Pronominal Prefixes T1

Pronominal Prefixes Transitive Singular with Third Person Objects
Remember that transitive verbs involve action that is transferred from subject to object. Let's look at some pronominal prefixes on transitive verbs. The first column should look familiar (it's the same as the intransitive verbs).

Note that the bi- prefix occurs when the subject is less animate than the object. So we can say bininj kanan duruk (the man sees the dog) or duruk kabinan bininj (the dog sees the man).

Note also that we can put these words in different orders without changing who is doing the action, e.g.:


 * bininj kanan duruk the man sees the dog
 * duruk kanan bininj the man sees the dog
 * bininj kabinan duruk the dog sees the man
 * duruk kabinan bininj the dog sees the man

You might learn these pronominal prefixes in pairs, nga/ngan, yi/ngun:


 * ngayawan yawurrinj dja nakka nganyawan I'm looking for the young man and he's looking for me
 * yibekkan yawkyawk wanjh ngalekke ngunbekkan You're listening to the girl then she'll listen to you

We can combine intransitive and transitive verbs:


 * ngawam nganang nakamarrang I went to see Nakamarrang
 * ngalbulanj kadjare kunwok nganbukkan Ngalbulanj wants to teach me Kunwinjku
 * duruk ngunbayeng dja yimankang The dog bit you and you fell
 * bininj mudika birribidbom wanjh birrilobmeng walem The men climbed into the truck then drove south

You might like to try making up some more sentences, and check them with a Bininj friend.

Next: Transitive Verbs 2