prep-3sg-deed 3sg-ferocity
and I fainted because of its ferocity’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 247v)
The use of ca as a subordinating particle was more difficult to define. It occurred in sentences where
one or more verbs was inflected with a subjunctive suffix, although not necessarily the one that followed
ca. Nor was ca limited to contexts with non-coreferential agents and/or subjects:
(153a) bin in-bo(l)-t-e-Ø in-ppax ca bin t(al)-ac-ech
future 1sg-payment-trans-subj-3sg 1sg-debt that future come-subj-2sg
‘I will pay my debts when you come’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 58v)
(153b) lic v-ɔoc-ol a-han-al ca t(al)-ac-ech vay-e
incompletive 3sg-end-impf 2sg-eat-impf that come-subj-2sg here-encl
‘when you finish eating, you should come here’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 59r)
(153c) lay in-kati-Ø ca a-cħab-Ø-Ø a-cux-ol-al-la
det 1sg-want-3sg that 2sg-take-subj-3sg 2sg-live-heart-nom-prox
‘this is what I want, that you exhibit discretion’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 59r)
(153d) yum-il-e ma in-nah-Ø ca oc-oc-ech t-(in)u-otoch
father-abstr-voc not 1sg-merit-3sg that enter-subj-2sg prep-1sg-home
‘sir, I am not worthy that you enter my home’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 319r)
(153e) lay in-men in-tzeec-t-e-Ø vinic-ob cuchi
det 1sg-deed 1sg-sermon-trans-subj-3sg person-3pl then
‘this was because I was preaching to men then
ca cħap-ah-Ø-en
that ill-inch-perf-1sg
that I became ill’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 305r)
The particle, káʔah, has the same functions in Modern Yucatec, serving as a coordinating conjunction
with clauses containing perfective verbs and as a subordinating conjunction with verbs inflected for the
subjunctive mood. The coordinating function of káʔah is illustrated in the following complex sentence:
(154) bwenoh pwes tíʔ kóoh-Ø-óʔob’ túun-eʔ
good well there arrive-perf-3pl then-encl
‘good, well they arrived then,
480
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
káʔah tíʔ kóoh-Ø-óʔob’ (l)e hèente-óʔob’ b’ey-oʔ
and there arrive-perf-3pl det people-3pl thus-dist
and the people arrived like that:
le hèenté-oʔ t-u-húuntar-Ø-óʔob’ t-u-láak-al-óʔob’
det people-dist durative-3sg-gather-impf-3pl prep-3sg-all-nom-3pl
all those people were gathering
tíʔ iglesyá-oʔ
prep church-dist
in that church’ (after V. Bricker 1979c:32, lines 32–33)
Only the second clause in (154) is introduced by káʔah. The third clause begins with a topicalized phrase,
le hèentéoʔ ‘as for those people,’ apparently obviating the need for a coordinating conjunction. The first
clause in (155) contains such a conjunction, but the ones that follow it do not, implying that it is not oblig-
atory in Modern Yucatec:
(155) k’íʔiš-óʔob’ káʔah u-č’(áʔ)ak-Ø-Ø-eʔ
thorn-3pl when 3sg-be cut-subj-3sg-top
‘when the thorns were cut,
k-u-lúub’-ul t-a-k’ab’
incompletive-3sg-fall-impf prep-2sg-arm
they fell on your arms,
k-u-lúub’-ul t-aw-òok
incompletive-3sg-fall-impf prep-2sg-leg
they fell on your legs,
k-u-lúub’-ul héʔe=túʔuš táak teč-eʔ
incompletive-3sg-fall-impf where=ever from to-you-encl
they fell all over you’ (after V. Bricker 1979c:33–34, line 48)
The best examples of the use of káʔah as a subordinating conjunction can be found in double-verb
sequences whose agents and subjects are not coreferential:
(156a) in-k’áat-Ø káʔah a-šíimb’a(l)-t-Ø-en
1sg-want-3sg that 2sg-walk-trans-subj-1sg
‘I want you to visit me [literally, I want that you might visit me]’ (V. Bricker 1981b:97)
(156b) in-k’áat-Ø káʔah wen-ek-eč
1sg-want-3sg that sleep-subj-2sg
‘I want you to sleep [literally, I want that you might sleep]’ (V. Bricker 1981b:96)
(156c) b’áʔaš a-k’áat-Ø ká(ʔah) in-man-eh-Ø
what you-want-3sg that 1sg-buy-subj-3sg
‘what do you want me to buy [literally, what do you want that I might buy]?’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas
1965:249)
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
481
(156d) u-k’áat-Ø ká(ʔah) in-man-Ø-Ø le b’áʔal-
aʔ
3sg-want-3sg that 1sg-buy-subj-3sg det thing-prox
‘he wants me to buy this thing [literally, he wants that I buy this thing]’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas
1965:264)
(156e) máʔ u-k’áat-Ø ká(ʔah) k-ʔúʔuy-Ø-Ø le b’áʔal-oʔ
not 3sg-want-3sg that 1pl-hear-subj-3sg det thing-dist
‘he doesn’t want us to hear that thing [literally, he doesn’t want that we hear that thing]’ (Blair and
Vermont-Salas 1965-265)
6. IMPERATIVES
Positive and negative commands based on intransitive and transitive verbs represent still another class of
word orders.
6.1. POSITIVE COMMANDS. The suffix, -en, marks imperative intransitive stems in both Colonial and Mod-
ern Yucatec, and, if the command is directed at more than one person, the second-person plural suffix,
-ex (phonetic [-éʔeš]) is attached to the imperative stem. Thus, in Colonial Yucatec, the imperative stems
derived from hok ‘to come out, emerge’ were hok-en ‘go out!’ and hok-en-ex ‘go out (you-all)!,’ as in the
following contextual examples from the Calepino de Motul:
(157a) lazaro-e hok-en tac y-ok-cab-il
Lazaro-voc go out-imper until 3sg-upon-land-nom
‘Lazaro, go outside!’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 220r)
(157b) hok-en-ex tan-cab
go out-imper-2pl presence-land
‘go outside [you-all]!’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 190v)
The imperative stems of two intransitive roots, bin ‘to go’ and tal ‘to come,’ were suppletive:
(157c) xen ti y-utz-il
go prep 3sg-good-abstr
‘go in peace!’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 422r)
(157d) xen-ex ti y-otoch ku
go-2pl prep 3sg-home-God
‘go to the church [you-all]!’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 420v)
(157e) coten vay-e
come here-encl
‘come here!’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 439r)
The examples in (157a–e) lack the nominal subject and aspectual head words or particles that characterize
the Basic Word Order for intransitive clauses described in 1.2. above. The word order for intransitive imper-
ative clauses is Verb-Adverb, not Verb-Subject-Adverb.
482
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
Transitive imperative clauses also lack aspectual head words and particles, as well as nominal agents
and clitic pronouns for the agents of transitive verbs. However, transitive imperative stems do not have a
distinctive imperative suffix like -en, but invoke a variant of their subjunctive suffix, -e/-Ø, for that purpose:
A Historical Grammar of the Maya Language of Yucatan (1557-2000) Page 75